Got a story idea? - Write the synopsis first

Dwight

This link to Beth Anderson's blog (you may know her - she's a successful crimewriter) gave me that kind of cosmic lift which fishermen with a lifetime of mundane effort must blanch under when they open another oyster and find the biggest pearl they have ever seen.

http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com/workshops/writing-the-tight-synopsis/

She makes the enigma of the synopsis so clear and yet to me her analysis and method are so obviously right. Please read on for your authorial peace of mind.

Her tenet is: the purpose of the synopsis is to show an editor you can write a story with a sound plot which will sell. A synopsis has no other purpose. To be a coherent, marketable plot, it must detail the actions of the main character(s), from their first action to their last (these are the two most important things they do throughout the book, which explains why one action starts the book on page one and the other finishes it on the last page), with as many intervening actions of theirs as you please to justify a book of your length. Not forgetting that problems in fiction arise from characters' goals and motivations.

So I've noted the 'frame of mind'-cum-'reasons why' of my main character all the way down my list of scenes and come up with 24 loops of motivation. Trouble is, the exercise has shown me that I need to mention these purposes in the book (another re-edit in case I haven't). I knew as I was doing it that my resulting synopsis should show me the book I should have written (to be a commercial hot cake).

BA also claims, and I agree, that writing your synopsis first is creatively sound and will save you a lot of time over the long run, rather than having a great story idea and setting off in the hope that creatively wide things will happen along the way. (She leaves the door open to this happening.) She almost says get it down to the fine detail before starting because it is in the synopsis that the real work of the author lies; the writing which follows will be so much easier as a result.

I wonder if this principle can be applied to short story writing too.

Carol

Ah the box is back, thanks Webbo.

I'm of the view that writing the synopsis first only suits some people- just like some plan and some don't.
I start with an outline that changes as I discover things about my characters, or as plot ideas come to me.

dorothyd

that's the way I used to work, Carol.
Like, beginning a book with five children in a military camp with no idea of what is going to happen to them, and having said happenings arise out of a) ideas and b) incidental things in my life. Needed a name. heard a flower arranger say 'anyone want a bunch of Jonquils?' which I heard as John Quill and then, when completely and totally blocked, seeing a circus arrive in town. Went, with notebook ... 'Mummy, you wrote a whole book in there!"' said 8 year old kid. I did, the second half of the book. It was published. Had I planned it, that wonderful serendipitous arrival would have been totally lost, gone forever. Instead it was enchanting. Leave the door wide, wide open for 'inspiration' rather than planning. It could do wonders for your story and your book.

Neph

I usually start with a basis synopsis but it evolves and changes as I go along. Usually making the story stronger.

Dwight

It's one of those facets of writing where it's obviously "What works for you?" Naturally, Neph, you would only shift your original plot if a better idea came to you; it would be foolish to resist. If you have a good synopsis worked out though, on an idea which you are confident will be a winner, and that's the plan according to BA, you don't want to stray too far from it in the writing stage. To me, Beth Anderson is very persuasive and I can't see any holes in her logic, born from her experience.

Maybe this plan is just for writers who find that story-telling is their strength and can rattle off a good one. Screenplay writers, for instance. Read her article, and it's easier to agree than to disagree that it's a time and effort saving device.

Mutley

Dwight, what a great website - thank you.

Lou Treleaven

I hate synopses (is that the plural?). I tried recently to write the synopsis first - in fact, I went on and planned the whole book. Trouble is I now have no motivation to write it as I know what happens! I will go back to my original method - have a vague idea and an ending in mind, then start and write till you get to the end. As Dwight says, it's what works for you. I will check out the article though as anything that can help with the horrible horrible synopsis can only be a good thing.

Lou Treleaven

Okay, that was really useful. I have begun rewriting my current synopsis on the strength of it. But as for then going on to write a 3 page synopsis, then a 6 pager, then a 12 pager...! That's definitely not for me.

dorothyd

something wonderful happened to me in the middle of this 'planned' book on Charles I. I mean, how safe is it to conclude that His Majesty is here, he will dictate his life from birth to execution and no deviation along the way because history doesn't permit it. Right?

So, Charles is incredibly difficult to work with, like backing off, allowing others to come in so here I am, four years down the line, with a half written book which is stiff as polystyrene packaging and an author as fragile as that, too. Here's where the synopsis flies out the window. It is suggested I talk with people around him, rather than to him. Voila! One book totally coming alive, as they all take their turn in coming to talk about THE central figure in their life, love or hate him, it is there. Wrapped into his words, it is now (says me) a revelatory book. I left the door wide open and it worked.

LilyC

For the two novels I'm working on I did a mind map first to get the overall ideas down. I did write a synopsis for the second one but the story is turning out to be quite different and the ending will be nothing like my original. As such, the synopsis (for me) is still a good reminder throughout the writing process, but is likely to change significantly when the novel is ready to submit.

As for short stories, I never write a synopsis. I'm straight in there - often all I have is the opening sentence with no concept of where it's going to go - or even what genre it will be, but the story quickly grows and completes itself. Other times a complete idea presents itself and I whack it down. If I'm somewhere that I can't write, I'll jot down the key characters and events, often just a few words.

I'll check out the site though. Thanks Dwight.

Woll22

Thank you Dwight, Certainly something to consider.

febes

Thanks very much for that Dwight. I can see the sense in that!

I am assuming that the synopsis stays in your possession only though. I have a terrible habit of straying from what I intended to write in the first instance. I think this is partly because I was trying too much to be a Horror writer and I have recently realised that Horror is not my forte, even though I love reading it.

Red

I write the synopsis after I've completed my project.

Good if you write for the American market. I did my synopsis at 3 and a half pages for one over there, so it was nice to expand somewhat. Most UK agents, however, like one A4 sheet. Your synopsis skills are really tested in order to get it tighter that an duck's a*se.

Dwight

Thank you for your comments, everyone. The idea of writing the plot out first, in as much detail as you like with a view to constantly showing you the way, is recommended in David Frixell's book: Write Faster, Write Better, where he calls it 'fence-posting'. I'm grateful to him for this idea because it helped me to complete the second half of my first draft and will always use it in future. Until another good idea comes along ;) .

Piper

I made some notes for my novel which had key points in my plot to write about.

Until I went and lost them in the house somewhere around 3 months ago :(

Lou Treleaven

Oops. I have also done that. I found the beginning of the novel, about 30K, but not where it was going. Should have kept them together, I guess!