I am about to start writing a Synopsis. I have ideas, but I would welcome tips.
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There is an essay in W&A about how to write a synopsis which is pretty clear. If you don't have a copy, your local library should.
Basically, don't fret too much. The synopsis is there to do a job: tell the agent the ENTIRE plot of the book. It's a tool, nothing more.
Unless otherwise stated, send a single page.
As for writing it, I begin just writing it without worrying. I gradually edit it down concentrating on the main points. A friend put me onto the technique of colour coding each sentence to get a clear picture of who/which plot strand it pertained to. It makes it easier to identify which bits aren't needed (because a short synopsis is concentrating on the MC/Main Plot).
If you have something that's very tightly plotted with a proper three act structure, use this as the basis of your synopsis.
What I have learned is that it's well worth writing a synopsis/query letter/blurb *before* you begin writing. It's often a really good cue for writing an accurate one when you get to the end.
In case it's of any use, the was the original back page blurb for my second story. I thought it covered the basic plot pretty well and I re-wrote it until it was as tight as I thought I could get it..
Autumn 1808. The French army is gone from Portugal...except for one man. And what he has stolen is deadly secret.
Sergeant Joshua Lock and Captain the Honourable John Killen pursue the spy deep into Spain ahead of Sir John Moore’s British army - a force now ordered to fight the French alongside Spanish troops. But instead of helping their new allies, the Spaniards seem to have turned against them.
Their quarry still free, Killen’s discovery of Lock’s affair with a fellow officer’s wife drives the childhood friends apart as savage winter storms grip the Spanish mountains. With discipline breaking down and Spain’s armies in disarray every man must decide for himself - who is friend and who is foe? Should the outnumbered, starving British stand and fight, or run for the sea, and home?
Whilst unbeknown to the bickering allies, Bonaparte himself is storming through Spain with but a single purpose...
...to destroy every ‘mangy English leopard.’
Problem was the publisher decided they didn't have room for it all, so this is how it ended up...
In the autumn of 1808 a murderous French spy flees Lisbon. And what he has stolen is deadly secret.
Cavalrymen Sergeant Joshua Lock and Captain John Killen pursue the traitor across Portugal and deep into Spain, where Sir John Moore’s army is ordered to march in support of Spanish troops. But the Spaniards seem to have turned against their new allies.
Battered by ferocious winter storms, morale and discipline crumbling, every man must decide for himself: who is friend, and who is foe. With Napoleon at their backs should the outnumbered, starving British turn and fight…or run for the sea, and home?
Personally, I still prefer the first version. But when they're paying, publishers have the final say ;)
I hate writing synopses and blurbs. I'm no good at it. Every one I've ever done gets revised a zillion times and I'm never happy with the results.
So I can't offer you any tips, I'm afraid. Except...if you can bear it, write out a 'long' synopsis covering the main plot points. It'll probably be about ten pages long but at least it's a start. Then cut it to about five pages. That's more like what a long synopsis should be. Then prune it ruthlessly until it's a page or a page-and-a-half. That's a pretty good 'short' one.
If you need a blurb, write 6 sentences - two each to cover beginning, middle and end. Then cut out everything bar the main character(s) actions without giving away any of the plot, and invent a hook at the end relating to something in the story...without any spoilers.
There is an essay in W&A about how to write a synopsis which is pretty clear. If you don't have a copy, your local library should.
Basically, don't fret too much. The synopsis is there to do a job: tell the agent the ENTIRE plot of the book. It's a tool, nothing more.
Unless otherwise stated, send a single page.
As for writing it, I begin just writing it without worrying. I gradually edit it down concentrating on the main points. A friend put me onto the technique of colour coding each sentence to get a clear picture of who/which plot strand it pertained to. It makes it easier to identify which bits aren't needed (because a short synopsis is concentrating on the MC/Main Plot).
If you have something that's very tightly plotted with a proper three act structure, use this as the basis of your synopsis.
What I have learned is that it's well worth writing a synopsis/query letter/blurb *before* you begin writing. It's often a really good cue for writing an accurate one when you get to the end.
In case it's of any use, the was the original back page blurb for my second story. I thought it covered the basic plot pretty well and I re-wrote it until it was as tight as I thought I could get it..
Autumn 1808. The French army is gone from Portugal...except for one man. And what he has stolen is deadly secret.
Sergeant Joshua Lock and Captain the Honourable John Killen pursue the spy deep into Spain ahead of Sir John Moore’s British army - a force now ordered to fight the French alongside Spanish troops. But instead of helping their new allies, the Spaniards seem to have turned against them.
Their quarry still free, Killen’s discovery of Lock’s affair with a fellow officer’s wife drives the childhood friends apart as savage winter storms grip the Spanish mountains. With discipline breaking down and Spain’s armies in disarray every man must decide for himself - who is friend and who is foe? Should the outnumbered, starving British stand and fight, or run for the sea, and home?
Whilst unbeknown to the bickering allies, Bonaparte himself is storming through Spain with but a single purpose...
...to destroy every ‘mangy English leopard.’
Problem was the publisher decided they didn't have room for it all, so this is how it ended up...
In the autumn of 1808 a murderous French spy flees Lisbon. And what he has stolen is deadly secret.
Cavalrymen Sergeant Joshua Lock and Captain John Killen pursue the traitor across Portugal and deep into Spain, where Sir John Moore’s army is ordered to march in support of Spanish troops. But the Spaniards seem to have turned against their new allies.
Battered by ferocious winter storms, morale and discipline crumbling, every man must decide for himself: who is friend, and who is foe. With Napoleon at their backs should the outnumbered, starving British turn and fight…or run for the sea, and home?
Personally, I still prefer the first version. But when they're paying, publishers have the final say ;)
I hate writing synopses and blurbs. I'm no good at it. Every one I've ever done gets revised a zillion times and I'm never happy with the results.
So I can't offer you any tips, I'm afraid. Except...if you can bear it, write out a 'long' synopsis covering the main plot points. It'll probably be about ten pages long but at least it's a start. Then cut it to about five pages. That's more like what a long synopsis should be. Then prune it ruthlessly until it's a page or a page-and-a-half. That's a pretty good 'short' one.
If you need a blurb, write 6 sentences - two each to cover beginning, middle and end. Then cut out everything bar the main character(s) actions without giving away any of the plot, and invent a hook at the end relating to something in the story...without any spoilers.
See? It's bloomin' near impossible.