How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (29 page)

But
what
about
those
chapter-by-chapter
summaries?
Yes,
there
are
a
few
publishers
who want
a
chapter
break-down.
Don’t
panic.
This
is
similar
to
a
synopsis
in
that
it
includes desires,
obstacles,
and
conflicts.
It
simply
breaks
them
apart
for
each
chapter.

Here’s
a
secret:
I
often
write
both
a
synopsis
and
a
chapter-by-chapter
summary,
even
if
my publisher
only
asks
for
one
of
them.
I
find
the
chapter-by-chapter
summary
serves
as
a roadmap
for
my
book,
and
when
I
sit
down
to
write
it,
I
have
a
jumpstart
on
my
creativity for
that
chapter.
A
synopsis
is
more
entertaining,
and
a
good
way
to
introduce
your
writing style
to
your
editor.
But
a
chapter-by-chapter
summary
is
more
detailed,
and
proves
you have
your
plot
figured
out.
My
suggestion:
Try
writing
both!

A
synopsis
is
not
only
the
summary
of
your
story.
Like
I
said,
it
is
a
slice
of
your
writing
style.
It gives
the
editor
the
first
taste
of
who
you
are
and
what
you
write.
Because
of
that,
you
want
to
give the
synopsis
the
flavor
of
the
type
of
story
you
write.

What
do
I
mean?
Well,
we
talked
about
how
every
noun
and
verb
you
use
conveys
a
feeling
or mood
in
a
scene.
For
example,
if
you
are
trying
to
up
tension
and
create
fear,
you
might
use
verbs that
generate
feelings
of
fear,
e.g.,
stricken,
caught,
blindsided,
choked.

If
you
want
to
convey
feelings
of
warmth,
you
might
use
embraced,
soothe,
coo
.
If
you
want
to
create feelings
of
suspense,
you
might
use
flicker,
ripped,
tear
.

The
idea
is
to
look
at
your
manuscript,
and
handpick
the
words
you
use
to
convey
the
mood
and
to illuminate
the
story.
Then,
use
them
when
writing
your
synopsis.
Why
not?
You
want
to
create
a mood
for
your
synopsis,
too,
right?

Here
are
the
first
three
paragraphs
of
the
synopsis
for
my
Deep
Haven
book,
The
Perfect
Match
.
It
is about
the
sparks
that
fly
when
the
new
lady
fire
chief
falls
for
the
town
pastor.
Let’s
start
with
the basic
synopsis,
without
the
colorful
words.

Ellie
Karlson
really
wants
to
be
a
good
firefighter.
She's
found
a
job
in
a
small
town
and
if
she
does really
well,
she'll
not
only
be
the
permanent
chief,
but
she'll
also
feel
like
she's
somehow
made
up
for causing
the
death
of
her
brother.
What
she
doesn't
know
is
that
there
is
someone
setting
fires
in town
and
she'll
have
to
catch
him
if
she
wants
to
keep
her
job.
The
lessons
she
learns
about
God
in the
process
will
change
her
life.

Dan
Matthews
is
tired
of
ministry.
He
needs
help.
But
who
can
he
look
to?
He
desires
a
wife,
but doesn't
know
the
kind
of
wife
God
wants
for
him.
On
the
night
when
one
of
his
parishioners
dies, he
meets
the
new
first
chief,
Ellie
Karlson,
and
starts
to
wonder
if
she
is
the
one
God
picked
out. Can
he
sense
God's
will?

These
paragraphs
tell
the
basics,
why
Ellie
wants
to
succeed,
why
Dan
wants
a
wife.
However,
they don’t
have
spark
and
sizzle.

Now,
here’s
the
synopsis
with
the
color
words
added.
I'm
going
to
bold
the
words
I
use
to
convey mood.

Ellie Karlson just landed her dream job . . . or so she thinks. In town to helm the three-month interim
position
of
Fire
Chief
for
the
Deep
Haven
volunteer
fire
department,
she
has
big
plans
to turn
this
into
a
permanent
gig.
It's
taken
fifteen
years
to
finally
fill
the
shoes
her
brother
left
behind with
his
untimely
death,
and
she
isn't
going
to
let
prejudice,
an
arsonist,
or
the
chauvinistic
town pastor keep her from her goals. But the job she's sacrificed for is about to cost more than she expects. Only by turning to God and holding on tight will she survive.

Pastor Dan
Matthews is feeling burned
out in ministry. After three years at the helm
of Grace Church
in
Deep
Haven,
he
has
serious
doubts
that
his
preaching
or
his
attempts
at
discipleship
are bearing
fruit
in
the
spiritual
landscape
of
his
congregation.
Feeling
like
a
failure,
he
can't
help
but wonder
if
firefighting
is
a
better
job.
At
least
it
has
instant
results.
Maybe
what
he
needs
is
a
partner in ministry—a wife, a helper, just as God designed, to
ease the load. On
the night when all his losses
seem
to
flash
over,
he
meets
a
woman
who
can
only
be
from
his
dreams,
and
he
can't
help
but wonder
if
God
has
heard
his
silent
prayers.

Then the smoke clears. Ellie Karlson may be a cute fireball of energy, but she's certainly not
his picture
of
a
helpmeet.
She
may
be
able
to
haul
hose
faster
than
any
man
in
town,
and
know
how
to chop
down
a
door
with
an
axe,
but
last
time
he
looked,
those
abilities
weren't
on
his
"perfect
wife" qualifications. If only she didn't light his heart on
fire and ignite, for the first time, the missing passion
in
his
soul
for
life
and
ministry.

Try
this:
G
o
through your
synopsis
and
for
each
verb
or
noun, see if
you
can
rework
or
find
a way
to
make
it
stronger,
add
mood,
and
give
it
punch.

Now
that
you
are
making
your
synopsis
colorful
and
packing
it
with
a
punch,
you
only
have
two more
aspects
of
your
proposal
to
put
together:
your
query
letter
and
sample
chapters.

A
query
letter
may
be
sent
separately,
before
you
send
in
your
entire
proposal,
or
it
may
take
the form
of
a
cover
letter.
It
can
be
sent
via
e-mail
or
hard
copy.
Always
check
to
make
sure
your intended
recipient—agent
or
editor—accepts
e-mail
queries.
A
query
letter
is
your
pitch:
the what,
why,
and
hows
of
your
story.

What
makes
a
good
query
letter?

1. A compelling, succinct first paragraph
   hook.
   
2. A summary of your book in two to three
   sentences.
   
3. An explanation of where your manuscript fits into the publishing world.
   
4. Who you are and why you can successfully pull off this book.
   
5. The mechanics of the manuscript—where you're at in
   production.
   

The
Hook:

In
my
opinion,
the
most
important
part
of
the
query
letter
is
the
beginning
hook.
This
is
where
you get
the
editor’s
attention,
the
part
that
will
keep
him
or
her
from
tossing
all
your
hard
work
into
the circular
file.
Consider
how
many
proposals
channel
through
an
editor’s
hands
in
one
month.
This thought
alone
should
impress
you
with
the
importance
of
the
hook.

1. What is a
   hook?
   

It's
the
Who,
What,
and
Why
of
the
story.
It's
the
juiciest
tidbit,
the
selling
aspect
that
makes
your
story
different
from
the
rest.
This
is
where
you
take
your
knockout
paragraph,
boil
it
down
to
the
most
important
aspect,
and
highlight
it.
You
want
to
create
questions
and
interest.
You
should
do
this in
less
than
100
words.