I just discovered this document recently and I just want to share this with everyone.

It's actually from Oz (Australian Film Commision) but this is just so helpful for anybody. Now I have a template and guide when filling up endless forms asking for summaries and treatments and stories of our movies.

It's very basic, which is why I love it.

A book about depression. I will use my own experience, tips that have and haven’t helped me, as well as taking the point of view of BOTH nurture and nature as causes. Essentially this isn’t a self help book, it is more of an autobiography and companion – something to let people out there know that they aren’t alone, there are plenty of barmy nutters out there!

Format:

Autobiographical chapters interspersed with chapters covering tips, biology, advice, individual experiences.

I plan to product a more detailed plan soon - but this sets out the original idea of the book in simple terms...

Concepts are only good for so much. Whilst a groundbreaking idea may signal an impending gold-rush, the reality often seems to be a lot harder than that original burst of thought. Hey, if you are really good at what you do you may be able to bang off a thriller in a few weeks - so method writing, often without any blazing moment of inspiration, can work just as well.

For those of us having ideas, rather than just a fantastic frame and dogged determination, I think the next stage has to be organisation.

Especially for the non-fictional market, I think the course of the book needs to be planned, a synopsis needs to be drawn up. This may, of course, change completely by the time you reach the end, but a vague structure and set of intentions will hopefully bring much needed organisation to your brilliant whim.

So there is my intention. In the next couple of weeks I will set out a synopsis, copyright it, and place the skeleton of it on here. You have to understand that I can't show you all of what I have written, in case I do become an award winning multi-million selling author. Or because of the slightly more likely occurrence of some Internet pirate stealing the idea and doing it far better than I could have done. It's a cat eat cat world.

I will keep you up to date on the ups and downs of this synopsis-development.

If you've never commented before but often thought you might sometime, now is when I could really use your help. One simple question. Does reading the synopsis make you interested in the book?

Tagline: The Message is a story of faith, love and serial killing.

Blurb: Greg and Allie, partners in preaching, are unexpectedly gifted with special powers and a mission to stop a serial killer. But if their gifts come from God, where do the killer’s gifts come from? Will Greg fight his way through a crisis of faith in time to save Allie’s life?

SYNOPSIS

Bluff, opinionated pastor Greg Sanderson has a strong faith, which sustained him through the recent tragic death of his wife Diane. Despite his dislike of his New-Age younger associate pastor Alexandra Morgan, he has a good strong relationship with his church, St. Andrew’s Methodist.

Until he collapses backward mid-sermon, in the grip of a powerful, incomprehensible vision. Shortly after that, he begins seeing the ghost of his wife. Diane cannot speak, but points urgently away. Worried for his sanity, Greg contacts old friend and counselor Dr. Ames. The morning after his single session, Greg finds himself arrested for the brutal torture and murder of Dr. Ames. Details of the crime scene include a bloody handprint deliberately left on the victim’s chest.

Released on lack of evidence, Greg is confronted by his associate pastor Allie, who appears to be losing her mind. She reveals that a miraculous power of healing has come to her, and needs Greg to assure her it is from God, not the Devil. Experimentation convinces Allie that Greg’s ghost is in fact a compass pointer, and that the two of them have been given a mission, although not an explanation. The light they create together seals them as partners—in her mind, at least. Greg, however, is profoundly distressed to find that it’s not really Diane’s ghost communicating with him. He does not want Allie as his partner in any mission, God-given or otherwise.

David Roberts, a special FBI agent of friendly and wry disposition, arrives to question Greg. There has been another killing, also involving the bloody handprint, and he has been sent to investigate it as a serial murder. On the basis of this news, Allie persuades Greg to try again.

Following Greg’s pointer, the two surprise a homeless man in his lair. He flees, leaving behind a videocassette and proof that Greg’s ghost compass can find him. On the video, the killer gloats and demonstrates a special knowledge that drives Greg into a crisis of faith. He sends Allie away, rejecting her violently.

Agent Roberts returns, now with a copy of the videotape found at the scene. The killer attacks, succeeding in cutting off Roberts’ hand. He flees in apparent terror of the helpless Greg and Roberts, both of whom he has immobilized with his own special power.

Allie, with unexpected authority and compelling passion, invades Greg’s home and uses his own sermons against him. Though still trapped in his sorrow and professing hatred for God, Greg is shamed into agreeing to help her. Together they win Roberts over to their cause.

