I’m way behind schedule when it comes to getting my MS entry ready for contests this year. The entry itself is set – it’s the synopsis that has me reeling.

I did the same thing last year. Waited until the last minute, then panicked (I didn’t even include it for one entry – I just didn’t want to write it).

But I remember the synopsis I did write: it started off on track with my MS, then veered in another direction. The same thing has happened this year. And you know what I’ve discovered? The synopsis is better than what I’ve got written!

I’ve been really struggling recently when I write. I know where the story starts and where it ends. I have a rough idea of most of the middle…but I’m currently at point D trying to get to point H and have NO IDEA of how to get there. As I wrote my synopsis I realized that I had jumped over to point 23 and wasn’t even on the right grid anymore!

So now I’m in an uncomfortable position – I’m over 1/2 done with a manuscript that I scrapped last year and started again, but now I realize that I have to cut about 1/3 of what I’ve written. Bitter sweet. All of those hours – gone. But…I’ll have a better novel.

And I really wish I could thank my critique group for this…I wish I could thank my husband…I wish I could than my cats! Instead, I have to thank that gut-wrenching synopsis. The mind numbing compression of 60,000 words into 600 words. The stress of making an accurate representation of months (or years) of hard word.

Synopsis, I hate you. Thank you.