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How do you write a synopsis?

edited February 2014 in Writing
How do you write a synopsis? Any advise would be welcome.

Comments

  • One handed - so you can use the other to pull your hair out with!

    You need to show you have a complete plot, so don't be tempted to keep the end a surprise.

    Try to give a flavour of the style of the novel. If it's lighthearted and chatty then the synopsis should be too.

    Name the main characters.
  • There's a very good e-book I'd thoroughly recommend that will help you.

    Write a Great Synopsis...

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Write-Great-Synopsis-Expert-Guide-ebook/dp/B006ZA88Z8/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393261067&sr=1-2&keywords=nicola+morgan

    I read it and it all suddenly made sense...
  • I just bought that book, Carol - someone else recommended it too.
  • You need to put in the entire plot, characters, and most of all, the characters motivations and emotions. Why are they acting as they did? Not too long, 1 - 2 pages is usually enough, unless more is requested. If your book is in 1st person, I would personally still write the synopsis in 3rd. It's not as bad as it sounds once you get into it! Good luck.
  • My homework this week is to write a synopsis. Good timing, Tiff25.
  • Print off a few advice pages by googling your question, read and inwardly digest them all, then sit down and write one.
    Tear it up and write another.
    Repeat until you're happy.

    If you're really up for it you could copy it onto here, then re-write according to the multiplicity of advice TBers give you.

    In other words - It's bl**dy hard work.
  • Go to Wikipedia and look at the synopsis/plot for a film you love. It's a great way of seeing how a complicated plot can be explained briefly. e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark#Plot

    Don't hide anything - tell the reader exactly what's happening. No surprises at the end even if there's a twist in the novel.

    Worst comes to the worst - copy novel into a new document and keep stripping out all the superfluous information. Then cut more, and more, and more, until you have a synopsis.
  • Worst comes to the worst - copy novel into a new document and keep stripping out all the superfluous information. Then cut more, and more, and more, until you have a synopsis.

    Great idea BR _ just like I've done here, in fact!

  • Writers know only what they have written, not what the reader has read. A good way to write a synopsis is to ask another to read your manuscript and then ask them to tell you what happened.
  • Or imagine you are trying to explain your book to a friend.
  • Thanks for the great advise. Wish me luck!
  • By the way, tiff25 - the noun is 'advice'. The verb is 'to advise'.
    When you write your synopsis you'll need to spell it right.
    Good luck!
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