Monday, May 31, 2010

Synopsis: I Did It!

Well. At least I think I did it. Knowing me, I'll continue to peck at it, snipping out this word or that phrase.

I wrote the book. That was hard. I wrote the query letter. That was harder. I wrote the synopsis. That was the hardest.

Why makes synopsis writing so difficult? In the first place, it's a challenge to write tight, tight, tighter while retaining the essence of your style and the tone of the work. Throughout the writing of the novel, we are adjured, "Show; don't tell." Suddenly it becomes, "Tell; don't show," because there's no room for the latter. Beloved similies and images end up on the surgery room floor, bleeding and mangled. Even some alliteration is left lying lifeless alongside the other carnage.

Secondly, advice contradicts advice. Some say single space; others, double. (So I compromised with 1.5 line spacing.) Some say the synopsis should be written in present tense, regardless of the tense of the tale; others say past. (The former gets the most votes, and that's the way one normally writes about literature, so I went with present tense.) It seems that every "expert" has his own way of formatting the first page.

One thing that most agree on is the importance of the synopsis. The majority of editors and agents require one. A critique partner who makes a habit of placing highly in prestigious writing competitions says that the value of the synopsis is that it allows the powers that be to see if the writer has a strong plot line to hold the story together.

My conclusion, after perusing many articles and guidelines, is this:
  • If the agent or editor to whom one wishes to submit gives specific guidelines, follow them to the letter. Heed the jots and tittles.
  • Do your homework. Read guidelines and advice columns, realizing that they will contradict one another. Adapt what you learn to make it work for you.
  • Write tight. Then revise it to make it tighter. 
  • Format it so that it reflects the professionalism of the writer.
Here are some links to jump-start your research:
Visit the blogs I list in the right column, also, since several of them discuss synopses.

Fellow writers, editors, and agents, if you happen to do me the honor of a visit to this blog, would you be so kind as to click on "Comments" and leave some of your own advice for those of us who struggle with the dreaded synopsis writing? Have you gleaned some jewel from a conference, workshop, or article? Please share. (By the way, I've never heard anyone say, "Synopsis? Piece o' cake!")

Write on!

7 comments:

  1. Sometimes I think the author is the worst person to write a synopsis of their own work. We're too invested. Too close to it. We want to show off all the pretty little tidbits of our story, our baby. We want everyone else to love it as much as we do, and so we want to share every anecdote, all the reasons it is precious and cute.

    Some advice that will help us keep on track for a one page synopsis. Keep to the main plot. No subplots. No side-issues. Focus on the main character. (The exception is romance where you give space to hero and heroine.) Don't name other characters. If necessary refer to them as "the teacher" or "the sea captain" we just need to see how they fit into the overall picture.

    If your story were a play when would be the end of act 1, act 2? Can you summarize these smaller parts into a paragraph each? Then a couple paragraphs for the black moment, the climax and the resolution.

    Hey Sharon, maybe we should form a writer's co-op. Instead of produce, we swap synopses.

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  2. Lisa,

    One page? What? One page? Even if I single space, it will be a good page and a half or two-thirds.

    What's that whirring sound I hear in the background? Surely it isn't locusts this early in the year. It reminds me of a...a...dentist's drill. That's it! It's setting my teeth on edge. Oh! I know what it is. You're sharpening your scissors again on your whet stone!

    :9)

    Seriously, I like your idea of a writers' co-op. We could objectively rip apart one another's queries, synopses, proposals, etc. Hey, that's part of the package.

    Thank you, also, for the succinct description of the dreaded synopsis.

    Write on!
    Because of Christ,
    Sharon

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  3. I'm going to have to bookmark this post, Sharon. I'm shaking in my boots as I think of the day when I will have to craft my Synopsis.

    Good post. I'm betting I can guess who the critique partner is who has finaled in all the contests :-)

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  4. I'll be speaking at the NJ SCBWI conference this weekend about synopses. I have totally changed the way I think about them since researching the subject. To write a one page synopsis, don't do an event-by-event synopsis. Instead, pick out a couple of important events, or two or three things that show the emotion/action/pacing of the story. Make it more general than specific.

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  5. Exactly, Anita! Thank you for your comment. I sure do wish I could hear you speak. That will be good.

    Write on!

    Because of Christ,
    Sharon

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  6. Schmologna,

    Fear not! You can do it. Knowing that you will have to do it eventually may make it easier as you think about it while you write your WIP.

    I plan to go ahead and write both a synopsis and a one-sentence for my second novel, though it isn't complete, so I can pitch it at the ACFW conference coming up in September in Indianapolis (just about 45 miles from where I live).

    Again I say, "Fear not!"

    Write on!

    Because of Christ,
    Sharon

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  7. P.S., Schmologna~

    ...but it's okay to be a little nervous about it. That will just put you at the top of your game.

    :-)

    Me, again

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