Blog of Gracie O'Neil Author Paranormal Romantic Suspense

20 April, 2010

The Single Page Synopsis (Part 1)

A mistake many writers make is imagining that a synopsis is merely a summary of their story. It's one of the aspects, sure, but it's far more than that. A synopsis is actually a marketing tool, and if you adjust your mindset to think of it that way then the whole thing becomes a lot easier to write.

According to agent Nathan Bransford, a synopsis needs to do the following things:

Cover all major characters
Cover all major plot points
Reveal the ending
Make the work come alive

Give away the ending?? (Gasp!) Absolutely. Remember, it's a marketing tool. People in the publishing business want to know what they're buying. Because it's the vehicle through which you sell your story to an agent or editor not your target reader, the synopsis of any story is the ultimate spoiler and must reveal all.

There are two types of synopsis. A plot-based synopsis focuses primarily on how the external plot situations and events work out, and is used to best effect in action-based genres. A character-based synopsis focuses on the growth of character, and how character actions and reactions affect plot. This is used in genres / subgenres where romance is a major element. Because we're talking about Romance here, let's go with the character based one.

We're going to take Mr Bransford's requirements and implement them in ten points:

The hook
The heroine, her backstory, and internal conflict
The hero, his backstory and internal conflict
The external conflict
First stage co-operation
Intimacy
Reversion
Second stage co-operation
Black moment
Resolution

It sounds a lot for a single page but remember, if you've done the first few exercises in this series, you've already got most of numbers 1 through 4 in short form.

Now, because it will be easier to synopsize a story with which we’re all familiar I'm changing my synopsis from my previous story to something tried and true. Sort of. We're going to synopsize Little Red Riding Hood, told as a paranormal romantic suspense.

Reminder:

Don't forget that everything we do here, from High Concept through to the finished synopsis (regardless of length) is written in the present tense. This gives it urgency and immediacy.

Here's my High Concept for [drum roll, please] HOODED JUSTICE

A kick-ass courier (Heroine) whose protective instincts lead her into trouble (Flaw) has to confront her own nightmares and fears (Opponent) when she discovers a gruesome murder. (Life Changing Event) Now, with her only help a man who isn't what he seems, (Ally) she has to find the killer before the killer finds her. (Battle)

Here's the back of the book Blurb:

Working as a courier in her family's business by day and as a bouncer at a bar by night, R.R. Hood meets more than her share of alpha males. But Ripley's learned the hard way not to trust a smooth tongue or handsome face on a man, and not one raises her heart rate--even when she's tossing him into the street. Until she meets Mac Conin.

Mac has never encountered a female who is able to look him in the eye, let alone punch him in it. An alpha werewolf tasked with keeping his people under the humans' radar, he doesn't need the extra complication that comes bundled with Ripley's very human package. Even if something inside him howls otherwise. Mac's got enough problems--like finding a gang of rogue weres who are targeting pensioners with an investment scam.

But things turn from white-collar crime to blood-red murder when Ripley discovers an elderly client's gruesome remains, and Mac learns the same old woman has recently invested a large sum of money in a bogus venture. When a second almost identical killing occurs, the stakes suddenly become a whole lot higher. Now Mac and Ripley have to bury their mistrust, and find a way to unmask a predator without exposing the secrets of a world that could destroy them both.

Tip:

With the exceptions of points 1 through 3, what I've found works is to take each step from both the hero's and the heroine's point of view, and build the story like that. (And yes, with a little bit of sleight of computer my synopsis below does fit onto a A4 page)

Now, here's the Single Page Synopsis of HOODED JUSTICE as an example for you.

1. The Hook--a sentence or concept designed to grab the reader's attention and set the scene for the plot and tone of the book.

When the International Werewolf Council sends a covert agent to bring down a fraudulent investment scheme, they don't expect him to be taken down himself. But then, they'd never met Ms R.R. Hood.

2. Heroine, her backstory, and her internal conflict. What happened in the heroine's past (in an external, physical sense) to bring her to the psychological / emotional point she's currently at? Look at this in terms of both physical placement and emotional conflict.

RIPLEY ROSAMUNDE HOOD finally gives up trying to return to normal when she takes a night job as a bouncer at the local biker bar. She can get through her days driving for her family's courier company without much trouble. But since the home invasion that destroyed her peace of mind, the silent dark brings sleeplessness and painful memories. She'd rather be under bright lights, with loud music and even louder drunks. There, at least, she can see what's coming at her.

3. Hero, his backstory, and internal conflict. Same as for the heroine. Point of Difference

MAC CONIN, special agent for the IWC, is an alpha werewolf with a mission: to find and stop a gang of rogue weres targeting pensioners with an investment scam. Undercover work is his area of expertise. Courtesy of a genetic inheritance, Mac--while all werewolf on the inside--is a throwback to something far more acceptable to humans. A black St Bernard, the size of a small horse. But while acceptable to humans, it's far from acceptable to Mac's family or the upper echelons of werewolf society. To them, Mac's usefulness to the Council is the only reason he is allowed to live.

I'm only going this far today. We'll pick it up from here in the next blog.

Your turn.

Working from your "marketing documents" (High Concept and Blurb) begin to lay your story out, starting with the first three points above. The next few sessions are not easy, so don't expect everything to fall into place without some severe coffee and chocolate intake. Oh, and a couple of bottles of Bundaberg Diet Lemon, Lime and Bitters don't hurt either! At least, they work for me.