Synopsis Writing: Recipe for Success
I found out this week that I’m a finalist in the Fool For Love Contest. Squee! I’m really excited.
The coordinator wouldn’t let me mess with my entry but she said if I want to look at my synopsis, she’d take that. Well, I’ve adjusted the plot since entering the contest and I decided to take her up on the offer, despite the near physical pain revising my synopsis causes.
But, that sent me back to my synopsis prep stuff and I started to think that those of you out there approaching the end of your stories or thinking about entering contests with synopsis requirements might benefit from my little torture exercise as well.
I’ve heard over and over that when it comes to synopses, the shorter the better. This makes sense to me on a basic level: synopses are BORING. I mean really, it takes me back to days in the classroom when I was forced to read book reports for summer reading assignments. Ugh. Talk about taking the fun out of a story plot. But when you boil 90K words down to a few pages, well, I don’t think it’s meant to be riveting, just barebones and “just the facts.”
This is the recipe that I use for writing my synopsis. I think this helps me to really ferret out my main points so I hope that it helps you. It still isn’t easy but I always feel better when I have a game plan. This “recipe” is not mine. It was passed along to me by Wanda Richards-Seaman who is a member of a critique group I belong to. Just giving credit where it’s due.
Paragraph 1: A hook. 1-2 sentences of what the story is about in as high concept, quick hit way as you can manage it. If you can’t get it, I would leave it off.
Paragraph 2: Heroine’s GMC with a characteristic and job/attribute. Don’t run screaming away yet. Ie. An prophet wants (goal) … because (motivation)… (but) conflict. I sort of think of this paragraph as the background paragraph about my heroine. Give the reader where she’s come from, what drives her, and what’s keeping her from her desires.
Paragraph 3: Hero’s GMC with a characteristic and job/attribute. Same as the heroine’s paragraph above.
Paragraphs 4-7: These four paragraphs are about the plot. The best points, main action. I write in a four act style (and I’m a pretty serious plotter) so I usually use that. I devote the fourth paragraph to the first act, the fifth to the second act (which usually ends in some sort ‘gray moment’). The sixth paragraph is how they deal with that conflict, and the seventh leads up to the major black moment. (If it doesn’t take you 4 paragraphs to do this, I think that’s cool. I think it just shouldn’t take more than four).
Paragraph 8: Climax/Black moment.
Paragraph 9: The HEA/Ending/Falling action.
This usually puts me at a synopsis between 3-5 pages and though some places suggest that a synopsis as much as 10 pages is ok, I believe most agents/editors prefer them shorter.
I hope this helped someone out. J
Have you written a synopsis before? Any suggestions for everyone else? Any advice that you’ve heard that can help us?
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49 comments:
Firstly, congrats!
Yeah, keep it short. I've been told 2 pages, which can be hell on earth. Three is much more workable...and I like 'em short. I live in fear of a request for one 5 to 10 pages long.
Looks to me like yer recipe be a keeper. I think the best advice I got were ta keep it simple, ease off the florid phrases and descriptive flourish. Just the facts, ma'am.
I'm in synopsis hell too! LOL I have to do one for my proposal for book two. This is a tough task because I generally write them when I'm FINISHED a project, not when I'm only at the 20K mark! LOL
I have no advice. They sort of get easier to write, but at the same time that doesn't seem to hold true when you are in the midst of writing them.
I just try to write it down in a way I would explain it to another writing buddy. Then I edit from there and think what important points are missing or what I don't need.
I generally keep them at the five page mark. I can't seem to write them much shorter than that.
Congrats again, Marn! Very exciting!
Congrats, Marnee! I've got to do a synopsis soon for my proposal, and like Tiff, I usually wait until the end of a whole book. Since I am a panster-plus, I have no freaking idea where these three chapters will actually go if I get the green light to write it. I guess I'll have to bs bigtime. How I envy writers who sit down and know pretty much what's going to happen. Not me.
Congrats Marn! I love this formula. I'm having a terrible time working on my synopsis too, so I'm going to go back and see how closely I line up. I'll bet this will help me get rid of some of the pesky un-necessary info in there.
Congratulations Marn! That's awesome. Good luck with the synopsis.
MM - I agree. Just the facts ma'am. :) And no purple prose. I actually went through and axed out all by a couple adjectives. (I think it's like one that describes her and a couple that describe him.) Short short short and boooorrring.... LOL!!
