Friday's Food For Thought

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"Agents and editors often ignore synopses and plot outlines; instead, we skip right to the actual manuscript. If the writing is good, then we'll go back and consider the synopsis. If not, the manuscript is discarded." ~The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.

Comments

  1. Jobove - ReusMay 28, 2010 at 8:51 AM

    very good blog, congratulations
    regard from Reus Catalonia
    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karlene PetittMay 28, 2010 at 9:20 AM

    This is short...but very sweet! And smart!

    ReplyDelete
  3. HeatherMay 28, 2010 at 9:29 AM

    Thank you for the kind compliment Te la ma Maria! And thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HeatherMay 28, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    Sorry it's so short Karlene. I can't step away from my WIP long enough to write a full blown blog post today. The words are flowing too well and are demanding my attention! Love it when that happens!

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  5. Christina LeeMay 28, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    good stuff! yep it's all about the writing!;-)

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  6. HeatherMay 28, 2010 at 10:44 AM

    So true Christina! If the writing doesn't measure up no one will care how great the plot is.

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  7. Alissa GrossoMay 28, 2010 at 10:44 AM

    Good to know since I tend to be pretty horrible at writing outlines.

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  8. PortiaMay 28, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    Good one! I love Lukeman. But I confess, when I first read his book he terrified me. So many things to remember—and so many ways to mess up :-)

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  9. HeatherMay 28, 2010 at 11:32 AM

    I know huh Alissa? I hate outlines! When my agent asked for one I about went into a panic cause it was aweful!

    Lukeman's book terrified me too at first Portia. One of the biggest mistakes he pointed out, I was making! The best advice I can give is to go through your novel with one chapter of that book in mind at a time, then repeat with the next chapter, and the next! Baby steps!

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  10. AnonymousMay 28, 2010 at 1:21 PM

    Good one! I'll keep that in mind and maybe pick up the book too, thanks!

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  11. Lisa Gail GreenMay 28, 2010 at 4:19 PM

    I KNEW I heard that somewhere!! Good info. Short and sweet. I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. HeatherMay 28, 2010 at 5:20 PM

    You'll love it Fida, it was a huge help to me!

    Yeah Lisa, I can hardly pull myself away from my manuscript today. But I had to post something to let you guys know I'm thinking of you!

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  13. Lindsey EdwardsMay 29, 2010 at 8:18 AM

    I like this qoute from the book very much! And I def agree with him. It's all about the book! Also LOVE The First Five Pages. Was the very first writing book I ever read. Bought myself a copy in Hawaii so I could stop renting it from the library.

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  14. HeatherMay 29, 2010 at 9:13 PM

    True Lindsey. It's a shame more agents don't ask for pages along with the query because it's so hard to tell from a query. I bet there's some writer that goes to that library who is very happy you bought that book! LOL!

    ReplyDelete

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