APOOO Welcomes you to the first edition of The Write Life for You a monthly column brought to you by Shonell Bacon.

Becoming a Lifelong Learner of the Craft of Writing

By author, editor, educator Shon Bacon aka ChickLitGurrl™
What’s Your Story About?

You’ve written a novel – congratulations!  Believe me; I know about the struggles that writers go through on putting pen to pad or fingers to keys.  There were probably a million times you wanted to give up and walk away from your words.  There were bouts of writer’s block.  There was doubt.  There were those who just didn’t get why you wanted to write.  And despite these and other issues, you rose above them and finished a story from beginning to end.

Stop.  Smile.  Pat yourself on the back.  Tell yourself you are awesome.  Call at least three people to tell them the good news.  Treat yourself to something special.  Take a few days to put some space between you and your glorious words.

Then come back to the manuscript because there is some major work to be done.

Many new writers make the error of finishing a story, running a spelling and grammar check on Word, and then submitting the novel to agents and publishing houses as if the work is perfect.  Many take a better route and at least send their work to be edited by a professional before sending it into the universe.  Even though it is important to have at least one set of eyes – other than your own – read/edit your work, it is just as important for you to become a “scholar” in the craft of writing so that the material you pass off to an editor or an agent isn’t ridiculed instead of praised.

On this journey, we will get into all the ins and outs of the writing craft, with questions and suggestions to help you fine tune your work of art.

In this premier article, I won’t crush any dreams.  I promise.  All I want to know is the following:  what’s your story’s genre?  What’s your story about?

If you plan to submit this work, pitch this work, and talk about this work; you need to have a clear and quick description of your work.

You should know your work’s genre:  is it a romance, mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi, literary, street, an urban, or erotic novel?  Is it a combination of these genres? 

In one clear sentence, state the following:  (Title of Novel) is a (Genre of Novel).

Good – now you know the genre.

Now, you need to state what your story is about.  Picture going to Borders – you’re rifling through books, reading back covers.  Pretend your book is on the shelf.  Pick it up.  Flip it over.  What does the back copy read?

Just flipping through ten books on my bookshelf, I noticed that back copy runs between 100 to 225 words.

The back copy contains the same information you’ll place in your query when it’s time to submit the work to agents and publishers:  your main character, his or her want, the major conflict that prevents the main character from achieving the want, and a “twist” that arises and seems to forever keep the main character away from the want.

Here’s the book description of Victoria Christopher Murray’s Too Little, Too Late:

Jasmine Larson Bush returns to her devious ways in this tale of two marriages — each threatened by lies and betrayal.

She took marriage vows to be honest and true, but Jasmine’s still hiding secrets to keep her husband, Minister Hosea Bush, by her side. When Hosea’s ex-fiancée, Natasia, suddenly appears in New York, Jasmine knows it’s not a coincidence. A former man stealer herself,

Jasmine is very aware of Natasia’s motives — even if Hosea is not.

Complicating Jasmine’s life is the secret she’s kept from her baby’s daddy. Luckily for her, Brian Lewis has problems of his own. His wife, Alexis, is convinced he’s cheating on her — but Brian’s real betrayal is much worse. Revealing the truth to his wife could lead him back to the biggest mistake of his life…Jasmine.

Two marriages are in desperate jeopardy. Will Jasmine be able to scheme to save her own? Or will she have to choose between protecting her past and compromising her future? Even if Jasmine and Brian find the courage to stop the lies, it may be too little, too late….
In less than 200 words, we know who the main characters are, we know what they want, we know what is keeping them from having that want, and we have a sense as to why they might never get what they want.

What is your book’s back copy?  Write it.  It might change after you begin the revision and editing stages, and that’s okay.  On the other hand, having your story’s description can also help you tighten your novel by making sure everything in the story supports the “idea” behind your story.

Take the time to state your work’s genre and to write your book description.  If you want, definitely share them with me and other readers.

Thanks for checking me out @ The Write Life for You; come back next month – I’ll be talking about developing your writing style.

ChickLitGurrl ~ signing out

Shon

Shon Bacon is an author, editor, and educator.

As an author, she has published both in the creative and academic arenas.  Topics of interest include Christian, romance, and women’s fiction; inspirational non-fiction, screenwriting, and anything related to grammar.

As an editor, through her ChickLitGurrl™ brand name, Shon edits manuscripts for individual clients and small publishing houses.  Through her Writers Boot Camp, she helps new writers move from story idea to story outline in 28 days.  Shon has several online outlets that showcase her love of disseminating information about writing and writers to the public: 

As an educator, Shon is an English Specialist and mass communication instructor at McNeese State University in Louisiana.  There, she teaches freshman composition, writing for radio/TV, introduction to mass communication, and media writing.

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