Writing the Fiction Synopsis: A Step by Step Approach (How-To Series

by Pam McCutcheon

Walk through the process of writing a synopsis of your book, from targeting your market, to adding tone, to tightening by choosing just the right words. Learn how to write the synopsis to develop your book's theme, determine what elements of plot and character should be included, choose which method to use to begin your synopsis, and format it properly.

Using movies as examples, the author provides preliminary, plot development, character development, and story outline worksheets. Learn how to complete the blank worksheets for your book, complete the checklist to ensure you have included the necessary elements in your synopsis, and study the long and short sample synopses provided for each movie discussed.

• What a synopsis is and why editors want one
• What to put in your synopsis, what to leave out and why
• How to include plot and character development, including resolution, in your synopsis
• Learn the key to a good synopsis
• Fill out the worksheets to write a synopsis of your book

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Language

171 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

I've been a reader all my life, starting out with fairy tales and graduating to reading everything in the house when I grew older, including my parents' romances, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and action/adventure.

If a writer can combine romance and humor with a fantasy, science fiction, or paranormal element, I'm hooked. Add action/adventure, and it's even better!

Since I couldn't find quite enough books that combine these elements, I sat down to write some of my own. The result is the books you'll see on my website.

I now live in Colorado with my three dogs: Mo, Daisy and Trixie.

Pseudonyms: Pamela Luzier (Fantasy genre) and Parker Blue (Young Adult urban fantasy genre).

Reviews

[evangeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superbly written, informative and easy to understand guide on how to approach the dreaded book synopsis. I find writing a novel FAR easier than writing the synopsis, however, after reading this book I am so much more confident with tackling the synopsis that has been sat waiting on my computer for the past few weeks.
This book covers long and short synopses, aswell as the back cover blurb. It also comes along with some fantastic worksheets to help decipher character goal, motivation and conflict, as well as recognising the essential parts of the plot that should be included within a synopsis.
I recommend this book to any fiction writer who is trying to get through the synopsis stage of preparing their query. For me, this book has been an essential tool for not only learning the art of synopsis writing but for putting what I've learnt into practice too.

[Tara L. Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the fact that the author makes few assumptions about the reader's (writer's) knowledge, and lays the process out clearly. Even if you know some, or all, of the rules, the content is quick to move through so you don't feel frustrated by rehashed information. And some of that rehashing is warranted anyway: there's a lot to remember, some of which is easily forgotten.

The book is designed as a work-along with several examples from multiple genres that makes the information learned applicable across the board. You're adding skills to your toolbox, not simply memorizing for a one-time session.

Highly recommend this book to any writer. I'm fresh off the BA & MA in writing train, and found the book is exactly what I needed for the back end writing process that goes along with the front end writing process.

[Carbunkle Flux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book that I think should be required reading for anyone looking to publish a novel.

It isn't easy to take 80,000+ words and condense it to two pages, one page or even a paragraph. This book gives you all of the advice and tools you will need to do exactly that.

As a fore-warning, it was written in the 90s. So it makes some dated references to ink ribbons, typewriters and mail-in manuscripts. But the advice here is timeless. Each chapter deals with a specific worksheet that helps you focus on identifying one part of your story. She uses three (dated, but modern enough to still be known) movies as a guide along the way, showing you how the worksheets can be completed for each one.

It's all very practical, very thorough and very well written. Thank you, Pam McCutcheon!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical book on synopsis writing. My only qualm (hence 4 stars) is the use of movies as examples rather than books. Movies aren't the same as books. I know a lot of "how-to" writing books use movies for examples because everyone has seen them... but we're writers! Isn't there a set of iconic books people can use as examples rather than movies?

But other than that, great how-to book. :-)

[Elizabeth Ellen]

Being a less-than-stellar synopsis writer, I searched long and hard for a resource like this. Plenty of books list ways to write a synopsis; this one has EXAMPLES. The reproduceable worksheet pages force the development of necessary elements not just for the synopsis, but for the novel. Examples include both long and short forms of synopses, annotated to correspond to worksheet elements.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, step-by-step guide to writing a synopsis. The author demonstrates the process by drafting synopses to 3 well-known movies, and provides a series of forms so that you can prepare your own synopsis in a clear and organized way.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title implies, Pam takes readers step-by-step through preparing a winning synopsis of their work.

[Eila Jameson-Avey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great guide for writing synopsis' with clear examples. Definitely a book I will go back to.