Tiff - I wrote my original synopsis before I even started writing the story. It was a little long (I think around 6-7 pages) and pretty vague, but I just had it to keep me on target with my plot and to flesh out the storyboard I made in Excel. I think writing the synopsis at the end is cool though (I did that with the my first MS) because it helped me to figure out plot holes and stuff. But I can see why an editor would want to see it up front. :)
Oh, and thanks for the outline. I'm going to use it when I make up what the book will be about. *g*
And JK and everyone else - thanks for the congratulations! I'm excited. The final judge is Barbara Poelle from Irene Goodman. It'll be good to get her feedback. :)
Hal - Are you having a problem with FM's or NWTR's synopsis? Either way, let me know when you want me to read for you. :)
I never have a problem with unnecessary info, I'm the other side: too vague. Thank God for you folks who read it for me and helped me flesh it out. There's a lot going on with it. :)
Mags - I always think that pantsing sounds so organic but I just can't do it. I hate that feeling adrift thing. But even though I have a plot, it doesn't always go like I plan. It's really a skeleton. Lots of room to veer off course (which drives me crazy sometimes and makes me happy others.) Good luck writing your synopsis and I hope my "recipe" helps! :)
Congrats, Marn! Good luck in the next round!
I need to get hopping on my synop. My target publisher wants a 1-2 p synop "formatted like the manuscript"—so does that mean double spaced? Not a whole lot to work with!
Jordan - Thanks dearie! And thanks for helping me prep my entry for the contest. :) You rock. :)
Formatted like the manuscript.... I'd assume they mean double-spaced, 1 inch margins, etc. And no that's not a lot of space. Let me know if you need help/want me to read. And I'm so excited you're about to start submitting! I can't wait to see what DOTP looks like on the shelves. :)
Now if we can just get you to write a blog about how you plot. *LOL*
I know you said you were sweating bullets over your synopsis, but yours really did rock.
Good advice...and I haven't written in a synopsis in so long, I've blocked the trauma from my mind. *LOL*
Marn - as usual, you make this look and sound easy. NOT saying it is, just that you make it look that way. Your synop was really good so this recipe obviously works. I'm no where near writing one, though trying to create one for the WIP when I get back to it in July might be an interesting idea. Sort of like mapping out the journey.
I had to write a synop for that short story I wrote that was one page. It was a little difficult, but the entire story was less than 20K words, so not so bad.
My struggle is how do you get your voice in the synopsis. I've heard more than once that the voice you have in the actual story should come through in the synopsis. Any recipes for that?
Hellie - Is that a request for a plotting blog? For real? Woman, be careful what you wish for. LOL!!
And thank you. I think it turned out ok, though I'll probably tweak once the second half is finished, just to clarify if anything changed.
Ter - LOL! I by no means wish to make this look easy, though I'm happy that my end results hide the hours of torture. LOL!! I do recommend writing a synopsis at the beginning (if you don't mind the pain and anguish). It does help put you on the right track I think.
About adding voice to synopsis.... I think that the best way to do that is what Tiff suggests, writing it like you're talking to someone else. But voice is one of those things you just don't fake, honestly. The only way you can get it there is practice practice.
I don't even know if my voice was in my synopsis. Anyone who read?
I think your voice still shown in your synopsis. I think this book is very different from your first one that allowed for more humor. I'm sure this one will have humor too, but it will be secondary (or even third) behind the drama and suspense and paranormal aspects. So your voice is different from your first book--mostly--but you had the drama and suspense in your first book too and it's similar to the voice you have now. I just think your voice for this series is more powerful, like you've really hit a stride.
:) Thanks Hellie. :) I admit that I'm nervous at how much different this is from the first MS. Oh well, I'm sure that I'll find out. :)
I'm sorry that last comment made absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
Your voice shows--and it's great--and it's the same, yet different from the voice in your first manuscript. (Same, yet different in good ways and appropriate ways.)
I had that same reaction when I started reading the synopsis. "Wow, this is so different." But that's a good thing.
I thought your voice was in there. It didn't feel like some robot wrote it. But I already write so scarce, I'm afraid me sticking to "nothing but that facts" will result in me sounding exactly like Joe Friday. LOL!
Okay, that sounded like I meant the first was so bad it's good that you went different. To be clear, that is NOT what I mean. I meant it's good because you are so diverse and not many authors can do that. I know I couldn't. I can be straight contemp with humor and lots of sarcasm with a good helping of angst. And that's it. LOL!
They are just guidelines, ya know!
I like the keep it simple stuff because it's really an outline. Hint at voice? I don't know, I like to tease, maybe. And that is part of my voice, to that works for me.
I guess I assume that an editor has enough jumble in their heads, so if I stick with the facts, toss in a bare touch of a tease...then they'll want to see the rest in depth.
I'll let ya all know how that is workin'!
