pbray

Anyone who's tried to balance a day job with writing knows how hard it can be. Sometimes the impact is easy to see--working a 14 hour day makes it difficult to find the energy to write at night.

Sometimes the impact is more subtle. When I first graduated from college and started working as a programmer, I stopped writing. But as I moved up the ladder to the point where I was managing programmers rather than getting to do the fun stuff myself, I once again discovered within me the desire to write.

It took me a while to make the connection. To realize that I was a creative person, and if I couldn't satisfy my creative urges in one venue, I'd turn to another.

Fast forward to last Friday. In my new assignment at MegaCorp, I've been asked to come up with the most efficient method for processing currency adjustments. After a couple of attempts, I created a script that produces the right answers, but it takes too long to run.

By coincidence, after the early morning writing session on Friday, I'd been stuck on a plot point. Normally this would mean that throughout the day my subconscious would be working on the plot point. But instead it had been preempted by the programming challenge. When I had the "Ah ha!" moment and reached for my pen, it was not to jot down ideas for the next scene, but rather a new idea for setting limits to the data blocks being calculated.

Even after I'd gone home, and immersed myself in the story once again, it was hard to get my brain back into writing mode. The creative idea generator wanted to solve the programming problem, and I had to tell myself that it was the weekend and I would not under any circumstances allow myself to power up my laptop to work on the day job.

Fortunately the opportunities for creative coding are few and far between, otherwise this balance would be even tougher than it is. But perhaps this explains why Einstein did his best work when he was employed as a patent clerk :-)

Becoming a published author involves mastering many skills, one of which is learning how to write a synopsis for your book. If you've never seen one before, this can be a daunting task, so jpsorrow put out a call for his friends to share examples, and declared that March 18th was S-Day.

For my part, I've posted the synopsis for THE FIRST BETRAYAL, the first volume in The Chronices of Josan series. Because this was a proposal based on sample chapters rather than a completed novel, the package included detailed background information as well as summaries for all three books in the proposed series. In order to avoid spoilers for either THE SEA CHANGE or THE FINAL SACRIFICE, I've removed those sections from the synopsis posted on my website.

At the time the synopsis was written, I has only writen the opening chapters of THE FIRST BETRAYAL. Astute readers will notice differences between the synopsis and the final book. I like to think of the published book as the "Director's Cut" of the story.

You'll also notice that many of the details in the synopsis never made it into any of three books, such as Prince Lucius's family tree, or the detailed history of the Ikarian empire. This is an example of world-building--as an author I need to know the underpinnings of the world and civilizations that I've created, but it's not necessary to explicitly include these in the story.

In his livejournal announcement jpsorrow refers to synopses usually being 3-5 pages in length. This is where I beg to differ--while shorter is generally better, synopses come in a wide variety of lengths, depending on the project and the author. The synopsis for THE FIRST BETRAYAL was the longest one I've ever written, mainly because it wasn't associated with a completed novel--there had to be enough detail in there to convince the folks at Bantam that I had enough story to sustain a multi-volume arc. Luckily Bantam liked it, and as you've probably guessed, they bought all three books in the series :-)

So, without further ado, click here to read my synopsis. Then take a look at the links posted below, to find more examples.

Enjoy!

Plot Synopsis Project participant links:

For more examples, check out the links below. Note, authors are posting throughout the day, some links may not be immediately available.

Edited on 3/24 to add permanent links to the blog entries.

desperance Chaz Brenchley's entry
Mike Brotherton's entry
Tobias Buckell's entry
scbutler S.C. Butler's entry
Barbara Campbell's entry
davidbcoe David B. Coe's entry
jennifer_dunne Jennifer Dunne's entry
sleigh S.L. Farrell's entry
difrancis Diana Francis's entry
frostokovich Gregory Frost's entry
Felix Gilman's entry
jimhines Jim C. Hines's entry
jackiekessler Jackie Kessler's entry
mindyklasky Mindy Klasky's entry
madkestrel Misty Massey's entry
mizkit C.E. Murphy's entry
naominovik Naomi Novik's entry
jpsorrow Joshua Palmatier's entry
Maria V. Snyder's entry Link takes you to Myspace page, then search for 03/18/08 entry
smokingpigeon Jennifer Stevenson's entry
msagara Michelle West's entry
ladnews Sean Williams's entry

How to revise your novel, following the patented Bray method. Note that this method works best when performed by an experienced professional. There is no guarantee of success and the user assumes all inherent risks.

In order to complete this process, you will need the following supplies:

• Reams of paper (enough for printing the entire novel at least five times)


• Printer cartridges sufficient for above


• Post-it tape flags and post-it notes


• Chocolate


• Alcohol


• Friend

( Click here to read more )

Three weeks ago I turned in the manuscript for THE FINAL SACRIFICE, and since then I've been contemplating my next project. I haven't written a word in this time, but I've made notes, read research books, and picked the brains of knowledgeable folks. Gradually the project has taken shape in my mind, and earlier this week I felt I knew the characters well enough that I could begin to name them, a major milestone in my creative process.

Last night I shared this news with jennifer_dunne and informed her that I could almost hear the central character. His voice is coming into focus, and within the next few days I expect to start writing.

She stared at me, then repeated "You hear them?"

Yes, I told her. I have to be able to hear the characters in my head. Right now, whenever my mind is idle, it's turning over dozens of different possibilities for the opening paragraphs. All of this takes place in my head, and it's only when I can hear those opening lines clearly that I'll sit down at the computer.

