Writing a synopsis of a book is very different to writing an
outline. An outline is something a writer might write as an overview of their
manuscript, usually for his or her own benefit. He or she might write it before
beginning their manuscript as a plan, or after the first draft to delineate the
story arc, to check for inconsistencies, and to ensure all the loose ends are
tied up.
A synopsis is a different beast – a beast I’ve been battling
with over the last few weeks. I’ve been in the process of finishing a
manuscript and rewriting two other novels, which has meant writing three
synopses. It has to be my least favourite part of the writing process – I’d
rather clean the house top to bottom, or, given the choice, work on a short
story instead. But writing a synopsis is a necessary evil and essential when
submitting a manuscript to a publisher or to a literary agent. They will read,
hopefully, the three sample chapters and when they finish those the synopsis
will tell them what happens in the rest of the book.
So, where to start? I’ve said before that when I finish a
manuscript I stick it in a drawer and try to forget about it for a while, so
that when I take it out to read and edit, I’m seeing it with fresh-ish eyes. The
time before you take your manuscript out of the drawer is probably the best
time to write the synopsis as you’re not too close to it. The main story-line
is still in your head, but not all the little ins and outs of the plot, or all
the little details you might be tempted to include that will make it harder to
get the synopsis down to a page or two.
A synopsis has to include the story line, the emotional or
psychological journey of the main characters, the story arc, the genre, the
tone, and it must also include the ending. Everything must be shown to be
resolved by the end of the synopsis.
So, it’s a tricky thing to write and there are lots of
things to think about when writing it. There is help at hand, though. Nicola
Morgan’s book Write a Great Synopsis
is excellent. There is lots of advice available online too. I read all the
books and took all the advice because it’s so important that each element of the
submission package is the best it can be.
I’ve finished my synopses-fest now, and turned my hand to
writing a blurb, a pitch and even a tweet for each novel. It’s a very
interesting exercise to do, as well as being useful. But it’s also quite a
challenge – particularly the tweet, which only allows you 140 characters! If
you can get the essence of your novel into 140 characters, then writing a
synopsis should be a doddle.
Twitter @savitakalhan
www.savitakalhan.com
