Blurb Writing & Going Public!

Blurbs, those little descriptions you find on the back cover of novels. Writing one is surprisingly difficult!

In 150-200 words the most common form of blurb should state the story's premise in a way that hooks the reader, introduce the main character(s) and their world, and make the conflict and stakes clear without revealing the ending. And, the writing should have the same tone as the novel itself. I'm not sure my writing has a distinctive 'tone' yet, so that part is hard.

And then, there's editing to "pack in" all the info required. I've gone back and forth about the phrase order of each sentence multiple times, and I'm still not sure what's best.

Here's the version I started with today...

"To avoid the shame of being ‘Talent-blind’, 51-year old Seja works the farm and raises two children in solitude, until her grown son is kidnapped and she leaves everything behind to rescue him. When she learns of a dark Talent behind the kidnapping who's plotting world domination, she must find a way to unblock her elemental Talent and work with an overbearing dragon to thwart the dark Talent’s plans."

It's better than the ones before, but still not right. And it's well under 100 words. A blurb isn't meant to be a complete blow-by-blow description, but I certainly have room for more details! 

This is what I came up after a few hours, about 140 words.

"When Seja's grown son is kidnapped from his trade caravan and the Traders Guild refuses to help, 51-year old Seja leaves her quiet farming life behind to rescue him. A choice that sweeps her unknowingly into a desperate struggle against a rogue elemental Talent plotting to enslave the people of an entire continent to feed his power."

"Once a respected earth Talent, Seja's elemental abilities dried up when her husband deserted her 16 years ago. Until now she's lived alone to avoid the stigma of being 'Talent-blind'. Traveling in her country's wild mountain borderlands she encounters an inept young dragon who insists on helping, despite her protests. As they get closer to finding Seja's son, the unwilling partners learn of a merciless dark leader behind the kidnapping,  Can Seja figure out how unblock her Talent and work with an overbearing dragon before it's too late?"

I'm not happy with the last two sentences, but I also don't want to say too much about the ending. I'll have to let this percolate, see how I feel after a few weeks.

You may be thinking - what's the point of writing a blurb before the novel is done? After all, it's inevitable some aspects of the plot will change as I write. But even with changes I still need a story premise, a main character, a primary conflict, and meaningful stakes for the MC and her world. This exercise makes you think. What are the most important building blocks of my story, and how do I prioritize them. If I can't describe them in a succinct way, one or more might be too weak, or worse, missing altogether.

In other news, I've decided to make this blog public, rather than 'invite only'. I've added Followers and Subscribe gadgets to the right sidebar, under my Profile. Please consider becoming a follower/subscriber. I'd appreciate it.

I haven't been posting lately and that needs to change. There's such a long way to go on my first draft, makes it hard to think of topics to blog about. OTOH, not posting regularly means I'm losing audience (modest as it is). 

Also, I'm not sure how going public will change things for you. I'll send a last email saying there's a new post. After that, becoming a Follower or Subscriber is probably the best way to find out there's a new post.

If you have difficulty accessing the blog, please let me know! And feel free to suggest it to friends you think might be interested. Thanks for your support. 💖