Holly
Lisle's Vision
Overcoming
the Fear
of Writing a Synopsis
By
Vicki M. Taylor
©2001,
Vicki M. Taylor
If you noticed,
I didn’t title this article "Overcoming YOUR Fear of Writing a
Synopsis." I don’t think you
own the fear anymore than I do or any other writer. We all share a common emotion, a reaction to a task that can
be summed up in one word: formidable.
What
is it about this particular piece of writing that brings more moans and groans
from writers than from a roomful of sixth graders getting a surprise math test?
What is
a Synopsis?
Look
at the word. Synopsis.
Say it with me. "Sin-op-sissss."
Even the sound of the word emanates dread.
What
is a synopsis? Webster’s defines it as "a shortened statement or
outline, as of a narrative. Abstract."
Nothing
sounds particularly evil in that definition.
Let’s look at it a little closer – "shortened statement or
outline." Hey, look at that. "outline."
Now there is a little word we’re all familiar with.
Does "outline" make you cringe as much as "synopsis?"
What about "shortened statement?"
Not me. Probably not you,
either.
Start with a
Simple Sentence
Let’s
start with the shortened statement. I’ll
use the popular children’s story Lady
and the Tramp to help demonstrate my points.
What
is our story about?
"Lady
and the Tramp is a story about dogs."
True,
but this portrayal is dry and uninteresting.
Would you want to read a story just about dogs?
What makes this dog story different?
Let’s see if we can add some more information to better describe the
story.
"Lady
and the Tramp is about two dogs from different sides of the track."
Good.
Now we know that there are two main characters.
And we know that these two characters are different in some way.
Let’s see if we can do a little bit better.
"Lady
and the Tramp tells the adventures of an upper-class, well-bred cocker
spaniel and a roguish mutt from the wrong side of the tracks."
Okay.
Now we have some description and a hint at a story. We know that these two distinctly different characters are
going to have at least one adventure.
Describe Your
Story in 25 Words or Less
So
now we need to think about our audience. The
synopsis generally goes to an editor, agent, or publisher.
So we must capture their attention.
Give them something to grab onto and not let go.
This is where you can really get creative and meet the "describe
your story in 25 words or less" challenge.
"Lady
and the Tramp is filled with exciting adventures of Lady, a lovingly
pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a roguish mutt from across the tracks."
Whew!
There it is – 25 words exactly. We’ve
just written a strong hook for the opening of our synopsis.
Every
synopsis should start out with a statement that describes your story in
approximately 25 words. However, don’t be a stickler about trying to hit the
"magic" number. There
isn’t really a magic number. But keeping your description to approximately 25
words helps to focus your writing on the key elements of your story.
Key Elements
– Not That Difficult to Identify
Speaking
of key elements, those are what we now need to identify so that we can create
our synopsis.
Wait,
wait. Stop groaning.
I promise we’ll go slowly. Okay?
I
think I’ve read every article and book written on creating a synopsis, and
even though every writer has her own formula for creating the "perfect
synopsis," I admit that authors agree on one thing – you need to
practice. So my suggestion is that
you do what I’ve done here. You
find some simple stories and practice creating the synopsis for them.
Once you’re able to pick out the key elements easily, you’re ready to
create a synopsis for your own story.
So
back to our story, Lady and the Tramp.
First Element
- Structure
The
basic structure of the synopsis should be a complete summary of your story from
beginning to end, written in present tense. Simple, right? So far. Let’s see
how that helps us with our story.
"Lady
and the Tramp is filled with exciting adventures of Lady, a lovingly
pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a roguish mutt from across the tracks.
Lady’s
owners love her but ignore her when their baby arrives.
The owners leave her with a cat-loving aunt who locks Lady out of the
house.
Lady
runs away and straight into a street-wise mutt named Tramp who shows her how
good he has it being free from owners.
Lady
is caught by the dog catcher and spends time in the pound learning some of
Tramp’s secrets. Hurt and
jealous, Lady is returned home and exiled to the doghouse once again.
