Writers Tricks of the Trade ISSUE 1, VOLUME 9 | Page 42

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While your synopsis will reflect
your ability to write, it’s not the
place to get pretty with your prose.
That means you should leave out any
attempts to impress through poetic
description. You can’t take the time
to show everything in your synopsis.
Often you have to tell, and some-
times this is confusing to writers
who’ve been told for years to “show
don’t tell.” For example, it’s OK to
just come out and say your main
character is a “hopeless romantic”
rather than trying to show it.
Synopsis language has to be very
stripped down. Here’s an example of what I
mean.
V ERY W ORDY
At work, Elizabeth searches for Peter all
over the office and finally finds him in the
supply room, where she tells him she re-
sents the remarks he made about her in the
staff meeting.
T IGHT
At work, Elizabeth confronts Peter
about his remarks at the staff meeting.
H OW TO START YOUR NOVEL SYNOPSIS
F OR SPECULATIVE FICTION WRITERS
Science fiction and fantasy writers may
need to open their synopsis with a para-
graph or so that helps establish the world
we’re entering and the rules of that world.
This helps us better understand the charac-
ters and their motivations once introduced.
For example, a synopsis of Harry Potter
might clarify upfront that the world is di-
vided into Muggles and wizards, and that
the Muggles have no idea that a magical
world exists. Or, this fact could be relayed
in the synopsis once Harry Potter learns
about it himself.
Usually it’s best to avoid using proper
terms or nouns that have to be defined or
explained unless such terms are central to
your story (like “Muggles” above). Instead,
try to get the point across in language that
anyone can understand and gets the same
point across. The goal here is to focus on
telling the story rather than increasing the
mental workload of the agent/editor, who
has to decipher and remember the unfamil-
iar vocabulary.
S PRING 2019
H OW TO AVOID NOVEL SYNOPSIS WORDINESS
Within the first 100-200 words, we
should know your protagonist, the protag-
onist’s conflict, and the setting. Then you’ll
have to decide which major plot
turns/conflicts must be conveyed for every-
thing to make sense, and which characters
must be mentioned. (You should not men-
tion all of them.) Think about your genre’s
“formula,” if there is one, and be sure to in-
clude all major turning points associated
with that formula. The ending paragraph
must show how major conflicts are re-
solved—yes, you have to reveal the ending!
No exceptions.
In addition to being a professor with The Great
Courses, Jane has delivered keynotes and work-
shops on the digital era of authorship at world-
wide industry events, including the Writer’s Di-
gest annual conference, San Miguel Writers Con-
ference, The Muse & The Marketplace, Frankfurt
Book Fair, BookExpo America, LitFlow Berlin, and
Digital Book World. Find out more at
janefriedman.com
P AGE 37
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE