What We Want In A Synopsis

I know, the word synopsis strikes terror in so many of you. I don't know how many times I have heard authors say this. But, the synopsis IS a necessary evil and if you plan a career in publishing, you dang well better figure these things out.

Let me first say, before getting deeper into the synopsis writing, that most of you hate this simply because you are "winging it" with your story. You are those people who don't want to feel "tied down" and you "don't want to lose your voice." Let me say, that a synopsis and plotting out your story for a synopsis has nothing to do with your voice. It is simply a matter of knowing where your story is going to and what you intend to achieve. I always go back to a quote from a motivational speaker: "If you don't know where you are going, you will end up where you don't want to be." This is the purpose of a synopsis.

When an agent or editor reads a synopsis with the partial of your writing, we are seeing how the entire story is going to play out. We get a sense of your voice with your partial, but it is the full storyline we are looking for. We want to see that the conflict has a reasonable solution. We want to see how the characters are going to work through things.

Do we want every minute detail? No! This should make those of you who feel that your voice will be stifled feel much better.

So, what do we want?

We need the general plot arc. We want the basics:

• Setting of the story
• Who the characters are and their GMC (Goals, Motivations and Personal Conflicts)
• How the characters meet
• How they are introduced to conflict.
• The "MAJOR" events they will have to go through
• The conclusion of the story

So, think about the Wizard of Oz. No, I am not going to give you a full written synopsis, but the

things we need to know:

• Dorothy lives on a farm with Aunt and Uncle
• Dorothy feels left out at farm
• Dorothy's dog gets taken away by Elivira Gulch (Wicked Witch)
• Dorothy runs away
• Dorothy returns after seeing a traveling salesman (Wiz) and a tornado is on the way
• Hits head and ends up in Oz
• Finds out she has to travel to the city of Oz
• Meets Glinda, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Cowardly Lion
• Gets to Oz and finds out the only way home is to kill the witch
• Goes to kill witch
• Gets caught
• Liquidates her
• Returns to find out that she could have returned anytime she wanted
• There's no place like home

We have a sense of the story. We don't need to know about skipping down the yellow brick road. We don't need to know about the songs. We just need the plot.

In reality a synopsis only needs to be about 3-5 pages, and yes, this is double-spaced. No, it does not need to be chapter by chapter. I have only ever met one publisher that took that approach.

Should this synopsis get into the voice of the characters? No. Should the synopsis be written by the characters. No. This is purely informational.

Not so hard, is it?