1. Plenty of agents are still requesting synopses with their queries, and you have to be ready to submit whatever an agent asks for.
   
2. Synopses used to be quite lengthy (and therefore easier to do), but nowadays agents want them short and sweet. I'll show you some basic tricks to cut down length.
   
3. With the critique, you'll get another opinion on your writing and the layout and structure of your story. 
4. You can ask questions in real time. If you have questions specific to you, we'll address them live!
   

Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:20:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

I always tell people that if they're confused as to how a novel synopsis
should look, simply go to Wikipedia. Search any movie made in the last five years and the first thing on the page is the long "Plot" section, which is essentially a front-to-back synopsis. A lot of them are too long; a lot of them are poorly written; but some are good, and you will get a sense of how they work. Or—you could just let find good ones for you and edit them a bit.
 
This time it's The Wrestler (2008), which would probably be called either literary or mainstream fiction. I had to leave a lot out concerning Pam/Cassidy and Stephanie, because the story really is about Randy and his experiences.

RANDY "THE RAM" ROBINSON is a professional wrestler who gained celebrity in the 1980s. Now twenty years past his prime, he wrestles at various independent matches in the New Jersey area for meager paydays. After a show, a promoter proposes an anniversary rematch of his most notable wrestling match, which sold out Madison Square Garden twenty years ago. Randy agrees.

Randy goes home and is locked out of his trailer for not paying the rent. His daily routine involves steroid usage, bleaching his hair, tanning, and loading boxes at a supermarket for extra cash. He also frequents a strip club, where he has befriended a faded stripper named PAM (stage name Cassidy). Following a wrestling match against a brutal "hardcore" opponent, Randy is backstage when he suffers a heart attack and collapses. He receives a coronary artery bypass and is warned that his weakened heart cannot stand the stresses of steroids or wrestling. Randy cancels his upcoming matches and starts to make changes in his life.

He begins working as a deli counter operator to get more work. He tells Pam about his heart attack and tries to woo her while out for a drink. She declines his advances, but does offer Randy advice on reconnecting with his estranged daughter, STEPHANIE, whom he had left years before. His first visit to Stephanie's house goes poorly, and she curses him out. Randy later returns with a gift and apologizes for being a bad father. The two bond over a visit to an abandoned beachfront boardwalk, and agree to meet for a dinner.

After Pam rejects his advances once more, Randy attends a wrestling match as a spectator and receives attention from his fans and fellow athletes. After the match, Randy gets drunk, snorts cocaine, and has sex with a younger woman—sleeping the entire next day and missing his dinner date with Stephanie. He tries to apologize, but Stephanie instructs him to get out of her sight and never return. At work, after a fan recognizes him and causes a scene, Randy purposefully cuts himself in the deli meat slicer and quits. He reschedules the previously-canceled anniversary match and sets out for the venue, despite his doctor's warnings.

Moments before the match starts, Pam unexpectedly arrives, having quit the strip club to come see him. She apologizes for being cold, and tells him that he is no longer alone. This time, Randy rebuffs her; he says that the fans are his true family and the only place he belongs is in the ring. Randy enters the ring to applause and gives an emotional speech to the large crowd before the fight begins. As the match progresses, his chest pain worsens. Randy painfully climbs the ropes to deliver his signature finishing move as the crowd cheers. Brought to tears, he salutes his fans and leaps from the ropes with the last of his strength, leaving his fate uncertain.

Want more on this subject?

• Read another great synopsis: Starman.
• How to write a novel synopsis.
• One story? You need 5 versions.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!
  

Saturday, May 08, 2010 1:25:29 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

BOBBY SCOTT is a former Marine Recon Master Gunnery Sergeant who now trains soldiers for American covert operations. He is sent to Boston for an emergency operation: LAURA NEWTON, a Harvard student and daughter of the President, is missing. Scott and other members of his unit are enlisted to find Laura before the media learn of her disappearance.

Scott discovers that Laura went to a bar to possibly prostitute herself, but she was drugged, taken to a brothel, then moved to a beach house. Along with CURTIS, a young trainee, Scott enters the beach house. The two men inside become violent and Scott quickly kills them in self defense. Scott and his unit believe Laura was abducted by a white slavery ring, a group of international sex traffickers unaware of her identity. A local convict named TARIQ is connected to the slavery ring. While in transport for medical attention, Tariq's police escorts are "killed" by a shotgun-wielding criminal (actually Scott, who is orchestrating the whole ruse). Tariq thanks Scott for freeing him, and promises him a flight to a Dubai safe haven and "many girls in Mascala." Scott's plan to infiltrate the slavery ring is working, but Tariq soon notices other cops nearby, and must be killed after he opens fire. The media announces that Laura's body was discovered off Martha's Vineyard, apparently the result of drowning. The rescue operation is called off and Scott returns home, where his neighbors believe he is a salesman who is often absent on business trips.

