My synopsis
Maddwriter, thank you for that, but the last time I made a post referencing what my story was about, people responded somewhat negatively. Now when I ask a question, I try not to relate it back to what I am writing about. I am not complaining about the people in this forum. I actually got very encouraging and constructive feedback when I posted some excerpts in SYW, and someone who read my entire WIP loved it. So I basically came to the conclusion that I am not very good at explaining my story. I hope to get better at this if/when I write my query letter. But for now, I hope that this can help you decide what category this fits into:
Ellen is 33 and lives with her boyfriend, Ted. She supports him while he is allegedly writing his first novel. She agreed to this with the intention of one day writing her own. But since his novel never happened, she has come to accept that hers never will either.
However, this is not good enough for Margot Tallent, a former college classmate of Ellen's who became a publisher. Margot kidnaps Ellen and forces her to write a novel. The reason why Margot is doing this is because she believes she is destined to publish a great literary work, and that Ellen is the writer she has looked for who is destined to write it. She believes that Ellen doesn't know yet how important it is that she write this novel, but if she gives her a little push--locking her in a room with a computer--that she will begin to see the light. She refuses to feed Ellen anything but ramen noodles so that she can "think like a starving artist."
To give her a little motivation and something to write about, Margot forces Ellen to go on a lunch date with Jeremy, the cute boy who works at the grocery store near Ellen's apartment building. The date doesn't go very well, because Ellen is so hungry, after having eaten nothing but ramen noodles for days. She cannot pay attention to Jeremy, but only to how hungry she is.
Meanwhile, Ted does not notice Ellen is missing for a few days, because he keeps falling asleep/getting drunk/waking up and assuming she is at work or sleeping in the other room.
When Ellen comes back from her date, she begins writing a bizarre stream of consciousness story, and really begins to lose it. She uses her full notebook pages and printed computer pages to make wallpaper, blankets, and pillows. She has favorite pages she likes to sleep on and talk to. When she gets lonely, she starts to talk to her characters.
My friend who read it said that it was equal parts funny and suspenseful, sort of a dark comedy. The subplot about Ellen's attraction to Jeremy vs. her dull boyfriend is important, but probably not important enough for it to be a romance.
