Here is Part 3 of Bromwyn Storms 3 part series on writing blurbs. You can start the series with Part 1.
PART THREE: TROUBLE-SHOOTING
If you’re having troubles writing a blurb that really nails your story idea, try writing the non-blurb. If your story is a dark, serious one, try a paragraph that describes it as a farce. Perhaps by writing what your story isn’t, you can figure out what your story is.
If we take the above blurb and twist the details (changes are in caps), we get:
The move from NEW YORK to Miami was supposed to bring peace and calm, but for the past three months, Angel Baxter’s been ON THE RECEIVING END OF CRUEL PRANKS. Between ripped up azalea bushes, wrecked bird baths, and POISONED OAK TREES, Angel’s nerves are SHOT AND SHE’S THINKING OF MOVING, JUST TO GET AWAY FROM THE UNKNOWN PRANKSTER. But help shows up in the MOST UN-EXPECTED WAY: Harry Garret, the NEW NEIGHBOR NEXT-DOOR. The DETECTIVE offers his HELP IN FINDING THE CULPRIT. SOON, AFTERNOON MEETINGS TURN INTO ROMANTIC EVENINGS. But when ANGEL’S KIDNAPPED BY THE STALKER, will SHE lose out on MORE THAN A CHANCE AT LOVE, BUT ON HER LIFE, AS WELL?
Hopefully, you can see by changing the wording, the job occupation, and excluding certain characters, the tone of the story shifts dramatically. This no longer reads like a light-hearted, funny story, but something far darker. Remember, the questions will get you the framework, the details will give you the voice.
Back to Love in Miami. As you can see, there’s still work to do. I want to think about that fourth sentence. If my crit partners and editor give the okay, then I’ll leave it. If not, it’ll have to go through the grinder, once more. But that’s what makes us writers so determined (and insane). Going back and editing…and editing…did I mention the editing?
My fellow crazies, may your blurbs write themselves, and may you never lack for chocolate. And if you can only have one, then may you have closets of chocolate (heck, the blurbs have never written themselves before, why should they start now)?
Reprinted with permission. Bronwyn Storm is a super-hero in training—hey, one day being a klutz will be a superpower…if she doesn’t break anything vital in the meantime. When not tripping over her feet, she writes for The Wild Rose Press and plays butler and cuddler to her furry boys.
