marguerite Posted August 9, 2007 Report Share Posted August 9, 2007 Can anyone recommend resources for writing a decent synopsis? They are the bane of my existence, especially now that I'm trying to write one for a book that is so far only a gleam in my hero's eye (I'm one of those writers who discovers the plot along with my characters). I found a list of what not to do's at www.pammc.com/Synopsis.htm (helpful, but doesn't really explain what to do) and references to Elizabeth Sinclair's The Dreaded Synopsis, which certainly seems to have the right attitude (available only online through the author's website) but costs money. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance, Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted August 9, 2007 Report Share Posted August 9, 2007 Hi Marguerite, Might I suggest: "How to Write and Sell a Synopsis" by Stella Whitelaw or "How to Write a Book Proposal" by Michael Larsen. Both books include tips on writing a synopsis and are (or were) available on Amazon.com. Online I've found http://www.fictionwriters.com/tips-synopsis.html occasionally helpful (and it's free but you get what you pay for). Hope this helps or at least leads you in the right direction. -Thoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted August 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Hi Marguerite, Might I suggest: "How to Write and Sell a Synopsis" by Stella Whitelaw or "How to Write a Book Proposal" by Michael Larsen. Both books include tips on writing a synopsis and are (or were) available on Amazon.com. Online I've found http://www.fictionwriters.com/tips-synopsis.html occasionally helpful (and it's free but you get what you pay for). Hope this helps or at least leads you in the right direction. -Thoth Thanks, Thoth. I'll check these out. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjl Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Just a smattering of what I found, could be useful: 5 Steps to Writing a Synopsis Writing a Novel Synopsis Overcoming the Fear of Writing a Synopsis How To Write A Synopsis Writing a Synopsis from the Ground Up How Do I Write a Synopsis? How To Write a Synopsis Me Write a Synopsis? How I Eat, er...Write a Synopsis Writing a Synopsis (with links to other articles and books, plus sample synopsis) Hope there's something in there to help. I find myself in the same headspace as yourself, writing the story as it comes and then working out the nitty-gritty afterwards. Lately I've decided upon a sort of roundabout method, which I'll describe here: 1st Draft -- Screenplay (write the initial story/novel in a screenplay format) this first stage provides a good way to hammer out dialogue and scenes, plus it gives you a more manageable extended outline for the next stage: 2nd Draft - Transfer Screenplay to Prose. Copy the screenplay, dividing each scene into a seperate Chapter within the novel. All text remains. Slugs and description give helpful pointers to what needs to be in the prose version. Stage 3 - Edit. Having the original screenplay will give you a very tight and easily trasnferrable outline that can be used as the basis of a synopsis also helps to keep the prose/plot in line. By the time you've written the 1st and 2nd draft, any unneeded scenes, characters etc will be cut, leaving you only the task of polishing and not any heavy tasks of rewriting whole sections. It's working great so far for me, really helps speed up the initial process of writing. Bonus is that if you ever sell the Novel/Story, you have a screenplay ready to go immediately, doubling any earning potential from your work. EXTRA: I have the below as my transfer key for this method: 90-120pg screenplay - Novel 100,000 or more 45pg TV Drama screenplay - Short serial novel of 50 - 75,000 words (great for Mysteries ongoing characters). 25pg Half Hour Short - Short Story of 6,000 - 25,000 words. A 90pg Screenplay weighs in at around 20,000 words, 45pg is 10,000 words. They're quick to write and are basically an extended outline. You'd be surprised at how much you can do in 45pgs, and how much is transferable. Oh, and one more thing (done in a Columbo way) I now use Storyist for the screenplay portion. I did use Final Draft and Montage before, but I find Storyist a much better integrated solution for this method. Thanks Steve for the Screenplay option. PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Just a smattering of what I found, could be useful: Just a "smattering"? This is a terrific list pj. Thanks! Oh, and one more thing (done in a Columbo way) I now use Storyist for the screenplay portion. I did use Final Draft and Montage before, but I find Storyist a much better integrated solution for this method. I've been looking into the "screenplay portion" for a while now but I never thought to use it to go backwards from screenplay to novel. Interesting idea. I'll give it a try. Thanks again. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjl Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 No problems, I came to the screenplay to prose idea while I was doing a timed writing exercise for short stories. I'd set myself 22 days to write 22 short stories based upon an album of music. I got it done, but as I was writing I realized how influenced my writing was by Ray Bradbury. No matter what I did I'd come up with a tone and style like his, which was no good, and I needed something to strip away style from my writing. The pragmatic demands of a screenplay made for a great starting point, where style had no influence, only story, character and dialogue. I found by doing this I concentrated much more on the story and came out in the end with something of my own. I've been using it for quite a few months now. A basic screenplay that you can work from can be done in less than a week. After that you've got plenty of time to re-arrange, cut and get it prepped for the