Synopsis

I was looking through a list of independent publishers yesterday and determined I need to go through the routine of writing a synopsis for the new book. And a hook for a query letter.

Those were requirements for last year when I spent the better part of two months trying to find an agent. They’re requirements for this effort, too, and so yesterday I started writing the synopsis for Next Time.

I have to say, it’s an interesting exercise. Summarizing the relevant plot points and leaving out others makes me think about the relevance of each chapter to the whole, and if they serve the end goal of the story. That’s been a topic in our home as we we’ve been watching a show where we’ve been treated to a C-story (doesn’t even make it to B-level) that was clearly scabbed into the short series to serve as a nod to diversity and does absolutely nothing to advance the overall story. It’s so noticeable and distracting that it takes you out of the experience. I’d shrug my shoulders and say it’s just the world we live in, but beyond that it’s just bad storytelling. Anyway, examining the story points in my book is another chance to make sure I wrote a good story without any fluff.

And try my best to avoid bad storytelling, a concept writers of a popular streaming show don’t seem to understand.