Synopsize Me, Baby (NaNo 2016)

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Sage

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A place to share your NaNo plot or perhaps practice your 30 Days, 30 Covers pitch.

I'll share when I have character names :greenie
 

GeneBWell

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Here's my one-sentence description:

Pokémon meets Iron Chef as young Soufflé enlists the aid of magical creatures to make a masterpiece for a cooking competition that will decide the destiny of her people in WILD BRIGADE.

I'll post a more detailed synopsis as I flesh out the outline of the book.
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Gene: Sold sold sold sold sold. Give it to me nao!

Mine isn't the best synopsis. People seem to be getting a lot more "psychological thriller" out of it than "portal fantasy" which isn't what I was going for, but...

Echo:
When Chloe Close was thirteen years old, she was kidnapped and held hostage. To repress the horrors of her ordeal, she made up a fantastical world where she was destined to be queen, with a handsome farmboy, a loyal soldier, and a whole army behind her to overthrow the evil king. At least, that's what the psychologists told her happened. She could have sworn it was real, but "memory can be deceptive in situations of trauma."

Thirteen years later, Chloe is a child's advocate and an occasional guest on the talk show circuit. In a few days, her elderly kidnapper will be executed after all this time on Death Row, and she'll finally be able to let go of the past. Until the soldier walks into her office and falls to his knees begging her to come back to her kingdom. And where is the old advisor who escorted her home?


It was real. It was all real. And her absence has driven her old boyfriend mad while he ruled in her stead. She's the only one who can fix the mess she left behind. But she's got a life now, one she can't easily give up like she did as a kid. Plus, there's the whole thing of getting an innocent man off Death Row. Why did it seem so much easier to save the world at thirteen?
 
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Matt T.

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I'll post mine when I have a more concrete idea for the story that extends beyond the first two chapters. :tongue It's odd; I just finished my current WIP and have been sending it off to betas, so I thought I wouldn't be doing any writing for a while, but I'm already itching to do something writing-related.

When Chloe Close was thirteen years old, she was kidnapped and held hostage. To repress the horrors of her ordeal, she made up a fantastical world where she was destined to be queen, with a handsome farmboy, a loyal soldier, and a whole army behind her to overthrow the evil king. At least, that's what the psychologists told her happened. She could have sworn it was real, but "memory can be deceptive in situations of trauma."

Thirteen years later, Chloe is a child's advocate and an occasional guest on the talk show circuit. In a few days, her elderly kidnapper will be executed after all this time on Death Row, and she'll finally be able to let go of the past. Until the soldier walks into her office and falls to his knees begging her to come back to her kingdom. And where is the old advisor who escorted her home?

It was real. It was all real. And her absence has driven her old boyfriend mad while he ruled in her stead. She's the only one who can fix the mess she left behind. But she's got a life now, one she can't easily give up like she did as a kid. Plus, there's the whole thing of getting an innocent man off Death Row. Why did it seem so much easier to save the world at thirteen?

I like the sound of this, but I agree the genre is a little muddled. Going off the first paragraph, I'd fully expect a psychological thriller that plays with the idea of what is real and what isn't, but that all changes when we reach the third paragraph, which sounds like a more lighthearted fantasy tale. That aside, it sounds cool!

Also, is the repetition of the number thirteen intentional? I didn't know if it was, but I still thought it was a nice touch.
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Also, is the repetition of the number thirteen intentional? I didn't know if it was, but I still thought it was a nice touch.

Yeah, repetition's going to be a theme through the story, hence the title. Her story as a adult will mirror the adventure she had as a child, and I'm hoping to actually showcase both through flashbacks, showing what she did at 13 and how the world was affected by those actions or how it changed over time. Should be fun. :)

I think I know what I need to do to change that first paragraph. Instead of focusing on the "kidnapping" to make it seem real, I need to focus on the childhood adventure an THEN bring in the false psychological element.
 

paddismac

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<trip-traps in and gives a huge side-eye to the over-achievers who already have their synopsis written>

I seriously don't know why this part of it is so hard for me. I know my story and my characters better than I know my own life, but to condense it... <sigh> IT ALL SOUNDS SO STUPID!!!!

For the 30/30 Covers Pitch, I saw somewhere a mention of a max of 750 characters... does anyone know if that's correct?
 

Maggie Maxwell

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<trip-traps in and gives a huge side-eye to the over-achievers who already have their synopsis written>

I seriously don't know why this part of it is so hard for me. I know my story and my characters better than I know my own life, but to condense it... <sigh> IT ALL SOUNDS SO STUPID!!!!

For the 30/30 Covers Pitch, I saw somewhere a mention of a max of 750 characters... does anyone know if that's correct?

It's actually 720. So tough to cut down!
 

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Maggie, I LOVE the idea of a portal fantasy "after story". That's a really fresh angle!

Mine is a little vague since I'm still working out the external stuff, but I've got a strong sense of the MC's internal arc which is making things come together way faster than usual.

Five years ago, Felisa stood up to her conquerors by unchaining war slaves and escaping into the night. Now, she's a reluctant recruit of a mercenary company, a citizen of nowhere, armed with a halberd and an oath to the god of liberation and the open road. But contract by contract, she finds herself back in the war-torn plains she once fled. While fulfilling the company's latest contract - the rescue of a Great One's daughter -- she finds an old friend amidst the prisoners of war, and learns that the people closest to her paid the price for her one night of rebellion. They live, or die, as slaves to lords of war, of coin, of the fighting pits.

