There are many smart, proper ways to write a synopsis. They usually involve careful outlining, thinking about your main characters, your main plot points, and putting it down in a nice, concise manner. Very good. I applaud everyone who does it this way. It's probably a lot easier.
Then there's the "I need a synopsis and I need it now" way. This is what I went through today. My editor requested a synopsis of my sequel before we go into final edits of my prequel. Which was immediately awe-inspiring and daunting. I mean, final edits!!! That's way cool! And then I thought, "Oh no! What if she doesn't even like it?" I sure hope that's not the case!
But that's besides the point. The point is, I wrote a synopsis today for my novel sequel. This way worked well for me, and it might for you, so let me share.
1) Open your novel in a word document.
2) Resave your document with the word 'synopsis' in there (in this case, I saved it as "Altercation Synopsis").
3) Across the top, make one line with this information: Title, genre, author, word count.
4) Go through and summarize each chapter in 1-2 sentences. Make sure you write in the present tense and write each character's name in ALL CAPS the first time you mention them.
Once I got done with this step, I had 4 pages. I had summarized 146 pages into 4. Not bad! But still, a synopsis is generally 2 pages, double spaced. So next I formatted.
5) Format your synopsis. It should be double-spaced with normal paragraph indentions.
Now I had 8 pages instead of 4. Time to start trimming.
6) Go through and pull out every sentence you think isn't necessary. (Result: 4 pages.)
7) Go through and pull out every plot point that doesn't need to be explained yet. (Result: 3 pages.)
8) Go through and pull out about 6-7 sentences that might be important, but the synopsis still flows without them. (Result: 2 pages!)
This took me several hours. But I found it wasn't too painful. And I got my synopsis done! It's off to my editor.
How do you do synopsis? (Plural, anyone?) Any trial runs? What do you recommend?
Oh, and tomorrow, watch for a book review of Heather Justesen's new book, Rebound! She's already got some awesome giveaways going on, so be sure to check out her blog here.
13630 / 60000 words. 23% done!
16 comments:
Great tip!!! I hate writing synopses...especially now that I hear it's preferred that they're only 2 pages or so. It's REALLY hard to sum up an entire book (especially 90,000-word romance novels) in just two pages.
I read a blog yesterday somewhere asking for ideas on how best to write a synopsis. Unfortunately I can't remember who it was because yesterday I read and commented on a whole lot of different blogs. I hope whoever it is reads this!
Great advice. I'll be using it when it comes time for me to write mine. :)
Nice post , thanks for sharing.
It's great tips for me. :)
The plural term you're looking for is "synposes"--you just gotta love those Greek words!
Thanks so much for this "down and dirty" approach. I've been entirely too scared to redo my synopsis but this gives me a great way to at least start the darned thing! Thanks!!
Excellent post, Tamara - great practical advice. I've recommended this post on Twitter - it deserves to go viral.
Thanks, guys! Glad it has helped so many people. A synopsis can be so overwhelming! Thanks for the retweets, James! And for the plural, Laurel!
I thought about posting the completed synopsis for you guys...I will if you want to see it.
Wow Tamara what great advice! I have trouble coming up with a synopsis, even when I'm just going to put this up on my blog so I think it's time to pull out the big guns and work on trying your method!!! Thanks for the tips, I think it might work!
I like your advice. I'm bookmarking this page. Thanks.
I just finished a synopsis for a sequel, too. I haven't written the book as yet, so it wasn't hard to do at all. We'll see if it works for my writers group tomorrow. Thanks for the tips. :)
I think I'll go with your approach, Tamara. I like it!
It worked for me, anyway! It was much easier to see everything that was going on. You're welcome, Jen!
Chris, thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you find a few things here that will help out your writing.
Kathi, I outline before I write, and I wonder sometimes if I couldn't flesh out my outlines into a synopsis. Let me know how that works for you.
Good luck, Jay!
I find your method absolutely brilliant. I will definitely be attempting it the next time I need a synopsis. Thanks for posting it.
By the by, there's an award for you on my blog.
http://mavieenviolet.blogspot.com/2010/06/thanks.html
For me, Dominique?? Thank you!
very concise! thanks for this :) i've only written one so i can't add anything!
Awesome. Thanks for this.
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