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Post by bill on May 10, 2018 1:35:29 GMT
Do you know anything about writing a synopsis? I'm struggling.
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Post by Admin on May 10, 2018 1:57:17 GMT
I know they are supposed to be one page, if possible. They should be engaging and have a hook. If you are having trouble starting one, try telling yourself about the story. Explain it to yourself as if you've never seen it before. You'll probably wander, and it will go way long, but inside the rambling explanation, you'll see phrases that are really good. Pull those out and arrange them into a cohesive timeline. Use those as the beginning of your synopsis.
I'll add this. If you cannot condense your story into one page, you really don't know your story. These aren't easy to write but once you get the hang of it, its a skill that can be learned, just like any other kind of writing.
If you like, post here and I'll read through it and see if I can ask the right questions.
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Post by bill on May 10, 2018 3:04:43 GMT
I've got it between 1-2 pages, but I don't feel it flows well. I tend to get too caught up in the details and lose the big picture. I'll post on here when I think I've got a decent rough version.
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Post by Admin on May 19, 2018 3:41:03 GMT
The #1 rule on writing a synopsis is you have to 'hook' the agent/publisher just like you would a reader. You have to show; don't tell.
An example might be:
Eighteen-year-old, EDEN, never planned on spending her summer in (here I’d give the name of the town and maybe put a descriptive adjective in front of it. Little podunk town(name of town) and I’m sure you’d have a better idea of what to insult the town with. I’m old and really out of touch with the teenager. Blake or Sydney might have the right word to use.) I guess that’s what one gets for accepting the blame for drug possession when the crime belonged to her friend. Probation sucks. (or whatever word you’d want to use) Her best course of action would be to work, save, and hope her summer flew by without incident.
Incidents begin to pile up. She spills food on LUCAS, the star high school baseball player. It’s hard to keep a low profile when he yelled at her in front of such a large crowd. The local doctor going missing the next day took the heat off her. She could have done without seeing Lucas shove a body into the trunk of his car.
The police fail to find any evidence against Lucas; a fact Eden finds suspicious. She catches Lucas in several lies and overhears him accept a bribe from the mayor. All Lucas must do is accept the responsibility for the disappearance of the doctor until he returns. Eden realizes the situation is more complex than she realized, and Lucas is in deep trouble.
You'd have to write it in your voice. But you don't have to tell every detail. You can generalize and condense. Your goal is to offer a tease...enough hook to get them to request a look at either a partial, or full, ms.
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