Beholden to no one but the divine, Felisa nevertheless can't be free until the people who trusted her -- the people she left behind -- are too. But to do that, she'll have to take on a role she'd long ago decided she was unworthy of: that of a leader.
 

AnnieColleen

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Portal fantasy after-story: Every Heart a Doorway has a different angle on this. Definitely a fun idea.



Prodigal:
When Rilla Denau signed on as farmhand, the sea-floor vineyards of Bendice meant escape - from famine, from deaths, from notoriety. Down here, the past stops at last shift's harvest, and the future doesn't stretch beyond the next storm.

When the storm hits, orders come to batten down. Keep to barracks, even though a crew transport is overdue. Even after it's plain that something's badly wrong. Rilla protests: she won't abandon anyone to the storm. The rest of the crews, it turns out, feel just as mutinous. With their transports locked down, they'll walk the sea floor to bring the lost ones home.

Just one problem: the stranded crew boss refuses rescue. Unless orders change, he'll sit where he is until he starves or smothers. And this time, only Rilla seems to have objections.
 

Melanii

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Here's an (awful) summary I whipped up yesterday:

It's set in the "distant future" (aka the technology is better). Some of the main characters enter themselves into a "virtual reality" machine for an a supposed social experiment-thingy.

Inside of this VR they are "pretending" to be soldiers/warriors battling demonic creatures in a hellish dimension.

When one of them dies, they are not seen again in RL.

The REAL DEALIO is that they REALLY ARE being transported into this hellish dimension, but not really to fight. But to search for something, or spying because they're interested in the place.

In RL these demons will eventually show up through a black void in the sky and some sort of end-of-the-world scenario will occur.

I'm actually seeking a title so I can get a NaNoWriMo cover and get more motivated, so any idea are appreciated~
 

Sage

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I like THE REAL DEALIO, lol.

Or IRL.
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Here's an (awful) summary I whipped up yesterday:

It's set in the "distant future" (aka the technology is better). Some of the main characters enter themselves into a "virtual reality" machine for an a supposed social experiment-thingy.

Inside of this VR they are "pretending" to be soldiers/warriors battling demonic creatures in a hellish dimension.

When one of them dies, they are not seen again in RL.

The REAL DEALIO is that they REALLY ARE being transported into this hellish dimension, but not really to fight. But to search for something, or spying because they're interested in the place.

In RL these demons will eventually show up through a black void in the sky and some sort of end-of-the-world scenario will occur.

I'm actually seeking a title so I can get a NaNoWriMo cover and get more motivated, so any idea are appreciated~

Virtually Hellish?
 

Sage

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Melanii, what was your inspiration for the novel. I usually get my titles from my inspiration...except for everything in my signature, lol.
 

Sage

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I'm not even kidding here:

Dreaming Doom
 

KateSmash

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How about a title that references Doom?

The only thing leaping to mind right now is the final act of the original game. If I remember correctly (it's been a while), it was something along the lines of Thy Flesh Consumed or something. Which sounds way too formal for your needs.
 

JFitchett92

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So I've been working on this novel for 5 years and I've always found it difficult to write a short synopsis for it, but this is my first real try:

Noah. Mankind's newest home where the children are the future. Literally.

Those born on Noah are filled with energy, so much so that their bodies glow with an intense aura. Powerful, efficient and virtually unlimited, but how do you make use of the energy from these children? Well, the Regime found an answer to that.

16 year old Vegas finds herself imprisoned, the energy drained from her body daily by intrusive machinery. She knew she was to be taken, but a supposed quick and painless death has turned into 5 years of torture. Until they found her. The Resistance, a faction consisting of glowing children, who plan to expose the Regime and it's not-so-benevolent leader, President Ignatius.

Now reunited with her family, Vegas decides to fight alongside them, but her ties with The Resistance go deeper than she could ever imagine and she soon discovers that her estranged father has been keeping secrets of his own.
 

JulianneQJohnson

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My Novel is Nick of Time (working title, not sure about it.)

Short description: Nick Callaghan's life has become a series of strange coincidences. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, Nick always finds himself in a position to help others when they need it most. From saving a woman from choking to grabbing a child in a broken roller-coaster car, Nick's life is constant chaos. The old Chinese curse says, "May you live in interesting times," but Nick is second generation Irish. He has no idea what sort of force could have turned him into the world's guardian angel, but he wants it to stop. There's one person who knows what Irish legend he's fallen afoul of, and Grandmother isn't talking.

One line description: Nick has to save people every damn day.
 

JulianneQJohnson

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He'd feel bad. He'd probably cry. (Even though he's all manly.) That's the rub, isn't it? But if the kid next to you in the roller-coaster car is falling out, and you're right there, because these things always happen when you're right there, then you have a choice. You can either do something about it, or ignore it. But ignoring it kinda turns you into someone you don't want to know. As weary as you are of the saving, and the adrenaline, and the constant disruption of your life, you don't want to look in the mirror and see a monster.
 

Mary Love

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This girl's nano project has no title or synopsis (boo), but here's something like a twitter pitch:

"A price fights to take back what was stolen from his family, only to uncover that conquerors aren't all evil and victims aren't all innocent."

Yeah, vague as heck but that's kinda where I'm at.
 
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