How to Write a Synopsis: Guidelines for the Beginners

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How to Write a Synopsis If You Lack Knowledge and Inspiration

The origin of the noun “synopsis” goes back from the Ancient Greek language. The original Greek word ‘synopsesthai’ means ‘a view made in a comprehensive manner.’ Learning how to write a synopsis, you get to know that it is a summary of the plot of the story presented in a concise way, covering also subplots, description of the key characters, the ending, and a review of the core themes.

The readers get an idea of what the text is about and read an overview of the key points, storyline, and a number of important factors of writing, in a particular genre, style, characters, setting, tone, and other aspects of the story with an outline of the plot. The audience also learns about what happens in the end, which twists of the plot are in the story, what primary characters the story has, and which subplots are included.

In brief, a synopsis summarizes all the meaningful points of the plot as well as the story ending. In most cases, it is needed to ensure that the book can be sold to the publishers or agents who need to evaluate the content first. You can also hire directly a book writing coach in order for you to be guided on things to be done especially in writing and publishing it.

What can you do if you are not inspired today?

The main functions of the synopsis are presenting the flaws of the story, as well as presenting the motives and actions of the characters. It can demonstrate the issues with the text structure, gaps in the plot and motives of the characters, and other problems in the story.

It is not a secret that numerous writers cannot create a compelling piece of text without extensive experience. They keep struggling and you are probably among them. Not many beginners find this process easy, and if you do you are a lucky one.

In general, you may view a synopsis as an intermediary stage between the story summary and a sales pitch. Your task is to give thorough explanations of what is happening in the story. In addition, you should demonstrate that you are able to inspire the readers and grasp their full attention, telling a thought-provoking story.

You are eager to start writing, but you cannot focus on the task. You cannot define this as writer’s block, but you definitely need some encouragement, at least to write down the opening lines. You are at a loss about which ideas you are going to present or you just do not like what you have already written.

You are not alone. One cannot feel inspired all the time. Synopsis writing requires your full attention, but it is really tricky. You have probably heard some song, and it made you think about a certain character for your story. It may happen that you have heard a line of some poem and you believed that it is worth your attention. You need to ensure further development of your idea, but you have lost the track.

Honestly, it is complicated to be creative. It is not only about collecting the facts that demand your focus on details and concentration. You cannot write anything when you do not feel like that. It is unpleasant to get stuck in the process of writing, but some breaks are needed for every writer. Most probably, you will resume your writing as soon as you get inspired again.

It is fine to be embarrassed as a writer sometimes. Inspiration has no schedule; moreover, our habits sometimes prevent us from being effective. We may try our best and apply a wide variety of techniques and methods of writing, but some things still may puzzle and block us. Our efforts and attitude to work are under our control, while other things may be beyond it. If we practice daily, our efforts result in great outputs.

So, you are facing a problem now. You have to write at least something and you are confused with the task. You do not know what to start with. First of all, stop worrying and try to choose a topic which appeals to your interests. It is even better if you have some knowledge about this subject. For instance, you may be excited about sports, reading, hobbies, IT, medicine, cars, traveling, or celebrities. So, get inspired by the things you love and start writing a blog post, a review, a report, or a piece of fiction. It does not matter what it will be, just keep writing!

Related: How To Write A Good Thesis Paper – From Beginner to Expert

How to Write a Good Synopsis

A typical length of a synopsis is approximately 500 words or a page with single spacing. When asking questions to a publisher or an agent, you have to find out whether there are any requirements in terms of the format or length. If the guidelines specify having two pages with double spacing in Arial, you should not submit your synopsis in Times New Roman, single spacing. After you have got the text of your synopsis, you proceed to paper formatting. You can always amend it easily if needed. It is great if you can give a one or two-sentence summary of every chapter in your synopsis.

The next step is to add a logline prior to the initial paragraph to introduce the readers to the storyline. The latter is a passage two sentences long which gives the identification of the main characters, the challenge to face for them, as well as the reasons for doing that. You may also add a paragraph after a logline with an explanation of why the filmmakers may be interested in the screenplay you have created.

Reviewing the synopsis will let you learn several other things about your project. It will be easier for you to define the features of the main characters. Thus, you will improve your ability to discuss the project in person. Besides, you will be able to reveal the connections and themes in the story. You will present the ending of the story in the last paragraph of your synopsis. It is no good to leave the readers unaware of what happened in the end.

Conclusion

A lot of writers are either afraid of learning how to write a synopsis or hateful about it. Besides, they do not know how to choose only meaningful details and they cannot eliminate descriptions of some characters. Some of the writers lack the required perspective. First-time synopsis writers do not like working on the synopsis as it always reveals that the story is full of flaws.

One of the main goals of synopsis writing is to demonstrate awareness of the subject and let the agent or publisher know that the book is worth their attention.

The language of the synopsis should not be similar to the one used in sales. It is not a teaser that encourages the readers to buy the book or watch the movie. It is actually a document given to experts for evaluation. So, try to present all the brightest moments in your text to impress them!