It’s Tuesday again, and that means time to write a story from a picture. I find these are usually starts to stories for me, stored away into a WIP folder for the future. But they get my creative juices flowing, and we all know how important that is.

So here is today’s picture. In the comment section, please add your own story. You will find mine there as well. No cheating, write your story and add it before you read all the others!  (Okay, cheat if you must, but participate anyway!)

picture found here.

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Brenna, along with being the mother of 3 and a half children, is also a preschool teacher and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician, or Ambulance worker). She is extremely busy, so I will make her post today, and then teach her how to save them so they will post themselves. (Jamie showed me Monday night)

So today, we are going to write about our first kiss. Now remember, we are writers, lets give it detail. Build the world. Give us emotion. No–we were standing in the school parking lot and so-and-so kissed me. Come on, make it good.

On that note, here’s my first kiss.

When you’re a sophomore in college, almost twenty, and have never kissed a boy, you might think that that would become a priority. Right? Well, not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked boys, and had found a few that I wanted to kiss, but I’d decided when I was fourteen that I wanted to at least be engaged before anyone’s lips touched mine.

So what happened, you may ask? Tom Draper and my roommates.

Tom and I had dated for a couple of months, and he seemed okay with my decision to not kiss him. (The story of how we met will be shared later, it’s priceless!) The spring semester at Ricks College had maybe a month left, and he was getting ready to serve a 2 year mission for the Mormon Church. So in my mind, he wasn’t an option for marriage anyway, though he made me laugh and could melt my heart when he played the piano or drew me a picture. The boy had talents!

We sat in the living room of my apartment, with my roommates. After a while, said roommates left the room in a rush. Erin, the ringleader, stood and like sheep, the rest followed. They made their way down the hall, to a back bedroom, leaving Tom and me on the couch alone. Now, Tom and I hung out all the time. We took walks holding hands. So it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

Until Kiss the Girl from The Little Mermaid started playing, filling the whole apartment with the squawks of Sebastian the seagull. I wanted to die. The traders had turned on me. Now, maybe their intentions were to get me to pay up on a lost bet.

The night before, we had played cards. I was on a roll. Unstoppable! So Erin wanted to make the game more interesting by throwing out dares to those who lost. (She had to walk a mile up the road, in Daisy Duke’s, high heels, and a tank top. In 20 degree weather. And she did.) So Erin throws out to me, that if I lose, which I hadn’t yet, in probably 10 hands, that I would have to kiss Tom.

Well, I couldn’t lose. I was a pro. So I accepted the challenge. And dangit, I lost every hand I played after that.

So, back to the couch and Sebastian crooning out how Tom should kiss me. Fortunately, Tom was a good sport. He laughed, took my hand, and led me to the front door. “I’ve got to get home anyway. Good night, Sarah.”

“Night, Tom. Sorry about that.”

He smiled his killer smile. “No problem.” And then he pushed me into the wall and kissed me.

I shoved on his chest for all of two seconds, and then…

Holy Moly! I liked kissing!

Tom and I dated, and kissed, until the end of the semester, when he went home to Oregon. I took it upon myself to make up for lost time. And yeah, in the next two years, I kissed a lot of boys.

Now, share your first kiss with us! And make it juicy. Or funny. Or dramatic. Or whatever it was. Have fun. And enjoy a good laugh.

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All writers who deal with fiction must buckle down and come up with a synopsis they hope will inspire an agent to ask for more. So how do you do that? Today, I will give links to many different sites that hopefully will answer that question. I will also post my synopsis to be ripped apart. Anyone who would like to work on their synopsis for next Wednesday, simply email it to us. We will post it and offer critique. Anyone willing may critique, and maybe, we can improve our synopsis skills together.

How to Write a Synopsis

Writing a Synopsis from the Ground Up

Let’s try to break it down. Some authors can outline, take that and write a query and synopsis, and then write their novel. I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. I tried to do that, and had no clue where the story would go. Why? I didn’t know my characters. I am not a planner. I am a doer. I don’t hold well to schedules, (my poor kids) or to following a plan of action. Maybe because things never worked out how I planned, so I stopped planning. So those methods don’t work for me. They may for you.

The point? Find what works for you. Experiment.

Okay, back to the synopsis. After the manuscript is complete, (that’s the only way I can do it) and you’re ready to either have beta’s read it, or you’re wrapping up edits, but before you query (I discuss why in a minute), you want to write that outline. (And yes. I did this in school. Wrote the paper, then the outline. If the outline was due on Wednesday and the paper on Friday, the paper had to be finished before Wednesday.) Go through each chapter and pick out the most important plot elements.

Now that you have these, at least one for each chapter, you can start weaving them together. This is the first draft of your synopsis.

Put that aside and set your timer for five minutes. Write, without stopping, what your book is about, who your characters are, and what you’d tell a friend if they asked. When the timer goes off, stop writing.

Compare the two. How close are they. The first time I did this, they weren’t even on the same playing field. LOL You want them to find common ground. If it’s not there, set the timer again, and write for another five minutes.

Merge the two, and this is your second draft.

