Synopses Don’t Have to Suck

Synopsis.

The very word made me cringe.

For something defined as “a brief summary of the plot of a novel, motion picture, play, etc” it sure has a way of causing sleepless nights, groans of frustration, and blank-eyed confusion.

No matter how many books I read or sites I visited, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. I’d try to keep my synopsis tight and (of course) make sense, but then I wasn’t sure what I needed to include, what I shouldn’t include, what was really important or just sort of important, and on and on.

But then I found the Holy Grail of Synopsis Writing. I stumbled on this website by complete accident and it has changed everything I’ve thought of synopsis writing. Namely, they no longer suck.

I know I’m not the only writer who has had this issue, so I thought I’d share my secret. So here we go …

All you have to do in order to write a complete, clear, and concise synopsis is to answer the following questions:

1. What is the setting? (This is really the lead-in question for the next one)
2. Who is the main character and what does s/he want?
3. What initial problem does s/he encounter?
4. How does s/he overcome his/her initial problem and achieve some measure of success?
5. What happens to spoil the initial success?
6. Where does this new problem lead?
7. What risk does the main character take to deal with this new challenge?
8. What is his/her “dark moment?”
9. How does s/he overcome this last obstacle to achieve the outcome of the story?
10. How does it end? Happily ever after? What’s changed?

When I’m writing a synopsis, I will list these questions, answer them, and erase them when I’m done. And then Voila! I have a concise and to-the-point synopsis. There are some other rules to remember when writing your synopsis:

1. Keep it single spaced and to about a page.
2. Write in present tense.
3. Use all caps when you first introduce your main characters (LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD walks through the woods and she meets the BIG BAD WOLF). This is a one-time thing.
4. Keep all other characters outside your main characters to a minimum. Even though Aunt Em and Uncle Henry were important to Dorothy. In your synopsis, they are just Dorothy’s aunt and uncle. Capice?

I took the above method from the Top Ten Questions for a Successful Synopsis by Gina Ardito, a romance writer, but tweaked it a bit so I could use it for my manuscripts. If you’re writing a romance, i.e. paranormal romance (I know you’re out there), you might want to go to her website and use the questions she has listed. I know I will when my YA paranormal romance is ever ready to go.

Check out Gina Ardito’s website at http://www.ginaardito.com/.