Months later, Scott is approached by the trainee Curtis, who makes a case that Laura is alive. Upon inspecting the beach house again, Curtis is killed by a sniper. Scott escapes, and realizes Laura is indeed overseas, and that the government as well as some of his own men lied to cover up the truth. Scott meets a female secret service agent who raised Laura like a daughter. The agent begs Scott to find Laura.

Deprived of the support of his unit, Scott turns to independent contacts for help and supplies. He flies to Dubai and meets an Australian contact. They inspect Mascala that night and, upon seeing Laura outside a house, move in immediately. There is a brief firefight; the Australian is killed, but Scott grabs Laura and gets away. Distraught at the way she has been treated by her father and his people, she at first objects to returning home, but eventually yields.

Scott takes her to his cargo container at the airport so she can fly safely to Geneva. Suddenly, operatives from Scott's unit arrive, seeking to apprehend them. Scott's own men confirm Laura's death was faked, and that she must now be killed the ensure the cover-up is secure. Scott is shot, but he manages to kill the operatives and buy time for Laura, who runs into the open by an airplane hangar and is rescued by Swedish journalists. Laura escapes on their plane. Some time later, Scott, now recuperating in London in secret, watches Laura's reunion with her father on TV. The media reports that, as a result of what happened, the U.S. government is now committed to end the international traffic in prostitutes. 

Want more on this subject?

• Read another great synopsis: Starman.
• How to write a novel synopsis.
• One story? You need 5 versions.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!
  

Sunday, May 02, 2010 8:37:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

MAX KLEIN survives a horrible airliner crash in a California cornfield. Many aboard the plane died just moments ago, including his business partner. Walking away from the crash site wreckage, he enters an altered consciousness—a heightened state of reality—rethinking life, death, God and the afterlife. He believes himself invulnerable, and to prove it, he walks across dangerous highways and even eats several strawberries though he is deathly allergic to them.
 
Upon returning home, Max is unable to reconnect with his young son, job, or wife, LAURA. He feels disconnected from the world, yet "in the moment" and invigorated. The media hounds him because he saved several people on the plane before leaving. He refuses to elaborate about the crash, though survivors explain that Max calmly guided them outside "to the light." Encouraged by an airline-contracted psychiatrist, Max visits another plane crash survivor, CARLA RODRIGO, who lost her baby son during the crash. Though Max does not break her depression, Carla is fascinated by him, while he feels an inexplicable swell of "love" for her; the two begin to see each other.
 
Meanwhile, a lawyer, BRILLSTEIN, is fighting on behalf of Carla's family as well as Max and Max's dead partner's wife to sue the airlines and collect large settlements. The legal battles draw wedges between relationships, and Max hesitantly agrees to exaggerate a deposition so his partner's widow can collect more money. He "cleanses" himself of the lie by standing precariously on a rooftop edge high above the city and releasing the last of his worldly fears.
 
Max and Laura's relationship detiorates; when she reaches out to him, he explains that his behavior is making no sense because he likes it that way. Max moves out. He sees Carla again and the pair spend a happy afternoon together before she breaks down. She reveals she could have held her baby tighter on the plane, and her child would be alive if she did more—thus explaining the true foundation of her chronic depression. To prove she could not have done anything more, Max has Carla hold a fake baby as tight as she can, then he runs his car into a brick wall to recreate the crash. The fake baby goes through the windshield, and Max and Carla are rushed to the hospital.
 
The experience changes Carla, and she is now ready to forgive herself and move on (or "live on Planet Earth for a while"). This decision saddens Max, who had hoped they may disappear together. Max is suddenly alone, and for the first time in many months, scared. He returns home a vulnerable man and asks Laura to "save him." Minutes later, Brillstein appears with a gift basket to celebrate a huge settlement, and Max gulps down another strawberry—but this time, his throat closes up. As Laura frantically tries to save him, Max actually does die for a moment, and finally relives the minutes after the crash when he leads several people to safety. Max then breathes again, coming back to life, and holds him wife tight as they both laugh and cry.

Want more on this subject?

