Friday, June 29, 2012

Find Your Focus

All beings are flowers
blossoming
In a blossoming universe.

by Soen Nakagawa
 As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself.
- Leonardo Davinci


A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.
-Anthony Trollope



7 Effective Habits of ADDults

1. Do what you're good at

2. Delegate what you're bad at

3. Connect your energy to a creative outlet

4. get "well enough" organized to achieve your goals

5. Take advice from people you trust

6. Keep in touch with a few close friends

7. Keep a positive outlook in making decisions and running your life.




Thursday, June 28, 2012

How to write a synopsis of your book or novel

How to write a synopsis of your book or novel

Source:

https://www.writers-online.co.uk/Home-Page.aspx




How to write a synopsis of your book or novel

Published on 28/09/2011

How to write a synopsis of your book or novel  
Your covering letter has made such a good impression that your publisher, agent or editor of choice has decided to take a closer look at your novel, but the first thing they'll look at is your synopsis or, for a non-fiction book, your book proposal. You already have some of their attention, but now you need to hold it so they want to find out more. Maintain that excellent first impression by delivering a synopsis the publisher just cannot resist.

So how do you start? Let’s take a look at what you should include. ‘The synopsis is the primary tool for fiction writers to inspire agents and publishers to read their manuscript,’ says professional publishing consultant Julia McCutchen. ‘Always write the synopsis in the present tense, and tell the whole story – including the ending.’

Fiction synopsis checklist
Julia advises you to answer the following key questions in your synopsis
• What is the story about?
• Who is/are the main character(s) and brief summary of the issue(s) they are facing
• What are they feeling?
• What’s driving them?
• Why are they acting in a certain way?
• What’s standing in their way?
• What is the setting, if appropriate, and include a taste of it

‘Include some dialogue to bring your synopsis alive but only if it feels appropriate,’ adds Julia. ‘Build excitement as you near the end by using shorter sentences and paragraphs.’

Your synopsis should be written in the third person. ‘I start in the same place as the story (not giving background to the main character or other characters) and summarise the main plot points and characters,’ says author Tamsyn Murray. ‘The synopsis should try to capture something of the writer’s voice – mine try to be fairly witty.’

Stewart Ferris, author and co-founder of Summersdale Publishers, says one paragraph per chapter is usually adequate, but obviously this depends on the length of your chapters. ‘As long as the synopsis fills one or two pages and no more then it’s the right length,’ he advises. ‘It’s not easy to distil your masterpiece down to a few hundred words unless you’re clear in your mind as to what the important themes and concepts are. Leave out all unnecessary detail and tantalise the editor with questions and hints that make them want to read the whole book to find out more.’

If you find it difficult to compile your synopsis, remember that even seasoned authors find it hard. ‘I’d find it easier to write a whole 100,000 word novel than do a synopsis,’ says Carole Matthews, an internationally bestselling author of numerous romantic comedy novels. However she has the following advice to make the process easier: ‘Make your synopsis as concise as possible. Outline the main story – all of it – including main conflict points. And don’t get side-tracked by sub-plots.’

Non-fiction book proposal checklist
For those who are submitting non-fiction manuscripts, the synopsis is replaced with a book proposal, as it includes many different sections of information.

Julia McCutchen advises that your non-fiction book proposal should include:
• title page (just title, subtitle and contact details)
• summary of content
• chapter outlines
• author details
• sales, marketing and promotional information
• length, specifications and delivery date (ie how long the finished manuscript will be, if there are any illustrations and when it will be delivered)
Submit your book proposal with your covering letter and sample chapters.  


  

 



    LINKS:

    Monday, June 25, 2012

    Robbie Burns: To A Mouse

    A sculpture of a mouse in the garden of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway
     
     
    TO A MOUSE
    ON TURNING HER UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH, NOVEMBER, 1785
    by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)
        I
         
        EE, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
        Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie!
        Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
        Wi' bickering brattle!
        I was be laith to rin an' chase thee,
        Wi' murd'ring pattle!
         
        II
         
        I'm truly sorry man's dominion
        Has broken Nature's social union,
        An' justifies that ill opinion
        Which makes thee startle
        At me, thy poor, earth-born companion
        An' fellow-mortal!
         
        III
         
        I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
        What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
        A daimen-icker in a thrave
        'S a sma' request;
        I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
        And never miss't!
         
        IV
         
        Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
        Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!
        An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
        O' foggage green!
        An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
        Baith snell an' keen!
         
        V
         
        Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
        An' weary winter comin fast,
        An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
        Thou thought to dwell,
        Till crash! the cruel coulter past
        Out thro' thy cell.
         
        VI
         
        That wee bit heap o' leaves an stibble,
        Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
        Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
        But house or hald,
        To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
        An' cranreuch cauld!
         
        VII
         
        But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
        In proving foresight may be vain:
        The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
        Gang aft a-gley,
        An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
        For promis'd joy!
         
        VIII
         
        Still thou art blest, compared wi' me!
        The present only toucheth thee:
        But och! I backward cast my e'e,
        On prospects drear!
        An' forward, tho' I cannot see,
        I guess an' fear!
    "To a Mouse" is reprinted from English Poems. Ed. Edward Chauncey Baldwin & Harry G. Paul. New York: American Book Company, 1908.

     Source:
     http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/to_a_mouse.html



     Portrait of Robert Burns 
     Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth
    (By permission of the National Galleries of Scotland)