After seeing the Nanowrimo blog post about 30 Covers, 30 Days, I thought: maybe I should work on my "synopsis". In this case, I'm interpreting "synopsis" as "blurb"--a real synopsis of a novel would probably end up around two or three pages long with every plot point, plot twist, and the ending revealed. An agent or editor would want all the spoilers so that they could figure out whether or not they could sell the sucker. In the case of putting things up on a Nanowrimo profile, I don't think anyone wants to be immediately bombarded with all of that. Most people have short attention spans and just want something short and intriguing.
So here's my blurb for Winter on a Watch Glass:
Greta Silber only wanted to pay back her father's gambling debts before moving north to set up a small apothecary shop of her own. However, settling a debt with the enigmatic Margrave of Baden isn't so easy. Because in a dark city ruled by a mad count and gripped by an unnatural winter, one can't always assume that reimbursement can be done in gold...
I once tried changing the character's name to Gerda, but she was having none of that. So Greta it is.
As for getting a cover, I seriously doubt it. Because 1) I live in the United States where the most Nano participants reside. They're trying to look for people all over the world. People living in Singapore or Ireland are more likely to win. 2) This year I'm writing fantasy. Fantasy is the most popular genre--and they're looking for people writing in wacky genres. 3) They're looking for stories that are easily rendered into a cool cover. My story isn't like that. Unless I put in something gratuitous like flying squids devouring banana plantations in Iceland. 4) Being user #42 and on the first page under the author search has never garnered me much luck or any number of site visitors. And 5) Maybe being a municipal liaison actually disqualifies me from all of this.
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I've been dabbling a little with an online mind-mapping tool called Bubbl.us (via .Curse.Of.The.Stars.). It's nifty, but I have yet to find a use for it in my plot. Magic system? Interpersonal relationships? Subplots?
And for the random generator mad, there's Chaotic Shiny (via Kateness). I think if someone gave that site some sort of AI capability, it might even start churning out novels of its own.
