The Synopsis Monster lifts its ugly head above the horizon, glaring at you with its one bloodshot eye. It’s time to take up your pen (mightier than a sword) and conquer that thing! But how? Well, my best advice is to cut it into little, little pieces first.

If your novel already has an outline, then you’re ahead! If you wrote the outline after the novel, then it’s ready to dissect. If you wrote it first, make sure the revised outline conforms to the revised novel, and then take it apart.

Even if you wrote the whole novel by the seat of your pants, with no plan, you can still go back and write a paragraph outline that will become a synopsis. Here’s how.

Take your book chapter by chapter, or scene by scene, however it breaks down. For each chapter or scene (from here I’ll just say scene) it helps to ask these questions.

1. What happens in the scene?
2. What purpose does the scene serve?
3. Out of that, what really needs to be in the synopsis?

The first question is the most easily answered. Simply write down a condensed history of what happens in the scene in terms of the story reality, leaving out the actual dialogue and settings, just the facts.

Then answer the second question. What is happening in the scene in meta terms – in what way does the scene serve the story? Remember that even if it’s just the characters relaxing and talking, or laughing together, that might serve an important characterization purpose, help to define a relationship, or give a needed break from too much action.

Finally, once all that information is written down, distill it to its essentials. In order for the reader of the synopsis to understand the basics of the story, what is needed and what isn’t?

Let’s take the following scene, from my short story, “Everywhere Signs”.

Farber’s luck being what it was, the unanswered phone call turned out to be Nora, his wife. He didn’t find that out until he got home, of course. Just at the hour when a hard-working man looks forward to dinner, putting his feet up, a cold beer, some television before bed… instead, he got both barrels.

“I called the store today.” Nora, rail-thin to his fatness, brown curls to his receding grayish wisps, was the bane of his life. She folded her arms, blocking the way to the kitchen, where he would doubtless end up having to microwave something.

“Did you?” he said at last, since some kind of reply seemed necessary.

“Did you?” she mimicked viciously. At times like this, her cheeks seemed to suck in, her eyes grow freakishly large. The woman he’d married quite vanished. “Did you? How would you know? No one answered!”

“I’m so sorry, Nora. I was training the new signboard boy and Penny was helping someone.”

A single sniff summed up what she thought of Penny. “It’s not me, George Farber. You know I’m not concerned about me. But if I called the store just once today, and got the machine, what does that say about our work habits? How many times does a customer call and get no service? Do you know what they do when that happens?”

Ah, the almighty customer. As far as Farber’s wife was concerned, the customer was God. Hadn’t they once given their love to other idols? Hadn’t they once sworn to worship only one another? “Is there anything for dinner, or…?”

“They go to another flower shop! Do you know what happens when they go to another flower shop?”

Farber stuck with silence this time.

“They stay at another flower shop, that’s what! And when they stay at another flower shop, Nora’s doesn’t make any money!” She stopped, lifting a hand to her brow, swaying a little. “Oh, you’ve given me such a headache. Why do you always have to give me such a headache?”

Silence, Farber decided, continued to be the course of the prudent man. Later, when he was peeling back corner of plastic to expose tater tots, he reflected that it had been a fairly short rant tonight. It wasn’t customers she worshipped, really. It was their money. But because Nora’s Corner Florist was one of those neighborhood shops that depended on its regulars, it came to the same thing, really.

Here’s the process of condensing this scene.

1. What happens in the scene?
From Farber’s POV, Farber listens to a rant from his wife Nora about money. He regrets their once-better relationship and engages in his own brand of passive-aggressive resistance when an apology fails to mollify her.

2. What purpose does it serve?
Advances Farber’s character, shows the relationship issues he’s having with Nora, and winds up Farber’s tension, with a tinge of comedy.

3. Condense.
When he gets home, Farber listens to Nora ranting and wishes things were better between them.

Keep doing that until you have gone through the entire novel. Congratulations! You have a synopsis – now, polish it. Make sure the first paragraph has an engaging hook, to keep the reader’s interest. Keep the writing fresh and authentic, but ensure that clarity is paramount. Give each character a reason why we care about them. Make sure there are transitions showing why the next action happened, so the reader can follow the story and not bog down.

