Synopsis Writing Is Not That Hard Unless...

I saw a post last week on Twitter of another author complaining about synopsis writing, and of course she ended up getting a lot of similar reactions from other authors. We always hear writers complaining about how difficult synopsis writing is. But, here is the thing - synopsis writing is only hard if you have no idea what your story is about.

So, let's begin with the basics.

syn·op·sis

/səˈnäpsəs/

noun

noun: synopsis; plural noun: synopses

1. a brief summary or general survey of something.

   "a synopsis of the accident"

   synonyms:

   summary, precis, résumé, abstract, outline, condensation, digest, summarization, summing-up, rundown, roundup, abridgment, review, sketch, compendium; rareconspectus "a basic synopsis of the play"

   • an outline of the plot of a book, play, movie, or episode of a television show.

In simple terms, you are telling us what your story is about from page 1 to the end. You are just telling us about the central plot of the story. That's it. This is not meant to be a piece of creative writing. This is not meant to discuss all of the subplots or to introduce all of the characters. And, it is just this that causes most authors to struggle. They are trying to do too much.

We don't need to see every scene in the story so only focus on the main sections. Focus on who the characters are, their internal and external conflicts and how they eventually get out of their problems.

Of course there is also the other issue of writing a synopsis before you write the story. You will be expected to write a synopsis of your story as a proposal for your editors. Those of you who are "Pantsters" and feel that the best thing you  can do with your writing is to just "go with the flow" you will indeed struggle here. But I again remind you, we aren't looking for a chapter by chapter summary but one that focuses on all of the major points. Who are the characters? What is their conflict (both internal and external)? And, how will you end this story? What is the resolution.

the easiest thing you can do with a synopsis is think of telling your best friend what the story is about. That is it. Nothing more to it.