Changing My Mind About Synopses

Like the picture? Okay, now that i have your attention, let's talk about synopses.  LOL. I know, no one wants to think, much less talk about these necessary evils. We only write them because sometimes we can't submit a book without them, we hope no one really reads them, and, most of the time, we write them after the book is finished. At least that has been true for me. But it changed this past week. Two reasons. First, i want to take advantage of an exciting submission opportunity that requires a proposal (a partial, pitch, and synopsis), and, for the first time in my short writing career, the book in question is only a little over a third done, so i have to write the synopsis first. The other reason it all changed is because, when facing a writing challenge, i take a workshop! This past week i went to my favorite workshop source, Savvy Authors, and took a short and informative class from Cindy Carroll. Called, appropriately, Synopsis A Necessary Evil, i suggest you check it out. Cindy told us a lot of basics -- present tense, third person, written in the same "voice" as the book, and above all, it should always , always, are you listening Tara, be written BEFORE the book.

Are you reacting like i did? Wait, i'm mostly a pantser. I have a general story idea when i begin a book, but nothing so formal as an outline. All the good stuff comes in the writing when the characters start talking and telling me the exciting things about the story. Oh, really? His boss is Chinese? No kidding? His mother refuses to admit he's gay and keeps trying to marry him to a woman? I didn't know that.  LOL. Now, Cindy gave us a lot of great ways to create a synopsis -- the heroes journey, Save the Cat -- but i couldn't quite see myself following any of them. Maybe you feel the same way, pantser that you are. Okay, so if you're a pantser, how do you write a synopsis of your story that just happens? The answer is, at least for me, you PANTS it.

That's what i learned by doing (and what veteran writers already know).I had to do it, so I sat down at the computer and, just as if i was writing the book, started writing the story. I thought of it as my "Out of Africa" experience. Do you remember, Karen tells stories to amuse her friends. They suggest a first line premise -- there was a man named Wong Foo and a woman called Shirley --and she takes up the story. That's the way i felt writing the synopsis. New plot points, complications, twists and turns, poured out of my fingers. The style was more upbeat, more exciting than any synopsis i had ever taken from a finished book. And i will now admit the worst of all possible truths that many of you already know and can't believe i don't. It was almost as much fun as writing the book. Why? Because i hadn't already written the book! The unexpected fun of creation got transferred to the synopsis. We still have to see how much having this synopsis helps me write the book. Chances are, i'll barely look at it, since the structure of the story will already have seeped into my unconscious. I'll just write like i always do.

If you're rolling your eyes at me right now and saying "Tara, how much of a newbie are you?", the answer is "pretty new, thanks". But the fun of writing fiction for me is that i learn something new literally every day. That's what i learned this week.

What is your secret to making a synopsis sing? Come on, share. I need the input! LOL  :  )