Writing a Synopsis

dragonSomething many people struggle to write is a synopsis. Writers cringe at the prospect of writing them – and with good reason: how do you sum up your book in a page or so?

I’m not one for formulas in writing. I think they’re dangerous and stupid, forcing writers to templates that are inorganic (at least to themselves). When it comes to a synopsis, however, well, I don’t want to say there’s a formula, but there are tricks.

Firstly, there’s no definitive length for a synopsis. Usually, a page suffices. Some publishers, though, will specify exactly what they want. The magic numbers usually are 200 words, 300 words, 500 words, and 1,000 words. Rarely will anybody ask for a synopsis longer than 1,000 words.

Also, don’t feel you can substantially run over these limits, or that the publisher will be so wowed by your brilliance that they won’t care. They will. Hitting a word limit shows professionalism. It shows you can tell your story within the parameters they’ve defined. If you’re going to go over, don’t go over by more than 1%. If you’re going to run under, don’t run under by more than ten words.

Another question is what should you reveal in the synopsis. Some publishers don’t mind a tease, a build up of the story left open-ended – like an extended blurb. Others want everything. They want to see you can tell your story succinctly. This does seem self-defeating in some cases, e.g. your story might hinge on a twist that if you gave it up, it would undermine whatever dramatic tension your story is trying to build. However, there’s ways to get around this that shouldn’t antagonise the publishers – at least not too much.

Let’s begin with a story that we should all know – The Hobbit. Imagine we had to write a 500-word synopsis for this. Where do we begin?

Here’s where the tricks kick in.

Break the story down into three sections: a beginning (introducing the character – or characters – and what triggers them into action), a middle, and the end. We’re not trying to cover the entire book here, although obviously the beginning and end are definitive. But the middle’s not everything else in-between, but literally a covering of the middle of the stotry.

Dedicate a paragraph to each. For example (and I’m going to keep every one of my examples as first drafts):

 

    Beginning
    Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who lives in the Shire, a Hobbit who is contented with his peaceful life, baking cakes, eating, and, when the occasion takes him (as it does often), sitting on his porch blowing smoke rings. He has never known a harried day in his life and – as is the case with Hobbits – only wants to live peacefully with a full belly and a warm bed. But when the Wizard Gandalf visits and starts talking about adventures, Bilbo’s idyllic little world is shattered.

 

Okay, that’s a beginning. Let’s look at the middle next – remember, this is just a summation that covers the heart of the story’s journey.

 

    Middle
    Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers. When the party confront a trio of Trolls, Bilbo is terrified, and it is Gandalf who comes to the rescue. They journey through the Elf kingdom of Rivendell, where they are advised by the Elford Elrond. Bilbo wishes he could stay and not face the dangers of the adventure, but as they continue, Bilbo begins to discover an inner resolve that is compounded by Bilbo’s discovery of a magical ring – following a trial of riddles with a miserable creature known as Gollum – which grants him invisibility when he wears it.

 

Again, we’re not trying to capture the entire story. We’re just trying to embody important aspects of it. Here, certainly, we could list everything that happens, but what’s more important is the development of the character, which this paragraph covers. Development is important. Readers want to see that the characters aren’t stagnant, but that there’s an evolution in who they are.

Now for the last paragraph – and here’s where we’ll fudge the truth, by not disclosing everything in the conclusion, thus maintaining a bit of mystery.

 

    The End
    Bilbo, wearing his ring of invisibility, banters with the dragon Smaug, in a chamber of immeasurable treasure. Unwittingly, Bilbo gives away a clue that leads the dragon to attacking Laketown. In the aftermath, armies rally against Bilbo and the Dwarves, whilst Thorin uses a Thrush to call for reinforcements. But the two opposing armies must ally when the Goblins attack, and a horrific battle is waged – a battle in which survival becomes more imperative than all the treasure in the world.

