Now let’s talk about how
their fun versions of a TV synopsis can serve as a lesson for writers. After
all, after the query letter, the synopsis is one of the most torturous gateways
to publication every writer must face. Eventually.
We get told a lot of advice
about them too: synopsis’s must be short, but longer than a couple of
paragraphs like on the back of the book, and must sufficiently describe all the
plotlines, but not go way too in-depth or off-track, and must tell the ending
but not reveal too much because why else would an agent care enough to read it?
Yeah. It’s pretty
headache-inducing. So after you’ve read the first post on this and see how ABC
handled their recaps of Revenge and OUAT, how can you use that to be more
unique with the recap of your book (especially if, like TV shows, your WIP is a
series and not a novel?)
1. Focus on the characters
Much like OUAT did, make sure
you give all your MC’s a paragraph to call their own. If you don’t know your
characters’ backstories, how they get introduced, or what they contribute to
the tale (hint: It’s not just “why does your hero care about them?” Why does
your ----reader----- care about them?) then you have an issue. Make sure you
can talk about all your characters like an elitist at a social event BEFORE you
ever start on the synopsis. Or submitting, for that matter.
Just a small example of how different EVERY character can be.
2. Give it away.
Let’s say in chapter two,
your hero/heroine hears something/meets someone/sees an important item that
will play an important, life-or-death role in their tale…later on, around the
end of the book. While in your book this can be a subtle detail, in your
synopsis you may have to actually talk about it.
So when leading up to your
twist endings and surprise epiphanies, make sure you talk about the hints and
clues strewn throughout your WIP. Otherwise, you’ll be saying “And so, Awesome
Guy remembered what he had learned that one time in the beginning of the book
that I forgot to mention, and used that to save the day!” No. Just no.
There is no need to include a "spoiler alert" in a synopsis.
3. Use your voice
If you know anything about
query letters, you know how vital “voice” is in your pitches. Pitches are
similar to the two paragraphs on the back of the book or on an Amazon summary -
a quick, snappy, catchy intro to your story meant to get you readers, agents,
and so on.
Yet we seem to forget that
synopsis’s should be snappy and easy to read too, not a dull “This happened,
and then this happened”. We’re paraphrasing our story, sure, but we’re also
trying to keep Mrs. Agent’s attention so she asks for a full manuscript.
While I’m not saying narrate
your synopsis through a secondary character like Revenge did (though not a bad
idea…hmm…can we do that?) have a voice. A personality. Really tell your story
and sell it. Maybe even narrating through your character wouldn’t be too
horrible, and then changing the “I’s” to “she/he’s” if you feel nervous about
submitting it that way.
Have you already written
synopsis’s for your stories before? What do you consider when you write one? Or
if you haven’t written one before, how do you feel about them?
As for a less depressing
topic…what do you think of the ABC shows so far?
Later.
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