Guest Blogger Linnette Mullin's Three Simple Steps to a Successful Synopsis!

‎"Necessity is the mother of invention!”

Hey, Seekervillagers! I’m sitting with Ruthy in the Yankee-Belle Café sipping on a tall glass of my very own Vanilla Frappe`.

Yum! Come join us. We might even be able to scrounge up a scrumptious chocolate pudding cake that’s to die for. You see, we’re celebrating a breakthrough in synopsis writing.

Ruthy, did you hear that collective gasp?

You heard me right. I used the words “breakthrough” and “synopsis” in the same sentence. I know! I was as shocked as anybody! Funny thing is, I’ve considered this method before but never fully attempted it. It seemed too easy and we all know that synopses are supposed to be hard. Right?

Hmm…

So, here I am preparing for Genesis and I get desperate. They want a synopsis. A one-page synopsis! Did someone say panic attack? Yikes! It’s not that I haven’t written a synopsis before. I’ve written several. For the same book. But I’ve never really been satisfied with any of them. So…

Then I remembered Ruthy’s post on query letters and thought to myself, “Maybe I could try something like that. Hmm…” So, I went to typing and wrote up this beautiful one pager that is a tiny summary of my novel. That is, after all, what a synopsis is. Right?

So, I emailed for feedback and heard wonderful news. “It won’t work. It’s nicely written, but it’s not technical enough to be a synopsis.”

I slumped, held my head in my hands, fed the shredder, and hopped back on the not-so-merry-synopsis-go-round. Anybody else motion sick?

I started pounding the keyboard, looking for answers. Every site I explored, everything I read, every friend I bugged, I found the same answers I’d found a gazillion times over. Frustrated, but unwilling to throw my computer out the door, I opened a fresh document. I started summarizing without summarizing, yet it quickly turned into a summary. That’s when the mental chant returned.

Bullet points. Bullet points. Bullet points.

I couldn’t get away from it.

I groaned. “I’ve tried bullet points, before.”

“Yeah, but did you really stick to them?”

“Noooo….” I groaned.

"Then, what do you have to lose?"

But it seemed too simple. Too easy. And this is not supposed to be easy. Right? So something must be wrong with this idea that wouldn’t leave me alone.

I shrugged. “I’ve tried everything else.” So, I sucked in a deep breath and took the plunge.

Now, before I go into that, we still need to understand the synopsis, right? Dictionary.com says a synopsis is: a brief summary of the plot of a novel, motion picture, play… No. Really? Well, that’s helpful! How about Merriam Webster on-line? He says that a synopsis is: a condensed statement or outline (as of a narrative or treatise): ABSTRACT … That definition is supposed to help? Seems a little… um… abstract, don’t you think?

So, let’s turn to writing professionals.

Pretty much everyone in the writing community will tell you that a synopsis is like a summary, but it’s not a summary. Or, it’s like a longer version of the back cover blurb except you’re supposed to give the ending away. Or, it’s a chapter by chapter outline of your novel, but it has to fit on one or two pages. Or, it’s like telling your best friend about a movie you’ve seen or a book you’ve read. You’ve probably heard these descriptions and more. There’s nothing wrong with them except for one thing. They don’t tell you how to write a synopsis. It’s all very abstract and this is one area in which writers need the concrete.

So, what in the writer’s world is a synopsis? From all I’ve gathered, its 1-2 pages of an outline that briefly and technically tells (yes, I said tells) your entire novel in a way that appeals to an editor.

How do you do that? As tempted as I am to tell you all the “how to’s” I’ve read, I’ll spare us both. We’ve heard it all, read it all, anyway. Finally! It’s time to stop the synopsis-go-round!

Linnette’s Three Simple Steps to a Successful Synopsis:

Before you start, keep in mind that, even though I did this with a complete manuscript, yours does not have to be complete. You probably know all the highlights of your novel or have a general idea of where you’re going. You see the story play out in your head. Use that to guide you, remembering that you aren’t tied down to your synopsis. You can always tweak it once your MS is complete. So, let’s get started!

1) Bullet points. Start at the beginning of your story and type specific but brief bullet points. (No bullets, please. They’re too painful to remove.):

Grace escapes town.

Grace runs out of gas.

Max rescues her.

Grace finds answers in the Smokies and a new friend in Max.