Allie’s estranged father, Dr. Morgan, a Bible-pounding fire and brimstone preacher, turns up on her doorstep. Dying of cancer, he seeks to use his own illness to win her back to the Fundamentalist fold. Allie heals him against his will, only to lose him at once as the killer kidnaps him, leaving another videotape behind.

Under suspicion now and on the run, Greg, Allie and Roberts attempt to track the killer down, finding only more victims. They take refuge with a friend, where the killer contacts them, offering to trade Allie for her father. It’s clear the killer will immediately destroy her.

Although Allie’s father blames her for all this, and remains convinced she’s a tool of Satan, Allie wants to save him. Following the killer’s instructions, she leaves Greg behind. Realizing how much Allie has come to mean to him, Greg is desperate to find her. The killer refuses to tell where they are, but reveals his identity and his connection to Greg’s past. This only pushes Greg further into despair.

Greg’s hatred of God, loss of Diane, love for Allie, fury at himself and the killer, all come to a head. Giving up, giving everything back, he opens himself to God and is given, rather than reassurance that everything will be all right, a blessed helplessness. Falling to his knees a man without hope or help, he rises a paladin, a saint, a man in the hands of God, bearer and steward of a great gift and a great message. This he carries to his congregation, calling on all of them to enter that special state of prayer he knows about, to send their spiritual power to him and Allie to aid them in the coming confrontation.

With new power and new allies, Greg is able to find the killer and his immobilized hostages. Dr. Morgan, released in trade for his daughter, has been redeeming his debt by holding the killer’s attention in a game of cat and mouse, until Greg could get there.

The showdown is deadly. Greg and Allie, despite their combined light, cannot stop the killer from stabbing Agent Roberts. At the last moment before he does the same to Allie, the pair discover how to use his own black light against him and imprison him. Then it becomes a battle of faith, of will and ultimately of love. Greg and Allie pour their mingled light and the power of a churchful of prayer into the healing. The killer’s black fire burns white at last.

In this moment of clarity, the once-insane killer realizes this cannot last. There is only one way to save lives, pay for his crimes, and go to his God. In a moment of redemption, sacrifice and fire, he gives himself away.

The two and their healed companions return to the church. Together Greg and Allie preach their best message ever. Shortly afterward, they are married. Their partnership and their sacred mission will continue for the rest of their lives.

If you need to be a reader to be a good writer (and you do)... and you need to read a lot of the type of fiction you want to write (and you do)... then in order to write a good synopsis, what I need is to read a great many synopses.

But where are they? There don't seem to be lists of them. You can get a few sample cover letters for submissions here and there. You can get blurbs on the back of any novel--some good, some hideous. But no big collections of synopses posted on the web. It's the Hidden Step.

Anyone know of any?

What is the best way to write one of these so that it will entice a reader, but not spoil the surprises of the story?

Of course, there are a few other contests. Some involve only the synopsis or the query letter for a manuscript. Those, too, are difficult to write. (You seldom read the word synopsis in an article about writing without reading "dreaded" before it.)

So . . . what do you do if you want to write? You bite the bullet and try. Give it your best shot. Sweat blood. Then send it to your most trusted friend(s) to critique, tear apart and put back together.

Enjoyable? Not for a minute. I have a friend whose first chapter I just critiqued and, of course, made some suggestions. She wrote me back that she really appreciated those suggestions when she got through throwing a fit, rolling on the floor and screaming to the heavens that she hated me. (Okay, I embellished, but I have the feeling she was being nice when she told me about it.)

Do I mind? Not a bit because I want to see her publish that first book. I want to have another friend who's a famous romance writer. And the only way I know to do that is to write those damned firsts again and again until we make them the best they can be.

Will the firsts get easier? I hope so! I see other writers who toss them out without so much as a blink of the eye.

Jaci Burton wrote an entire 30,000 word novella last week.

I've seen Marilyn Pappano write an entire Silhouette in three weeks' time.

So apparently, it can be done. I just don't know how many books I'll have to write to be able to do it.

 I am here desirous to find a faithful publisher for my book.... What useful counsel can you give to me.

I'm not sure what is meant by faithful publisher but finding a publisher is a mixture of you wanting them and them wanting you. There are literally thousands of publishers. There are some that publish all types and genres and others that specialize. So the first thing to do is figure out if your book is a how-to, a biography, history, fantasy, romance, literary, sports, spiritual, etc.

