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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Synopsis, Most Recent at Top [Help]
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1. Synopses

Here are nine tips to help you write the dreaded synopsis.

http://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-a-book-synopsis-tips/

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2. Loglines

How do you condense your story into a single sentence?

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2016/01/how-and-why-to-write-a-log-line-for-your-story/

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3. The Secret to Finding Your Way Through Story: Plotting versus Pantsing

I was asked the plotter versus pantser question while I was on an author panel at the Young Adult Keller Book Festival this past weekend (YAKFEST) (which was wonderful!), and as usual I felt a little deer-in-the-lightsish. And my answer, as usual, is that I'm a plantser.

Plotter + Pantser = Only Mildly Prone To Face Plants  

I often do a very brief synopsis just to get to know the premise, plot, and characters, and then I go ahead and write what I used to call and outline following the basic idea of three-act structure or the hero's journey, except that it's really a discovery draft where I work out what happens in the story and follow the characters to see where and how they want the story to go. I don't restrict this to follow the synopsis, but knowing my basic structure helps me keep from getting stuck or stranding.

During the audience Q&A at YAKFEST, we were also asked about finding our way into character, and how that played into story. My answer there also fell squarely into a combination of planning and organic development while writing.

Rough Character Sketch >> Partial Draft of Book >> Deeper Worksheet >> Rest of Book


In other words, I know a little bit about my characters going in, then discover more as I write about a third of the book, then I go ahead and crystallize what I know via a character worksheet, before going on to write the rest.

Part of the reason that my process seems to have settled in this weird gray area between planning and pantsing is that my stories are commercial with a literary flavor, driven by both plot and character rather than one or the other. But then there's also the one truth that all writers need to know:

Read more »

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4. The Synopsis: The Final Word (at least for this week)

Unintentionally we had a week devoted to the synopsis, two of the posts came organically from your comments. I love that.

I had no plan to do a Friday post on the synopsis until I saw this comment from yesterday:

This actually exemplifies for me *exactly* why synopsis-writing is frustrating. Not only is there a very wide range of quantity requested ("three to five paragraphs" or "one page" or "three pages" and so on), but there are a number of agents I've queried who in fact specify that all characters *must* be mentioned. I know this is a sure way to clunk-ifying a synopsis. And mine is clunked, because I've seen more guidelines instructing the inclusion of characters than not. Like a lot of neurotic pre-published authors - I obey like a spanked puppy.
Then there is the reworking of the clunker for almost every single query, because of all those varying particulars in submission guidelines. It's a bit like the Biblical genealogies; "who really reads The Begats?" But The Begats are canon.
Unless they're not! 


I think this comment illustrates the feeling most writers have about submitting in general. There are too many rules, too many different requests and when a writer tries to please everyone she comes up with a clunky mess.

My one suggestion to this is write the synopsis that works, that shines and that tells your story in your voice. Forget everyone's peccadilloes and do what works for your book. I'm pretty sure Melissa Cutler never rewrote that synopsis to please a different agent or a different editor. She wrote one synopsis, submitted her project and published her book. Done.

One paragraph or three to five paragraphs is not a synopsis. That's your summary for your query. If someone asks for that you should have it when you wrote the query. So that's easy. As for other preferred page lengths, no one is going to reject your book because your synopsis is longer than a page or longer than two pages. No one. Write a solid three-page synopsis, give or take a page, and you have all you'll need for every submission.

--jhf

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5. Synopsis Tips from an Expert


The majority of my clients view writing a synopsis as a necessary evil.  They don’t like writing them, but they know they have to.  There are one or two who might give away their firstborn children if it meant getting out of writing a synopsis, but there actually is a handful that seem to like writing them.  Then there’s Melissa Cutler. She does workshops on how to write a synopsis and openly declares her love of writing them.  And, I gotta tell you, her love shines through in the synopses she writes.  They’re vibrant and entertaining and they not only maintain the reader’s interest, they make the reader want more.

Melissa was kind enough to share with us her top tips for synopsis writing as well as the synopsis for her most recent release, The Mistletoe Effect, so you can see how a great synopsis is done.  If you’re as inspired to read more as Melissa’s St. Martin’s editor and I were, I’m including some handy-dandy buy links at the end of the post.  I hope you enjoy!