Lady
discovers a rat making its way into the house and is helpless to defend her
home. Tramp helps her by getting
into the house and killing the rat. However,
he’s accused of attacking the baby and is placed in the dog catcher’s wagon
to be taken to the pound.
Lady’s
owners return home just in time to see how Lady has been treated and have Lady
show them the dead rat."
More Key
Elements – Setting, Main Characters, Conflict
Not
bad for a first draft. We’re
missing a few items that would make the story more dramatic and compelling for
the editor, but those can be added easily.
First, we should make sure that we’ve established the setting for the
story and identified our main characters.
We’ll
have to identify real conflict between these characters and their motivations.
Then, we’ll have to show the resolution of the conflict. It isn’t as important to name every character in the
synopsis, but you must name your main characters.
Final Key
Elements – Tell Your Ending
Finally,
we must make sure that we’ve wrapped up our story and told our ending.
Yes, that’s what I said, we tell our ending in the synopsis.
You must never, ever tease editors and leave them guessing about the
ending of story.
As
a side note for romance writers: if your story is a romance, make sure you
always establish the love relationship between the two main characters by
showing how they met and why they’re fighting against their attraction.
With
that advice, let’s see how our synopsis shapes up after adding these key
elements.
"Lady
and the Tramp is an early twentieth-century story filled with exciting
adventures of Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a roguish
mutt from across the tracks, in New England.
Lady’s
owners lavish attention on her until a new baby arrives that takes all their
attention. Ignoring Lady’s needs,
they go away on a trip, leaving her and the baby with a callous aunt and her two
Siamese cats that wreak havoc. Lady,
wrongly accused of the mischievous cats’ pranks, ends up in the backyard
doghouse and eventually fitted for a muzzle.
Fearful,
Lady runs away and straight into a street-wise mutt named Tramp, who shows her
how good he has it being free from owners.
He treats her to a night on the town, complete with a romantic Italian
dinner from his favorite restaurant.
Unfortunately,
even though he protects Lady from a vicious dog attack, Tramp can’t protect
her from the dog catcher. Lady
spends time in the pound learning some of Tramp’s secrets from his other
wayward, albeit intimate, friends {"intimate acquaintances" is an
oxy-moron}. Hurt and jealous, Lady returns home and is once again exiled
to the doghouse.
Lady’s
other neighborhood dog-friends advise her to forget this scoundrel and
chivalrously offer to take care of her.
Tramp
returns, hoping to change Lady’s mind about him.
She rejects his advances and sends him on his way.
Moments
later she’s alarmed that an ugly rat enters the house, but can’t do anything
about it because she’s chained. Tramp
comes to the rescue by finding a way into the house and killing the rat before
it can harm the baby.
However,
the heartless aunt accuses Tramp of attacking the baby and calls the dog catcher
who places him in the wagon to be taken to the pound.
Lady’s
owners return home just in time to see how Lady has been treated and have Lady
show them the dead rat. Lady’s
friends run to stop the dog catcher’s wagon and everyone is reunited after a
thrilling chase scene.
When
the commotion settles, Tramp chooses the family life and abandons his drifting
ways to stay with Lady and her owners."
And
there you have it. Your synopsis. Was
that so painful?
This
synopsis is rather short when compared to the synopses for the longer books you
desire to write. Don’t let that intimidate you.
The concept is still the same.
Final Advice
Editors
have specific requirements when it comes to the length of your synopsis.
Unfortunately, just like snowflakes, no two editors are the same.
One editor requires a ten-page synopsis while another may only want two
pages.
My
advice to you is that you follow the requirements of the editor and make sure
you include enough information in your synopsis to tell your story but not so
much as to slow it down. Focus on
the story’s development from beginning to end and make sure you emphasize the
resolution of the conflict and/or romance.
If
you’re having trouble writing your synopsis, don’t beat yourself up about
it. Go back to your story.
Have you developed the plot completely?
Do you understand your characters and their motivation?
Is your conflict believable and resolvable? If you can’t answer those questions, the problem isn’t
with your synopsis. If you don’t
understand your story, how do you expect an editor to?
Good
luck and remember to practice, practice, practice.
Lady
and the Tramp is owned by © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
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