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Sometimes writing
synopses can be like
trudging through the tundra.
It requires much
stamina and effort,
but it builds character in authors.
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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get back to work on your dreams.
For me, it’s time to look for
professional editing for my memoir about attending college with five children
in tow instead of continuously changing and tweaking it. To that end, I came across an offer after
watching an excellent webinar called “The Synopsis Solution” presented by
Jennie Nash, a book coach, for a critique of a synopsis for my memoir.
I was impressed. Jennie gave concrete information and
examples. So I’m taking the chance. Now all I need is that synopsis of my memoir. *Gulp*
Besides giving the format of a
synopsis: single-spaced, present tense, third person, no more than three pages,
Jennie informed her listeners to “tell a story and hook the reader” –even in
the synopsis. Not everything can be
included in the synopsis summary of the story.
Use the main thrust of the story and give a resolution.
While I understood to tell whose
story it was, in memoir or fiction, I never tried the line of thinking: because this thing happens, the next thing
happens and then the next thing. I’ve
heard of cause and effect, plot points, internal struggle.
So I stepped back and looked at my
memoir about attending college with five children in tow.
Because I had no prior college
classes, I needed to take a Basic Skills test in order to begin my college
journey. And because I hadn’t had any
upper level math courses or any algebra in *ahem* eons, I failed the math
portion of the test. And because of
failing the math portion of the test, I needed to take basic skills math classes
in order to begin my college journey.
Okay, so that’s the external
beginning of what happened. What’s the
internal struggle I faced? Well aside
from numerous motherhood duties, I couldn’t leave my fear of failure behind—that
nagging thought that I wasn’t properly prepared for college—to be able to think
positively, to engage in an experience of learning.
Then just when I thought I might be
able to succeed in college, I was offered a scholarship at the University of
Pennsylvania. And another belief was tested,
never to let opportunity pass me by. I
had to go to Penn. I just had to, or
another nemesis would enter the picture.
Regret. Even if I failed, I had
to try.
Wow!
Where did this all come from. I
could go on, but I need to write that three-page synopsis for critique. I’ll keep you posted as to my experience and
knowledge learned.
Please share any tips or experiences you may have about writing synopses. All the best to each of you in 2016!