The Dreaded Synopsis – Part 1


If there is one thing about the writing process that strikes fear into almost all writers, it’s writing the dreaded synopsis.  But is it really that bad?
Writers don’t like this part of submitting their books to agents, because the reality is that it’s hard to condense a complex story of 90,000 words or so into a one page or 500 word summary. And it can be hard – if writers have never done one before.
But it doesn’t have to be.
That’s because authors become fixated by the idea that they have to explain everything that happens in their novel, otherwise the agents won’t understand what the story is about. You don't have to describe settings, character backgrounds, subplots and themes and so on. It’s impossible and the synopsis will end up a mess. 
Agents don’t want every single detail. They want an outline of the key events – the major plot points/ twists, major characters, key scenes and they want to know how the story ends. Use the synopsis to show a structured story arc and plot, interspersed with the only the major characters.
Imagine you had to describe your novel to a friend. You would summarise it by picking out the most pertinent points, who the good guy and bad guy is, what they’re fighting over, how the good guys wins the day and what happens at the end. You would do this automatically, without thinking about it. But in essence, you’ve described the synopsis of your novel.
It’s also worth remembering that, just like submission letters, there is no magic formula to writing a synopsis. There is no right or wrong, or one shoe size that fits all.  What excites one agent might not excite another, just as there are good synopses and bad ones. You just have to make sure you write a good synopsis that sparks the agent’s interest and excites them.
So rather than fret about how much to fit it, concentrate on how little to leave out. You’re just giving the agent snippets, so take the pressure off yourself.  Think back to how you would explain the novel to your friend.  Write a couple of versions of this and see how it sounds.
1. Does it introduce the main characters and what the story is?
2. Does it briefly describe a couple of important plot points?
3. Does it touch on the main conflict and rising action?
4. Does it say how the story ends?
A synopsis needs to follow a business-like structure. A lot of authors write their synopsis like they’re writing the story, with lots of explanation and description and background info dumps, all told in third person.
Just keep it neural, direct and concise.  In this instance you tell, but don’t show. You might only 500 words to sell your novel, so every word counts. (Other agents might want 800 words or more, or just one side of A4, so check their requirements carefully).
It should follow the order in which the reader will encounter the unfolding story.  In other words, it should be chronological. It’s a summary of the novel, after all, so it needs to make sense.
The most important thing a synopsis should do is make your novel sound interesting, exciting and intriguing, so in Part 2 we’ll look at how to write and format a synopsis and get that structure right.

Comments

  1. Carolb17 December 2019 at 13:02

    This is something I need to brush up on as my synopsis for this year's RNA's New Writers' Scheme was not very good. I look forward to reading part 2.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chapter & Novel Lengths

Just how long should a chapter be? What’s the best length? And does a novel have to fit into a set amount of words? These are just two of the most common questions asked by writers.   They assume they have to work to a strict template of X amount of words and X amount of chapters, usually because most novels have around 30 or 40 chapters and around 80,000 words.   Novel Lengths Firstly, let’s dispel a few myths - novel lengths are dictated by the story itself, not the writer or the editor or a specific written formula.   Secondly, writers don’t have to fit their word count into generic set amounts.   Again, the story will dictate how long the novel will be. It’s also worth knowing the different types of novels that work well with different word counts.   Uncomplicated stories containing minimal characters tend to be short – usually around 20,000 to 60,000 words.   These are called novellas. Longer, more complex stories, which contain a handful o...
Read more

What Makes a Story Dark?

If you’re a horror writer or you love to write dark, psychological stories and thrillers, or moralistic tales, this is the one question that needs an answer. Wanting a dark story and writing one are two different things, so how do you actually make a story dark? To answer that you first have to understand what is meant by ‘dark’. We usually define ‘dark’ as quantifiable elements that we know and are familiar with, but it’s more than that. Dark doesn’t necessarily mean scary or gory with a crazy psychopath going around chopping people into bits. Instead we have to think of ‘dark ‘as anything outside our accepted rose-tinted reality. Dark is the underbelly of our society; it’s the handling of ideas, themes, social issues and behaviours that would be seen as morally unacceptable. It’s less about fictional monsters but more about the real monsters that lurk in the shadows, something that is underscored by our fears and anxieties. It’s the unknown, because the things we don’t know ...
Read more

Modifiers, Intensifiers and Qualifiers - Part 2

Unlike modifiers, which modify words or phrases, an Intensifier is a term for a modifier that amplifies the meaning of the word it modifies. An intensifier is used exclusively to modify adverbs and adjectives and is placed  before the word it is meant to modify.  In simple terms, the intensifier emphasises adverbs and adjectives - it makes them more intense . The word is derived from Latin, meaning to “intend or stretch”. In grammatical terms, the intensifier lends no weight to the meaning of a sentence other than to give it an additional emotional nuance to the word it is modifying, however, since they modify adverbs and adjectives, they should be treated in the same way adverbs adjectives – used little and sparingly wherever possible within your writing. This is where learning to spot them will benefit your quality of writing. Intensifiers are attributive and serve only to fill space, so unless there is a valid reason to intensify the meaning and emotion ...
Read more