Grace’s dad is hospitalized.

Grace flies home.

Grace sees Joe and breaks off their engagement.

Joe refuses to accept the break-up.

Grace reunites with her parents.

Grace and her mom visit her best friend, Tammy.

Joe follows them home.

The police chase Joe off.

Max drives Grace’s car to Kansas City.

Max meets with Grace’s parent’s approval.

Joe gets into Grace’s parents house and threatens her.

Max chases Joe off.

Grace spends time with her parents, Tammy, and Max.

Joe stalks Grace and Max.

Grace files a restraining order.

Warning: When you start listing your points, you will be tempted to summarize. Don’t. You might also be tempted to list every little thing that happens in your story – especially if your MS is complete. Don’t. List the main points… those things that make up the bare bones of the story without leaving holes in it. For example, there are several things that happened in the Smokies, but I summarized it with, “Grace finds answers in the Smokies and a new friend in Max.” Listing every single thing that happened will bog the synopsis down and frustrate you.

2) String the bullet points together into paragraphs. It’s easy. I simply backspace, space, and indent. No cutting or pasting required.

Grace escapes town. Grace runs out of gas. Max rescues her. Grace finds answers in the Smokies and a new friend in Max.

Grace’s dad is hospitalized. Grace flies home. Grace sees Joe and breaks off their engagement. Joe refuses to accept the break-up.

Grace reunites with her parents. Grace and her mom visit her best friend, Tammy. Joe follows her home. The police chase Joe off.

Max drives Grace’s car to Kansas City. Max meets with Grace’s parent’s approval. Joe gets into Grace’s parents house and threatens her. Max chases Joe off. Grace spends time with her parents, Tammy, and Max.

Joe stalks Grace and Max. Grace files a restraining order.

3) Edit the paragraphs and fill in details to make them coherent, smooth, and appealing. Make sure your opening sentence hooks and your final sentence brings closure:

Synopsis

Grace Smith flees town to escape her manipulative fiancé, Joe Riddle, and the guilt over (her brother) Josh’s death. Max Jones rescues her when she runs out of gas. She finds solace and answers to her confusion in the Smoky Mountains, as well as a new friend in Max.

A week and a half later, Grace’s dad is hospitalized and she boards a plane home. Defying hospital jitters from when her brother died, she heads straight for the intensive care unit. She finds Joe there and, though she breaks up with him, he threatens her, emphasizing it’s not the end.  She reunites with her parents in the IC unit. Afterward, she and her mom visit her best friend, Tammy. When Joe tails Grace and her mom as they leave, Grace calls the police and they chase him off.

Max returns Grace’s car to Kansas City. He meets her parents and gains their approval. Joe gets into Grace’s home and threatens her, but Max runs him off.

When Grace and Max find Joe stalking them a couple days later, Max calls the police. Grace files a restraining order and Joe lays low – even skipping Church. …

Final note: On the outset, this might seem daunting, tedious, and like it’s going to take forever when you start making those bullet points. You may wonder if it’s all going to fit on one page? But keep at it. If your MS or outline is complete, check against it to make sure you get everything chronologically accurate and you don’t overlook anything vital.

For me, not only did my bullet points fit on one page, but by the time I finished paragraphing, editing, and adding filler, my synopsis fit. It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought, either. An afternoon. And it was almost… (Dare I say it?) fun.

So, there you have it. How to write a successful synopsis in three simple steps. Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes.

Do you already have a successful synopsis writing method? Please share it. I’d love to know what works for you! :D  Leave a comment and your name will go into the drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card!

~Linnette R Mullin

Author of Life-Changing Romance

Founder & Coordinator of PCWN: Palmetto Christian Writer’s Network

Member of ACFW & HACWN

www.LinnetteMullin.com

Linnette’s Writing Corner on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linnettes-Writing-Corner/23510882491?ref=ts

Linnette is the wife John and a mother of four amazing boys. She’s a Missouri girl from birth, but currently resides in South Carolina. She’s been busy seeking an agent and publisher for her current MS and WIP, as well as getting ready for Genesis, and playing around with other genres just for fun.

*I changed character names for this post since this is the story I’ve entered in Genesis. However, this is not my entire synopsis. I can’t go giving the ending away, now, can I? ;-)

 

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