Writing a Synopsis - Lesson Two

Assuming you've completed writing your blurb (see last Tuesday's blog Writing A Synopsis - Lesson One), your ready to introduce your characters. This is where goals, motivation, and conflict come into play. Keep it brief and simple. I usually do this in two paragraphs--one for the heroine and one for the hero. What you don't want to do is describe the physical characteristics of your characters. Save this for your manuscript. The goal here is to outline what is to be expected during the story.

Example from Hit and Run:

Beth Barrett's twin sister, Jilly, is killed by a hit and run driver and Beth knows who did it. Proving it is the problem. No one believes she is psychically connected with her deceased twin, and the man she accuses has an alibi. It doesn't help that she's attracted to the detective assigned to the case, especially when he's skeptical about her motives for accusing her brother-in-law. Faced with a cunning adversary, Beth must find a way to convince Detective Ryan Snider before she becomes the next victim.

Detective Ryan Snider wants to believe Beth is telling the truth, but in reality no one can talk to a dead person. He met the twins when Jilly was hospitalized after being brutally beaten by her husband, Keith Carson. He did his best to help, telling himself it was duty, not the physical attraction to Beth that kept him involved. But now Ryan has a murder to solve, and he has to put logic before heart, and doing so may destroy his relationship with Beth.

If you use your blurb, you can expand it to create these paragraphs. Good luck!

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