Synopsis Xibalba

My only goal through MayNoWriMo was finishing the Maya#2 synopsis.  That sounds easy — until you realize I haven’t written the book yet.

So really what I had to do was build my characters, plot out the story, and THEN write the synopsis.  I had Tara and Quinn started thanks to an axed subplot from THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, but they needed significant work in order to carry an entire 60K+ story. 

Then, the plotting.  My favorite thing to do.  Not.

The problem (for me) in writing this synopsis was I couldn’t pare it down to the bare bones, because I don’t have the book.  If I came up with a cool development or crucial understanding (for me as the author, whether it would end up directly in the story or not), then I had to write it down, for fear I’d forget if I didn’t.  I mean, it might be months before I get back to this book.  I know I’ll never remember all those little details.

I’m thrilled to say that I finished the synopsis tonight.  *angels singing*

On the down side, it’s a MONSTER.  6K!  The absolute longest synopsis I’ve ever written.  *boggles*  I detailed internal and external conflict; character traits; antagonist motivations; Maya mythology details; the romance arc; and of course, the plot.  I used the hero’s journey and mapped out Ordinary World, two major turning points, the Dark Moment, and the final Climax and Resolution. 

There’s absolutely no reason I shouldn’t be able to sit down and write this book straight through without any difficulties or confusion thanks to this outline, yet I’m still worried.  Have I written this detailed synopsis only to kill my excitement for the story?  Nooo, I don’t think so.  I’m still excited about the story…just sick of the synopsis.

Of course a 6K synopsis isn’t something I’m going to torture my editor with.  *evil laugh*  So before the end of the month, I need to revise and strip down to something she might actually want to read instead of all these notes and details for myself.  Once I get something useable, I’ll blog more about how I used notecards to plot and write the synopsis.