-Jessica Alvarez

Melissa's Top Tips for Synopsis Writing1. Don't include any secondary characters' names if you can help it.2. Don't include backstory in the first few paragraphs.3. Write the synopsis in the same hook-heavy language and tone as a back cover blurb--in your written voice--because that's what your proposal is actually selling: a hook, the tone, and your voice.4. Contrary to what editors and agents say they want, don't "just tell me what the book is about". Only use plot points and backstory as supporting details to explain characters' emotional arcs. This means you're not utilizing very much plot. 


The Mistletoe Effect: Synopsis
Melissa Cutler

Anyone who thinks shotgun weddings disappeared along with the rest of San Antonio’s Wild West history has never stood in Carina Briscoe’s boots. But there she is with a bouquet in hand, in front of a crowd of hundreds, standing next to the bad boy she’s crushed on since her awkward teenage, and all because her overbearing family insists the show must go on after Carina’s sister and her fiancé call it quits and flee the altar.

After years of fighting for their hotel’s success in the competitive market of destination weddings, the Briscoe family is banking on the publicity surrounding their month-long fiftieth anniversary celebration of the hotel’s Mistletoe Effect—a perfect record of divorce-free marriages during the month of December—to secure a coveted spot in Wedding World magazine’s annual “Best of the Best” issue. But when Carina’s superstitious and not-quite-all-there granny decries that if a wedding doesn’t happen, then the Mistletoe Effect will be jinxed, the rest of the family springs into action. They’re determined that nothing, not even a bride and groom’s imploding relationship, will interfere with their company’s future.

Carina has never been good about standing up to her family, and with them making her feel like the fate of the business rests in her hands, she doesn’t see any choice but to agree to the charade. She comforts herself with the fact that it’s only an act, not a real wedding on paper. And besides, maybe playing along will help smooth things out if and when she finally gets the courage to tell her family about her dream to quit her job at the resort and strike out on her own.

Stable manager James Decker doesn’t know much about weddings, but he does know that Best Man duties definitely do not include standing in for the groom—even if said Best Man harbors a secret soft spot for the Maid of Honor, who also happens to be his boss’s daughter. But one look at the panicked expression in Carina’s big brown eyes as her family tries to fake-marry her off to any willing male with a pulse, and he’s powerless to refuse.

Playing bride and groom with Decker at the lavish reception that follows is way more fun than Carina expected. How could she not enjoy a night of dancing and laughing with the sexy cowboy-in-residence whom she’d never wound up the courage to flirt with, much less get her hands on? But when their harmless evening of jinx prevention ends with a scorching, sleepless night in the honeymoon suite, Carina knows she’s in way over her head.

For years, she’s dreamt of putting some breathing room between herself and her family by quitting the family business and leaving the resort to live on her own in the city, but as holiday festivities celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Mistletoe Effect go into full swing, she and Decker find themselves swept into even more jinx prevention duties…and sheet-sizzling, sleepless nights.

Haunted by a bad boy past that won’t let him go, Decker has poured years of blood and sweat into building a career-launching resume. Briscoe Ranch Resort was supposed to be a stepping stone to bigger and brighter plans, but embarking on a torrid affair with the daughter of his hotel baron boss just might ruin everything. The trouble is, he can’t keep his hands or his heart away from Carina no matter how much he fights it.

Carina had no idea that falling hard for a cowboy would be just the ticket to bring her out of her shell. She’s never felt so free or strong as when she’s in Decker’s arms or stealing secret kisses from him in the stable, despite daily dealings with her pushy father, her superstitious granny, and the Texas-sized list of duties she has at the resort as Christmas marches closer. Decker brings out the best in her, and before long, she has enough courage to stand up to her pushy family and pursue her own neglected dreams.

Decker started out in his fake marriage with the goal of helping Carina gain the courage to pursue her dream career, just as he was pursuing his, but he never could have imagined that he’d fall in love with her in the process—or that the pursuit of her dreams would be the one thing that would end their relationship after she receives a life-changing career opportunity thousands of miles away from the dream job Decker is all set to start after the holidays. He refuses to be one more person in her life holding her back, and so he doesn’t see any choice but to let her go.

He quits his job at the resort and she quits hers, both determined to support the other’s dreams by letting them go so they can spread their wings and fly. The problem is, as soon as Decker quits, he realizes that his dream has changed. A life with the woman he loves is more important than a career, so he decides to follow Carina to California and turns down his new job. Little does he know that Carina has reached the same conclusion, and has turned down her new job in order to follow Decker. After all, what good is a dream career if you can’t share it with the person you love?

