Writing a Synopsis - Writers Forum

bhanu · 09-21-2006, 03:46 AM

Hey guys,
Well the question is about writong a synopsis but I dont really how to.What are things that I should keep , what framework should I use.What should I avoid.And anything that you can add to that.Looking for to reading the replies.
Take care,
Bhanu.

Walkio · 09-21-2006, 04:41 AM

A synopsis should be a summary of the main plot outline. Editors want to see one so they know exactly how your story will pan out and if its marketable. This means you must mention all major twists and turns - something that I didn't realise until recently. You don't need to include sub-plots unless they're relevant.

You should write it in the present tense: "So-and-so is a gravedigger. He goes to the graveyard one evening and gets eaten by a ghoulie..." etc. etc.

It should be a summary - check with the editor first if they want a specific length, but a couple of pages double spaced is usually what they're after.

mammamaia · 09-21-2006, 10:15 AM

walkio's advice is good, except that synopses are typed single-spaced, not double, as are mss... the reason is that a synopsis will only be read, not edited, so there is no need for the extra room left for comments/editing symbols...

Walkio · 09-22-2006, 04:12 AM

I didn't realise that... thanks Maia.

mammamaia · 09-23-2006, 10:36 AM

you're entirely welcome, w!... any time... m

Kimba · 09-23-2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walkio

It should be a summary - check with the editor first if they want a specific length, but a couple of pages double spaced is usually what they're after.

Walkio's advice is generally true but, from what my tutors tell me [I'm studying film production BTW], a synopsis should only be a few lines not pages

Also, it's a good idea to try and make the description as short and dynamic as possible. The main idea of a synopisis is to attract the attention of a producer.

Then again, it would depend on what is it your synopsis is for - a book or a script.

bhanu · 09-24-2006, 04:02 AM

First of all thanks for the replies guys,

Quote:

Short and Dynamic

GOd ,i am having problem with just that , its a first time I am doing a synopsis and it sucks like hell.And also that my story has too many twist but it is a miniseries(9-10 issues) and that means i have to write a synopsis in just one page.And how do you doa synopsis in just few lines.
Okay , from your advice this is what I think i have learnt.Be dynamic, direct,throw away the nonsensical stuff and single space it.
I'll try to do that .
Thank you again.

mammamaia · 09-24-2006, 11:12 AM

kimba...

what you may be referring to is a logline, not a synopsis... a normal screenplay synopsis is a fulll single page, single-spaced... a logline is optimally 25 words or less...

for books, it's a different ballgame... book synopses can be from 1-2 to 5-10 pages, depending on the demands of the story and the preference of the individual agent/publisher...

for a novel's query letter to agents/publishers, a single paragraph [in the middle] should lay out the concept/plot and introduce the protag/antag and major secondary characters... a synopsis will be sent only when requested, or as an enclosure, per the individual agency's/publisher's guidelines...

hope that helps... hugs, m

Kimba · 09-24-2006, 10:46 PM

I was referring to a synposis. We haven't actually touched on loglines at uni yet which, incidentally, we call taglines. By the way, a friend in the industry informs me that our taglines should be ten words or less.

In Australia, a synopsis is something equivalent to what we read in a TV guide. Your definition of a synposis is what we would refer to as a plot outline which is essentially more detailed than a synposis but less detailed than the actual treatment.

I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing. I was just explaining it by Australian standards. My sincere apologies.

cbrmale · 09-25-2006, 12:53 AM

I read the posting, and I couldn't work out the two to ten pages. In Australia, the usual for a synopsis is between 500 words and a full page. My plots are never complex, so 500 words does it for me.

If an agent or publisher likes the sample chapters and synopsis, they will ask for either of the Plot Summary or the full manuscript or both.

bob rulz · 09-25-2006, 12:57 AM

I'm confused; why would it be different in Australia than it is in the U.S. (and vice versa)? What cultural differences could possibly cause that?

crash · 09-25-2006, 05:35 AM

Quote:

In Australia, a synopsis is something equivalent to what we read in a TV guide. Your definition of a synposis is what we would refer to as a plot outline which is essentially more detailed than a synposis but less detailed than the actual treatment.

I'm not sure you're right there. "Synopsis" can mean a few lines or several pages -- it's a "brief summary", anyway, according to Dictionary.com and Collins, and "brief" can mean anything from a five-page summary to a two-sentence summary. What you're referring to is known as a blurb, at least in Victoria; blurbs are meant to interest the reader or viewer and rarely give the ending away. A synopsis is a plot outline; a blurb is what you find on the back of a paperback book.

Quote:

I'm confused; why would it be different in Australia than it is in the U.S. (and vice versa)? What cultural differences could possibly cause that?

The same cultural differences that mean most Australians refer to dinner as "tea", sell DVDs in clear cases, giggle when you say you're rooting for the Bucks and ask how you're going rather than how you are.

mammamaia · 09-25-2006, 11:07 AM

yes, there definitely are differences!... for instance, in the hollywood version of the movie biz, a logline and a tag line are not the same thing at all... a logline is what you use to hook an agent or producer into wanting to read your script and a tag line is what is used by the producer to hook movie-goers into buying a ticket...

being able to write effective loglines is a vital part of the screenwriter's art... but the writer doesn't turn out the tag line... that's only generated after his/her script has been turned into a movie and the publicity department does up a campaign to sell it to the public...

sometimes the blurb we see in the tv guide is called a tag line, but it's really something else again...

"They're baaack!" and "Toto, we're not in Kansas any more" are promotional tag lines...

Quote:

After a cyclone transports a lonely Kansas farm girl to a magical land, she sets out on a dangerous journey to find a wizard with the power to send her home.

...that is a logline... i'm sure you can tell for what movie!

...a tv guide blurb could be any combo of the two or something entirely different... it's usually longer than a tag line, similar in length to a logline...

...i suspect that in the uk, neither the oz versions, nor the hollywood versions will match... anyone from GB want to further complicate matters?

hugs, maia

cbrmale · 09-25-2006, 05:29 PM

I am not sure of the synopsis requirements in the UK and other English-speaking countries, but on the whole most of the Commonwealth is in synch with each other, and it is the US which has the cultural differences. And as a much travelled person, I can vouch first-hand that the cultural similarities and differences of the places I have visited.

Kimba · 09-25-2006, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crash

I'm not sure you're right there. "Synopsis" can mean a few lines or several pages -- it's a "brief summary", anyway, according to Dictionary.com and Collins, and "brief" can mean anything from a five-page summary to a two-sentence summary. What you're referring to is known as a blurb, at least in Victoria; blurbs are meant to interest the reader or viewer and rarely give the ending away. A synopsis is a plot outline; a blurb is what you find on the back of a paperback book.

I'm actually taking the explanation straight from what I've learnt at uni. I'm not saying that synopsis can't be a few pages. The very first definition is a few lines but it would depend on how complex the storyline is. In fact, this is the official definition of a synposis according to the Australian Film Commission as downloaded onto my site domain.

http://www.starpol.net/synopsis.pdf

And this is straight from our lecture notes:

"Synopsis
Once you have a story you are happy with its time to reduce it down to a brief and dynamic one or two sentences so that you can sell your story idea to others. "