• Read another great synopsis: Starman.
• How to write a novel synopsis.
• One story? You need 5 versions.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Monday, January 25, 2010 8:53:50 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

STANLEY GOODSPEED is an FBI biological weapons expert and self-declared "chemical super-nerd." After diffusing a chemical bomb at the San Francisco FBI office and nearly dying as a result, he returns home to decompress only to learn that his long-time girlfriend is pregnant. She asks him to get married; frazzled, he hesitates, but soon says yes.
 
Meanwhile, a group of rogue Marines led by disenchanted Brigadier General HUMMEL, capture a stockpile of rockets armed with a VX nerve agent. The Marines seize Alcatraz Island during a guided tour and take 81 tourists hostage. Hummel threatens the Pentagon with launching VX rockets against the population of the Bay Area unless the government pays reparations to fallen soldiers, including compensation to the families of Marines who died on illegal, clandestine missions.
 
The Pentagon decides to deploy a Navy SEAL team to retake the island and free Hummel's hostages by stealth. Goodspeed is (unwillingly) brought along to neutralize the chemical threat, though he's basically never set foot outside an office. The team still lacks first-hand knowledge of Alcatraz, though, and turns to 60-year-old convict JOHN MASON, the only inmate of Alcatraz who ever successfully escaped. The SEAL team is deployed at night, via helicopter, and successfully infiltrates Alcatraz by following Mason's instructions through a maze of tunnels. Before they can carry out their mission, however, the SEAL team is ambushed by the Marines and all SEALs are killed, though Mason and Goodspeed survive. Mason wants to walk, but realizes his only living relative - his daughter - could be killed if Hummel launches the gas. Mason also explains why he has been in jail for almost three decades: He stole American intelligence microfilm and hid it, and has been held without trial ever since.
 
Mason and Goodspeed move through Alcatraz looking for VX weapons. Mason's past as a British operative comes in handy when he skillfully dispatches of some Marines. Goodspeed, meanwhile, renders several rockets useless. A frustrated General Hummel threatens hostages, forcing Mason and Goodspeed into revealing their position and being taken captive. As dawn breaks, they escape their captors and continue disarming rockets.
 
Hummel's ransom deadline passes, and the general reveals he was never prepared to kill innocent people. The whole thing was a bluff. A firefight ensues between soldiers loyal to Hummel and not. An injured Hummel is rescued by Goodspeed and reveals the location of the final rocket before dying. Goodspeed disarms the final rocket. With the deadline gone and fearing an imminent attack, the Pentagon OK's a "last resort option" - blanketing Alcatraz with thermite-plasma weapons to destroy everything and everyone, in order to prevent a larger catastrophe. An exhausted Goodspeed uses flares to signal success, and the bomber planes pull up at the last moment. Mason thanks Goodspeed and leaves to experience the freedom he's always wanted, enigmatically urging Goodspeed to visit a church in Kansas for his honeymoon. Goodspeed tells the Pentagon that Mason was "vaporized," covering his tracks.
 
A few months later, Goodspeed and his pregnant bride run out of a Kansas church with the microfilm Mason stole, and Goodspeed asks his new wife if she wants to know who really killed JFK.

Want more on this subject?

• Read another great synopsis: Starman.
• How to write a novel synopsis.
• One story? You need 5 versions.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Sunday, January 10, 2010 2:03:05 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment
and in retrospection." ~Anais Nin

Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and provide several interesting articles on said topic. Writing a good synopsis for your novel or memoir can be one of the hardest and most frustrating things we have to do as writers. Today I’m serving up 8 articles to help de-mystify the process.

1. A synopsis can sell your story. Agent Caren Estesen discusses why you need a good summary. 

2. The advice "show, don't tell," doesn’t apply to a synopsis. Author Diana Peterfreund explains why. 

3. Here's how to write one. Agent Nathan Bransford shares his guidelines on writing the synopsis.

4. Ask yourself five questions. Writer Beth Anderson asks five questions in order to write a tight synopsis. Find out what they are.
 
5. Keep it simple. Romance novelist Brenda Coulter suggests dropping the pretense and just tell your story.

6. A writer answers common questions. Writer Sally Hanan answers commonly asked questions about the synopsis.

7. Grab readers, even with a synopsis. Romance Author Meredith Bond believes you have to “grab them by their eyeballs and don’t let go” and that’s just the first paragraph. 

8. See examples of fiction synopses. On this very GLA blog, you can see many posts related to synopsis writing - including several actual examples of synopses in all genres.