Decker and Carina’s final jinx prevention duty is at the resort’s annual Christmas Eve vow renewal ceremony being held for fifty-years’-worth of couples who’d had December weddings at the resort. Decker comes armed with an engagement ring and a plan for the woman he has fallen head-over-boot heels in love with. But he’s not the only one with a plan up his sleeve to keep the couple together. With a little bit of Christmas magic and a surprise proposal from Carina’s family to bankroll both of Carina and Decker’s dream careers at the resort, this cowboy and his lady love prove that there might just be some truth to the Mistletoe Effect after all…



Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/T4FYVx

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6. Mastering the Synopsis


The title of this post is a little bit of a misnomer because I'm not sure I have the ability to teach you how to master anything. I suspect that only practice can do that.


That being said, I think I can give you some tips on writing a strong synopsis. 

1. Actually write it. A synopsis isn't a rough outline for your eyes only. You will be judged on the synopsis in the same way you are judged on your chapters. So if your synopsis goes something like this you're definitely in trouble:

Margie found a dead body. It was brutal. She cries and carries on, but calls the police. Police come, do their stuff, she's not happy. A few days later or so Margie is back at work when she remembers what the police says. She calls friend. Friend tells her to relax. Yada, yada. After a few days Margie meets a dark and mysterious man who is really creepy....

A synopsis needs to be written with the same skill and effort you put into the entire book. You need to show the editor that you're a hard worker and that at no point will you think anything about your book is a throwaway.

3. Write to the expectations of your genre. In other words, if you are writing a romance, your synopsis should show (notice I said show and not tell) that the reader can expect a romance, romantic tension and probably some romantic scenes. If you're writing a dark mystery than you need to show the darker aspects of the plot as well as how the protagonist will solve the mystery. And the voice should give a feeling of the same darkness your readers will find in the book. If you're writing SF you'll need to show what makes the book SF and not just the general plotting. If you're writing a cozy, show what will appeal to the cozy audience.

4. Make your hook present. Every book has a hook of some sort. That distinguishing factor that makes your book stand out from others in the genre. In a cozy mystery it might be a hat shop, in a romance it might be a Spinster House, in a fantasy it might Steampunk elements or a dystopian world. Whatever it is, you need to make sure you show how this hook factors into the plot and the story as well as showing the plot.

5. Give us everything, but not quite. In other words, a synopsis definitely needs to show us how the book plays out, but we don't need every single tedious thing and every secondary storyline. Stick to the parts that are relevant, but leave some elements open to allow you to edit and play around a bit as you write.

6. Have fun with it. Don't make your synopsis too stiff and formal. Let your voice and your writing shine through. Imagine sitting down to tell someone about your book, or have someone sit down and tell you about your book. What are the important elements and what can the reader discover for herself?

--jhf

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7. The Dreaded Synopsis


I've yet to meet an author who likes the synopsis. The word seems to spark fear and hatred in the hearts of writers. Well get over it.


The synopsis is going to be part of your writing life for as long as you decide to be a writer so it's something you better learn how to do and how to do well. Most agents and editors are going to want a synopsis when they're reviewing materials. It helps them get perspective on your story, allows them to know how the story plays out before they finish reading, and allows you to, potentially, sell on proposal rather than writing the entire book.

As your publishing career grows you might have the opportunity to sell a new book, or the next book in the series, on synopsis only. If you plan on doing that you better understand what makes a good synopsis.

And if that's not enough, your synopsis goes a lot further than just selling your book. It's what will be used to write your cover copy and create your cover. It's what the office will pass around to sales reps and marketing people and possibly some version will even go out as publicity. 

In other words, you better learn how to write a synopsis.

--jhf

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8. Craft of Writing: Selling on Proposal, aka The Dreaded Synopsis by Gretchen McNeil

We are thrilled to welcome Gretchen McNeil to the blog today.  Gretchen is a woman of many talents being an opera singer and clown (what a lovely combination!) as well as an award-winning writer.  She's had novels optioned by Hollywood and has sold rights internationally.  And she's here to share with us today why the dreaded synopsis can actually be the professional writer's best friend!

Selling on Proposal, aka The Dreaded Synopsis by Gretchen McNeil


Of my seven contracted books, all but one – my debut Possess – have sold on proposal. Some were sold from a synopsis plus fifty or so pages, some were just from a synopsis. But notice the common thread...

