Note: These posts are intended to generate conversation. I am not trying to state that everything I say is true, or right, or better than anything anyone else has to say. This is just my opinion, based on my experiences, with the intention to help. Please, feel free to disagree, but in a constructive way. Say why you think what I've said is wrong, what works for you, add any other comments or suggestions to what I've said, etc.
How to Write a Synopsis
If you're not familiar with a synopsis, you need to get familiar with it. Every editor and agent out there is eventually going to ask you for a synopsis of your book. In fact, the process usually is: get them interested in your writing with a query first (and these are hard to write as well, I'll post later about them). After this they request the first three chapters or roughly 50 pages . . . and a plot synopsis. What they want is to read the first three chapters to see if you can actually write and sustain a certain level of "goodness" over many pages (not just a few good scenes) AND to see if the story idea that piqued their interest in the query can stand up to a full-length novel. So, what is the plot synopsis and what do I suggest you try to achieve while writing one?
In essence, the plot synopsis is a summary of the main significant events in the novel. Regardless of the name, the synopsis should NOT revolve strictly around plot, but should also include the characters’ development and change throughout the course of the novel, including their motivation and the emotional stakes for those characters. Basically, you need to shrink your 500 page novel down into 5 pages. Or less. Depending on the editor and/or agent. This is hard. Harder than writing the book in fact, in my opinion. This is also why most writers hate it. I personally hate it with a passion. Unfortunately, the entire business is founded on synopses. For you first novel, the book is done already, but you still need the synopsis to grab that agent's or editor's attention so they demand to see the entire manuscript. If you've already sold something, then the editor and/or agent is going to want to buy a manuscript BEFORE IT'S WRITTEN based on a plot synopsis. In either case . . . you need a synopsis.
If the synopsis were just plot points, then it wouldn't be that difficult to write. All you'd have to do is say, "this character went there, they did this, now they move here and do that, and in the end the hero defeats the Evil Warlord with the magic sword." The problem is that the plot points are only the skeleton of the plot synopsis. It's the bare bones, nothing more. It's not . . . alive. You need to flesh that skeleton out a little bit (not a lot, that's what the entire novel is for) so that the editor and/or agent can see how lively it can get. So what's missing?
There are two things missing from the skeleton: motivation and emotion. Characters don't just run around and do things because the quest map tells them to, no matter how badly you might want them to. Uh uh. They do things for REASONS. Think about it. Do you ever just jump up and clean the house? NO! Usually something motivates you to clean the house, whether it's guests coming over and you want it to look nice, or you suddenly realize that you've created an entirely new civilization in your sink and perhaps, just perhaps, you should do the dishes before it discovers nuclear energy and annihilates you. Your characters are exactly the same. They need to WANT to make things happen in the novel. You need to include these motivations in your plot synopsis. Why does the Princess run off to save the Prince when she already knows he's a bastard? What's driving her? Include whatever that is in the synopsis as briefly as possible.
Tied in rather heavily with that motivation is emotion. In fact, alot of the motivation in a novel will be connected with the character's emotions. However, emotion is also separate. Throughout the course of the novel, the character's emotional state needs to change, and you need to show the slow progression of that change in the synopsis itself. Perhaps the Princess is self-absorbed at the beginning of the novel, only reluctantly goes off to save the Prince, but along the way discovers that her self-absorption is not only hurting herself but her kingdom as well, so by the time she rides back through the castle doors with the unconscious Prince draped over the back of her horse, she's grown into her Princessly role and will now become a great Queen because she places the people above herself. That emotional transition needs to come through in the synopsis. (I'm having fun with the Princess example if you haven't noticed.)
So, not only do you need the skeleton of the plot, but you need the motivations of all of the characters involved (including the bad guys) and the overall emotional arc of the novel as well. All in 5 pages. And we haven't hit the hard part yet.
