Well, maybe hate is too strong of a word, but I really don’t like it.
How am I supposed to sum up my 60 K plus novel into just a few hundred words? A synopsis is a bit better, but not by much. At least with those, I can write more than a couple paragraphs.
That’s the dilemma I am faced with today. I start writing my blurbs for my novels when I’m about halfway through the project. Currently, the book I’m writing on is more than a third of the way finished. I know what’s going to happen. I’ve plotted it out. I’ve got it in my head, but I need the blurb.
Sometimes, when writing, I get to a certain point where I don’t think I can go on. I lose sight of the end and then I’m stuck in a rut. That’s when the pesky blurb comes in handy. I can read that and know that I’m so close to that finish line. It keeps the story fresh and new.
And when the story is finished, the blurb is revamped, reworded, shortened until it is ready for the public’s eye.
It’s just writing it the first time. Ugh!
Am I the only one who has this problem?
Much Love Always,
Rose Marie Wolf
www.rosemariewolf.com
rosemariewolf.blogspot.com
I agree, Rose Marie, blurbing your work isn’t easy.
You’ve written an entire novel and are supposed to reduce it to a couple of words. We writers put so much time and effort into a novel that it’s genuinely painful.
Jacqueline Seewald
THE INFERNO COLLECTION, Five Star/Gale, romantic suspense mystery thriller (I just reduced my novel to four words!)
coming at the end of this month: THE DROWNING POOL/Five Star/Gale
ask for it at your local library!
It’s tough to do! Sometimes it’s helpful to practice on movies I own or books I’ve read. I also sometimes do a “chunk down,” which is to start with a 3 page synopsis, then a 1 page, then a paragraph, then my one liner. If I can’t come up with it by then, something’s wrong with my overall concept!
By the way, I often then use the one liner in the hook for my query.
VISIONS: a movie star becomes a real-life hero
OR
What if you bumped into a stranger, and suddenly became psychic?
A GRAND SEDUCTION: If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, where do questionable ones lead?
No, you’re definitely not alone in this, Rose Marie. I’ve never written the blurb before I’ve finished the first draft, but now I’m wondering if maybe that’ll help me when I get stuck at that 1/3 the way through stumbling block I always encounter.
But like you, blurb-writing is not my favorite past time. Kudos to the people who have the ability to write succinct catchy blurbs. It’s an art!