Now that you have gotten this far, a few more basics can be found here.

These steps will help you reach your goal of writing a great synopsis.

We look forward to reading your synopsis next week.

Here is mine. Feel free to shred it.

Synopsis:

When seventeen-year-old SAMANTHA SANDERS’ parents are killed in a car accident, she is forced to move half way across the country to live with the blind Cherokee grandfather she hardly knows. After a dream where she finds herself inside the mind of a killer, she’s sure she doesn’t want to stay in Oklahoma.

A week after her parents’ death, Sam and her grandfather eat dinner with twenty-one-year old hottie, Deputy ANDREW CLEARWATER, and his mother. During the meal, Sam breaks down and Andrew consoles her, almost kissing her, and she instantly falls for him. But his behavior over the next few weeks becomes erratic and standoffish, so Sam finds solace in her math tutor, JAMES PETERSON. Unfortunately, she’s looking for a friend while he’s looking for a girlfriend.

During a backyard game of football, Andrew tackles Sam, pinning her to the ground. But before he can kiss her, her mind is overcome by a presence that doesn’t feel human. The game ends when Andrew’s cousins rush her inside. Darkness takes over, and Sam experiences a strange ability to see through the eyes of a monster who wants to destroy Andrew and his uncle. A searing pain shoots through her body, ending her vision. Frantic and scared, Sam demands explanations but quickly realizes they are not easy to swallow.

Andrew pulls Samantha aside and explains the Cherokee Protector legend. They both come from a long line of Cherokees with special gifts and talents that aid them in destroying Flesh Eaters, monsters in human form. She realizes her recurring nightmares are more than just bad dreams. They are a window into the mind of the monster, leaving her with a lust for blood—and for the Flesh Eater.

Andrew and Sam’s attraction continues to grow and they begin secretly dating. As she struggles with the advances of James, another admirer emerges from the shadows—COLIN, the all-too-real monster from her dreams.

Although Colin is bound by his kind to kill her, he becomes obsessed with Sam and manipulates her thoughts and dreams. When he eventually shows himself, he speaks only in her thoughts, and vows to watch over her. Sam hates herself for the calming affect he has on her. The attraction she feels doesn’t help either.

When Colin allows Sam to live, it angers the other Flesh Eaters, and Colin’s long time lover, Jasmine, takes it upon herself to destroy the Protector. Andrew shows up in time to keep Jasmine from killing Sam, but when Colin steps out of the woods, Andrew feels death for them is certain. In the end, Colin saves Sam by murdering Jasmine.

After the near-death experience, Andrew breaks up with Sam, telling her he thinks his attraction is just physical. Heartbroken, but determined to stay strong, Sam turns to James, who’s more than willing to comfort her. Sam doesn’t realize Andrew’s true reasons for leaving her: her grandfather’s visions have revealed that if Andrew doesn’t stay away from Sam, together they could destroy the balance of the Protectors. Sam struggles to make sense of her life, but it’s nothing compared to the hell Andrew is living through each day trying to keep up the lie.

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So you want to write, now what?

You write. And write. And write some more.

Yep, that’s the way to start. Grab a topic: a picture, a song, or simply look out your window and find something to write a blurb about. Ever had a dream that you wished happened? Write it.
Your first draft will not be a masterpiece, but you’ve overcome the first step. You’ve written. And if you make it a habit to write a little every day, one day, you’ll realize that you’ve grown as an author.

Now that you are writing, what next?

Read. A lot.

The best writers, are avid readers.

Okay, you’re reading and writing…

You must study and research the market. We have a list to the side of helps with this, through blogs we follow. Check out who others are following, and visit those sites.
Understand agents, what they want, and follow their submission guidelines. That is a must! Do not go against what they are looking for, even if you love everything about that agent and really really want them to represent you. If they are not into your genre, leave them alone.

And what is your genre?

I Googled genres and found a little info, but many agents hit these topics on their blogs, so don’t just read the most current topics. Go into the archives and see if there aren’t other things to be learned from a blog.

This sounds like a lot if you are just starting out, but it doesn’t need to happen in one day. It does however need to get done. You want to approach writing as work, because it is, even if you greatly enjoy it, as I do. It is hard work. Research is required. Studying writing skills. Learning to market yourself and your work. If you want to succeed, you must put your best foot forward. Learn from the mistake of others—don’t repeat them.

Here are a few helpful links to help you get started. Also, remember to check out the blogs of those we follow. And check here every day for writing exercises, dos and don’ts, and how to market yourself.

Happy writing.

http://www.carolynjewel.com/forwriters.shtml
http://querytracker.net/
http://www.querytracker.blogspot.com/
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
http://www.agentquery.com/

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It’s Tuesday again, so I’ll post a picture, and everyone will write their own story about it. Do not read the other comments, which is where my story will be, until after you have posted your own. No cheating.

Image found on Acclaim Images.

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So here’s what we’re going to do, I’ll post a picture, and everyone will write their own story about it. Do not read the other comments, which is where my story will be, until after you have posted your own. No cheating.
Ready?
Go!

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