 

So what we have is:

 

    Beginning
    Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who lives in the Shire, a Hobbit who is contented with his peaceful life, baking cakes, eating, and, when the occasion takes him (as it does often), sitting on his porch blowing smoke rings. He has never known a harried day in his life and – as is the case with Hobbits – only wants to live peacefully with a full belly and a warm bed. But when the Wizard Gandalf visits and starts talking about adventures, Bilbo’s idyllic little world is shattered.

    Middle
    Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers. When the party confront a trio of Trolls, Bilbo is terrified, and it is Gandalf who comes to the rescue. They journey through the Elf kingdom of Rivendell, where they are advised by the Elford Elrond. Bilbo wishes he could stay and not face the dangers of the adventure, but as they continue, Bilbo begins to discover an inner resolve that is compounded by Bilbo’s discovery of a magical ring – following a trial of riddles with a miserable creature known as Gollum – which grants him invisibility when he wears it.

    The End
    Bilbo, wearing his ring of invisibility, banters with the dragon Smaug, in a chamber of immeasurable treasure. Unwittingly, Bilbo gives away a clue that leads the dragon to attacking Laketown. In the aftermath, armies rally against Bilbo and the Dwarves, whilst Thorin uses a Thrush to call for reinforcements. But the two opposing armies must ally when the Goblins attack, and a horrific battle is waged – a battle in which survival becomes more imperative than all the treasure in the world.

 

That’s 272 words. A bit short for our needs, but a good start. As an aside, if we needed a 300 word synopsis, we pretty much have it. We’d just need to make some revisions for edification – notably, when Gandalf’s introduced, instead of ‘starts talking about adventures’, we might say, ‘solicits Bilbo’s help to aid a party of Dwarves in a quest to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug.’ There’s a few similiar alterations, but you should get the idea.

For our 500-word synopsis, though, whilst the paragraphs work in isolation, the evolution of the story jars from one paragraph to the next. What we actually need are paragraphs between each as segues. Moreover, we need paragraphs that explain things which have been introduced, e.g. in the final paragraph, we mention ‘Smaug’ and ‘Thorin’ for the first time, figures who’d seem to be integral characters. So let’s now interject a second paragraph:

 

    Second Paragraph
    That night, whilst about to have dinner, Bilbo is visited by a procession of thirteen Dwarves, each introducing themselves, the last the most important of all – he is Thorin Oakenshield, King of the Dwarves. When Gandalf arrives, Thorin and Gandalf tell how the dragon Smaug drove the Dwarves from their home of the Lonely Mountain and claimed all their treasures. Gandalf and Thorin want Bilbo to join them in a quest to get the treasure back. Bilbo is reluctant, but come the morning, he finds himself running from his door without even a handkerchief in his pocket to join the Wizard and Dwarves on their quest.

 

Something else to consider when writing a blurb is which details do you really need to tell? Some little touches (like mentioning the lack of handkerchief) are nice flourishes that personalise the story. But we can’t include everything, and nor should we try. You need to be judicious in working out that something which might be a nice enough detail or event in the book is just going to become padding in the synopsis.

You’ll also notice that the second paragraph flows fine from the first, because it’s been written chronologically, but the way the third paragraph follows from the second jars.

 

    That night, whilst about to have dinner, Bilbo is visited by a procession of thirteen Dwarves, each introducing themselves, the last the most important of all – he is Thorin Oakenshield, King of the Dwarves. When Gandalf arrives, Thorin and Gandalf tell how the dragon Smaug drove the Dwarves from their home of the Lonely Mountain and claimed all their treasures. Gandalf and Thorin want Bilbo to join them in a quest to get the treasure back. Bilbo is reluctant, but come the morning, he finds himself running from his door without even a handkerchief in his pocket to join the Wizard and Dwarves on their quest.

    Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers …

 

But this is easily remedied by now rephrasing the beginning of the first sentence of the middle paragraph to provide a transition. E.g.