Selling a novel on proposal was, for me, the ultimate writing goal. “You mean I don’t have to write the entire book first? You mean I can finish the book knowing it already has a home (and a paycheck) lined up? Sign me up!”

It’s a double-edged sword, of course. While you’ve managed to charm an editor and publisher with your synopsis and/or pages, you still have to deliver a final manuscript on or before a due date, and the pressure of scheduling your creativity can be crippling.

photo credit: evegaddy.net
But I’m not here to talk about that part. I’m here to address that dreaded “S” word – the synopsis.

Like it or not, this is something that almost every author – published or unpublished – is going to have to deal with until the end of time. Synopsizing a completed novel is hard enough, but crafting one for a book you haven’t written yet? How is that possible?

(I can actually hear you pantsers in the audience screaming out in abject terror. Don’t worry, hopefully this will be painless.)

I think the key for me in writing a proposal synopsis is remembering its purpose: it’s meant to be marketing material, a sales pitch to hook your audience. It’s not necessarily a roadmap for your finished manuscript, which I think is where a lot of people get hung up. Think of it like an elongated query letter as opposed to an intricate blow-by-blow of the book. There are certain important points you want to hit, while the details can be left for later.

What are those important points? For me, I aim to answer the following questions:

  1. Who is my main character?
  2. What does he/she want?
  3. What’s in his/her way?
  4. What does he/she do to get around that obstacle?
  5. What’s at stake if he/she fails?

The answer to Question #1 usually resides in the part of the book most people refer to as “the backstory” – elements that come out during the action, but aren’t necessarily enumerated at the beginning of the book. In a manuscript, that’s awesome. In a synopsis – which doesn’t have a lot of action – that’s problematic. But since this synopsis is a pitch, feel free to front load a paragraph or two of backstory to establish your character. It’s important to hook your target audience with this right off the bat.

Next you move into the First Act of your book (if you’re a proponent of Save the Cat! beat sheets, you know of what I speak): basically establishing your supporting cast and your setting, and explaining the conflict, i.e. Questions #2 and #5. What does your character want? What’s at stake if she fails? Establishing this last question up front is important because it sets the stakes immediately which, hopefully, gives an editor the desire to keep reading.

So far, so good. And notice we haven’t had to really dive into much of the action of this book yet?

Unfortunately, that’s about to change. Questions #3 and #4 are basically the impetuses (impeti?) for action in your novel, the answers that force your main character to make a decision and go on his/her journey. The bad news is that this does require some sense of what actually happens in the novel, which is a scary concept since you haven’t actually written it yet. The good news is that all you really need to aim for are tentpoles: Event A! Disaster B! Turnaround C! Yes, this does require gazing into the crystal ball and trying to see the finished product, but it also allows for some leeway when you actually write the book. The specifics of the tentpoles can change, as long as, structurally, they still exist.

photo credit: Susan Morris Shelfari
Last but not least, the climax. I think this is the scariest part of writing a proposal synopsis because so much of the ending of a book relies on what happens in the middle…which hasn’t been written yet. So how do you tackle the dénouement?

I tend to dance around it a little bit, reestablishing the stakes and the difficult decision the hero is going to need to make in order to get what he/she wants, and then telling the reader exactly what the result of the climax will be. Not exactly what the climax will be, but the result of it. For example, “Refusing to play by the rules, Katniss is able to beat the Capitol at their own game.”

Spoilers!

Notice I didn’t tell you how. Or that Peeta was involved. Just showed the outcome while teasing what may or may not happen in the climax. That’s how I get around, er, not really knowing what’s going to happen when I’m writing a proposal synopsis.

So there it is. It’s not particularly detailed but it’s a blueprint for the book I’m going to write, hopefully with enough voice and tone and plot and promise that an editor will love it. Just remember, “synopsis” isn’t a four-letter word. In the end, it can be your best friend.

About the Author:



Author of YA horror novels POSSESS, TEN, and 3:59, as well as the new mystery/suspense series Don't Get Mad, beginning in 2014 with GET EVEN and continuing in 2015 with GET DIRTY, all with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins. Gretchen also contributed an essay to the Dear Teen Me anthology from Zest Books.

Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys, and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. She is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads






About the Book:


The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.

When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose.

Amazon | IndieBound | Goodreads

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9. Marketing Time: Using a 12-Point List


Good news: The end is nigh! Finally, finally my current WIP, The Abyssal Plain, is just a few pages away from being finished. It's a great feeling, tinged, I must add, with a little sadness. No more exciting adventures for my characters. No more characters! No more figuring out how to get them from A to B. And rather than designing their homes and wardrobes, it's time to move on to marketing. Ugh.

