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Synopses

LizyLizy
edited October 2016 in Writing
How do you rewrite a synopsis?

I know my books so well that I can't read them dispassionately, and I worked so hard to get their synopses right, but I'm wondering whether I should rewrite them before I embark on another round of submissions.

Any thoughts on how to go about it?

Comments

  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    Easiest way to learn what plot to discuss and what to not is look up the plot synopsis for a few films you know well...you'll soon see how they write the plot in one page :)
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    Imagine you're talking to someone on the phone and it's costing a fortune. Just the facts, no waffle, no suspenseful moments.
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    Exactly, if you were synopsising(?) Jurassic Park you wouldn't say rant away for three pages about the opening scene - talking weather, darkness, how many workers there are, the scary build up to what's in the container, the attack, the failed attempt to save the poor half-eaten man, the drama/tension, and then the whole jungle scene where it's established the wussy guy on the raft is a lawyer and he's talking about park safety vs. money flow, wondering who he can bring in to assess the park...

    You'd say:

    "After one of the park workers is killed by a Velociraptor, the park's investors, represented by lawyer Donald Gennaro, insist that experts visit the park and certify it as safe."
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    Technical report the chuff out of that novel!
  • LizyLizy
    edited October 2016
    What? There's no techy stuff in it - it's a saga.
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    No, I mean dispassionately explain the plot line.
  • LizyLizy
    Ah - I've done that. It's just that after several rejections I think I must start again. I really, truly don't waffle, and I've told the relevant story lines, as isntructed in all the advice articles.

    Perhaps if I just don't read the old synopses I can start from scratch.
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    I can prod it with a red pen if you want? It will only be my opinion of course, but might spark some ideas? WARNING: I'm brutal with a red pen in my hand.
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    I think they also want to get a sense of your writing voice from the synopsis, Lizy, so don't dampen it down with bullet point-type writing. They want to know twists, too. It's not like a blurb where you hint at something and try to create suspense.
  • LizyLizy
    Thanks for the offer, br, but i think you'd have to read the whole book to be able to judge the content of the synopsis. If i reach the red pen stage i might ask you!
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    If you have to read the whole book to judge the synopsis, it definitely needs a tweak :P
  • Phots MollPhots Moll
    I think it's better for someone who hasn't read the book to look at the synopsis – that way they're in the same position as whoever you're going to send it to.

    The purpose of the synopsis isn't to sum up the book (it does that, but that's not why you write one). The purpose is to get an agent or publisher interested in your story and prove to them you can write.
  • Lou TreleavenLou Treleaven
    This is a useful article.

    http://www.caroclarke.com/synopsis.html
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