The hard part is that all of these things feed off of each other in the novel. They all interact with each other and help advance each other and push the novel in different directions. You need to get this . . . mutability across. And THAT is hard. My best advice for doing this is to treat the synopsis just like your normal writing: make it flow. Cut to the chase, yes, because it is a summary, but make it flow. It should be a little mini-story all on its own. Not a short story; a mini-story. Something like:
Princess Periwinkle, the only daughter of the king and queen of Magicland, didn’t want to save Prince Farthing of Dunst from his own stupidity, but she’d just discovered that if Farthing never returned from his quest to kill the Limpid Squid, she’d have to marry Farthing’s brother Prince Fenwick instead, and Prince Fenwick was such a bore! So she gathered her servants, guardsmen--including the annoyingly persistent Sergeant Biff--and luggage and set off to the north, following the northern road out of Magicland. . . .
Notice I’ve given the Princess the character trait of self-absorption without actually mentioning it, just by saying she’s an only daughter and then phrasing “such a bore!” which brings to mind a class of people I’m not willing to piss off by mentioning at this point. But you can all picture them I’m sure. Plus I threw in everything she took with her, and I mentioned Biff. Obviously, Biff must be relevant to the plot later on. In any case, I’ve probably covered one or two chapters in those few sentences.
So what does this all boil down to? The following warning:
Every plot element in the synopsis must happen for a reason.
That reason is probably tied closely to the characters, their motivations, and their emotions. You need to get all of this across clearly, but in a way that flows. Let the elements play off of each other as they do in the novel, but succinctly. All the editor and agent needs in the gist, with just enough spice to make them savor more.
One last thing: Never, never hold anything back in the plot synopsis. By this I mean, DO NOT try to keep the surprise ending a surprise. This is the editor or agent. They will want to know everything about the book, including EXACTLY how everything is resolved. You don’t have to tell them the surprise ending in the first few sentences, you can keep it a “secret” up until the end of the synopsis, but at the end YOU MUST RESOLVE EVERYTHING. This is not a hook for the book. It is not a jacket blurb or cover copy. You must set everything up concisely, with solid reasoning all along the way, and then end everything you set up. No major questions about the novel should remain. The editor or agent might have some small lingering questions, perhaps dealing with a sub-subplot that they picked up on, but they should understand exactly how all of the major plotlines and characters play out.
So, good luck with your plot synopses. I know I need luck with mine.
How to Write a Synopsis
If you're not familiar with a synopsis, you need to get familiar with it. Every editor and agent out there is eventually going to ask you for a synopsis of your book. In fact, the process usually is: get them interested in your writing with a query first (and these are hard to write as well, I'll post later about them). After this they request the first three chapters or roughly 50 pages . . . and a plot synopsis. What they want is to read the first three chapters to see if you can actually write and sustain a certain level of "goodness" over many pages (not just a few good scenes) AND to see if the story idea that piqued their interest in the query can stand up to a full-length novel. So, what is the plot synopsis and what do I suggest you try to achieve while writing one?
In essence, the plot synopsis is a summary of the main significant events in the novel. Regardless of the name, the synopsis should NOT revolve strictly around plot, but should also include the characters’ development and change throughout the course of the novel, including their motivation and the emotional stakes for those characters. Basically, you need to shrink your 500 page novel down into 5 pages. Or less. Depending on the editor and/or agent. This is hard. Harder than writing the book in fact, in my opinion. This is also why most writers hate it. I personally hate it with a passion. Unfortunately, the entire business is founded on synopses. For you first novel, the book is done already, but you still need the synopsis to grab that agent's or editor's attention so they demand to see the entire manuscript. If you've already sold something, then the editor and/or agent is going to want to buy a manuscript BEFORE IT'S WRITTEN based on a plot synopsis. In either case . . . you need a synopsis.
If the synopsis were just plot points, then it wouldn't be that difficult to write. All you'd have to do is say, "this character went there, they did this, now they move here and do that, and in the end the hero defeats the Evil Warlord with the magic sword." The problem is that the plot points are only the skeleton of the plot synopsis. It's the bare bones, nothing more. It's not . . . alive. You need to flesh that skeleton out a little bit (not a lot, that's what the entire novel is for) so that the editor and/or agent can see how lively it can get. So what's missing?
