Synopsis question

[Andre_Laurent]

This is probably a stoooopid question. I have some twists in my story. Where do I show these? Upfront or where they come out in the story? Here is an example. It begins with the MC trying to catch someone stalking the woman he is in lust with. Except she isn't being stalked, he is. It was nothing but a set up to draw him out. This doesn't come out till late in the story. Where does it go in the synopsis? I think it should be later but I'm not sure. Duh.

[ChaosTitan]

Write the events as they occur. The synopsis is a short, present tense retelling of the entire novel, including the ending. Tell it in order. The amount of specific details you include depends on the length of the synopsis (one page, five pages, ten pages, etc...).

[johnzakour]

I think of the synopsis as a brief, written outline. Events should be talked about in the order they happen in the story.

[Rob B]

I think this at times is the most difficult aspect of what we do, especially since this makes or breaks how far we get in the exploratory stages with the agent/publisher. And I don't know of anything that is more subjective.

As others have stated, most want the synopsis sequential to the story. The one issue that might dictate modifying this thinking, however, relates to the length of the synopsis.

If someone is requesting a seven-pager, there would be little liklehood of needing to alter the order of events, even for something the size of WAR AND PEACE. But if a one or even two page synopsis is all that is requested, many find it hard to comply without doing some juxtapositioning and early-stage editorializing (especially if a single page is the requirement).

I've had professional editors who have worked for big houses write synopsis' of my work and this is how they have treated it also; meaning, for impact, they've moved the material around. I guess my point is that a hook is a hook and it's always critical to get it set as soon as possible--and in a short synopsis one might need to take a little leeway at times.

[ORION]

I think often the problem is that people use "synopsis" when they are really talking about the short paragraph "hook" or a longer piece similar to flap copy. The longer descriptive synopsis is sometimes asked for to accompany chapters by an agent or editor and is (as Rob says) a sequential "outline."
Often times though what is needed in query letters is the premise or hook.
You want to get the agent or editor to ask for your manuscript so you have to make the "synopsis" compelling and concise.
IMHO I think the shorter the better. Think what makes you pick up a book and buy it after reading the back description.
My editor is currently finishing up my flap copy for LOTTERY and what she leaves out and emphasizes is really quite interesting. My catalog copy is on my blog and (to me) gives a great concise hook of my book without giving anything away.
In reality if the short premise intrigues the agent or editor they will ask for pages no matter what the longer outline might look like.
Hope this helps

[JanDarby]

Reveal things as the protagonist finds out about them -- he's trying to save a woman, and such-and-such happens, and he realizes that he was the real intended victim, and so he does such-and-such.

JD

[Rob B]

Sorry for the double post, but I was looking back over your thread and I want to second Orion's observation about the tendency to interchange synopsis for query references.

It did seem from your post you might be anguishing more over position than content; and, indeed, as Orion indicated (and this is also my opinion) this seems like it might be more of a query than synopsis dilemma. And as you could determine from my original post, something I have struggled mightily with over the years.

If you would like to take both our posts and apply an exercise to them, write a brief synopsis of any story you remember well. Afterward (and only afterward) review the liner notes on the same story and compare them to your synopsis. Related to your current work, this might provide you with an idea or two on how to approach your synopsis (related to what matters), and as a biproduct you'll aquire some strong query ideas.

Good Luck, and I hope you find this useful in some way.

[Sage]

Synopses don't actually have to tell all the events in the same order as the novel, but most of them should be, & I think the important ones definitely should be. For example, if it's not important enough to mention a scene where the MC meets a new character but that character is important later, it's perfectly fine to say something like, "MC visits Side Character 13, who he met earlier...." But if you're revealing that the MC's Uncle Bob is the killer he's been searching for, you don't want to start out with, "MC begins his own amateur sleuthing, never suspecting that his uncle is the one behind the deaths."

In this case, I'd say definitely show the twist as something the MC finds out later. The point of the synopsis is to demonstrate to the agent/editor that you can write a novel with a beginning, middle, & end, & to give them a general feel for what the novel contains (whereas a hook in a query, is just to show them that you have an interesting idea & maybe they'd like to know more). Showing that you can add a twist successfully is much better than telling the agent what's up right out of the gate. It gives them a better feel for how the novel's going to read, & allows you to insert the MC's shock into the synopsis better than if you had told the agent upfront about the twist.

[Andre_Laurent]

Thanks for the input everyone. Now if I can get 400 pages stuffed into two...

[ORION]

I agree with Rob.
I will say that many times another reader (not a writer) may give you more insight into what your story is about. This is why I work on a synopsis (hook) while I write the first and any successive drafts -- it takes me just as long to create a great synopsis/query hook as it did to write my book.
I hope you are not too depressed hearing this!!!!
And yes Rob...I struggle too.
The real downer? My editor wants synopses for my other novels.
It never ends!!