I like the recipe. Though I admit, I'd likely make it lines instead of paragraphs! Which is a good way to begin, ya know. A real economy of words can be very impressive.
Cap'n...Terrio...ya be tap dancin' quite a bit!
Don't worry, yer words speak plain...
Oh keeping it simple—I've been helping a few people with their synopses and I've noticed a trend to mentioning and even naming minor characters. I'm talking characters who get one sentence when you're writing a 600-word synopsis.
It's like, I'm sure that character is hilarious/moving/beautiful/wonderful, but if all they do is meet the MCs, or tell them something, or anything else that happens in one sentence and never comes back, why on earth are you confusing us with yet another name?!?
It's definitely not necessary to mention every character in a synopsis, and on the off chance that a minor character does merit a mention, if they're only there once or twice, stick to some other identifier: "a Multinational Corp executive" or something.
Conversely, if they're not a main character but do make very important contributions to the story or have multiple important roles, DO give their name—"Lucy" rather than "Molly's friend/Zach's real-life sister" or some variation of those (even worse—switching between those labels—confusing!) over and over again.
Ter and Fran - you two are cracking me up!
Fran, I got what you said the first time. I thought it made perfect sense. LOL!
Ter - I know that isn't what you meant but I do think I've gotten better since my first one. There's no shame in saying that, I don't think. :) Better with time and practice. And I just think it's a matter of finding what you're good at. I didn't really push my first one on the querying front because I don't think I want to write another historical. But it was a great experience. :)
MM - I agree about the tease and the economy of lines. The shorter the better I say. :) I don't want it to take the place of my full MS. I'd prefer an agent/editor ask for my whole book. :)
Jordan - I think trying to figure out who/what deserves to be mentioned in a synopsis is half of the heartache. I ended up mentioning three secondaries besides my MCs: my villain, his wife, and his daughter. Only because they play a HUGE role in my plot. I have a whole bunch of other secondaries (my hero's entire warrior team, for instance) but none of them get mentioned. Even the one that almost gets killed. LOL.
And confusing labels. UGH.
Congratulations on being a finalist, Marnee, and thanks for the synopsis info. I have yet to write one. Just thinking about keeping one under five pages gives me a headache.
Thanks Janga!
You'll do great. Really, looking forward to the task is worse than actually muddling through it. Seriously. I'm not just saying that.
And I hope this helps out some. It really helped me anyway. I work much better when I have a plan. Always.
Jordan - I've seen that tendency wit' some a' the newbies from RT who've asked for help on synopsis. Too many characters, too many names, too much everything. I tend ta think it's like a menu...don't name every ingredient that will go into that entree. Just the basic and a highlight or two.
I've done it and had to really work on keepin' ta the economy a' words. Me problem is I often end up wit' four main characters...or I sees them as all main characters. Havin' to cull the synopsis down to the two who really drive the story be the trick.
I thinks the Cap'n and Terrio make charmin' dance partners. ;)
*dancing* Congrats to our wonderful Marn for being a finalist!
I'm going to save this blog in a word document for further examination. I always need examples on how to do this shit and the one time I had to write up a synopsis-- well let's just say someone almost died in the process and it wasn't me.
Word of wisdom from me- don't procrastinate and write the synopsis the night before it's due. It's not pretty.
And the blog picture just loaded and the recipe card says persimmon pudding. Hm, I wonder what that tastes like. Did anyone as a kid find persimmons just to cut open the seeds?
That is one of the most succinct explanations of how to craft a synopsis I've seen. You boiled what many have such a hard time describing down to some easy to understand directions. Thanks! When I finally get this dang story written, I'll know what to do!
Sabrina
Sin - it took an entire week of writing time (approximately 20 hours) to write it the first time around. This revision only took about 5 hours, but seriously, it's no small task. And query letters?! I have already started my query letter and I just mess with it an hour here, an hour there. I wish that it wasn't that these things meant so much, that agents and publishers just read the work. But that isn't so, so we're all trapped writing these marketing pieces.
Blech.
And thanks for your congrats! :) I'm excited. I'll keep everyone posted.
I don't think I've ever even seen a persimmon. What is it?
Sabrina - thanks! I'm glad it helped. Good luck with finishing your story and good luck with the synopsis when you begin writing it!
I took a kick ass query online class from writerson line from Julie Rowe. Awesome class. Talked 'bout how ta query agents, editors... the submission package, etiquette, keeping track 'a it all. I highly recommend this class. She even went over synopsis fer us.
Hmmmmm. I ought ta ask her if she'd consider bein' a guest one day...
That would be kick ass MM.