Once you know who your reading audience is, you can then research publishers. Writer's Digestputs out a series of books on markets. They're specific, such as, literary markets, short story markets, romance markets, etc. These books give good information on how to write a query letter, which is the first step to what to include in your submission package. Some publishers only want a query letter. Others want a letter, a synopsis and the first three chapters. Some only want agented submissions, which means you must go through the process of querying agents first. It's best to read up on what the publisher wants first. They received hundreds of manuscripts and someone who hasn't bothered to research the market and sends something in the wrong format or way is likely to piss off an editor and have their manuscript tossed.

Writer's Digest also lists publishers and markets, giving short descriptions, addresses and editor names. It's good to read up on the advice and then to start submitting. It's important to make sure you submit your manuscripts in the proper format, which in most cases is double spaced text, no extra space between paragraphs, regular font and size, no right justification, word count, page numbering and name. There is enough information out there that tells you what to send and what not to.

Outlines by chapter, or synopses also are often required so make sure they're laid out well and contain what is the main action/point of each chapter. Taking courses or workshopping manuscripts as well as outlines is not a bad idea. And of course, making sure your manuscript is polished and free of as many grammatical and spelling errors as possible does improve your chances.

Besides researching the right publisher for your manuscript, it's not a bad idea to check the legitimacy and publishing record of a publisher. Find out what they've published and do internet searches both on the publisher name and the book titles they've put out. There are vanity presses that charge you to put everything together. Your chances of making a profit are small. There are print on demand publishers that will work out a deal for self-publishing but depending on how they're set up, you will need to figure out how to advertise and distribute your book. Unless you know what you're doing, you could have some very expensive doorstops and going with established well known publishers with marketing departments and established distribution is worth it's weight in gold.

I once edited a book for a friend who was writing a guide on places to walk your dog. He did his own layout and found a printer. Then he found a local book rep who would market it to the bookstores and see to distribution through a local book distributor. That worked well but the book was locally focused. In most cases you're going to want national distribution if you hope to make any money or sell your book.

Then all you have to do is keep submitting your book to publishers until they bite. Sometimes they'll ask to see a few chapters, and then they may ask to see a full manuscript. This process can take months. Expect the average of three months before seeing a reply to even a query. It's best to send out query letters to many publishers at once. Persevere. Like writing it takes work to get published and some is just the persistence of sending out your manuscript until you hit the right publisher at the right time.

http://www.writersdigest.com/GeneralMenu/

Set at unknown time, it is about life of students at Acriminixiel Elite International Academy located at Acrimi Island. There, all of the students are picked according to their own unique ability and everyone represents something. But what happens when every student has their own unique behavior too?

Characters

Creshamiera Fermin
-16
-Acrobatic-genius

Dylan Wormickhschwezn
-15
-Has the power to control tree leaves and can revive dead trees

Crystalleen Barker
-15
-Science-genius

Arienne Windspear
-15
-Literature-genius

Emyrine Morlake
-15
-Mathematics-genius

Ariscard Chronorelle
-17
-Can perform alchemy

Koushinku Yuranozuka
-18
-Unknown ability

Nur Syuraini bt. Sulaiman
-17
-unknown ability

Klesterine Morlake
-18
-Can make people love him

Jasminiane Amistelle
-18
-Tennis-genius

Rainess Vanilly
-11
-Can control weather

Flester Vanilly
-10
-Can control ice element

Audiere Treshold
-10
-Can use empathy and is genius in Mathematics, Science, Arts, Music, Literature, Language, Design.

Micleez Vanilly
-9
-Can control blue fire

Everald Vanilly
-11
-Can foretell future

Clauristrine Barker
-17
-Can read people's heart, Art-genius

Lectrislen Abseaven
-17
-Art and animation-genius

Alumitrity Goshiere
-16
-Can manipulate people's memory

Claumerile Vanilly
-17
-Can turn things into magnet

Daren Dakarai
-19
-Unknown ability

Nisha Avani
-15
-Unknown ability

Dante Matteo
-17
-Sword fighting-genius

Miguel Ivan Ezequiel
-10
-Archery-genius

Rafael Reyes Lorenzo
-17
-Can give life to the dead

Adair Ea Wynne
-10
-Can control fire element, History-genius

Airell Arthur Tiernan
-16
-Unknown ability

Liezel Hide Rainhard
-14
-Unknown ability

Muhammad Nabil Syafiq b. Rosli
-16
-Unknown ability

Camius Korviere
-13
-Can control every element

Redclivine Eristire
-18
-Sports-genius

Viennere Rominisque
-15
-Architecture and design-genius

Clementine Horbury
-11
-Can go into people's dream

Sylverie Windspear
-18
-Unknown ability

Camille Liestriere
-9
-Unknown ability

Hervearin Reve Garnet
-17
-Unknown ability

I've decided that I'll also be sending my queries out to US agents if the UK agents aren't interested. We'll have to resort to mostly emails, but that's life and with my social anxiety, I'll be asking for that method of communication anyway.

