So, an agent has asked for a synopsis that reads like a book jacket. I'm not to give too much away, but to sell the story. I feel the same way about a synopsis as I did about an outline in school. But anyway. Here is my dumb idea of the day. Let me rephrase …
Category: novel
The Dreaded “A” Question
I hate the "A" question. So, I read a blog post by my friend JES regarding the "A" word--as in What is your novel About? An agent is currently looking at my first novel, and this "A" question is on my mind. My first novel is about a difficult subject...a conversation stopper subject. Now let's …
Still Thinking about Hitler
Okay, I'm not exactly thinking about Hitler. But the last post discussed the idea of killing in a time traveling sense, which meant if-this-then-this thinking. Writers do this kind of thinking all the time. If I have my character go here instead of there or say that instead of this... And if you've written the …
Pick the Right Baby
The agent wasn't taken with the pages I sent from my manuscript The Labyrinth House. I rewrote them, but they still work for her. The agent was willing to read a few pages of The Blue Jar, and she liked those pages enough to ask for more. I've sent more, and I'm now waiting. I …
Kill the Ones They Love
Fans are a mixed blessing. I've been reading about True Fans and I've been reading commentary by the fans of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Torchwood. And it seems there's a lesson in there about Fan Rage. Fan Rage may be more prevalent in sci-fi and fantasy genres sicne they're the genres in which fans …
It’s not what you think.
How often do you look back on a past moment in your life and wonder if you missed what really happened? I am very good at this. The other day I was reading about some hubbub going on over a storyline on a television series. I don't watch the series but the issue of writer …
Hug me! I’m a blog post!
Have you started laughing and been unable to stop? Most likely this has happened when you weren't supposed to laugh at all. Years ago, I went with friends to Steve Martin's film LA Story. In one scene, Martin's character, Harris, stops to talk to one of those highway signs that light up and give drivers …
Publishing My Way
I've stopped participating in online conversations about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. Every person has to follow their own way, as we know, so I don't see the point in even having those conversations. I mean, who cares anyway? But I love the idea of making my own books. I've made a few in the past. …
Maybe a Temper Tantrum
Sometimes I may begrudge every other published writer everything. You know, in moments of personality collapse. Meaning, those moments when I'm not the great and fantabulist soul I want to be. (Yes. Fantabulist.) Those moments when I'm resistant, cranky, jealous, and generally not nice. (All you saints out there can begin throwing stones at any …
The Common Sense Page from My Brain
The ink is my pen is frozen and so are the keys on my keyboard. Really! It's true! Okay. Really, nothing is wrong with the ink or the keyboard. The problem is in my head. One or two of you may know that a while ago an agent asked to see some pages of my …
Marta Bacon 