Want more on this topic?

• Footnotes: 5 Articles on Writing First Pages.
• Footnotes: 8 Articles on Revising Your Work.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Sunday, January 03, 2010 1:00:02 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [2]

BARRY EGAN owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers ("fungers") and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who ridicule him regularly, and leads a lonely, depressed life punctuated by fits of rage. In the span of one morning, he witnesses a bizarre car accident, picks up an abandoned musical instrument in the street, and encounters LENA, a sweet, somewhat mysterious woman who orchestrated the meeting after hearing about Barry from one of his sisters with whom she works.

Barry calls a phone sex hotline for conversation, and the female operator correctly surmises he’s a weak man with money in the bank. The sex line “supervisor,” DEAN, sends four henchmen from Utah to Southern California, where they quickly threaten and extort Barry, forcing him to take out money from a cash machine. This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a frequent flier miles promotion where he can amass a million miles by buying large quantities of Healthy Choice pudding and mailing in UPC bar codes. After Lena leaves for Hawaii on a business trip, Barry decides to follow her. Upon meeting her, Barry explains that he is in Hawaii on a business trip by coincidence, but he soon admits that he came to pursue a romantic relationship. She kisses him and the pair retreat to a hotel room for more.

After returning home, the four sex-line henchmen ram their car into Barry's, mildly injuring Lena. Normally not confrontational, an outraged Barry attacks his attackers in the street, and fights them off despite being outnumbered. He awkwardly leaves Lena at the hospital to try and end the harassment, and drives to Utah. When he arrives, Dean meets a changed and powerful Barry who explains “I have so much strength in me you have no idea. I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.” Dean agrees to leave Barry alone.

Returning home, Barry asks forgiveness from Lena for abandoning her at after the accident. He plays a simple song for her on the instrument he found and pledges to use his frequent-flier miles to accompany her on all future trips to Hawaii or wherever she goes. She forgives him, and they embrace; lastly, Lena says "So, here we go."

Want more on this subject?

• Read another great synopsis: Starman.
• How to write a novel synopsis.
• One story? You need 5 versions.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:03:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [2]

I always tell people that if they're confused as to how a novel synopsis
should look, simply go to Wikipedia. Search any movie made in the last five years and the first thing on the page is the long "Plot" section, which is essentially a front-to-back synopsis. A lot of them are too long; a lot of them are poorly written; but some are good, and you will get a sense of how they work. Or—you could just let find good ones for you and edit them a bit.
 
This time it's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, my first real attempt at a "literary fiction" story. A lot of the magic of this story is in the dialogue and character interaction, but those are tough things to show in a synopsis. But don't be worried—the point of a synopsis is just to show the framework and front-to-back vision of the story. Agents want to see that your Act II isn't murky, or that your story doesn't have an ending. Also, I realize that Dr. Howard's real name is actually Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, but we're trying to keep things simple here.

Besides this literary fiction synopsis, I've also posted examples of a young adult story (Bill & Ted), a middle-grade adventure (Flight of the Navigator), a thriller (Proof of Life), women's fiction (Peggy Sue Got Married), science fiction (Starman), fantasy (Dragonslayer), mainstream fiction (Witness), and historical/epic (Gladiator). You can see all posted synopsis examples by clicking on the "Synopsis Writing" category on the left-hand side of this page.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 10:52:16 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

I always tell people that if they're confused as to how a novel synopsis
should look, simply go to Wikipedia. Search any movie made in the last five years and the first thing on the page is the long "Plot" section, which is essentially a front-to-back synopsis. A lot of them are too long; a lot of them are poorly written; but some are good, and you will get a sense of how they work. Or—you could just let find good ones for you and edit them a bit.
 
This time it's Gladiator. A story like this is big and bold, so you have to keep it moving. You can't spend too much time detailing historical locations or anything like that. Garden variety example: Before Maximus meets Commodus in the Colosseum, he is reenacting a specific battle from the past. Does this detail matter? No—at least not when you're worried about word count. Also notice how the synopsis starts with a short paragraph telling about the hook—this is acceptable.

With this synopsis, I've posted examples of a young adult story (Bill & Ted), a middle-grade adventure (Flight of the Navigator), a thriller (Proof of Life), women's fiction (Peggy Sue Got Married), science fiction (Starman), fantasy (Dragonslayer), mainstream fiction (Witness), and historical/epic (Gladiator). You can see all posted synopsis examples by clicking on the "Synopsis Writing" category on the left-hand side of this page.

