Article by Lauren Miller
Photos by Steven Langhorst
Shawntelle Madison, who began seriously pursuing
writing in 2008, knows a thing or two about crafting a synopsis that will sell
your book, having written a number of contemporary and paranormal romances,
some horror and urban fantasy, including some bestsellers.
At the Guild’s November 4 workshop, attendees were
treated with her guide “Crafting a Successful Synopsis.” They also received
copies of sample, successful (novels that were eventually published) synopses
from other authors for writers to take home, ready and study. So, for
uninitiated of writers who have yet to craft their first synopsis and for seasoned
writers looking for a refresher, let’s now dive in to the nitty-gritty of
creating a standout synopsis.
Formatting Your Synopsis
Always check the agent and editor submission
guidelines! Double-space your synopsis unless the submission guidelines specify
differently. Use 12-point font in either Times New Roman or Courier. Avoid
fancy fonts (they don’t impress anybody). Your synopsis should be written in
the third person. Format your synopsis to include your name and contact
information at the top of every page – that way if they get out of order or
mixed in with any number of other authors’ synopses, the editor or agent will
still know which one is yours. The length of your submitted synopsis will vary
depending on the requested length (anywhere from one, two, three, five pages or
more) and sometimes, you may get asked for a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of
your entire novel. Be ready for anything.
The Building Blocks of a Successful Synopsis
Madison
recommended Debra Dixon’s Goal,
Motivation, Conflict for its description of the fundamental building blocks
of conflict – goal, motivation and conflict (the GMC’s).
“Before I start writing a book, I will create a GMC
chart […] and create a GMC statement – your protagonist wants/needs/has to do a
particular goal because of the motivation, but must face conflict. Oftentimes,
I will ask myself this question for individual scenes [too],” Madison said.
Knowing these three elements, and bearing them in mind throughout the
development of your synopsis, will help you determine what your book is really
about. When a book or scene feels like it rambles and doesn’t go anywhere, it
may be because it is lacking any or all of these three components.
Shoot for writing a synopsis in different word lengths:
25 words or less, 15 words or less, 10 words or less (your tagline). Madison
led participants through an analysis of a synopsis of a story to identify the
main characters, the major plot points within the synopsis, and what the GMC
for each of those characters was. A synopsis is not that different from a book
blurb in that it will touch on some of the major plot points and identify who
the characters are, but it should be succinct and always progress your novel’s conflict.
One key difference is while a book blurb hints at the conflict but doesn’t give
away the ending, a synopsis should disguise nothing and give away the whole
plot.
Begin your synopsis with the introduction into your
story world and immediately launch into the inciting incident—the moment that
kicks off the conflict for your characters. Based on the sample synopses
provided by Madison, author Jeannie Lin
took the approach of including her GMC statement within the introduction of her
synopsis. By contrast, author Amanda
Berry began her synopsis with an introduction of her characters. Madison
described her own approach,
“When I am writing a story, the beginning takes
forever because I am always asking myself, where does the story start? It’s too
easy to give a grocery list of this happened, then this.”
Your opening sentence should include a hook that will
capture the attention of a reader, agent, or editor. This is your one
opportunity to stand out. Your synopsis is also the place to capture your
story’s tone (e.g. dark, light, etc.) and give your audience an idea of your
writing voice. A synopsis will not necessarily be in chronological order, but it
should reflect your book as a whole.
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| Madison discusses writing with a participant. |
Protagonists & Plots
The body of your synopsis should be a progression of
your main character’s GMCs – what is their main goal and motivation during the
conflict? What is the internal flaw that is standing in the way of their
success, which they will need to overcome (positive ending) or not (tragedy) by
the end of the story? Don’t forget about this flaw when you’re writing your
synopsis or your book. In a series, there will usually be an overarching
conflict, and the protagonist may not change very much, but there will still be
change around them.
“To avoid writing a dry piece of toast, focus on the
beginning state and the ending state of your character throughout your
synopsis,” Madison said. Her questionnaire, available to participants, led
attendees in a step-by-step development through the synopsis process, hitting
on the major plot points. To see how this is done commercially, look at any
number of film breakdowns available online, such as the ones done by book
doctor, Michael Hague.
All plot points should be included in your synopsis,
from the opening sentence to the resolution. Take your synopsis, chapter by
chapter, through each of the major moments in your novel. What are the turning
points when something changes with the protagonist’s goal, motivation, or the
conflict? Remember, you want to focus on the primary characters who are
propelling the plot forward. Just like in a book blurb, the secondary
characters can distract and clutter the narrative. As Madison said, “Condense.
Condense. Condense.”
Madison recommended “The Novel Premise,” a useful
worksheet in Lynn Viehl’s Novel Notebook, which may help you summarize
your material. For a refresher on plot points, check out K.M. Weiland, who has a number of infographics on her website covering
timelines for each of your novel’s critical junctures (www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com).
By the end of your synopsis, all the loose threads
should be wrapped up and tied in a bow. There should be no unresolved subplots.
For a series where the subplot or unresolved story thread is resolved in a
future book, add an additional paragraph explaining this to your editor or
agent so it’s clear it’s not just been forgotten. It may also be prudent to
have someone you trust review your synopsis. Another pair of eyes may pick up
on something you’ve missed. Madison uses this technique with her own work,
showing it to a few, trusted critique partners before it’s ever shown to
someone in the publishing industry.
Concluding Thoughts
Writers who embark upon writing a synopsis may find
the process of consolidating a 90,000-word manuscript into a few pages, or
worse, a single sentence, without losing the substance of the story, to be
incredibly daunting. However, this exercise – besides being necessary in
pursuing an editor or agent – does help the writer clarify the fundamental
elements of their story. There is no room for hiding in a synopsis. If
something is broken in your conflict, it will stand out. Some professional
authors will even write the synopsis first and submit it to an agent before
they write a single word of the novel. A synopsis is that powerful. By learning
to harness the potency of a well-written synopsis, you can improve your chances
at polishing your manuscript’s finer points (don’t forget about those GMCs!)
and avert any potential plot disasters.
For more on these topics, please visit Madison’s
website, www.shawntellemadison.com, where she has a free GMC Wizard and
a Synopsis Wizard to help you develop your story.
Speaker Bio:
Shawntelle Madison is a web developer who loves to weave
words as well as code. She’d never admit it, but if asked, she’d say she covets
and collects source code. After losing her first summer job detasseling corn,
Shawntelle performed various jobs—from fast-food clerk to grunt programmer to
university webmaster. Writing eccentric characters is her most favorite job of
them all. On any particular day when she’s not surgically attached to her
computer, she can be found watching cheesy horror movies or the latest
action-packed anime. She lives in Missouri with her husband and children.