Marketing has never been my favorite part of writing. Query letters, synopses, pitching--they've all been pretty scary to me. I know how small the window is for attracting the attention of an editor or agent, and I know how easily they can delete or ignore whatever they receive.

So that's why I want to turn everything upside down. I want to enjoy marketing, and I want to create marketing materials that will be read. My two main goals are:
  1. That I feel relaxed about writing my query and synopses (in all their wonderful forms, e.g., 1-page, 2-page, 3-page--you know how it goes), and,
  2. That whatever I write be easy to read. After all, who has the time to pore over pages and pages of convoluted story telling when all anyone wants to know is:  what is the story about?
To that end I've come up with a new approach: Before I write a single letter or outline, I'm going to brainstorm three types of 12-point lists:
  1. An ABOUT MY STORY list. This list will include whatever is relevant to sales, e.g., genre, word count, why I wrote the story, who are my potential readers.
  2. A 12-point EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN THE STORY list, in other words, the top 12 plot points and why they matter.
  3. A 12-point CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE LIST for each of my major players.
Once I have my lists completed, I can then decide what is truly important in each, and what I can put into a single document to be edited and narrowed down even further until I hit pay dirt. 

I’ve always liked listing things in groups of twelve, (something I wrote about in my Take Twelve blog post) finding it a good way to focus and brainstorm at the same time. Aiming for twelve points on any subject seems to help me go beyond the obvious without going overboard and including too much information. My hope is that using the technique for my marketing will turn what has previously been a dreaded task into a good experience I'll look forward to. Wish me luck!

Tip of the Day: What are the top 12 things you can say about your current WIP?  Listing the most important points could be a great way to not only sell your book, but to get it organized before you write it, too!

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10. Synopsis as Friend by Tracy Alexander


 As I contemplated cracking on with my novel this morning – I’m only on Chapter Three – I had a comforting thought. The exact words in my head were Synopsis as friend. My mind’s circuitry led me straight to a case study from my long gone life as a marketer. The subject was dog food.

For ten years I was a proper PAYE employee, selling the likes of frozen food, tennis shoes and booze. For the next ten years I was freelance, selling money in the form of mortgages and investments. At some point I was invited to give a guest lecture at the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Given that I was seven months pregnant, I probably should have declined. Instead I pulled on a pair of black trousers with an oh-so-attractive stretchy panel fetchingly topped by an elastic waistband (for that little known waist that is in fact directly beneath your breasts), buttoned the matching black maternity waistcoat (what joker thought of that) and drove to Cookham.

I wasn’t nervous, until I opened my mouth and realised that my lung capacity, whilst adequate for conversations where you only have every other turn and the person is close by, wasn’t up to the job. I cut short my introduction, offering the delegates a chance to say a little about themselves while I recovered my composure.

My subject was segmentation. Bread and butter stuff. I had all sorts of examples from the world known as FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), from retail and from financial services. All I had to do was teach the theory, show examples – the brilliant dog food slides were ready and waiting – and then relate it to the fields they were working in. I could do that with or without oxygen.

The first attendee mumbled her name and said that she worked on treated mosquito nets. My mind gave a sarcastic ‘yippee!’ Never mind. The others were bound to be working on cars, shampoo, biscuits . . . something I could relate to.

The conch was passed round the room. My confidence ebbed. My smile became as fixed and unresponsive as my twenty-something pupils.
It turned out that I had a global monopoly on marketers of mosquito related products.
Inside I did the equivalent of a refusal at Becher’s Brook.           

Whether it was the peppering of the content with irritating little breaths, the hideousness of my maternity waistcoat or my lack of engagement with the mosquito market, by the time I got to the segmentation of the dog food market, I’d lost them. A shame, because it was my favourite part.

Here’s the gist:
Categorising dog food in terms of form – dry, wet, raw – or flavour – lamb, rabbit, chicken – didn’t help marketers understand how to make their products attractive to dog owners. Nor did using the breed, age or size of dog. Research showed that the most meaningful way of sorting the market was by looking at how dog owners thought about their dogs.
Four segments were identified that most influenced the type of dog food chosen:
Dog as grandchild – indulgence
Dog as child – love
Dog as friend – health and nutrition
Dog as dog – cheap and convenient.

