I recently had two blurbs to write, one for an omnibus of my urban fantasy series, and one for an epic fantasy first-in-series. No matter that I have written more than 20 books, have been editing for three years now, and have a MSc in Applied Linguistics, every time I write a blurb I feel like I’m barely able to scrape together a decent sentence.

I’m a good writer, dammit! Writing a 150 word blurb should be child’s play, not an agonising task. Yet I still struggle.

So I thought I would procrastinate and do some research into what actually makes a good blurb. Perhaps in the course of this research, I can discover just what it is that makes a blurb so difficult to write.

In general, blurbs are about 100-150 words and sit on the back cover (or Amazon page) of a book. They are designed to hook a reader, not to summarise what happens in the book. They are generally written in third person, though this is changing with the rise of first person stories and a reader desire to know what narrative POV they’re getting into. (Some people abhor first person or third person or what have you. Me? Second person is an immediate no-go.) 

Okay, great. Sounds straightforward so far, right?

Well, there are a few other elements that are important.

For instance, the blurb has to make it clear what genre the book is. Seems simple, but when writing an epic fantasy with a romantic subplot, which is quite different from a romantic fantasy (or romantasy) with epic style, or grimdark or cosy fantasy or science fantasy or, or, or. Anyways, delivering the precise genre can be quite complicated, which is why so many authors state it outright somewhere in the blurb.

Then, perhaps equally important or more important than genre, the blurb has to introduce the characters. This, I find, is where things get tricky.

It’s not enough to simply say, “Hey, this book is about Maggie Jones and her dog Spud.” One must introduce the characters in a way that is interesting, that manages to hook the readers. That requires an introduction of the primary conflict in the story (or that the character faces within themselves). One must say, “Maggie Jones was an ordinary witch, until she started seeing the ghost of her dead dog, Spud.” 

That simple sentence introduces several key points to the story. One: Maggie Jones is a witch. Thus, fantasy. Two: she’s pretty ordinary, or so she thinks. Three: She had a dog named Spud (probably contemporary/urban fantasy then, likely with cosy elements because it’s unlikely a dark story is going to name a dog Spud). Four: Maggie can suddenly see Spud’s ghost, which means she’s not ordinary at all. It’s the “until” which is important. (Also, a book about Maggie Jones and her ghost dog Spud actually sounds quite fun. If anyone wants to write that, I would love to read it.)

After the introduction of the characters, the main conflict of the story needs to be explored more. Why is seeing Spud’s ghost so problematic? What does Maggie’s evolving magic mean? Is there something Spud is trying to warn her about? And who is that mysterious coffee-shop goer who pretends he can’t see Spud’s ghost, despite Spud barking at him non-stop? 

This part usually includes rising tension, a problem that will be solved over the course of the story. It doesn’t introduce any answers. It may expand more on characters. 

Then the last bit, the final hook as it were, has to pull the reader in. Sometimes this section asks a question: will Maggie and Spud save the town from impending doom? Sometimes it is just stating the start of an adventure, romantic entanglement, what have you. I have found that this part aligns with the “point of no return” in story structure. Our hero is going off on whatever quest/adventure awaits them and they have reached the point where they can’t go back to how things were. The only choice is to go forward, but in what direction?

I have seen a great many books that also add a final sentence that is not within the walls of the story that talks about the book. (I do this a lot, too, just to make sure that readers know what to expect.) For example: Maggie Saves the Town is a fun, quirky adventure about a witch and her ghost dog who discover that the secret to saving their precious home may lie in their own hearts. How cute! (Actually, that’s a bit soppy for my tastes, but it fits with Maggie and Spud, so it works well for providing reader expectations.)

All of these bits and pieces together form a blurb. Hook. Character. Conflict/Tension. Author/Awards/Book Expectations. The order can be variable. 

Great! That’s only a few pieces that should go together quite simply. Right? Right?!

Nope. 

As always, there is an art to writing anything, but it is especially difficult with blurbs because you are trying to reduce a novel down to 150 words. Without spoiling anything. And also you have to draw your reader in, but the right reader. It’s difficult.

This exploration didn’t actually help me write my own blurbs at all. Thankfully, I have found that editing other people’s blurbs is a lot easier, perhaps because I don’t have quite the emotional stake in the piece and can identify the things that are working for me as a reader. So I just need to get some distance from my blurbs and see what my editing skills can do.

In the mean time, here is the blurb from one of the most popular authors in fantasy: Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.” So begins one of the most beloved and delightful tales in the English language.

Set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth, at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is one of literature’s most enduring and well-loved novels. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

Written for Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic.

The post Word Nerdery: Why are Blurbs so Difficult to Write? first appeared on Tarney Brae Creative Endeavours.