Synopsis Tips
When submitting to a Literary Agent there are usually some things that are a must… A covering letter, Sample Chapters (depending on submission guidelines), and the dreaded Synopsis. Why dreaded? Well, it can be the most frustrating part of your novel. You have just spent weeks, months, years on perfecting your novel, and now, you are going to dissect it onto (possibly) one page?
Quote Doc Emmet Brown: “Great Scott!”
There are millions of sites with Synopsis tips and examples. I strongly recommend that you have a look. Some links that I found useful:
- http://www.sfwriter.com/ouindex.htm
- http://www.kathycarmichael.com/articles-and-seminars/articles-and-workshops/romance-synopsis/short-romance-synopsis-workshop/synopsis-hand-outs/
- http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=synopsis+tips&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=ietsTt_mJpSt8QPu3_Uy <<–A Google Link
So now comes bits and pieces from what I have learnt.
- Start Synopsis with a question and end with a resolution to that question.
- Do not end on cliffhangers… will they, won’t they. Show the agent that you know how to answer the main question.
- Who is the hero and what is their beef? (Beef = problem)
- Only mention Secondary Characters if they affect the plot. If your character has a dad, but the dad doesn’t do anything that progresses or hinders the character/plot, why mention it?
- Ensure your plot includes all of the escalating series of turning points. There will be dry moments in a novel, but tease out the ‘Wowzer’ moments.
- The Synop doesn’t have to follow the sequential order of your plot. It can be an arc in itself, because it will centre around the character.
- If you do not bring an emotional element to your character, then the reader will say “who cares” when you tell us that his favourite teddy-bear just got trampled on by the dastardly twins of chaos. (who?)
- Think of the set-up, what made the character pursue this path? Is there conflict against them? How will they try to overcome this? Is there a high point where they think everything is good… but then lo behold… the rug is pulled from under their feet… everything is dark… everything seems lost. Then comes the climax. The showdown. The point when Gizmo ties that bandanna around his head and goes charging in to pile-drive the Gremlins. And then the resolution.
- Important to ascertain the External Conflict and the Internal Conflict. External = Arrows pointing at you. You are trapped. Internal = But you must save her, and you only got into this mess because you desire your kiss.
- A story can have multiple conflicts and obstacles. You solve one and then another hits you in the face. Think of Star Wars Episode IV. You get a ship, but the Stormtroopers come after you. You escape, but then you get sucked into the Death Star. You hide, and manage to get to the Princess. But then the whole station knows you are around. You escape again, you see your mentor get slashed down… you think F@@@ but you get away. <— That is the rug pull moment. The climax you head into is the chase over the Death Star. “Use the Force, Luke.” <– Up to this point, Luke and Co do some skirmishes, but they keep running away. Here… in the climax, he has to go in hard to face his fear and bring the resolution that gripped me as a child.
- Maintain present tense except when you are writing a back-story.
- Watch out for wordiness and repetition
- Do not add in every little subplot unless it ‘seriously’ affect your character.
In writing my Synop, I applied the following approach;
- A4 Paper
- List the number of Chapters… 1 to 21
- Against each one I put one liners of what the Chapter is about.
- What happens to Who and When, Why does it Happen, and How does it Affect my character.
- Keep it simple.
- I then scan through and tick the relevant chapters that are imperative to the question I define from Chapter 1.
- Then I write.
- First draft = 2 pages = 900 words
- Second draft = 1 page 500 words.
- Third Draft …not done yet, but I think i can nail it down to 1 page of 400 words?
Last points = No need to double space. Maintain 1 inch margins and do not use fancy fonts.
-
These are my views, but if I have missed anything out… please comment below 
-
Additional comment from @Sirra_Girl Su http://sirragirl.blogspot.com/
Just a quick write tip : If you plan to query your book in U.S. you must have 3 different length synopsis. 1 page, 2-3 page, and 5 page.
14 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- The Dedicated to Write Competition – Sept 2011 | Imranwrites - [...] in the first 10 pages of your novel will be a great move for the pages to come. And, ...
Leave a Comment
About Me
Polishing up my YA SciFi with optimism for 2012. Love to write and create images. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, the weird and the wonderful. I tweet with a smiling heart. Based in Leicester, UK, I intend to write!
This is a fantastic outline for what I considered a very difficult process. Excellent.
Thanks Kelly.
There is lots of better advice out there, but I hope this will be a good start.
Nice job, this isn’t something that is blogged about as much although it can be important for those who need to see it.
There are sites, but never an experience to be shared.
Yes, a good synopsis a must for agents and publishers. Have 3 different version/length of your synopsis ready. And sometimes, a publisher might ask for a 10 pager. And unlike a query letter, synopsis has to include the ending!
This is an excellent post, Imran. Thanks for sharing~
Yikes.. A 10 pager would kill me.
Would you add dialogues in as well?
Where were you when I had to write mine? I recently got a request for a partial from a query, and they wanted a synopsis too. I almost melted into a puddle and said, forget it! I didn’t. I muddled through it and came out on the other side with a lovely synopsis. It would have been a lot easier if I’d had this post before that day, though. Great job. I’ll save it for the next one I have to write
Thanks. You took a very daunting monster of a task and brought it in to perspective with steps that anyone can understand. Exactly the guidance someone new to the craft needs.
Excellent post! Thanks for writing it. When I teach synopsis writing, I use The Wizard of Oz as my example, since everyone knows that story. My example is here.
http://www.help4writers.com/blog/?p=374
Fabtastic Link and example!!!!
Imran, I love you! I have to start doing this soon, and you have given me a very practical way to get started. I know there are plenty of other sites and guides (I have read some of them, and they contain good advice) but this is a very practical ‘How-To’. I like being told: Step 1. I need this when a task feels so monumental I just don’t know where to start.
In saying that, I have started a synopsis, but I don’t like any of my drafts. I get tangled in my own plot lines. Your list of chapters and points may well help me resolve this.
Doing Synopsis is a scary time for me…
So I am glad to be some help
I’ll probably do a follow-on post in a month of any other methods I find.
It has been a few years since I’ve written a synopsis, as I (currently) no longer chase the traditional publishing world. But I remember how irritating the process was to condense so much story into a single page. Good luck with getting it down to 400 words, Imran!