May 27, 2024 Carol Brennan King
Too many years ago, I was prepping a manuscript for submission. The first thing I did was look up the submission guidelines of the writing conference when I saw the word synopsis as something they wanted – now.
I hit Google and my writing texts, and with great fear, wrote my first synopsis with the goal of hitting all of their requirements. My secret, apparently I did not impress them. Note: this was before the greats now available on Google were there.
A couple of weeks ago, I learned something I wish I had when I first started my life as a writer and instructor or coach of writers: write your synopsis first. It might save you months of think time. I wished I had learned that first. It made so much sense and saved so much time. I could write more easily since I knew who was going where, why, and who was in the way.
Generally, a synthesis is a brief or condensed statement giving a general view of some subject. For writers, when the dictionary says a compendium of heads or short paragraphs giving a view of the whole, or a brief summary of the plot of a novel, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/synopsis
More specifically, you will be summing up the book, so the evaluator will know whether you have built a marketable book.
However, if you write the synopsis of your book before you write the book, you will be way ahead of the game. You will know the skeleton of your story, the names of all the bones, how they fit in the story, what they look like, and which bones are most important.
Who are the main character(s), the person who will is there for the whole ride and the bad guy – who probably won’t look like the bad guy right away. Your synopsis will show how the story unfolds, and generally, each paragraph of your synopsis will demonstrate how the key characters act and react with each other to keep the reader glued to the page.
And remember, the setting might function as a character in the book – stressing your main character, perhaps at the will of your villain.
This may sound like you are writing a first draft in this synopsis. WRONG! You are writing between 500 to 1000 words. Check to see what is required by your target publishers who will know if you have the makings of a great book.
Because you write the synopsis first, you save yourself a lot of wandering around, wondering how to get the characters to do what you want them to. And why. The WHY is key. It keeps the characters moving because they are motivated by the why, and you can write more vivid language if you know the why.
For more help, check out three excellent resources.
Resources:
https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/learn-how-to-write-a-synopsis-like-a-pro
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Carol's Notes 