There are two things missing from the skeleton: motivation and emotion. Characters don't just run around and do things because the quest map tells them to, no matter how badly you might want them to. Uh uh. They do things for REASONS. Think about it. Do you ever just jump up and clean the house? NO! Usually something motivates you to clean the house, whether it's guests coming over and you want it to look nice, or you suddenly realize that you've created an entirely new civilization in your sink and perhaps, just perhaps, you should do the dishes before it discovers nuclear energy and annihilates you. Your characters are exactly the same. They need to WANT to make things happen in the novel. You need to include these motivations in your plot synopsis. Why does the Princess run off to save the Prince when she already knows he's a bastard? What's driving her? Include whatever that is in the synopsis as briefly as possible.
Tied in rather heavily with that motivation is emotion. In fact, alot of the motivation in a novel will be connected with the character's emotions. However, emotion is also separate. Throughout the course of the novel, the character's emotional state needs to change, and you need to show the slow progression of that change in the synopsis itself. Perhaps the Princess is self-absorbed at the beginning of the novel, only reluctantly goes off to save the Prince, but along the way discovers that her self-absorption is not only hurting herself but her kingdom as well, so by the time she rides back through the castle doors with the unconscious Prince draped over the back of her horse, she's grown into her Princessly role and will now become a great Queen because she places the people above herself. That emotional transition needs to come through in the synopsis. (I'm having fun with the Princess example if you haven't noticed.)
So, not only do you need the skeleton of the plot, but you need the motivations of all of the characters involved (including the bad guys) and the overall emotional arc of the novel as well. All in 5 pages. And we haven't hit the hard part yet.
The hard part is that all of these things feed off of each other in the novel. They all interact with each other and help advance each other and push the novel in different directions. You need to get this . . . mutability across. And THAT is hard. My best advice for doing this is to treat the synopsis just like your normal writing: make it flow. Cut to the chase, yes, because it is a summary, but make it flow. It should be a little mini-story all on its own. Not a short story; a mini-story. Something like:
Princess Periwinkle, the only daughter of the king and queen of Magicland, didn’t want to save Prince Farthing of Dunst from his own stupidity, but she’d just discovered that if Farthing never returned from his quest to kill the Limpid Squid, she’d have to marry Farthing’s brother Prince Fenwick instead, and Prince Fenwick was such a bore! So she gathered her servants, guardsmen--including the annoyingly persistent Sergeant Biff--and luggage and set off to the north, following the northern road out of Magicland. . . .
Notice I’ve given the Princess the character trait of self-absorption without actually mentioning it, just by saying she’s an only daughter and then phrasing “such a bore!” which brings to mind a class of people I’m not willing to piss off by mentioning at this point. But you can all picture them I’m sure. Plus I threw in everything she took with her, and I mentioned Biff. Obviously, Biff must be relevant to the plot later on. In any case, I’ve probably covered one or two chapters in those few sentences.
So what does this all boil down to? The following warning:
Every plot element in the synopsis must happen for a reason.
That reason is probably tied closely to the characters, their motivations, and their emotions. You need to get all of this across clearly, but in a way that flows. Let the elements play off of each other as they do in the novel, but succinctly. All the editor and agent needs in the gist, with just enough spice to make them savor more.
One last thing: Never, never hold anything back in the plot synopsis. By this I mean, DO NOT try to keep the surprise ending a surprise. This is the editor or agent. They will want to know everything about the book, including EXACTLY how everything is resolved. You don’t have to tell them the surprise ending in the first few sentences, you can keep it a “secret” up until the end of the synopsis, but at the end YOU MUST RESOLVE EVERYTHING. This is not a hook for the book. It is not a jacket blurb or cover copy. You must set everything up concisely, with solid reasoning all along the way, and then end everything you set up. No major questions about the novel should remain. The editor or agent might have some small lingering questions, perhaps dealing with a sub-subplot that they picked up on, but they should understand exactly how all of the major plotlines and characters play out.
So, good luck with your plot synopses. I know I need luck with mine.
. Oh, and the line in your post about a new civilization in the sink had me almost in tears laughing (note my screen name).