Honey I Shrunk the Plot! Learning to Love Synopses
By Diana Giovinazzo | January 20, 2023 |
The dreaded synopsis. Let’s be honest, we’ve all complained about writing it. And why not, when compressing a 100k-word novel into three short paragraphs can feel harder than a quantum physics exam?
When I wrote my first book, I nearly cried when it came to writing the synopsis. It felt awful, trying to get every ounce of my plot into a snack-sized page–at least until I spoke with another author in passing about synopses. She spoke about them with so much love, and said they were one of her favorite things to write. In fact, she said writing the synopsis was the first thing she did, even before laying down the details of her plot.
Her offhanded comment hit me in the gut. There was a way to love a synopsis and effectively plot my book? It sounded like a wonderful idea. But how?
Stage 1: A Lukewarm Start
If I was to conquer this thing, I had to make sure to know my enemy. Every synopsis should be in the present tense regardless of the style of the novel itself, single-spaced, and no longer than a page (bonus points if you can get it down to half a page).
Every novel can be broken into a three-act play: the opening introduction, the peak of the conflict, and finally the resolution. One paragraph at a time, focusing on one of those aspects of the novel, the writer can form the narrative arc of the book as a whole, making sure to focus on the most important aspects of the plot.
The synopsis isn’t the place for cliffhangers. The synopsis is the place where you let it all hang out, so to speak–where you let the reader, who happens to be an agent and/or a potential publisher, know all the juicy tidbits but in their most basic form.
Likewise, make sure to leave the superfluous words for the novel. Edit and trim the synopsis to keep everything simple and clear.
By focusing on that basic formula, the synopsis itself was demystified, making it a little easier for me to write the second time around. But I still didn’t enjoy the process. While it felt more palatable, it was still tantamount to eating soggy cauliflower.
It wasn’t until I started to plan for my next pitch that I found how truly useful the synopsis can be.
Stage 2: A New Approach
I had an idea for a new book, which sounded great to me. I had the beginning and ending all planned out, but that sticky middle threw me for a loop. And then I remembered the advice I’d received so long ago: Start with the synopsis.
So I set my plot aside and took to the dreaded synopsis for help. Writing those basic paragraphs helped me to figure out the meaty bits of the story, which in turn helped me to go back and create a proper outline. And in turn, to finish my pitch.
While we fuss over soggy vegetables, we may forget that we can cook them in a different way–and like them much better for the change. The same can be said for the synopsis.
When we put all the tools on the table, we can find an easier way to organize our creative points. In a lot of ways, it’s like sitting down and reading the instructions for a piece of furniture before we assemble it. You may be thinking, I don’t need to read the directions, but deep down, you know you do.
I can’t quite say that I love writing a synopsis yet, but when I began to utilize it as a tool from the very beginning, it made the process of writing a novel move much more smoothly. Perhaps that is the first step in my relationship with writing the synopsis. The love can come later.
How do you feel about the synopsis? Love it, hate it? Does it come easily to you or do you struggle? How do you approach it? Share any tips or strategies in comments.
Diana Giovinazzo is the co-creator of Wine, Women and Words, a weekly literary podcast featuring interviews with authors over a glass of wine. Her debut novel, THE WOMAN IN RED, released in 2020, and her second novel, ANTOINETTE’S SISTER, released in 2022. You can find her in the Los Angeles area with her menagerie and husband.
[coffee]
GAAAAA – I hate to write a synopsis! Just had to do one for my agent to send to my publisher. Perhaps on my next novel, I’ll do the synopsis first and see if this actually works.
Hi Diana. What a great, common-sensical idea–the writer challenges herself to write a one-page synopsis of the novel she’s been thinking about writing. Can she or can’t she imagine her story in three acts, and describe it in four-five hundred words for a stranger? A very useful suggestion, thanks.
Thanks for a great summary and a good perspective, Diana.
I spend a lot of time with blurbs, which are *not* the same thing but apply a lot of the same lessons. I think the key to both is learning to think in the size you get to work with. If there really were just three paragraphs to capture a story’s awesomeness, what would belong there? What’s an essential detail to hook people, what’s a major plot thread that can still be summarized in the right two lines, what’s a theme or character point to keep touching on — and how do they all do their jobs as limited parts of that elegant, powerful description?
If we can just think of them on their own terms, a synopsis or blurb is its own kind of magic. Yes there’s page after page of story richness that will be locked out of it, but in itself it’s a single read that can grab an agent (synopsis) or a reader (blurb) and in less than a minute convert them from someone who didn’t know the story to someone who *does* know enough basics that they’re hungry for more. Plus, like you said, they’re powerful things for keeping the story itself on track as it’s written.
They aren’t the story. We need to love them for what they are.
I wrote my synopsis for my editor yesterday, after spending a couple of days filling out the character building worksheets and complying conflicts available on onestopforwriters.com. Completing these exercises hugely assisted my creativity and led to a synopsis that I feel confident hits the right spots. It is about 1500 words, but the longer length satisfies my editor, assuring her that I’ve thought about how to develop the character arc through the conflicts. Will I go off track when I actually write the story? Well, there is a reason my publisher asks that I write a short synopsis after writing the story for the marketing department not based on the original synopsis because, yes, things go sideways. I’ve also written a 1200-word synopsis for a 140,000-word novel after it was written. That was like trying to capture the Mississippi in a bucket.
“Miss Author has a problem: write a synopsis. It’s hard. She cries. Then she takes heart. There are rules that will help. Present tense. No surprises. Tell all. Forget fancy words. Keep it tight. Her writing life turns around. She even starts her next project with a synopsis first! It’s like furniture, design it in advance and only then start sawing. But will the final novel live up to the synopsis? She must summon all her skill–and trust her heart–to find out.”
While I enjoyed the narrative voice in your post, I found the pace lagging. I must pass but with best wishes for this project, but please keep me in mind for future posts. Best wishes, BB
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Solid and succinct advice today, Diana, thanks!
I love the advice your friend gave you! It was even suggested to me to write a query first when plotting a new book, (advice I’m taking). I struggled hared with writing both query and synopsis for my ‘finished’ Ms. But after reading a lot of good examples on line, on my 9zillionth pass, something clicked about the trajectory of my story. I gave this latest version an editor, who loved the synopsis but zeroed in on the discrepancies in the Ms., which led to a much-needed revision and a cleaner pitch. It’s been a long bumpy non-linear process for me, but putting these things together in a package has taught me the value of persistence. If I could offer any tip, it would be to find examples that worked, both in and out of your genre, and study them. Thanks for a great post!
A great post on writing a synopsis. You take the fear out of writing one.Thank you for the tips.
DIana:
Your advice applies to us short-fiction writers too. Especially, for me, the mushy middle. That’s where my stories lag and the tight, power-punching narrative turns into the long and winding road.
Also, when life hands you mushy cauliflower, whip it and season it like mashed potatoes. Good eats!