She continued to stare at me, then shrugged her shoulders. "Huh. I never know what I'm going to write until I write it."

Which just goes to show that there's more than one way to be a writer. jennifer_dunne's process can be referred to either as organic, or as a fuzzy-headed, undisciplined mess, depending on my mood :-)

My process is different. I need to know my characters inside and out. If I can't figure out what the hero would have majored in in college, or whether or not he likes Starbucks coffee, then I'm not ready. Once the characters are in focus, the words will come.

Oddly enough when I hear the words, the voice I hear in my head is my own. It's a bit as if I'm reading aloud from a story I've already written--except, of course, that in my head there are no Errs, Umms, or mispronunciations.

I paused for a moment just now, and I can *almost* hear him--he's just around the corner, and if I wait a bit longer, he'll be here.

And then I'll begin to write.

Find the right names for your characters isn't an easy task. People ask me where I find my character names, and the true answer is everywhere. Over the years I've taken names from street signs, telephone directories, the town where my postcard supplier was located, alluded to genre tv shows, scoured lists of Olympic athletes, and even used the name of a popular manufacturer of plumbing fixtures.

Earlier this year I wrote about character naming, and for those who are interested I'm posting the article here under the cut.

( There's something about Mary: Find the right names for your characters )

When asked, I will tell you that I am a plan ahead writer. I write from an outline, and I have a very good idea where a story is going before I put the first words down on the page. My characters don't surprise me because I already know them better than they know themselves. Before I've finished the first three chapters of a book I already know what the ending scene of the novel will be.

Back when I was writing romances, this worked well for me. But once I switched to writing multi-volume fantasy series, reality crept in, and I had to adjust my technique.

( Click here for musings on what to do when your original outline isn't working )

Friday afternoon at Wiscon featured the midlist writers' gathering, and about a dozen of us got together to compare notes. After listening to various writers share their stories, I was hit by the realization that many of us had fallen into ( the secret handshake trap. )

A few days ago, I mentioned the difficulties involved in writing certain scenes. sylvia_rachel asked if I'd mind describing my process, so for those who care, it's behind the cut.

( This is how Patricia writes the dark & scary shit. )

In preparation for their upcoming annual conference, yesterday I went to the romance writer's bi-annual writing retreat, where jennifer_dunne and I gave our patented "How to pitch to an agent/editor" presentation, with Jennifer taking the role of hopeful author and I was the jet-lagged editor/agent-in-search-of-bar.

A couple folks who were just back from RWA National shared their stories of how their agent/editor appointments went, and this is the point where heartburn set in. One writer had multiple requests to see her manuscript, but wasn't sure if she was going to send it out. She'd heard a number of people saying that the market for that genre was weak, and in her mind this was reason enough not to bother trying. Plus one of the editors she spoke to is from Harlequin UK so she'd have the expense of mailing the manuscript to England. I bit my tongue rather than point out that she'd just dropped at least a thousand dollars to go to National, and now she's quibbling over a few bucks in postage.

Another writer had an agent request to see her work, but the agent wasn't wildly enthusiastic. She'd cut the writer's pitch short, not letting her finish her spiel before asking to see it. I would have taken this as a positive sign but this writer has decided if the agent wasn't in love with the verbal pitch then there's no chance she'll like the manuscript, so why bother?

In both cases the writers said they were considering submitting their manuscripts, eventually, but in reality they were just trolling for more excuses to put it off. I've no doubt that if I check in with these folks at the annual Christmas party I'll learn that both of them have allowed these opportunities to slip through their fingers.

Shame of the matter is that at least one of these women is a very talented writer. But after encouraging her for several years to start submitting her work, I've given up. It looks like she'll remain firmly on the professional virgin side, every now and then sending out a query or meeting with an agent, but never actually taking the emotional risk of incurring one rejection after another until she succeeds.

I firmly believe that the difference between myself and these women isn't a matter of skill so much as it is that I endured two years of rejections, and have the thick stack of rejection letters to prove it. Being a writer is as much about picking yourself up off the mat and trying again as it is about the ability to craft wonderful stories.

And if you happen to stumble across this and recognize yourself, please be angry. Go ahead and prove me wrong by sending your manuscript out. Whatever happens next, whether it's a rejection letter or an acceptance, I promise to be the first to hand you chocolates and buy you a drink.

After reading everyone else's 10 Things list, I decided to give in to my inner lemming and post one of my own.

10 Things I Know About Writing

Warning: the following advice has not been proven to be generally safe and effective. As with all writing advice, use at your own risk, under the supervision of a professional. Your individual mileage may vary.

1) Your book is never as good as you think it is.

2) It's also never as bad as you think it is.

3) It is good to have a routine for writing.

4) Except, of course, when it's not.

5) Being with other writers is energizing.

6) Comparing yourself to other writers can only lead to unhappiness, as there will always be others who are more successful (however you define this) than you are.

7) It is good to have a career plan.

8) Having a career plan does not mean that you are in control of your career. There are too many variables outside your control that can alter your career path for good or ill.

9) The longer you've been in the business, the more you know. I am constantly learning new things about writing and being a succesful author.

10) Anyone who tells you they know the one true secret to being a sucessful writer is deluded, angling for you to buy them a drink in the bar, or both.