I've also started to think about whether I'll have an offcial website or not. It sounds pretty expensive, so I might wait until my second/third book is out when I hopefully have some advance money to put into it. Until then, I'll just make a free one so I have somewhere to direct people to. Maybe I'll start a forum for people to talk about my book on.

I submitted an article idea to The Source, a green themed magazine, but they haven't got back to me.  The idea was to provide people with information about 'green information' on the internet, but either the idea was weak or it's not what they're looking for, either way someone could at least get back to me and tell me what's wrong with it.

But then it's like that short mock article I submitted to The Private Eye which they never got back to me about, most probably it was so awful they couldn't bring themselves to write anything back that wouldn't sound like blunt insults.

I have started a few ideas that I've had knocking around in my head including one about a man that falls in love with a mountain.  I was inspired by the story of a woman that suffered from objectaphilia or something similiar (a strong sexual attraction to inanimate objects).
This man disappears after a divorce only to be discovered living in a hole on a mountain he was in love with.  However, this meant that he felt he would have to protect his mountain which involved scaring walkers and attacking them with rocks and twigs.   Eventually someone is found dead on the mountain and he is immediately blamed for it and it's up to his son to prove is innocence.  The first part of the novel concentrates on how the man was found and the effect it had on everyone, and the second one is when we discover the body.

Part One:

Divorce -> Man Dissappears -> Man is found ->

Part Two

Body is found, man blamed -> Son believes man is innocent -> Man is proven guilty but meets tragic end.

I guess you could have the first part as a sub plot, that could be delved in to throughout the novel, flashbacks if you like, which sounds  bit better then dividing the whole thing up in to two parts.

The best part of this query is that it jumps right into the novel. It does not open with "I would like to offer up for consideration of my novel..." or "My name is Joe, and I have been writing since I could hold a pencil..." By going right into the "hook," it demands attention and forces our eyes to go on, wanting to read more.

Dear Mr. Ishitani, Acquisitions Editor;

What if, in the not to near future, modern civilization were to come to an end? The technological advances of mankind have flourished beyond the highest expectations, and have escaped the controlling hands of the human race. Cloned humans and genetically engineered creatures prowl the lands, while androids and security systems move beyond the known parameters of Artificial Intelligence, pushing the earth over the edge to a third World War.

What if, though, the world did not understand this? A world that, after a prohibition of science and technology spanning nearly four centuries, had regressed to a feudalistic state unaware of its advanced past. A land that lived in fear of mutated “demons,” of shadowy forests, and of the frost destroying their spring crops. A land where only the secret of society’s past is known by a few trusted officials and mentors—who seem to have their own agenda on the upcoming successions of thrones.

What if there was a young girl who would strike out on a mission to save her kingdom and to find the answer? Nadia, the eldest princess of Damewood flees for her life after the castle is attacked by an underground cult of revolutionaries bent on bringing society back to it’s “roots.” Disguising herself as a knight, she joins a hunting party along with her “demon” horse to put an end to the massacres and retrieve a stolen key that will unlock the mysteries of the ominous Order, and the history of her people.

Cloning, world-ending wars, and futuristic technology has never been more popular as can be seen with recent books and movies such as "Armageddon," War of the Worlds, and "I, Robot," my novel Damewood: Demons of the Past takes those stories one step further by delving into the mind of a young girl from a land that turns its back on the ideas of race, country and technology, and is thrown into the midst of these issues with no warning or protection save her sword and trusty steed.

Thank you for your consideration of my novel. If you would like to see the rest of the book, I can be reached via phone or email. I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Erin Durante

I've been working out the little kinks in Britannia. I finished the major edit. I reworked the last several chapters. I wouldn't call it a total rewrite, but I would say it's substantial. Just shy of a complete rewrite. I removed a character who pops back up and instead just made use of the characters and plot I had. I showed more of Ceridwen and less of Calfyn, because by the end of the novel, it seemed like the story had veered from being mainly about Ceridwen to being mainly about Calfyn. I like Calfyn a lot as a character and I liked his story (some), but it just didn't seem right to suddenly short-change Ceridwen's ending. So I worked with it. I shortened Calfyn's appearances to make them only what was necessary, and I added an entire new twist. I changed the ending--instead of it relying totally on Calfyn, it was self-contained between Cerdiwen and Benitus. And instead of Calfyn going to find Ceridwen's niece, I had Ceridwen go and find her, which makes more sense.

