Most writers will tell you they find writing the synopsis a chore. It can be. However, I suggest looking at the exercise as being more than that, make it an exercise in summarising and evaluating.
After I've completed my first draft of a story, that's when I have a go at writing the synopsis. It's a great exercise in making you consider what is important in your story, and what's not. What stands out and is likely to attract readers, what might lose them. One thing often overlooked, and seldom mentioned by "experts" is the real purpose of the synopsis. It's commercial value.
Agents need to know the commercial viability of your novel. Will it sell?
Yes, they want to know you can write. Your opening chapters tell them that. The synopsis gives them an overview of the novel too. That's important. However, what they (and you) need to keep in mind is, will it attract an audience? How does it do this? What might make it stand out from the crowd?
Think of your synopsis as an advert. Tell the reader why it's going to be something they need to read. This begins by identifying what that commodity is. This is why I suggest working on your synopsis early. Examine your first draft and ask yourself - what are its selling points?
Before hitting the main section of this post, one more point. This exercise isn't only for those jumping into the submission trenches either! If you're an #indieauthor this exercise is equally as important because you need to have one eye on your market. Whether you like it or not, an author is in the business of selling books. Apply this commercial mindset after you've worked on the first draft so that subsequent drafts are all about polishing and refining the commodity that is going to make your book sell.
The Basics of your Synopsis
For this section, I'm using information provided by Anna Davis from the agent-led writing school, Curtis Brown Creative. I recommend Anna's school very highly. I completed their novel writing course in 2016 and the Edit & Pitch course a year later. Consider the cost as an investment.
Anna defines the synopsis as, "the complete narrative arc of your plot. It’s not the same thing as a ‘blurb’ (which is the short teaser paragraph that you find on the back of published books)." She goes on to convey a similar message to mine, "it's actually a great way to see if your plot is working properly. If you can't summarise your story in a page, then there's quite probably something wrong with it." Let's define what the synopsis needs to include:
Open with the title, the genre and the 'pitch line' - defined as "the key question, dilemma or driving force of the novel – or the heart of the novel, to put it another way. And if you know you have a great hook or a high concept, that should be your pitch line." See what I meant earlier about the commercial value? The 'pitch' requires you putting on your business head. It's the key element in your advert. It's what you tell people when they ask you about your book. It's what you say to your agent or publisher to get them interested. At a book festival, when someone comes up to your stall, it's how you get them hooked and wanting to know more. Get your pitch polished!
Simplify the plot to its most basic ingredients, ignore the extraneous. This involves establishing your main character neatly, give them impact. Use them as a hook. Likewise, establish the setting, also in a way that hooks the reader. Ask yourself, how is your protagonist unusual? How will they drive the story (if they don't? Problem!!) What's exciting/unusual about the setting/world building - is there a premise that acts as a hook?
Show the tone of the story. This can be done in the previous section with an example, or by the type of character you've defined. The tone can also be a selling point. Tones can be fashionable. I'm not saying to let fashion dictate your story, it's too transient to do that. But it may be something that is 'on trend' at that moment in time and act as a hook to readers/agents.
Be concise. Refine, refine, refine. Distillation creates impact and that's what your synopsis needs! Think of the process as making essential oils! The result offers the reader a pungent impact that remains long after the synopsis has been read. Aim for 500 words maximum! Impact remember!
Impactful Writing
For this next section, I'm starting with the brilliant Jane Friedman. She is well worth reading, her insights and knowledge about the publishing industry are incisive and well-informed. Here are some of her tips:
Characterisation drives the synopsis.
(It should do the same to your story!) Explain how the protagonist's character arc is apparent in their motivations, emotions, relationships, thereby driving the plot. What challenges are faced that stop them from achieving their goals? This 'cause-and-effect' approach takes you through the plot, driving out the extraneous. (Something happens, the MC gets angry, it causes trouble, affects another person. They respond, situation deteriorates, MC seeks vengeance.)
Consider: focus your attention on the commercial viability of this cause-and-effect.
Clarify your setting/world building. For speculative fiction writers, world building is a defining ingredient. It's a commercial bonus. The synopsis needs to highlight a premise that makes the book stand out but in a way non-speculative types will appreciate. Avoid specialist language (eg. "muggles"). Here you emphasize how the world impacts on your protagonist, impeding their efforts perhaps, provoking their emotions and motivations. Does the world have an ingredient that makes the story original? A new form of magic? Deadly social protocols? Talking animals?