novel. I'm currently completing two novels using this method, and nearly at the completion of the first start-to-finish using only Storyist. If nothing else, this method gives you some experience of writing a screenplay, and can help focus your attention on the story itself. PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Yes, that was a terrific list, and very helpful, not least in getting me over my funk so that I could focus on the writing. Many thanks to both PJ and Thoth. This screenplay-to-novel idea is fascinating. I'd never thought of such a thing, but it seems worth investigating. What I do is sketch out all the characters in Storyist and keep it in the background (so I can check whether I gave some bloke blue eyes or green, e.g.), plus I have overviews of the dramatic arc and the character arc and write 2-3 paragraph summaries of what should happen in each chapter and scene--all of which I keep in the Manuscript portion of the Project Pane. I'd written most of my previous novel before I discovered Storyist, but this time I combined the dramatic arc and the character arc into a synopsis and exported it to Word. So far, that's where I'm writing the novel itself--mostly because it's familiar so I don't have to stop the flow to remember where this or that command is hidden. But Storyist is much better organized for notes and freehand pondering, and if I do look into the screenplay option, I would definitely use it for that. In the long run--once it has curly quotes and widow/orphan protection and the like--I could imagine keeping everything in Storyist until the last minute, although I suppose the PC-oriented publishing world will continue to want Office-compatible files. In any case, thanks for the suggestions! Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted August 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Yes, that was a terrific list, and very helpful, not least in getting me over my funk so that I could focus on the writing. Many thanks to both PJ and Thoth. This screenplay-to-novel idea is fascinating. I'd never thought of such a thing, but it seems worth investigating. What I do is sketch out all the characters in Storyist and keep it in the background (so I can check whether I gave some bloke blue eyes or green, e.g.), plus I have overviews of the dramatic arc and the character arc and write 2-3 paragraph summaries of what should happen in each chapter and scene--all of which I keep in the Manuscript portion of the Project Pane. I'd written most of my previous novel before I discovered Storyist, but this time I combined the dramatic arc and the character arc into a synopsis and exported it to Word. So far, that's where I'm writing the novel itself--mostly because it's familiar so I don't have to stop the flow to remember where this or that command is hidden. But Storyist is much better organized for notes and freehand pondering, and if I do look into the screenplay option, I would definitely use it for that. In the long run--once it has curly quotes and widow/orphan protection and the like--I could imagine keeping everything in Storyist until the last minute, although I suppose the PC-oriented publishing world will continue to want Office-compatible files. In any case, thanks for the suggestions! Marguerite BTW, Elizabeth Sinclair's The Dreaded Synopsis turned out to be extremely useful, not just for the synopsis but for outlining plot and characters in general. Those who've already read Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (out of print at the moment, but probably available secondhand through Alibris and Amazon.com) or have taken a proper writing course most likely don't need it—Sinclair's best points seem to be restatements of Dixon's. But if you need a short, clear, and to-the-point summary of what goes into a novel, The Dreaded Synopsis is definitely a place to start. Unfortunately, the only way to obtain it (unless people are selling old copies through the online bookstores mentioned above) is to download the order form from the author's website and mail it in with a check. (The website was temporarily unavailable when I checked it for the link, due to the owner having exceeded her bandwidth—an invasion of Storyist users? Nah.) But the author seems to be both reliable and efficient, and the whole process took no more than a week. The book cost $16.95, but there was no shipping charge when I ordered it. In any case, thanks to Ms. Sinclair I now have three complete synopses of different lengths and a much better sense of where novel #2 is going. Oh yes, and one less book on my "to read" list. Best, Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 The Dreaded Synopsis must be in great demand. The site is still unavailable. I went to Amazon (as you mentioned, Marguerite) only to find just two bookstores with copies. Or should I say, "copy". Only one copy each at $193.50 (a far cry from $16.95). I must say, I'm intrigued. -Thanks. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted September 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 The Dreaded Synopsis must be in great demand. The site is still unavailable. I went to Amazon (as you mentioned, Marguerite) only to find just two bookstores with copies. Or should I say, "copy". Only one copy each at $193.50 (a far cry from $16.95). I must say, I'm intrigued. -Thanks. -Thoth. Hi, Thoth: The book was listed in a recent issue of Romance Writers Report--that's where I found it. Since the fall selling season is now upon us, that may have sparked a sudden interest that the author, who doesn't seem overly tech-savvy, couldn't handle. The order form is attached to this message. The form is supposed to be an interactive PDF. By accident, I downloaded it before filling it out. Serendipitous, no? Best, Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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