In any case, I did all that and made it more interesting. Now, I'm going back through and cleaning it up. With all the moving of things here and there, all the rewriting, and all of the deleting of paragraphs, scenes, and chapters, there were bound to be some gaps. I haven't really found many, but I think there are a few later on. I still have about five chapters to review.

I sent out one "query"--an online form. Right now I'm going through a lot of trouble with my synopsis. Obviously, this is a long story and it's very complicated. To begin with, there's a lot of backstory that needs to be given up front or the rest of the synopsis won't make sense--ie that the Romans invaded, that the king promised away his tribe in return for peace, that the twins' mother is Boudicca and that she wants to start a war, et cetera. I have begun and abandoned a dozen or so attempts. I have literally 25 pages worth of abandoned synopses. I posted what I finally came up with on my favorite writing website, and one person ripped it. But I've had experience with that person before, and they basically question things that don't need to be questioned. For instance, he asked why the Romans didn't take the twins hostage. I'm writing the damn synopsis here, not looking for input on what the plot should be! I think he means well, but he makes comments and suggestions but doesn't really know what he's talking about. On the other hand, he made some really good points. So I went back to the drawing board. Again. I suck at synopses and queries, and it's even harder with such a complex story. Oh well.

As soon as I have a halfway-decent synopsis, there's going to be a crap-load of queries going out, both via e-mail and snail mail. Watch out agents! :)

The synopsis follows like a typical full-blown Masala flick: guy (Harman Baweja as Karan) falls for girl (Priyanka Chopra as Sana and her future counterpart, Zaisha), chase begins until cornerstone change happens- in LS' case, the girl goes back home for studies. Karan follows Sana home, as they are now in love after three dates, and Sana's ecstatic mother encourages them to marry. But while Karan's mad scientist Uncle Ya (Boman Irani) draws up the required astrology charts, the couple get into a mess with the uncle's time machine. Karan thinks nothing of it until Sana is killed by a speeding truck and he needs the machine to get her back somehow. Uncle suggests a jaunt three days into the past to prevent the accident, but Karan wants to go into the future because Sana had inputed Mumbai 2050 into the system. So future Mumbai it is for them and the two fugitive kids that have smuggled themselves on board. Fourty-two years and the world comes complete with flying cars, lots of silver and chrome, and self- changing colored walls. He needs to find his Sana and finds her look-alike in Zaisha, a huge star. He somehow manages to chat her up a few times and she begins to remember her past and fall in love with him. After some issues with her protective image-obsessed manager, an evil doctor trying to get a hold of the time technology, and a Karan clone, they go back home together with seconds to spare before the time machine will no longer work. We are never shown the ending, but are left to assume that the two get married and live happily ever after.

The plot sounds attractive, what with the journey through time and 50 crores' worth of special effects, the love beating all odds message, and the subtle play on Hinduism's reincarnation belief. But several things contribute to the film's crash and burn:

1. Acting is bad. Like, really really bad. Most will cringe at Harman Baweja's unbelievable tearing-up scenes. The characters go through some serious changes throughout the film, as well. Karan starts out as a troubled young man with an adrenaline-junkie edge. As soon as he meets Sana, he's all happy-go-lucky. When he goes into the future and he's with Zaisha, he's just bland. There was no sense of happiness or even love, just a quiet brooding. Oh, and loads of pop-and-lock moves.

2. Dialogue is about as enticing as that blue cheese after you left it sitting out on the counter for two days. In the middle of summer. With moving lines like "Your life is like a hot dog without the sausage" and "Hey you, Loverboy, will you be my toy?", you don't even need subtitles. Half of the movie is in Hinglish, a mix of Hindi and English where expressive lines like "cool, dude!" and "shit, man" and "I don't need luck. I have love" are used often. It's a love story and an epic, couldn't they come up with more meaningful stuff?

3. Plot just doesn't add up and has so many jumps you'll be left wondering if it's even necessary. Why introduce Karan's dad in the beginning of the film when he will have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the 3 hours of plot? Why spend a full hour and a half on the first part of the film when the real action and point of the entire film occurs only in the second half? How do Sana's grieving parents respond to Zaisha's presence? Is it necessary to show the entire courting process when you'll be showing it in the "future" segment again, anyways? Is Zaisha Sana sent into the future, or a reincarnation, or a completely different person who happens to fall in love with Karan and is suffering from schizophrenic flashbacks? Where did Karan learn karate to fight off all those bodyguards?

