Playing literary connect the dots

Recent milestones: I just passed my 600th blog post. When I first started blogging, I told Derek he'd have to help me blog, because I didn't have that much to say. Yeah, he still laughs about that one. And yesterday I passed the 600 mark in Twitter followers. Woot! I have to admit that I love Twitter. Great source of immediate pubishing industry news & goings-on -- if you're following the right people. For those of you who are thinking about getting on Twitter, take a look at who some of your fav authors are following. It'll give you some idea of who you'd like to add to your "following" list.

On Sunday night, Derek and I went back to fencing class after a nearly 5-year absence. When I signed on the dotted line of my first book contract, I had to stop fencing. Day job + writing job = no free time. Going back to the gym even one night a week is all part of my effort to write/work smarter so I don't have to work harder, so I can have a life outside of my office. It's one of my new goals. My legs can describe my first fencing class in one word: "Ow!" When I get back in decent shape, I'll post some fencing pics.

Now an update on writing the synops for the next three Raine books. I've decided to take the synopsis writing one book at a time. If ideas come to me for Books 6 and 7, I'll write them down, but the focus right now is on Book 5 (no title yet). I wanted to have all three done by the end of this month, but apparently that was an unrealistic expectation. My revised goal is to have the synop for Book 5 to my agent for her review and input by the end of the month. That's a do-able goal. I'd forgotten how long it takes to weave a story out of mid-air. Then I'll work on Book 6 and then Book 7.

The synop is still kinda convoluted right now, but it's finally starting to take shape. I have a story core and a lot of character motivation. Everybody is highly motivated, but those twisting and crossing lines have to weave together into a plot with a clear-cut storyline, otherwise all I've got is a lot of ugly.

I compare my synopsis writing process to a Nautilus shell. It starts out big -- meaning I'm including too much and I know it, but it's all part of the process. I write down almost everything: character motivation, goals, key scenes, etc. Then as I go through and organize things, I find that I have duplications or scenes that my gut tells me don't belong in a synopsis. They belong in the book of course, but only the high-level stuff should be included in a synop. I think of a synop kind of like book jacket copy expanded to explain more. Then as I edit the synop down, it goes in ever smaller circles (like that Nautilus shell), tightening and compressing (meaning getting rid of extraneous subplots that have no need to be in a synop) until I have a compelling synop that my editor will go giddy over (crosses fingers).

I'm trying to keep it around 8 pages double spaced. This is what works for Anne, my editor. When you all are writing synops, pay close attention to what the agent you're pitching to wants. If they say they only want 5 pages, don't give them 10. You've got one chance to make a good first impression, so give them what they ask for.

Last week I bought the soundtrack to the fabulous Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's really helping me get into my story.

Today and tonight will be working with good old pen & paper to work out some storyline connectors. My laptop can be intimidating when I'm trying to feel my way through new ideas. I'm more comfortable at that point writing the old fashioned way. It's like an artist sketching before starting to put paint to canvas.

I got a bit long-winded this morning, so tomorrow I'll blog on writing and submitting agent queries, since that's what a lot of you are doing right now. I'll give you a great resource for top-notch query letters, what's great about them, and why -- from a top agent's perspective.

Lisa