[stylist] How to Write a Synopsis

[Joe Orozco]

How to Write a Synopsis 

by Marg Gilks 

Writers will spend years writing, lovingly polishing and then marketing a
novel, and yet they shrug off the synopsis with a comment like "I hate
writing synopses."

I hate writing synopses, too. I used to hate them because the ones I wrote
sucked all the life from the novel, reducing it to bare-bones sentences that
did nothing to capture the depth of the novel itself. Now I hate writing
synopses because they are much more difficult to write than the novel ever
was. It's not easy distilling 100,000-odd words into a few pages. But it's
important.

The synopsis is the most important part of your submission package and, as
such, it has to be developed and sweated over and polished with the same
attention you devoted to the novel itself. Along with the cover letter, the
synopsis is what sells the editor on the manuscript. If they don't see
anything they like in the synopsis, they won't even glance at your chapter
samples. 

The synopsis is your sales pitch. Think of it as the jacket blurb for your
novel (the synopsis is often used in writing this, and by the publisher's
art and advertising departments, if the novel is purchased), and write it as
though you're trying to entice a casual bookstore browser to buy the novel
and read it. Which isn't too far from actuality.

"Okay," you say, "you've sold me. This is something I have to do, and do
well. But how?"


One Step at a Time
Rather than being daunted by the enormity of such a task, break it down. Do
it step by step. 

The first step, of course, is realizing that you're going to have to write a
synopsis -- if you intend to market your novel, that is. The best time to
realize this is just before you sit down with your manuscript for the final
reading preparatory to declaring the thing completed.

Sit down to that final reading with a pen and paper beside you. As you
finish reading each chapter, write down a one- or two-paragraph summary of
what happened where, and to which character, in that chapter. 

Notice any themes running through your chapters as you're reading? Symbolism
you didn't realize you'd woven through the story while you were slogging
away at the computer for all those months? (The subconscious mind is a
wonderful thing.) Take note of themes, too. You may just discover your
one-line story summary that agents and editors like so much, if you didn't
know what it was before. Or even if you thought you knew what it was, before
(surprise, says the Muse, you were wrong).

What you will have when you are done is a chapter-by-chapter novel outline,
what I call my author's outline. This is pretty dry reading, and since
chapter-by-chapter outlines seem to have fallen out of favor with editors
and agents, this will likely remain one of your most valuable writing tools,
and that's about it. Don't throw this away when you've done your synopsis,
either. You may know the story intimately now, but you do forget details
over time. You may decide to revise the novel in the future, and this
outline will help you. I've used mine to make sure I'm not duplicating
character names from one project to the next. (The subconscious mind can
also booby-trap you.) Reading an outline is much easier than leafing through
or rereading an entire novel.

Anyway. There is an immediate use for that outline. What you are doing,
basically, is distilling the story down into smaller and more manageable
packages, step by step. So, you pinpoint the most important plot points in
that outline, and you put them into a synopsis. 

Notice I said the most important points. We're talking about only those
events and motivations that moved the story forward in a major way. We're
talking about only the most important characters, the ones your reader will
ultimately care about, not the bit players. Right now, we are striving for
bare-bones.

"Yup," you say, "that's bare-bones, all right, and just as boring as ever."

Yes, it is. It's also probably still too long, but don't worry about that
right now.


Let's See Some Enthusiasm!
Now I want you to envision one or two things while you rework that synopsis:


Imagine that you're writing a jacket blurb for the novel, one that will
pique the casual browser's curiosity and make him or her want to buy the
book to see what happens. Read a few jacket blurbs, to get a feel for how
it's done.


You've just seen a terrific movie. You're describing it to your friend.
You're not saying, "The good guy chased the bad guy and shot him and that
was the end." That doesn't sound very enthusiastic, that sounds like your
synopsis as it stands right now! No, you say things like, "The good guy is
wounded, but he knows if he doesn't stop the evil Dr. Death, the whole world
is in danger, so he staggers after Dr. Death, falls, somehow gets to his
feet again, and at last zaps him with the Good Guy Death-ray to save the
world."

That's how your synopsis is going to sound, when you're done: enthusiastic.
Enticing. A description that makes the reader want to pick up the manuscript
and find out how this happens!
How can you make your synopsis unique, exciting? Start with the main
character and his or her crisis. Include snippets of dialogue or quote
briefly from the novel itself. Don't neglect to reveal the character's
emotions and motivations, those points that explain why a character does
something, but keep it brief. If the setting is exotic, inject a taste of it
into the synopsis with a brief paragraph. This includes any background
information that is absolutely necessary for the reader to understand the
story. Build excitement as you near the conclusion of the story summary by
using shorter sentences and paragraphs. The synopsis is a sample of your
writing; it is a taste of what reading the actual novel will be like, so
give it your all.

Don't forget that one- or two-sentence story line, or the theme of the story
that you discovered. It should go in your synopsis, or in your cover letter.
Editors and agents like having this distillation; not only will it pique
their interest, but it's something they can use when presenting the novel to
the buying board. It's also something you can use, the next time someone
politely asks you, "What's your novel about?"

"Wow," you say at last, "this is pretty good! It reads almost as good as the
novel!"


Shalts and Shalt Nots
But wait, there's more. Now we get to the "thou shall and shalt nots."

First, acceptable length. One guideline is to allow one synopsis page for
every twenty-five pages of manuscript, but even that could be longer than
most editors and agents want to see. Most editors and agents, busy people
that they are, prefer short synopses -- two to ten pages. The busier ones
like five pages at most. I personally consider two pages ideal, and have
distilled synopses down to a single tight page. If you've written a
thoroughly intriguing synopsis, don't worry if it's ten or more pages long
-- but it had better be gripping. 

Edit, edit, edit, if you have to! Always keeping in mind that the synopsis
must remain interesting and supply the necessary information. Yes, this is
the hardest part. Don't know what to cut? Lose the adjectives and adverbs;
keep the motivation and "flavor" of the story.

You have to tell the entire story in your synopsis. Don't send the first
three chapters and then start the synopsis at chapter four. Don't leave out
the ending, hoping to entice the editor or agent to request the full
manuscript in order to find out what happens. What they will do is decide
you're an amateur.

No matter what tense your novel was written in, the synopsis is always
written in present tense (Jerry goes to the bullfight as opposed to Jerry
went to the bullfight.)

Format: there seems to be disagreement as to whether you should single- or
double-space your synopsis. To be on the safe side, double-space; it's
easier to read. In terms of layout, format your synopsis much as you did
your novel, or a short story. 

The first time you use a character's name in the synopsis, type it in
CAPITAL letters. Do this only the first time. Avoid confusion by referring
to a character the same way throughout (not "Dr. Evans" the first time,
"Jerry" the next, and "the doctor" another time). It's also advisable to
identify which character(s) is the point of view character by typing "(POV)"
after the first instance of the character's name.

Yes, writing a good synopsis is a lot of work, but think of it this way: not
only are you creating a vital marketing tool, but you're honing your writing
skills at the same time.


Copyright C 2001 Marg Gilks