It's this little fruit that sort of reminds me of a orangish colored plum, with a little hard seed in the center. I think I can kind of remember what they smelled like and they smelled awful and the smell stays on your hands forever. My gramma told me if you split open a persimmon seed right down the middle it could tell you what the winter was going to be like.
My gran used to love persimmons...but I don't remember what she did with them! LOL! Pie?
I'll e-mail Julie and ask if she'd be interested...she'd be good to talk about these things.
*takes off tap shoes and rubs feet*
This is why I never took dance as a kid.
We'd love to have Julie teach us about this stuff. If she answers right away, we'll see if we can fit her in next week. ;)
Inside joke, sorry. Kidding, ladies!
Who's on first, Ter? LOL!!
May I add my congrats Marnee!
Not sure I can usefully add to the synopsis discussion, though I read the comments with interest.
I have written many synopses (called abstracts) for scientific publications, but those are two paragraphs at most, setting the new results in context for abstract journals so that other scientists can quickly see if it is relevant to their work .
5-10 pages sounds very long, almost a short story. I'm not sure what purpose it serves.
Is it to allow editors a preview without having to bother reading the whole book?
As a reader I only see very short summaries of the plot on sites like fictionwise or Amazon or a blurb on the dust cover.
If I ever write a synopsis though, I think that I would find it a lot easier than writing the book. Stripping away detail to extract the essence is something that scientists do rather well!
Just showing my ignorance here :?
Persimmons are NASTY, and it's fitting a nasty little creature like a possum would find those NASTY things so tasty. Ugh.
I always remembered them having more seeds. They have a white powdery substance on the outside that you need to wash off before you eat them--if you dare--or it'll pucker you mouth like alum. The inside is this uber-sweet pumpkiny textured flesh with seeds in it.
Q, if we stripped to the essence of the essence, as it were, the synopsis would be akin to:
Boy meets girl.
Girl ignores him.
Boy chases girl.
Girl runs slowly.
Boy catches girl and kisses her.
Girl fights with Boy.
Boy refuses to give in and they break up.
Boy and Girl miss each other, but don't say anything.
Boy breaks down, apologizes, and tries to get Girl back.
Girl is getting set to marry new Boy.
Boy interrupts wedding and tries to win Girl back again.
Boy kisses Girl.
Girl marries old Boy instead. The end.
And if that was the case, synopsises would never vary whatsoever. Boy and girl meet. Boy screws up a good thing. Boy patches it back up. Girl forgives him and they live HEA.
And persimmons sound disgusting. I wondered why I'd never eaten them before....
Q - thank you! :)
And I think that it's not that it's easier or harder to write them than write the book. Just different. I think it really tests the ability of the writer.
But, I must agree that too condensed would look like what Hellie says. Boy meets girl, someone screws up, they fix it up, HEA. :)
Helli, I think you have clarified why you need a scientific view point!
All the stuff you highlight is of course basic to romance novels and doesn't need to be repeated. I would have thought that a good synopsis would concentrate on original features, the ones that make it unique and different from everything else.
I know Marnee wouldn't write anything trivial or repetitive of old ideas. Their will be novelty in the way the boy meets the girl. Likewise with your other points. Her synopsis needs to bring this out and succinctly demonstrate what a writing genius she is. *grin*
Marnee, perhaps you could post your synopsis in due course and I will try to scientifically reduce it to its essence to show you all where Helli is mistaken. :lol:
Q, *LOL* I think you just love to prove where I'm mistaken. I think you should have some more Scotch. *hands him a new bottle of something old and expensive*
I think Q has a point, the synopsis should tell the editor what is different about your story, not how it's like everything else.
*ducks for cover*
Marn - What's on second?!
What I really love to write are blurbs. Blurbs are a lot of fun. I like to put on my B-movie promo voice and let it boom out.
"IN A WORLD...!"
Hee, hee. Right, next week. Sure, Terrio. This is one of those magical weeks with twelve days in it, right?
So, Hellion, with erotic...
Girl goes to bed with old boy.
Girl goes to be with girl.
Old boy goes to be with new boy.
Girl goes to bed with both boys and new girl.
If it's a comedy... Mom walks in with a pomeranian in her arms.
Julie said it sounds like fun...be in touch about when!
"I think Q has a point, the synopsis should tell the editor what is different about your story, not how it’s like everything else."
Aye! That's the spice on the menu that makes yer place different than the other place down the street. And that is yer unique voice.
Congrats, darlin'! How did you know I've been trying to write a synopsis this week? You, my dear, are magic!
I love it when things are posted in simple terms. I am printing this baby out.
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