Another glitch in the script is love story's striving to be something more- a psychadelic future/ action/ thriller. It's a high hope for any film in an industry so steeped in tradition and the love/family story. Kudos for trying, but the mix of Karan's adrenaline fighting doesn't fit with the puppy-dog crooning or the J.T. moves. One or the other, please.

4. Arguably, Bollywood films are replete with stolen ideas from Hollywood, but nowhere was this more evident than in India's most special effects ridden film. First, the concept of the future as seen in the film is a direct copy of "The Fifth Element" starring Bruce Willis, complete with flying cars in layers of lanes, the red-hued hair color of the "future Sana", and even the ripped-up spandex clothing. A more stiff and pink-hued version of the teddy-bear character from Steven Spielberg's "Artificial Intelligence" has a prominent role in LS, as well. The entertainment technology is pulled from another Spielberg hit "Minority Report", where hands and fingers are used to maneuver and slide items on a digital screen. The worst thing is that the resemblances to Hollywood films is so transparent and they can't compare to their predecessors in quality and style. It's a pain to watch.

5. Ok, I'm just going to come right out and say it: Harman is a Hrithik Roshan wannabe. I'm not saying he meant to do it, for all watchers know, his director Dad and producer Mom pulled his strings for him, but there are too many resemblances. The side-burns, the style, the dance moves... annoying doesn't begin to cover it, as many of Hrithik's loyal fans will understand.

A film that carried such high hopes failed at the box office but created a film with an unprecedented mixture of elements. Here's to hoping the next one will be better.

>teribil de ofertant dar fals: despre nimic
>ocd-style: nu mai bine îţi dau scenariul să-l citeşti? hai că-l am la mine, e cam franjuri da' se-nţelege
>dă-o mai departe: ia zi dorky, despre ce e vorba?
>neîncercat, nerecomandat: mh, nu ştiu exact, adică ştiu dar n-am cum să-ţi zic aşa în două cuvinte

vreau un synopsis coerent decent anti-catchy care să nu explice chiar toată treaba.
eventual şi un titlu nou, titlu de film nu de document word.
şi acum că am făcut retina curioasă să dea mai departe spre celula gri, poate se autosesizează cineva să tasteze despre ce e vorba.

isn't this beat the kinky kind of funky? no?
mă apuc de scris un scenariu despre un om care încearcă s_

fără vreo legătură cu melodia.

And check out my comments on The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! It seems my movie reviews are starting to get popular so I guess I'll have to attend more often.  Pineapple Express anyone?

Big Talker is about what happens when good gossip goes bad. Aspiring writer J.M. Rowen is the oldest daughter of the famous acting couple Ruby Dumont and Burt Rowen. Her bratty beautiful younger sister Sammy seems destined for life in the spotlight too, if she can just stop rebelling. All this celebrity mayhem is enough to drive the depressed, reclusive J.M. over the edge.

After J.M. suffers a post-college meltdown, her dad uses his connections to help her snag a studio job as a script reader/analyst, although her diva mother Ruby has higher career goals for her. Ruby's best friend is Buddy Boxer, a gossip columnist who pens a poisonous syndicated column, Big Talker and makes regular appearances on a primetime TV show, Total Entertainment.

Ruby and Buddy think J.M is the perfect choice to ghostwrite Buddy's memoirs. Reluctant to become more of a ghost than she already is, J.M. stalls. But when Buddy is shot in what police deem a home break-in, a distraught Ruby is convinced her beloved Buddy is the target of a crazed stalker. She begs J.M. to quit her job and start working for him to keep his column alive while he recuperates.

Making it a family affair, sister Sammy is enlisted to be the new TV face to provide celebrity dish in Buddy's absence. Learning the tricks of the trade, J.M. enjoys the anonymity of putting nasty words in Sammy's beautiful, mean-spirited mouth. Sammy becomes an overnight sensation.

Meanwhile, it seems that there really is a stalker – albeit a not too bright one. Does he really want Buddy dead, or does he just want him to stop writing? With Buddy firmly ensconced behind the walls of Casa Ruby, the stalker sets his sights on J.M.

If life weren't complicated enough, J.M. meets and falls for the delectable movie star, Ben Stratton. It seems that no matter how far she tries to run from Hollywood it's always right in her backyard.