Gladiator is the story of Maximus, a general who became a slave, a slave who became a gladiator, a gladiator who defied an emperor.
 
MAXIMUS, a general in the Roman Army, leads his soldiers to victory against Germanic barbarians in the year 180 AD, thus ending a prolonged war, and earning the esteem of elderly emperor MARCUS AURELIUS. Because Maximus is a respected man of simple morals, the dying Aurelius decides to appoint him as the new leader of Rome, and transition the empire into a true Republic. Maximus first declines the offer ("With all my heart, no") but agrees to consider it.
 
The decision to appoint Maximus is not taken lightly by the Emporer's ambitious son, COMMODUS, who feels passed over and unappreciated. Commodus smothers his father in a bout of jealousy. Recognizing foulplay in his emporer's death, Maximus refuses to pledge loyalty to Commodus, who has declared himself "the new ruler of Rome." As punishment for disloyalty, Maximus is set for execution, and told his wife and son back in Hispania (modern day Spain) will be killed, as well. In the woods, Maximus escapes his captors then races across Europe on horse, only to discover his wife and son crucified in the smoldering ruins of his home. After burying them, he succumbs to exhaustion and collapses. Upon awakening days later, he finds himself in the custody of slave traders en route to North Africa.
 
Far from his military brethren, Maximus is mistaken as a common deserter, and is purchased by PROXIMO, the head of a gladiator school. Though he initially refuses to fight, Maximus—known only as "The Spaniard"—finally defends himself in the arena, and does so quite well. His formidable combat skills lead to popularity with audiences and fighters alike. He soon finds himself on the road back to Rome, as the new emporer Commodus has reopened the gladiatorial games to pay tribute to his dead father.
 
During the games, Maximus leads the gladiators to a decisive victory. Impressed, Commodus meets with "The Spaniard" on the floor of the Colosseum, and, to his horror, discovers not only is Maximus still alive, but is all-consumed by revenge. The Emperor, unable to kill Maximus because of the crowd's approval for him, pits him in several weighted battles, but Maximus continues to win—and defy Rome's new leader. Maximus seeks help from the emporer's sister, LUCILLA, with whom he had a romance years ago. A bold escape plan is formed, with the plan for Maximus to reunite with his troops then return to Rome and overthrow Commodus. The escape goes awry, however, as Proximo and other gladiators are killed, while Maximus is arrested at the city walls by a legion of Praetorian guards.
 
To unconditionally show his power and strength, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in front of a full audience in the Colosseum. Acknowledging that Maximus's skill exceeds his own, Commodus stabs him with a stiletto before the battle and has the wound concealed. In the arena, the two exchange blows before Commodus is finally slain. The dying Maximus's last words are instructions to free his fellow gladiators and restore Rome to a Senate-based government ("This was the last wish of a dying man"). Maximus dies, and a coalition of gladiators, soldiers and senators carry his body out of the Colosseum. Maximus arrives in the afterlife, seeing his home in Hispania, with his wife and son alive and excited at his safe return.

Want more on this subject?

• Read about Everything You Need to Know to Write a Novel Synopsis.
• Concerning names and backstory in a synopsis.
• Read another good synopsis: Peggy Sue Got Married.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Saturday, November 28, 2009 5:13:19 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]

 

• Read about Everything You Need to Know to Write a Novel Synopsis.
• Concerning names and backstory in a synopsis.
• Read another good synopsis: Peggy Sue Got Married.
• Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
• Read about What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.
• Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Saturday, November 21, 2009 4:16:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0]

I always tell people that if they're confused as to how a novel synopsis
should look, simply go to Wikipedia. Search any movie made in the last five years and the first thing on the page is the long "Plot" section, which is essentially a front-to-back synopsis. A lot of them are too long; a lot of them are poorly written; but some are good—and you will get a sense of how they work. Or—you could just let find good ones for you and edit them a bit. Synopses I edited and posted in the past include Starman (see that one here) and Witness (see that one here). 
 
This time it's Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. In book terms, this would be considered fun YA (maybe even a "boy book"). I've tried to break up the synopsis below into the three acts of the movie, with the first two paragraphs being Act I, then the next one Act II, then the next one Act III, and the final one is the resolution (denouement?). We get a few quotes to spice it up and the whole thing moves nice and quick. Remember, synopses are designed to show the three acts of the story, not the skill of your prose.

Saturday, November 14, 2009 7:15:01 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1]