It's a fact of a writer's life that you need to write a synopsis for your story when submitting to many competitions, publishers or agents. Also, many editors request a synopsis as part of a developmental edit manuscript assessment and if you're new to writing a synopsis this can lead to anxiety and overwhelm.
What is a synopsis?
It's a summary of your story's core plot, showing the main characters, their story motivation, story conflict, the setting, the genre tone and the outcome of the story. All written in a concise way that's also engaging to read.
Tricky, right?!
To help you out, let's look at 5 tips to help you draft a synopsis for your story:
- Focus on the core story only - if you have a top plot line, say it's a romance, and a sub-plot about a mystery, you'll need to focus only on the main plot that drives the story forward. So, in this case focus on the romance against the backdrop of a mystery.
Note: When you have too many competing plot lines the synopsis becomes complex to write and it shows where the story needs to be tightened.
How to fix it: be ruthless and cut out the sub-plots. Focus on the main point and purpose of the story. For example, if the story is a romance, then the main plot is about the two characters falling in love and what is stopping them from having their happy ever after or happily for now ending. - Secondary characters try to take the synopsis over. Some stories have a big cast of characters who want to take centre stage. Others have a secondary character that appears central to the plot but in fact they are not the protagonist or antagonist and their role isn't to appear in the core plot-line of the story. So, don't allow secondary characters to take over the synopsis.
How to fix it: be ruthless and cut out secondary characters even if they protest. Tell them, they can be the star of their own story another time. - Write the synopsis in 3rd person present tense - Even if the story is written in 1st person POV past tense or 3rd person past tense, the synopsis needs to be written in present tense, 3rd person so it come across as if it's happening right now on the page.
How to fix it: Draft your synopsis however you like, then rewrite it into 3rd person present tense - easy! - Give away the ending of your story. Acquiring editors, publishers and agents want to see the whole story including how it ends. A synopsis should show the beginning, middle and ending of the story.
Note: Don't end it on an open-ended hook. That's for the book jacket copy, not for the synopsis.
How to fix it: make sure the climax and resolution are clearly in the synopsis, and that every questions raised in the synopsis has been answered too. - Stay within the word count! Depending on the publisher, editor or competition you're submitting your manuscript to, you'll need to write your synopsis to a specific word count. Make sure you know what that word count is before you start writing and learn to write with economy with powerful verbs.
Here are some common word counts I've seen: 300 words, 500 words or 1000 words.
How to fix it: Always, ALWAYS check the submission guidelines for the word count, both for your synopsis and for the manuscript's length or competition entry's word count. Cut out sub-plots and secondary characters. Focus on the main story and protagonists.
A word on capitalising the names of your main characters in the synopsis...
The main characters need to have their name capitalised the first time they are introduced to the reader in the synopsis. There are some editors and competitions that require the name to be capitalised the entire way through the synopsis, others only want it done the first time the characters are introduced.
So, I recommend checking with the editor or competition manager to confirm which style they prefer.
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