Write Writing Written: Write a Synopsis? I‘d Rather Gouge My Eyes Out by Caleb Warnock

Monday, October 18, 2010

Write a Synopsis? I‘d Rather Gouge My Eyes Out by Caleb Warnock

Synopsis:

Written in present tense
Written in third person
Three pages, double spaced
TELL rather than SHOW-synopsis is an explanation of character arcs, not in chronological order.
Proper MS format-First time you mention a characters name, CAP the whole name. Put POV in parenthesis after the name.
May editorialize in synopsis. Use the first line to intro main character, issues, age, time period etc.
Weighting-most important gets more space, usually the protagonist.
Don't vamp-don't dramatize
Tell the ending

Pretend like your tell your MS to a divorce lawyer...

5 comments:

Christine Fonseca said...: hahaha! Strangely, I really like writing the synopsis. I know, I'm strange!; October 18, 2010 at 5:13 AM
Taffy said...: I think synopsis is easier than query! Which reminds me I'd better go write mine :); October 18, 2010 at 5:13 PM
Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...: True, the synopsis is better than the query ;); October 19, 2010 at 1:21 PM
Jenn Adams said...: Synopsises, queries, et al, are a little bit terrifying to me. I really like this advice, although I have to mention one thing - I gave a synopsis to Stacy Whitman last year and she marked where I had all-capped the character's names and said that it's amateurish and really only used in screenwriting. Not sure if all agents and editors feel that way, I just thought I'd throw it out there. :o) Good luck with yours!!; October 20, 2010 at 9:59 AM
Taffy said...: Thanks Jenn! That's advice to watch for!; October 20, 2010 at 12:06 PM

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