At these I fail. Horribly.
There's a reason the projects on the "My Writing" page here on the blog don't have blurbs or descriptions. And, yet, I do believe it's high time I remedied that.
So, yeah.
I think the reason I fail is that I try to put too much information in. But then when I take out information people get lost. It's a delicate balance to handle, especially in fantasy. (Not to mention trying to not confuse the reader but also not give away a twist.)
I've been working and re-working my query for Lodestar over the last month or more. It's no closer to being something that would grab an agent than it was when I first wrote it out.
When I wrote a query for Oracles Promise as a means of boiling down my plot in preparation for revisions, it just depressed me because it seemed to highlight so many problems that felt impossible to fix.
I think that killed blurbs/one-paragraph descriptions for me. And possibly queries.
And don't even get me started on a synopsis.
I, too, hate summing up my stories...be it one-liners, hook-lines, synopsis or what have you.
ReplyDelete*shudder*
I always have this urge to explain...and explain...and then it just goes wrong. I dunno, maybe I'm just not at that place yet where such things are possible... *sigh*
Oh man. Don't get ME started on a synopsis either! LOL
ReplyDeleteIt's always hard to know what words to put into your query. My only advice is don't think to hard on it. Write what comes naturally and use your own voice. You'll figure it out. *Hugs!* :)
I'm nearing the point that I need to write a query letter, but I'm dreading it. Logically I know I should be able to write it, since I wrote the whole story, but there's something about the marketing twist that puts me off. I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteArgh. I just had to do a synopsis for my book. Not. Fun. To help myself sum up my book, I did a short paragraph on important background info that was necessary to set up the story, then the inciting incident, the two major turning points, the climax, and the resolution. I figure this way I get all the important plot points in there :D Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL Steph! We'll turn you into a master blurber yet!
ReplyDeleteOkay, any writer who has attempted the query feels your pain, myself included. I've blogged about the query (a few times) and the synopsis. Hang in there, I swear it gets better. At some point, you're going to nail it!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete