I have been going about the Synopsis of Doom all wrong.
When I wrote the novelthing, I did it completely by the seat of my pants. The structure was pure instinct, and very little in the way of notes ever got written down or saved. So when I needed the synopsis, I went through it and did bullet-pointed sentences of basic Plot.
And then I looked at that and went "Oh, God, what have I gotten myself into." It's six pages long just like that. Turning it into something that's actually readable and interesting seemed like an overwhelming task.
Until I realized, last night as I was falling asleep over my keyboard, that if I broke it down into the Seven-Point Plot Structure, that I would hit the high points that needed hitting. And until I thought of it this way, I didn't even know that I'd done a seven-point structure, because the thing is incredibly plot-heavy (and character-heavy)--but I totally did. I can see exactly where the points hit.
This. This right here, is why I go to conventions. If I hadn't seen Dan Wells's presentation on the seven-point structure and started using it in my short fiction, I would not have seen that I did it (again, wholly by instinct; I had no idea what I was doing, really) in the novel. I'd still be flailing around.
Now? I have actual hope that I can do this thing. Thanks, Dan. <3
And then I looked at that and went "Oh, God, what have I gotten myself into." It's six pages long just like that. Turning it into something that's actually readable and interesting seemed like an overwhelming task.
Until I realized, last night as I was falling asleep over my keyboard, that if I broke it down into the Seven-Point Plot Structure, that I would hit the high points that needed hitting. And until I thought of it this way, I didn't even know that I'd done a seven-point structure, because the thing is incredibly plot-heavy (and character-heavy)--but I totally did. I can see exactly where the points hit.
This. This right here, is why I go to conventions. If I hadn't seen Dan Wells's presentation on the seven-point structure and started using it in my short fiction, I would not have seen that I did it (again, wholly by instinct; I had no idea what I was doing, really) in the novel. I'd still be flailing around.
Now? I have actual hope that I can do this thing. Thanks, Dan. <3