My audience woke up slightly. Proof that a pet can always be relied on to liven things up, be it in business or school visits. We had our first interaction of any length, a welcome reprieve for my pulmonary gas exchange. The treated net marketers had never considered the relationship between dog and master.
Had they not read The Call of the Wild? Seen Bill Sykes mistreat Bull’s Eye?  Or Hagrid berate cowardly Fang? Timmy was surely as much a friend as Anne, Dick, Julian and George. 

They eagerly volunteered product names and quickly slotted them into the four segments.

Cesar Mini Fillets in a foil tray – Dog as grandchild
Asda Smartprice Dog Meal. – Dog as dog
Pedigree Chum Chicken – the clues in the name . . .

In what was overall a pretty grey-with-clouds lecture, I enjoyed the little spell of sunshine. Motivation wasn’t something mosquito experts thought a lot about. They thought about geography and insects and shelter and disease and mosquito net fixing kits. They didn’t think about what might be on the mind of the traveller, setting off alone to try and find traces of the Hairy-nosed Otter in Borneo, or maybe the traveller’s nervous father, buying the very best treated mosquito net for his passionate but impractical son.


Marketers often end up segmenting by demographics e.g. age, gender, income, despite the power of psychographics like motivation, personality and attitude. Perhaps writers should lecture at the Chartered Institute of Marketing instead . . .

Quite why my inner voice chose the words Synopsis as friend, inextricably linked in my hippocampus to Dog as friend, who knows, but it made me reflect on my changed relationship with synopses.

My first few books grew in a free spirit sort of way, meandering towards a vague nirvana shrouded in uncertainty. The synopses written afterwards, if at all. 
This was: Synopsis as bureaucrat.

My new book, Hacked, out in November, was the product of a synopsis I HAD to write because the publisher, Piccadilly Press, was interested in an idea I’d mooted and wanted it fleshed out.
This was: Synopsis as unwanted dependant.
I developed the beginning, middle and end of the story, my lovely publisher made a few suggestions and then I forgot about the four-page plan until there was a problem, at which point I reluctantly referred to it.

The synopsis for the sequel, however, is printed out and has its own space on my desk. It feels reassuring. Trustworthy, but not prescriptive. 
857 words in, with 50 000 ish to go, I’m glad that I’m not alone.
This is: Synopsis as friend

I even enjoyed the discipline of writing it.
  

Tracy Alexander

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11. Synopsis Checklist

Make sure your synopsis covers all these points before you send it out. 

http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/synopsis-check-list/

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12. Tips on Writing a Synopsis

Here are some things to consider when writing a synopsis. 

http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/tips-on-writing-a-synopsis/

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13. One-Page Synopsis

Here's a fill-in-the-blanks guide to writing a one-page synopsis. 

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/

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14. Synopsis

These are a few easy-to-follow tips for writing your synopsis. 

http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-word-writers-dread.html

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15. Synopsis Recipe

Gather the correct ingredients and blend them together into the perfect synopsis. 

http://jamigold.com/2013/02/recipe-for-a-successful-synopsis/

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16. Loglines

This one-line summary boils down your book into a simple statement that can be easily understood.

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/11/writing-a-one-sentence-summary/

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17. Synopses

How to write a synopsis, using The Wizard of Oz as an example. 

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/08/synopsis-writing-101.html

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18. Care to share your thoughts on this synopsis?



(Read more ...)

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19. Fridays With Agent Kristin: Episode 6 - Pitch versus The Synopsis

STATUS: On plane in just a few hours to head to Italy. There might not be much blogging next week.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? YELLOW by Coldplay

Scheduling this post so hope it works correctly!

I'm going to lay to rest, once and for all, the difference between a pitch and a synopsis.

Okay, that's a little grandiose but you get the picture.

Enjoy!

11 Comments on Fridays With Agent Kristin: Episode 6 - Pitch versus The Synopsis, last added: 3/17/2012
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20. The Query Isn't Working, Maybe It's the Book

All too often I read a query, or hear a pitch at a conference, and think how the author didn't take the book to the next level. I'm sure many of you will say that it's hard to convey the entire book in either a query or a pitch, but I also think it's important to stop blaming the query process and start using it as part of your writing process.

Writing queries is hard. I know. I have to write them. I also hear that from authors endlessly. Writing a synopsis stinks. Something else I hear endlessly. But instead of looking at those two things as pieces that are separate from the manuscript, I think they should be looked at as part of the process. If you're working on your query and finding it hard to come up with something that makes your book sound special, maybe it's that your book isn't special. It might be a good book, but is it good enough to grab the attention of a brand-new readership, people who already have thousands of books to choose from?