Like the novel itself, the synopsis needs to be overwhelmingly show, don’t tell.

In other words, use sentences like this: “Roger and his wife, Shiela, have an ordinary life until Roger’s sister is shot and killed in a drive-by, which the cops tell them is related to Roger’s newspaper business.”

Don’t use sentences like this: “This novel is about Roger and Shiela and the way tragedy and conflict in life initially puts their relationship on a downward spiral, until they pull together in the end.”

While both might apply to the same novel, the first one shows what actually happens, while the second one tells what the story means. That will come through, if the story is competent and the synopsis shows what happens.

Check that the synopsis conforms to the guidelines for the person you’re sending it to. They will usually want it in roughly the same format as the novel submission, unless otherwise stated. Most will want your name and the title on every page of everything you submit. Tailor the synopsis to the guidelines as best you can, including how long it is.

Be aware that grammar and spelling mistakes will stand out even more than they do in the novel. Likewise, poor writing such as passive language, repeated words and unnecessary questions (will Roger be able to reunite with his wife and solve his sister’s murder?) will stand out and weaken the whole.

To finalize, read it out loud to someone who has not read the novel and see what they say. If the result is, “Uh… what?” then you might need to try again. If the result is “Wow… I want to read this novel, now” or “Wow, that sounds like a cool story” then you’re in business!

Here are a few links to other sites with synopsis advice:
http://www.learntowritefiction.com/how-to-write-a-synopsis/
http://www.kathycarmichael.com/articles-and-seminars/articles-and-workshops/general-fiction-synopsis/general-fiction-synopsis-seminar/
http://cjdarlington.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-write-synopsis-for-your-novel.html

The Synopsis Monster – is it a deadly, looming beast on the horizon, without discernible form, a threatening shape that plagues all writers? Believe me, it’s only frightening when you can’t really see it. Let’s blow away the mists and find out what we’re dealing with.

Pitches and the query letter are designed to sell your book to the publisher or agent. They are teasers, marketing tools to generate excitement. The synopsis is a business tool, and it has a separate function. Yes, it should be good writing that holds the reader’s interest in the story. But now you must show that you know how to write a coherent, well-structured story, and give it a satisfying finish.

A synopsis is almost always in present tense and in third person, no matter how the novel is written. However, the style usually reflects that of the novel, to some degree – lighthearted, serious, dramatic or sweet, the tone of your novel should be echoed in the synopsis, without loss of clarity. Opinion is divided as to whether to put the character names in all caps. I’ve mostly been told that this is for screenplays, and novel submissions don’t require it, but check the submission guidelines and then use your own judgment. Usually a synopsis is either double-spaced, or single-spaced with a space between paragraphs.

What exactly is included in the synopsis? The important parts of your story, the bones on which all the flesh hangs: Who are the main characters? Why should we care about them? What is at stake for them? What choices do they make? What are the results of those choices? How does the conflict resolve itself? All of that needs to be answered.

I’m often asked whether the agent or publisher really wants the end of the story included. Isn’t that a spoiler? The answer is yes, they really want it. The agent or editor is not merely a reader, but is also a partner in the enterprise of making your book a success. In order to do that, they need full information. A cliffhanger ending that leaves out the climax or conclusion is merely going to mark you as an amateur.

What can be left out? Side characters, statements of theme or meaning, detailed settings, dialogue and real-time storytelling. While all the words you put into the novel are necessary to the novel, this is not a novel. It’s a condensed explanation, a guideline, a road map that will allow the publisher to understand the direction and structure of the story you have told.

Flesh and skin and coloration are part of the overall living creature that is your novel, and it wouldn’t be a very satisfying creature without them. These are only the bones, so that the observer can see that the thing will stand up.

Next time: the actual process of writing a novel synopsis, with examples and resource links!