Tips for writing a synopsis

[DaCosta]

I am trying to condense my novel down into 1000 words but can only manage 2000! I'm beginning to despair.

Does anyone have any tips for writing a synopsis for agent submissions. How on earth do you condense your work down into such a small word count?!

 

[HareBrain]

You could do worse than start here.

 

[Mouse]

I found the word count easy, to be honest, but I'm not a wordy person. But... just write about the main plot, you don't need subplots in the synopsis. You don't need minor characters either. Main character, main plot. Maybe try writing it in bullet points first, then fleshing it out?

See if this helps: How To Write A 1-Page Synopsis

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Is it a synopsis or a query, Da Costa?

For a synopsis keep it pretty straightforward and don't worry too much about hooking - an agent generally only uses it to check the story hangs together after deciding they like the writing. Cut out subplots, stay with the main story.

For a query - check out Janet Reid's Query Shark blog and Absolute Write's query letter hell.

Who your protagonist is, what they want to achieve, what stands in the way, and the stakes if they fail.

 

[DaCosta]

You could do worse than start here.

Oh ye gods! *shakes fist at sky* Condense it to a page?!

 

[DaCosta]

It's for a query. I need three chapters and a synopsis.

 

[DaCosta]

Okay, so cold hard facts sprinkled with some personality. Easy. Ahem.

 

[DaCosta]

Thanks peeps

 

[Hex]

Something I found ridiculously comforting was Janet Reid saying she'd never read a good synopsis. They're all awful, just some of them are competently awful.

 

[Dozmonic]

The first synopsis I ever submitted felt, to me, very dry, but very proper. The one I'm currently submitting feels like I've sat back and chatted about the book rather than giving a scientific breakdown. Some books have been taken on with a pretty poor synopsis, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Focus on the book instead.

 

[DaCosta]

Talking to an agent on Twitter last night and they confirmed that one page was all they were looking for. I did give it a go but it sounds terribly whimsy, as though I couldn't be bothered to write more! Who would have thought it could be so hard to write less! I'm going to mull over it and come back to it later; concentrate on the book instead, as you suggest Dozmonic.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I know it's hard to believe at this stage - I tore my hair out over synopsis and what not - it can be done, and once you crack it, it's easier for the next book. Remember, too, it's a singlespaced page, not double like the sample pages.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

My tip would be - summarise your novel in one sentence.

Once you've mastered that, you'll be able to think more clearly about matters of synopses...

 

[Gumboot]

My tip would be - summarise your novel in one sentence.

Once you've mastered that, you'll be able to think more clearly about matters of synopses...

That's what I was thinking. The key with any sort of summary of a work is different scales of detail. If you're struggling to hit the word count, you're simply writing at too high a detail level. You really should be able to summarise your work at a variety of levels, ranging from a single word through to a blow-by-blow account.

If you're having trouble reducing a 2,000 word summary to 1,000 words, perhaps try starting anew with a 500, or 100, or even 10 word summary. It will help you to reset the level of detail you're providing.

 

[Hex]

It's very true. I find it very difficult (though, as springs says, easier the more I write). It might be interesting to look at the Critiques stuff and see how other people have suffered through the process.

 

[Esfires]

You need to parse out the structure of your plot: Inciting incident, escalation/failure, midpoint shakeup, tide-change, climax, resolution. These are what you need to hit in your synopsis, and it can all be easily placed on a single page.