If you're having trouble nailing down the true conflict in your query, maybe you don't have enough in your story.

Changing our mind-set to think of queries and synopses as part of creating the manuscript might make them more useful to you, as they should be, than just getting an agent or publisher.


Jessica

23 Comments on The Query Isn't Working, Maybe It's the Book, last added: 10/14/2011
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21. Synopsis Tips and Questions

This past weekend held our Annual Writer’s Retreat at the Princeton Hyatt. The novel people worked on refining their manuscripts and synopses. Here are some of the things we discussed in my presentation:

Why do you need a synopsis?

1. To help you sell your book.
2. To use as a writing too.
3. To help start a discussion with an editor or agent.

What are the industry standards?

1. One to three pages.
2. Written in present tense or 3rd person POV.

What is the first thing I should do?

1. Capture the reader’s attention.
2. Start with your hook – the set-up – what you might read on the back or inside cover of the book.
3. Convey the tone of your book.

Okay, so that what I would do in the first paragraph, but what do I do after that?

1. In the body of the synopsis you should lay out the general plot developments in chronological order.
2. Share the escalating series of turning points.
3. Define conflicts.

    a. What does the main character(s) want?
    b. What needs is he trying to fulfill?
    c. State the crisis.

4. What issues drive the main character(s) forward?
5. What personal issues hold the main character(s) back?
5. Include any points that take the reader in a different direction before climax.
6. What is the point where the main character changes, moves forward against all odds, etc.
7. What decision must he make?
8. Build to the end resolution
9. Make sure you give-a-way the ending resolution – no cliffhangers.

Is there anything I shouldn’t do?

1. Don’t waste words
2. Don’t tell every plot point.
3. Don’t include unimportant details.
4. Don’t include secondary characters.
5. Don’t over describe setting.
6. Don’t include back story.
7. Don’t keep secrets.

Things to check:

1. Is your synopsis between one and three pages? Double spaced if more than one page?
2. Does the opening paragraph have a hook to keep the reader reading?
3. Is there good flow between paragraphs.
4. How you gotten to the who, what, where, when and why in your synopsis?
5. Do you think you captured the flavor of your manuscript?
6. Are your main characters’ conflicts clearly defined?
7. Did you show your characters goal, motivation, motivation, conflict?

    Your synopsis should give a clear idea as to what your book is about, what characters we will care about (or dislike), what is at stake for your heroes, what they stand to lose, and how it all turns out.

8. Did you indicate the setting?
9. Did you show character growth?
10. Have you hit on the major scenes, the major plot points of your book?
11. Did you resolve all important conflicts?
12. Have you avoided all grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes?

Other things to think about:

1. Are your characters sympathetic?
2. Can the reader relate to them and worry about them?
3. Is this story marketable? Hint: Look at publisher catalogues. How does your story stack up? Are they publishing books similiar to what you have written? If, so how succeesful were those books?

Hope this helps you as much as it helps the writers at the retreat. Our editors -
Connie Hsu and Heather Alexander were GREAT! Everyone wlked out with so much knowledge.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy


Filed under: Conferences and Workshops, demystify, Editors,
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22. TIPS FOR WRITING A SYNOPSIS



A good place to start for ideas on how to write a good synopsis is to mimic a book cover blurb in the genre that you write in, but also include in the synopsis what happens in the end. The blurbs on flap jackets and on the back of paperbacks are usually good synopses -- they're a hybrid of key plot points but with a bigger sense of what makes the book unique and interesting. You want to strike a balance in the synopsis between covering the plot and characters, but also conveying the spirit and tone of the book and smoothing over gaps between the major plot points you describe.

For the query letter, force yourself to state your plot in two or three sentences.

For example, "Sarina likes bad-boys and danger, but she can’t allow herself to fall in love; she does not want to be abandoned as her mother was by the man she loved. Her childhood friend Caleb is sweet and kind-hearted, but not Sarina’s type. It is when she meets the dashing Tristan that sparks fly and she discovers a man who touches her soul. Caleb must find a way to convince Sarina that the man she is having an affair with is the damned, while Tristan tries to convince her that there is more to him then being a creature of the night, and that he is capable of offering her eternity by his side."

