Learning the Craft
I’ve had few questions recently about writing a synopsis–most of them along the lines of “how do I condense everything that happens in my completed ninety thousand word novel into ten pages or less?”
It’s a good question. But a better one is: “How do I condense everything that happens in my completed ninety thousand word novel into fifty words or less?”
Why is this a better question? It’s better because if you’re going to attempt the impossible you might as well give yourself at least a fighting chance of attaining it. It’s far easier to craft the fifty word “essence” of your story and then expand it to become a two thousand word synopsis, than it is to take an axe to an entire novel and expect a rational result.
The first key to a killer synopsis is to find your story’s centre. Its soul. Its beating heart.
There are several suggestions out there on the Web about just how to do this, and here is one that works for me. It’s the “High Concept Pitch” formula:
- Heroine
- Flaw
- Opponent
- Life-changing event
- Ally
- Battle
When Lucy Monroe mentioned it at our RWNZ conference a few years ago I’d never heard of it, but this blueprint enables me to look past the minutiae of the plot to the absolute basics–the essential arc I need to elaborate on and explain in order to have my story synopsis make sense.
For example:
A crusader (Heroine) with a heart-breaking secret (Flaw) is blackmailed (Life-changing event) by a manipulative psychotic (Opponent) in order to advance his criminal lifestyle . However, when an enigmatic stranger (Ally) offers her a chance to be free, she must make a choice which might lose her all she holds most precious. (Battle)
That’s it. At this stage I don’t have to describe the “heart-breaking secret” in its lurid detail, or clarify that the opponent is (for example) a werewolf, or even try to give an impression of the world in which this happens. I only have to create–and then hone–the generic sentence.
Now it’s your turn. Using the “Heroine / Flaw / Opponent / Life-changing event / Ally / Battle” method, distil the essence of your novel into fifty words. Or less. Of course you can.
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Tags: High Concept, Marketing, Synopsis
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