The Dreaded Synopsis

For the next few days, I'm going to talk about something that's the bane of some writers' existence and the salvation of others -- plotting a book, aka The Dreaded Synopsis.

For me, coming up with a plot for a book and writing a synopsis isn't quite the same thing, but one leads to the other by necessity. (Editors like to see before they buy.) I'm highly organized and methodical -- my writing brain is the exact opposite (kinda like Felix and Oscar for you fans of classic TV). Books come to me in snippets of dialogue, pieces of scenes, chunks of chapters. I know there's a book in there somewhere, but it's up to me to lay all the puzzle pieces out then put them together to find out what the final picture looks like.

I compare plotting a book to a cross-country roadtrip. You've got maps, roadsigns, detours, and cool stuff you didn't expect to find, but you just gotta go see (like The World's Largest Ball of Twine). Some people/writers wouldn't set foot outside their front doors without an excruciatingly detailed map, others just pick a direction and head for the horizon. You'll find me somewhere in between.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about the "aim for the horizon" kind of writer. The Free Spirit.