Synopsis of a novel in progress: THE DEVILS WILL by Kate Swan

Sarina Cullen is twenty-two and is the type of confident woman that always gets what she wants—and she loves a challenge. She is just coming out of a board meeting when her father passes away. Sarina leaves her corporate executive job for the reading of his will. She is in emotional turmoil. She feels guilty for the tiny amount of time she gave her father, Edward when he was alive. She is still hurt over the things they last said to each other three years ago after the mysterious death of her twin-brother. She is also tired of her stepmother controlling her life.

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23. Author Jade Lee and update on Query Process

Author Jade Lee will be at our RWA Sola writers meeting this Saturday @ 10am. (Metairie, LA) Please join us for a great presentation. I've taken a class by Jade before at Heartla's conference and she is amazing...

Lil' update ~
Well, I've been playing around with my "Pitch blurb" for what seems like forever. Who would have thought a little old' paragraph description would be so darn hard???? And the strange thing about this is the first two books I ever wrote (which were pretty good stories, but not so good writing) I put together a truly awesome pitch for those stories. They were easy to do for some reason. I sent it out to two people and got requests from both. They loved my pitch, but was kind enough to say I wasn't there yet and said I could resubmit something again later. Sweet. But now that I'm feeling it, feeling this story like I have never felt before, I mean really emotional, NOW I'm having a hard time narrowing it down to the bare bones. Why is that? And now an agent who requested a partial wants a synopsis with it. What???? Synopsis? Really? Geesh, you'd think she'd asked me for my first or second born.

Okay, I can do this. I will get that syn-poop-sis done! And a better query letter too. I will - I will - I will... Readers don't realize the stuff authors have to go through, and authors don't realize the stuff agents and editors have to go through. Maybe I should have kept this to myself...(nah...)

p.s. I just want to thank who ever it was that gave me such a sweet review on Amazon. It makes it all worth while. Seriously! Big hugs to you!

Have a great day!
Dawn Chartier (who is now alligator free!)
www.dawnchartier.com

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24. Four Sentence Synopsis

That's all it takes to present the most important information about your manuscript.
http://meganrebekahblogs.blogspot.com/2010/06/4-sentence-synopsis.html

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25. Writing the Dreaded Synopsis

I'll admit it. I love writing books. I love writing queries--I know, I'm weird that way. While I don't love writing synopses, I don't mind them either. They take me back to grade school when I had to do book reports and sum up what I read in 2-3 pages. You'd think it would be easier to do your own synopsis--being that you wrote the book yourself and know it better than anyone else. Easier said than done, right?

One of the biggest mistakes I saw when I recently judged a writing contest was that the synopses often read like my aforementioned book reports. Dry. As in drier than the Sahara dry. e.g. Jane did xxx. Then xxx happened. Then Jim Bob came along and did xxx... Then this judge almost died of boredom and had to get a glass of wine to revive herself.You want your synopsis to be like a book report...on acid. Think more like a jacket cover, but with the ending included. You want to excite the agent, not induce a coma.

Pam McCutcheon, the author of Writing the Fiction Synopsis, gave a great presentation on this topic at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. Check out her website and her books. (Yeah, I'm not done blogging about the conference yet, so you better hope I attend something else soon.) After keeping in mind that you need to do your research to see what format and length each agent wants, the following guidelines from Pam's book are amazing tips for all synopsis writers out there.

Pam started with a line of plot points A-E.

A (ordinary world)--B(trigger point)--C(change of plans)--D(black moment)--E(resolution)

1. The beginning of your synopsis should include the goals, motivations, and conflicts of ALL major characters, their typical world (Plot point A) and the trigger event that sends them in a different direction (Plot point B). Tip: Start the synopsis with your logline.

2. The middle is where you add scenes that lead up to the change of plans at the midpoint (Plot point C). This is usually where the character moves from being reactive to proactive.

3. End the synopsis by describing the dark moment where it looks like the hero will lose and the villain will prevail (Plot point D), followed by the conclusion (E). Make sure to tie up loose ends in the plot (especially the ending-it annoys agents when you leave this out.)

Consider adding other things such as genre, tone, theme, and setting. You'll have to make adjustments based on the specific length requested. Most agents want anywhere from 1-5 pages. If it's longer than one page, it should be double-spaced. It's best to have several saved in different lengths, so you're ready to go depending on agent preferences.

I'd start by filling in your plot points A-E--then add the acid. Good luck! Any other synopsis tips out there?

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