If you detected a whiff of guilt yesterday about not having time to work on the novel, you weren’t imagining things. Thought about the dreaded writing guilt on my way to the Halloween party last night. Guilt of any sort is like a haunted house of the mind.
One reason not to feel guilty is because, hey, I finished the novel. It’s done. The all important first page is revised as it’s ever gonna get, and so are the first two scenes. Yes, I’ve got to work on the third scene a bit, but after two days of drafting, it probably needs to sit on the corner of the desk. Not until it grows cobwebs, just until next week.
Yes, I’ve got to complete the synopsis, but the girls in the basement are on it. I have every confidence that they aren’t as confused about synopses as I am. The thing with synopses is, they are by nature the most boring fucking things you ever want to read. One editor recently suggested in print that a single page “written in strong marketing language” will more easily get an editor’s attention.
I don’t know what “marketing language” is beyond her examples: “a torrid affair” and “laugh-out-loud situation.” This to me suggests marketing language is full of cliches. Oh yeah, every editor loves a cliche. And my name is Erica Jong.
This cliche-loving editor did say one thing that made sense…”write the synopsis in the voice of the main character.” That I like. So do the girls. I can just tell.
Another reason for ditching the guilt: writing newsletters and book reviews and yes, even blogs, is still writing. Right?
Happy Halloween.