 

    As the adventures unfolds, Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers …

 

There. All better.

Now we need a paragraph to bridge the middle and end, which currently read:

 

    The Middle
    Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers. When the party confront a trio of Trolls, Bilbo is terrified, and it is Gandalf who comes to the rescue. They journey through the Elf kingdom of Rivendell, where they are advised by the Elford Elrond. Bilbo wishes he could stay and not face the dangers of the adventure, but as they continue, Bilbo begins to discover an inner resolve that is compounded by Bilbo’s discovery of a magical ring – following a trial of riddles with a miserable creature known as Gollum – which grants him invisibility when he wears it.

    The End
    Bilbo, wearing his ring of invisibility, banters with the dragon Smaug, in a chamber of immeasurable treasure. Unwittingly, Bilbo gives away a clue that leads the dragon to attacking Laketown. In the aftermath, armies rally against Bilbo and the Dwarves, whilst Thorin uses a Thrush to call for reinforcements. But the two opposing armies must ally when the Goblins attack, and a horrific battle is waged – a battle in which survival becomes more imperative than all the treasure in the world.

 

So how does Bilbo get from Gollum to Smaug? And what themes are being explored? Again, the action is not as important as the character development. In the middle paragraph, we mention that Bilbo begins to find an inner resolve. So let’s continue to ride that – it’s the evolution of how Bilbo goes from reluctant in the opening paragraph to bantering with a dragon in the last paragraph.

 

    Fourth Paragraph
    When the Dwarves encounter hordes of giant spiders, it Bilbo who rescues them, and when the Dwarves are imprisoned by Woodland Elves, it’s Bilbo who frees them, hiding them in barrels they ride down to Laketown, where they are feted as esteemed guests. They march on to the Lonely Mountain, where they find a secret entrance into the inner chambers. Bilbo, wearing his ring, sneaks down into the treasure room, where he behold the dragon Smaug nestled on a hill of treasure.

 

Again, we’ve introduced some issues – in this case, repetition. In the fourth paragraph we mention that Bilbo is ‘wearing his ring’, and then in the fifth, we mention that Bilbo is ‘wearing his ring of invisibility.’ Also, how does he actually meet the dragon? Again we just need to smooth out the continuity:

 

    When the Dwarves encounter hordes of giant spiders, it Bilbo who rescues them, and when the Dwarves are imprisoned by Woodland Elves, it’s Bilbo who frees them, hiding them in barrels they ride down to Laketown, where they are feted as esteemed guests. They march on to the Lonely Mountain and find a secret entrance into the inner chambers. Bilbo, wearing his ring, sneaks down into the treasure room, and beholds the dragon Smaug nestled on a hill of treasure.

    Smaug smells Bilbo, and the two begin to banter. Bilbo is quite pleased with his own cleverness until, unwittingly, he gives away a clue that leads the dragon to attacking Laketown. In the aftermath, armies rally against Bilbo and the Dwarves, whilst Thorin uses a Thrush to call for reinforcements. But the two opposing armies must ally when the Goblins attack, and a horrific battle is waged – a battle in which survival becomes more imperative than all the treasure in the world.

 

Note that as I’ve reread it, I’ve found a couple of issues in the fourth paragraph (the repetition of ‘where’ to introduce new information). I’ll give it a thorough edit (or nine) later, but it never hurts to fix things on the fly when the opportunity is there.

Now The End paragraph isn’t actually the final paragraph. The final paragraph should close the synopsis and sum up the sort of book it is. E.g.

 

    The Hobbit is a fun-filled adventure, a tale of reluctant heroism that’s sure to delight and entertain readers of all ages.

 

Altogether, what we have is:

 

    Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who lives in the Shire, a Hobbit who is contented with his peaceful life, baking cakes, eating, and, when the occasion takes him (as it does often), sitting on his porch blowing smoke rings. He has never known a harried day in his life and – as is the case with Hobbits – only wants to live peacefully with a full belly and a warm bed. But when the Wizard Gandalf visits and starts talking about adventures, Bilbo’s idyllic little world is shattered.