Define a crucial relationship. The poet John Donne said, "No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main." This principle applies to your synopsis. There must be one relationship your protagonist has with another entity in the story that helps to drive the plot. An entity that impacts on the protagonist's character arc. I've used 'entity' because the relationship might be something other than a person; a pet dog, a robot housekeeper, a reflection in the mirror! It could be with the antagonist, their battle is what drives the plot.
Eight Plot Points to Consider
For this section, I've used a great article by Glen C Strathy. If you're struggling to structure the plot, as a basic framework, here are 8 sections on which to hang your plot.
The Protagonist's Goal - that thing the main character needs to achieve for the story to be complete. This goal defines their character arc - the starting point and the end point.
The Consequence - the event(s) that prevent the protagonist from achieving their goal. It's the 'cause-and-effect' I mentioned earlier.
The Requirements - the ingredients needed to achieve the goal. It might be a magic amulet, a team of friends, a flying horse. It might be social protocols in world building.
The Forewarnings - the antithesis of the Requirements, they are the elements which create tension. The features that get in the way, the worries and anxieties that are a key part of the protagonist's character, the hostility of the antagonist.
The Costs - these are the sacrifices needed to achieve the goal, or help to avoid the forewarnings. Costs may be someone's life and the consequence it has on the protagonist's arc. Costs may be the impact seen in world building, the loss of a monarch changes society for the worse.
The Dividends - the rewards that occur that lead to making the protagonist's goal easier to achieve. They may be the happy result from a cost! (There's a dilemma!)
The Prerequisites - items that enable the protagonist to succeed. In a synopsis, it may be a maguffin upon which the plot depends. It's the shield Athena gives Perseus to protect him from Medusa.
The Preconditions - these may be found in your setting/worldbuilding. They impede the protagonist; they are orcs in Lord of the Rings that complicate Frodo's journey, it's the duplicitous nature of the wizard from helping Dorothy get back home.
There's no need to slavishly stick with this format, you might distil a couple of them as a means to show a major impediment. I've included them purely to help your evaluation of your plot. Does it include these eight points? Which ones are vital to your summary of the plot?
Dos and Dont's
Here are a few simple tips from the sources I've included, listed so they stand out. (Yes, some sources on the internet will argue some of these tips. This entire process is swamped with subjectivity!)
Don't divide the synopsis into sections, it needs to flow. It's another indicator of your ability to write, it's not a shopping list.
Do include plot twists and spoilers. They are integral to the plot. They will sell the book, therefore agents/publishers need to know what they are. As an evaluation exercise, YOU need to decide if they work!
Don't include praise from other sources. It's subjective and irrelevant.
Do include quotes if their impact is greater than any other form of statement.
Do examine your synopsis with objectivity. Write and polish it. Put it away for a while then go back with fresh eyes and pull it apart. Does it still work?
Do write the synopsis in the third person. (even if the story is in a different form)
Do capture your voice in the synopsis. Read it aloud. How does it sound? Does it reflect the voice within your story?
Do share your synopsis with other people who are familiar with writing. Then share it with someone who isn't a writer. Compare and contrast! Is your non-writer hooked by the synopsis? Do they understand what happens? (Quiz them?)
Conclusion
Let me emphasize my opening statement. Synopsis writing shouldn't be a process you undertake AFTER you've finished writing your story. Make it part of the process. It can lead to the final outcome (the story AND the synopsis) being stronger.
Secondly, OK - writing is an art form. It is also a commercial venture. You want readers, don't you? People who are going to enjoy your work, who will thrill to the twists and turns of the plot, be engaged by your characters and world building. There is a commercial dimension to these things and highlighting them in your synopsis is vital. Not just because it might snag an agent - you should be happy your story has these ingredients. (Perhaps, if you hadn't conducted your synopsis writing after the first draft, it might not have been so good!)
At the start I used two words - summarising and evaluation. Synopsis writing is all about making your plot so concise it defines the highlights of the story with crystal clarity and makes it a saleable commodity. Evaluation requires you examine the story, with an objective, critical eye and be open to making amendments where they are needed.
Yes, it is an onerous task. But no different to writing high quality material that will attract readers and help you achieve success. Don't make it a hurdle, a necessary evil. Make it a means of generating quality storytelling. Good luck!
I write fantasy stories, click the image to find out more about them:
