Description
Has your fiction manuscript been rejected by literary agents or traditional publishing houses, and you’re not sure why? Do you feel something’s “off” with your novel, but you don’t know what?
Sometimes the problem isn’t the writing—it’s the characterization or the overall story structure.
If you think this might be a problem with your manuscript, you don’t want to pay for a freelance editor when you could fix those story elements yourself.
Story Sensei Synopsis worksheet:
The Story Sensei’s Synopsis worksheet was designed as a way for fiction writers to not only write a synopsis, but also doctor their own manuscript by utilizing a large-scale, bird’s eye view of their stories. This different way of looking at your novel can often point out flaws in character arcs, major plot points, and overall story structure.
The exercises in this worksheet will ensure that your story structure has all the vital elements, including:
—character external goal
—internal/spiritual arc
—obstacles
—conflict
—climax
—resolution
This worksheet will guide you through writing your synopsis. Don’t have a completed manuscript? No problem—as long as you’re familiar with the main points of your story, you can still write a synopsis using this worksheet. It may even help you craft your story and fill in missing pieces as you write the synopsis.
Camy uses examples from proposals for her own novels, which garnered her contracts with Christian publishers Zondervan (HarperCollins) and Love Inspired Suspense (Harlequin). There is also a special section on spiritual/internal arcs, since Christian novels tend to have strong spiritual threads in the stories.
Even if your story is not inspirational, the internal arc section will help you outline a strong internal arc for your character or troubleshoot if the internal arc has some weaknesses.
This version of the Synopsis worksheet includes:
—Extra examples
—Tips on trimming synopses
—Exercises on chapter-by-chapter and character synopses
Also in this version is an appendix of extra articles including:
—The 50-word elevator pitch
—Story blurbs, including the ones used in Camy’s original proposal for her Inspirational chick-lit Sushi series, which she submitted to Zondervan
—The basic structure of a proposal
—The example of Camy’s original proposal for her Inspirational romantic suspense Protection for Hire series, which she submitted to Zondervan
Story Sensei Heroine’s Journey worksheet
Make your character’s story arc resonate more emotionally with readers.
What is the Heroine’s Journey?
Joseph Campbell originally wrote about the Hero’s Journey in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, as a psychological analysis of the classical myth formula. Maureen Murdock took Campbell’s work, her own psychology experience, and other psychoanalytical writings and world myths to develop The Heroine’s Journey for women.
Often, a male and female character will respond differently to conflict in a story because culture and time period will affect a character differently due to gender. As a result, their internal story arcs will differ according to gender, also.
Whether in romances or women’s fiction, often a heroine’s story arc is more about internal awakening as opposed to the “quest” style of the Hero’s Journey. This makes the Heroine’s Journey a good template for a heroine’s story arc.
If readers comment that there’s “something off” with a character’s story arc, the Heroine’s Journey applied to a heroine will often make her story more psychologically resonant and satisfying for a reader.
This worksheet consists of the Heroine’s Journey explained in detail, questions for you to answer about your heroine, and examples to explain each stage of the Heroine’s Journey. It will guide you in an easy way toward applying the Heroine’s Journey structure for your heroine.
This worksheet will help you:
—Create a more emotionally resonant internal arc for your heroine
—Or change up your hero’s internal journey with one of self-discovery by applying the Heroine’s Journey to his story arc
—Fix and strengthen disjointed character development
—Manipulate and strengthen story pacing
—Keep a character’s internal arc in a forward-moving motion rather than stagnating
—Build the internal arc toward the “Black Moment” crisis
—Draw the internal arc full circle in a way that will satisfy readers
—Use the Heroine’s Journey even in a romance where there’s also a hero taking up 50% of the book
—Double-check that the external events in the story are fueling and forwarding the character’s internal arc
—Revise a synopsis or a completed manuscript
Please note: this tool is not meant to replace a synopsis because it doesn’t focus as strongly on the external events and conflicts in the story—it’s more focused on the internal events and internal conflicts of your heroine.
This worksheet was created by utilizing the compilation of information on the Heroine’s Journey derived not only from Maureen Murdock’s book, but also other psychology writings and an understanding of Joseph Campbell’s original Hero’s Journey. This newly revised edition includes extra examples for each stage of the Heroine’s Journey and more detail on previous examples.
Are you unsure why your heroine’s emotional story doesn’t strike the right chord with readers? This worksheet will help set you on the right track.
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