    That night, whilst about to have dinner, Bilbo is visited by a procession of thirteen Dwarves, each introducing themselves, the last the most important of all – he is Thorin Oakenshield, King of the Dwarves. When Gandalf arrives, Thorin and Gandalf tell how the dragon Smaug drove the Dwarves from their home of the Lonely Mountain and claimed all their treasures. Gandalf and Thorin want Bilbo to join them in a quest to get the treasure back. Bilbo is reluctant, but come the morning, he finds himself running from his door without even a handkerchief in his pocket to join the Wizard and Dwarves on their quest.

    As the adventures unfolds, Bilbo and the Dwarves find allies in unlikely places, and face just as many dangers. When the party confront a trio of Trolls, Bilbo is terrified, and it is Gandalf who comes to the rescue. They journey through the Elf kingdom of Rivendell, where they are advised by the Elford Elrond. Bilbo wishes he could stay and not face the dangers of the adventure, but as they continue, Bilbo begins to discover an inner resolve that is compounded by Bilbo’s discovery of a magical ring – following a trial of riddles with a miserable creature known as Gollum – which grants him invisibility when he wears it.

    When the Dwarves encounter hordes of giant spiders, it Bilbo who rescues them, and when the Dwarves are imprisoned by Woodland Elves, it’s Bilbo who frees them, hiding them in barrels they ride down to Laketown, where they are feted as esteemed guests. They march on to the Lonely Mountain and find a secret entrance into the inner chambers. Bilbo, wearing his ring, sneaks down into the treasure room, and beholds the dragon Smaug nestled on a hill of treasure.

    Smaug smells Bilbo, and the two begin to banter. Bilbo is quite pleased with his own cleverness until, unwittingly, he gives away a clue that leads the dragon to fleeing and attacking Laketown. In the aftermath, armies rally against Bilbo and the Dwarves, whilst Thorin uses a Thrush to call for reinforcements. But the two opposing armies must ally when the Goblins attack, and a horrific battle is waged – a battle in which survival becomes more imperative than all the treasure in the world.

    The Hobbit is a fun-filled adventure, a tale of reluctant heroism that’s sure to delight and entertain readers of all ages.

 

And there is it – a 486 word synopsis for The Hobbit. If we aimed at 1,000 words, we could continue to fill in details. Instead of just mentioning ‘as the adventure unfolds’ we might get into some specifics, e.g. being brought before the Goblin King in Goblintown.

Now this synopsis isn’t perfect – far from it. It’s still a first draft. But we have the bones of what we want to say. There’s some we could flesh out, e.g. What is a Hobbit? We could change the first sentence from:

 

    Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who lives in the Shire, a Hobbit who is contented with his peaceful life, baking cakes, eating, and, when the occasion takes him (as it does often), sitting on his porch blowing smoke rings.

 

To:

 

    Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit – which is like a person, but about the height of a child and with a talent for being furtive. He lives in the Shire, contented with his peaceful life, baking cakes, eating, and, when the occasion takes him (as it does often), sitting on his porch blowing smoke rings.

 

Even that’s not great, but experimenting helps us explore how to phrase things. There’s also some rough edges to be smoothed out, e.g. ‘contented with his peaceful life’ and ‘only wants to live peacefully’. There’s bound to be other issues that require attention, or additions we might need to make succinctly (e.g. introducing the Goblins earlier), but we’ve now got something workable (and keep in mind that everything you’ve read is first draft). And you might’ve read in this blog a time or two the importance of revision – these are all things we can address and hone.

Keep trying to use this trick when writing synopsizes. The more you do it, the more you’ll learn to compartmentalise your synopsis, and eventually you’ll find you won’t have to use this trick at all.

L.Z.

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