NEW SHINY IDEAS

I love new projects. LOVE. THEM.

Thanks to spending so much time in the query wars, I now write out a short synopsis before I really start writing. I might have a chapter done because a character's voice is itching to get out but I find that a short summary--something you might find in, oh say, a query letter--really helps me focus on the main arc of my story.

I hate writing the long synopsis. You know the one that's supposed to tell all the main events of your book. But it's so HELPFUL. Once I get writing and lose where I want to go, I will write the longer synopsis to help reel me back in. I guess it's kind of like an outline. It's a pain, yes, but it is extremely helpful to me. I have this habit of sort of combining two books into one. I've got two different main threads going on, both dominating to be the main one of the story, when really, one needs to take a back seat or disappear altogether (perhaps to be used for a different book.)

FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.

There are always subplots but the main thread is what I would find on the back cover. What is the main plot? The hook? It should be, I think, one main idea.

I've written out a short synopsis for this SHINY NEW IDEA. I love playing around with it and imagining all the places it could go. It's such a cool place to be, at the beginning, and it's just what I need to warm me up on this cold, cold, cold days.