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One thing a writer will get asked on a regular basis, even by non-writers, is to explain what their story is about. There are different versions and lengths to that answer. This newsletter explores a few of them. |
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Whether writing a novel or short story, there is a question that you may come upon as a writer. It is one with many answers that will vary in length and situation. The question: What is your story about?
This can seem like a simple question and yet, when it strikes, can lead to a blank stare and "uhmm." With fantasy and other speculative fiction works it can also be a challenge to not go overboard by trying to explain everything. Even the shorter versions, non-novels, can involve a fair amount of information, which can cause a glazed over, deer in head lights look from certain listeners who aren't quite prepared to actually hear about the story. Not every person who asks the question wants to hear every detail involved in the plot, characters and setting. Then becomes the issue of how to explain the story in such short amounts of time and/or space.
A few differences in answers to the question are based on the use but also the length. The first one is going to work well for that random person and also great if you're at a conference or come upon a situation where you have that very short moment to tell someone about the story. It is the classic elevator pitch.
Elevator Pitch
This is a very short answer because the general idea is that there is a very short time limit to respond. It's based off the idea of being in an elevator with an agent or editor who asks about the story but there is that very limited time window, like if you are in an elevator. It's a couple sentences that mentions just the big point of the story and main character. Not enough time for details or anything else for that matter.
Blurb
This is close to the elevator pitch in length, though the structure can be different. It's not very long. Can be a few sentences to a couple of short paragraphs. This is like what you read on the back of the book at the store that is supposed to get your interest and make you want to buy it. There are many ways to approach this for any length but reading many book ones can give a general idea to the options available.
Query
The longer ones, like the query letter, are going to be more common in longer fiction. With most short fiction publishers, you just send the story when submitting. The first part will often be similar to what might be used in the elevator pitch or even resemble the blurb to a degree, but then there is often space for a little more. Still limited to less than a page because a small portion of that goes to other details, in particular those with publishing credit to claim, but it's something more than just a couple of sentences, which helps. For short stories, this might equate to a longer conversation (in person or online) but without giving away everything to the one listening.
Synopsis
Longest of all is the synopsis because it can be as short as a page or two all the way up to around 30 pages, depending on the situation. Well, for a short story it's not going to be 30 pages because that's longer than many stories, but for novels and series, the longer length can be helpful and a burden at the same time. Many agents request a short synopsis along with the query and/or chapters, but the length tends more towards the 1-2 pages for length. The big difference with this compared to most others (and gets emphasized on any article explaining how to write it) is that you have to tell the ending in the synopsis. Not going to be a random stranger type of response, but the point is to explain the whole story in the allowed pages and that means everything. It's also one of the more dreaded parts of the submission process because it's not easy to do.
While most of these are based on situations when submitting to agents or for publication, there is always the chance that a friend, family member, coworker or even a stranger will find out you write and curiosity will strike. Practicing the answer can be helpful in the writing process, so don't be afraid to work on answers in all of the above formats just in case you get asked: What is your story about?
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What is your story about? Have you attempted a query or synopsis yet?
Since I'm currently working on things like synopsis and submitting a YA sci-fi type of novel, I might go more into detail on this topic in other newsletters if anyone is interested. 
Last time I discussed big name books/series and whether people have read or even not read them. I haven't read many and here are some responses that got sent in over the topic.
Comment by Elle - on hiatus 
Are there any big name books or series that I haven't read yet? Yes. Outside of WDC I read romance almost exclusively, and yet I have never read Jane Austen, Nicholas Sparks or Nora Roberts, among other big names. And I'm okay with that.
- Ah. I've read one from Jane Austen but that is all. None from the others even though I also write some romance focused items.
Comment by Quick-Quill 
I too have not read LOTR or Hobbit. I did read one of the Hunger Games as well as A few of the First books of Sword of Shannara. I read Wizard's first Rule for a book club. I'm not into Fantasy but one of my to reads is the Spiderwick Chronicles. I loved the movie. Sometimes the movie is enough. Sometimes it intrigues us to read the real version to see what we may have missed.
- That is true. Sometimes the movie is enough. Most of the time I say the book is better, but there are some where movie lives up well.
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Fantasy: May 25, 2016 Issue [#7662]
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