Story Sensei

Cut absolutely anything that does not have direct impact on the main storyline. Be ruthless. Don’t leave things in because they pertain to a subplot. Don’t go off for too long (more than a few sentences) on a red herring. Don’t include character backstory that doesn’t absolutely need to be there in order to explain the main plot. Don’t describe characters’ physical features unless it’s a vital element to the story (such as the hero mistakes a red-head for the heroine).

Cut out any mention of the subplot. Be ruthless. Even if the subplot gives a bit of depth to the hero because it tells the reader about his life as a drug runner in Brazil, if it doesn’t directly impact the main plotline of saving the heroine’s ranch, don’t include it. Some subplots do influence the main plot near the end of the book. Here you have a couple choices: 1) Pare down the mention of the subplot to the absolute minimum needed for the ending to make sense. Maybe a sentence in the beginning of the synopsis, and then a sentence at the end when it impacts the main plot. 2) Eliminate mention of the subplot completely and insert something near the end to make the ending make sense. Don’t do more than that for subplots if you can absolutely help it.

Eliminate any repetition. If you mention something once—say the hero left the heroine five years ago—don’t mention it again. For example: After a five year absence, Ronald McDonald returns to Birdy’s life . . . A paragraph later: A different man than he was five years ago, Ronald is still in love with Birdy . . . Don’t mention the five years again. Cut it: Now more spiritually mature, Ronald is still in love with Birdy . . . (Thanks to Dineen Miller for the idea of this example)

Check your formatting. Make sure all your margins are 1 inch. Make your header ½ inch from the top. Make your header only one line with the manuscript title, the word “synopsis,” and your last name (e-mail address optional) on the left side, and then the page number (optional) on the right side. It’ll look something like this: BRILLIANT NOVEL/Synopsis/Tang 1 You don’t have to put the word “Synopsis” at the top of the actual text. Just start the synopsis text.

Randy Ingermanson has a famous (or infamous) “Snowflake” method of plotting that I use to write synopses. Now don’t have a coronary. It’s actually very easy, and I only use a couple of the 10 steps in the Snowflake method. I do step two (but read step one to know what he’s talking about), then step four. That’s it. I end up with a one or two page synopsis. For a longer synopsis, I do step six, which gives me a synopsis anywhere from 4-11 pages.

This is a really quick, easy way to write your synopsis. This is especially easy if you only need to write a chapter-by-chapter synopsis , which calls for only a few sentences for each chapter. Go through your manuscript and write one sentence for each scene. If the scene is long, write a couple sentences. Any significant spiritual or internal conflicts should be included, as well as major plot points, red herrings, symbolism, etc. That’s it. Go through your entire manuscript. This should give you a synopsis of about 6-10 pages single-spaced. From here, you cut your synopsis down to whatever length it needs to be.

Some editors or agents ask for a chapter-by-chapter synopsis. Not all of them do, so don’t automatically assume you need one. However, it’s the easiest type of synopsis to write, in my opinion. It’s simply a list of each chapter number, and then a couple sentences describing what happens in the chapter. Any significant spiritual or internal conflicts should be included, as well as major plot points, red herrings, symbolism, etc. The chapter-by-chapter synopsis will take the reader on a shortened version of the same ride you’ll give your novel reader, so include the dead ends and frustrations and obstacles that beset your characters. Each major character should be named, and minor characters can also be named if they have a significant impact on the storyline. However, peripheral characters shouldn’t be named in a chapter-by-chapter synopsis. I usually write a chapter-by-chapter synopsis first, then cut that down to a 1-2 page synopsis which I use for my proposals. Most proposals call f

Synopses are traditionally in third person, but these days, there are a few in first person. It’s a matter of risk. Some editors or agents would be intrigued by a well-written synopsis in first person. Others would be turned off by it, and there’s no way of knowing what type of person will read your proposal. I personally believe in the safer route and would suggest that unpublished writers write their synopses in third person. However, there are success stories of some writers who landed a book contract with a synopsis in first person, so it’s not unheard of. The choice—and the risk—is yours as the writer. In this, get the opinions of your friends and other experienced and published writers. Have them look at your synopses to tell you which is better written, catchier, tighter. Ultimately, however, you will have to decide if you’d like to risk a first person synopsis or not.