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A two page synopsis
sounds impossible? Critically acclaimed romance writer Karen Wiesner shows
us how.
Composing
an In-Depth Synopsis {in a two-page-maximum world}
Karen Wiesner
You've heard the
rumors, and I'm sorry to confirm that they're true. The romance market is
moving toward a standard two-page-maximum synopsis. For most of us, writing
a thank-you note as short as two pages is impossible. How in the world can
we cram everything contained within a 250-page-plus novel into a measly
two page synopsis?
If you look at the figures, it seems even more impossible:
10 pages=2500 words
5 pages=1250 words
2 pages=500 words
But maybe the old-fashioned way isn't completely useless.
Maybe we can use it to our advantage. It easier to write more than what
you need instead of less than what you need, right? Because that way it's
just a matter of cutting out the extraneous. Composing the old-fashioned
way.
There are two steps in writing a synopsis. Step one is the
background, where you give details concerning the hero and heroine's past.
Personal and external conflicts are explored as well as why they were or
weren't resolved. Step two is the present. Here you bring the reader up
to speed on how the characters have dealt with the past and you introduce
new developments. For now, concentrate on including everything you feel
is important to your story. Worry later about the length of the synopsis.
To make sure you've covered everything, follow this list:
WHO? (character name, age, career, and personality)
WHAT? (internal and external conflicts, as well as goals, both separate
and mutual)
WHEN? (the time period--historical, contemporary, time travel, etc.)
WHERE? (the setting)
WHY? (why are they in this situation? why are they in it together? why do
they fall in love with each other?)
HOW? (how do the hero and heroine meet (again)? how do events and the relationship
progress and how are they resolved?)
For an in-depth synopsis, your totals will most likely shake
out like this:
WHO? 3 lines for each character
WHAT? 3 paragraphs for each character
WHEN? 2 lines
WHERE? 2 lines
WHY? 5 or more paragraphs
HOW? 5 or more paragraphs
Unless you write extremely long paragraphs, the majority
of synopsis pages have around four paragraphs each, which means that the
old-fashioned synopsis is going to be much too long. It's time to get out
your sharpest pair of scissors.
Composing the two-page-maximum way.
WHO? (In a synopsis this short, you probably don't need to put in more than
the names and a brief description of their careers. Cut out anything else.
Be ruthless here because this will be the easiest place to whittle away
the unnecessary.)
WHAT? (Depending on how far your characters go back with each other, what
isn't crucial to the synopsis should present itself almost immediately.
All you need is what their main hang-up is (a personal one), the thing that
threatens them from the outside, and what they plan to do about each conflict.)
WHEN? (In a contemporary, it's always assumed present time. In a historical
and time travel you might need to be specific, but keep it down to one line
if at all possible.)
WHERE? (Unless the setting is absolutely pivotal to some conflict in the
story, leave it out altogether.)
WHY? and HOW? (These are the two areas you'll have the hardest time keeping
short. Remember, a synopsis (especially one this short) isn't the place
for in-depth details. Describe the events briefly, give viable explanations
for the situation and the characters' motives, then cap it off with their
resolutions.)
Now we have:
WHO? 1 line for each character
WHAT? You could conceivably get this down to 2 lines for each character
if your plot isn't too complex
WHEN? 0 to 1 line
WHERE? -
WHY? 3 paragraphs
HOW? 3 paragraphs
This is manageable. With those sharp scissors, you can get
your synopsis down to two pages without having something that resembles
a hollow log when you're done. Just remember to keep a copy of that in-depth
synopsis. The market still has a few souls (God love 'em!) who prefer a
synopsis written the old-fashioned way.
Good luck!
. . . . . . . .
Karen Wiesner, named a "leading romance writer" by The
Writer Magazine, is the best-selling author of the Gypsy Road Series, the
Angelfire Trilogy, Dare to Love Series as well as upcoming Wounded Warriors
Series (coming 2002) from Hard Shell Word Factory http://www.hardshell.com.
Her fiction novels from Hard Shell have been nominated for Romantic Times'
1999 E-Book of the Year, the Frankfurt Award and multiple Eppie's. In Fall
2001, Hard Shell Word Factory published ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING Q&A, the compilation
of Karen's now-defunct Inkspot column. The book includes bonus columns never
previously released.
Karen is also the author of ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING The Definitive
Guide {The Most Complete Reference to Non-Subsidy E-Publishing}, a bestselling,
Frankfurt nominated writer's reference. The Guide was a finalist in the
1999 EPPIE and won the 2000 EPPIE for Best Non-fiction. The 2001 Edition
is published by Avid Press, LLC http://www.avidpress.com,
is excerpted in the 2001 Writers Digest Novel & Short Story Market and made
the Inscriptions Books of the Year list http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/BOTY.html.
A FREE preview (zipped HTML format) of the Guide is available by sending
an e-mail to kwiesner@cuttingedge.net
with "EPTDG Preview" in the subject line.
Avid Press is the publisher of Karen's first paranormal romance,
SWEET DREAMS, which was a Reviewers' Top Pick for 2000 http://www.ebookconnections.com/Eclectic%20Reader/reviewers'_2000_picks.htm,
received a coveted 4 1/2 star Top Pick review from Romantic Times Magazine
and is a finalist in the prestigious 2001 Daphne du Maurier Award http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org.
Karen won the 2000 Inscriptions Engraver Award http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/Engravers.html
for best online columnist, the Year 2000 for eXcellence in E-publishing
Award: E-author from ebookadvisor and was a recipient of The Simply Charming
Award for outstanding promotion of e-books. She was also nominated for the
2000 EPIC Florence Moyer Service Award.
Upcoming releases for Karen include: a book of poetry, titled
Soul Bleeds The Dark Poetry and Other Wanderings of K.S. Wiesner (Atlantic
Bridge Publishing http://www.atlanticbridge.net,
July 2001), the 2001 edition of the Guide (Avid Press, July 2001), another
non-fiction/writer's reference titled THE PRODUCTIVE WRITER {or how to avoid
carpal tunnel with all those revisions} (Avid Press, LLC, Late 2001), a
children's story written with Linda Jablonicky, called THE CODY KNOWS CHRONICLES
(CrossroadsPub.com, Late 2002), as well as the first book of the Wounded
Warriors Series, RELUCTANT HEARTS (Hard Shell Word Factory, Early 2002.)
Projects in the works for Karen: a mainstream romantic suspense
called NO ORDINARY LOVE, the second book of the Wounded Warriors Series-WAITING
FOR AN ECLIPSE, as well as a psychological thriller written with author
Christine Spindler http://www.christinespindler.com
titled DEGREES OF SEPARATION.
For more information
about Karen and her work, visit her web site at http://karenwiesner.hypermart.net.
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