A synopsis is a piece of writing that summarizes (usually) a full-length work such as a novel, book or research paper. In writing a synopsis for a story, the synopsis is specially written to capture the key plot points of the story.

The synopsis acts as a complete rundown of the original work for which the synopsis has been written. While it may be intended to intrigue readers about the original work, the synopsis is never an inconclusive or suspense-filled summary meant to tease you. This is perhaps one of the reasons why a synopsis considerably differs from the typical copy on the back cover of a novel.

While the synopsis of a story isn’t expected to keep readers in suspense, the synopsis will, in fact, spell out the resolution/ending of the story. The synopsis will further spell out the major plot points of the story while still stimulating readers to feel like reading the full story.

Since the synopsis is considered a vital and detailed summary that may give readers the reason to want to pick up a book or other piece of writing, special care must be given to the writing of that summary.

Six Tips for Writing Your Synopsis like a Pro

Take Note of the Fundamentals before You Start Writing

You may not get your synopsis right if you fail to keep the basics in mind before you begin the actual writing. On the one hand, your synopsis should reflect a well-arranged plot, and the plot points, on the other hand, should be narrated appropriately.

One way you can have the fundamentals ringing in your mind is to first note them down before you begin the actual writing of the synopsis. This way, you’ll find it pretty easy to focus attention on the important plot points during the actual writing.

Begin the Synopsis with the Key Plot Points

One of the hallmark of a synopsis is sometimes demonstrated by its ability to spell out the thrust of a story or novel for which the synopsis is being written. No reader of your synopsis would expect it to capture the entire plot of the story or novel but you must do well to keep the synopsis attractive.

How you can do that is to start the synopsis with the (intriguing) key plot points that should attract readers and even stimulate them to continue reading. In presenting the key plot points, try to spell out the inciting incident, the transition between this incident and the climax of the story/novel, the climax itself, and the story’s ending or resolution.

The inciting incident refers to the actual event that resulted in the story’s central conflict. The transition between this incident and the story’s climax should reflect the important (intervening) event(s) preceding the climax. Generally, the climax is the most intense action, event or part of the story’s plot. While the climax is regarded as the most important part of your story, a well-presented climax in the synopsis might just be the part that excites readers most about the synopsis.

Lastly, the ending or resolution refers to the action or event that draws your story to a close. Your synopsis will likely leave readers in doubt if it fails to tell them how the story ended. Needless to say, the resolution or ending is one of the things readers of a synopsis would like to know about the story for which the synopsis was written. Rather than narrate the entire ending of the story, the synopsis should summarize –probably in few words –how the story ended.

Let the Synopsis Point out the Uniqueness of the Story, Novel, etc.

Agents, particularly, want to know if there’s something unique about the story or novel you’re writing the synopsis for. Such uniqueness may be revealed as a very distinctive subtheme that agents and other readers might like to learn about the story.

By pointing out the uniqueness of the story/book in your synopsis, you may have succeeded in telling others that the story or book is worth reading. In writing the synopsis, you may accentuate the unique points in a powerful voice or tone. Doing so might just be the ideal way to draw readers’ keen attention to that part of the synopsis.

Ensure There Is Smooth Transition between Points, Paragraphs, etc.

Spelling out the key plot points isn’t the only important thing to do if you must come out with an excellent synopsis. Attention must also be given to the transition between the plot points and other elements of the synopsis.

Clarity and coherence are two key traits your synopsis must reflect for readers to really see that the synopsis is smooth. If readers tend to get lost while reading the synopsis, it is very likely you (the writer) did a poor job in the arrangement of plot points. When plot points are however arranged smoothly, readers will likely find the synopsis attractive and might be willing to pick up the story or book.

If test readers can confirm that your synopsis actually flows, probably because you’ve connected plot points and actions very smoothly, you may have just succeeded in writing a professional synopsis.

Edit the Synopsis You’ve Written

It can’t be gainsaid that editing is needed for every formal piece of writing. A synopsis should be thoroughly edited for clarity, coherence and even (grammatical) accuracy. If your synopsis doesn’t pass for a clear, coherent and accurate summary of your story, you don’t seem to have written the synopsis like a pro.

Editing your synopsis will help you pay attention to every word, sentence or even an entire paragraph. This way, you’ll easily identify words or sentences that need reconstruction or that should not be included in the synopsis. Thorough editing draws your attention to vague sentences or poorly-constructed plot points that might render your synopsis unprofessional.

By the time you’re editing your synopsis, you could be stimulated to remove unnecessary details so that the ultimate length looks reasonable. Although there are shorter synopses, many standard synopses cover 500-800 words in length. With that said, your synopsis shouldn’t be unnecessarily long since you’re not expected to tell us everything in the plot of the story. The synopsis is rather a summary that reflects the substance of the story.

Let Somebody Test-read the Synopsis

If you’re just testing the water of formal writing, it’s possible you’re not yet satisfied with your writing proficiency. In this regard, it’s advisable you have others evaluate your synopsis.

Your test readers are perhaps professional editors or expert synopsis writers and by virtue of their expertise, they could help fine-tune your synopsis. If you can’t get others to test-read your synopsis, your best bet could be that you compare your synopsis to professionally written sample synopses. For this comparison, ensure you pick a sample synopsis that’s just the ideal model for your kind of synopsis. If, for instance, you’re writing the synopsis for your research work, it’s pretty reasonable that you pick a professional research synopsis for the comparison.

Now that we have walked you through the tips for writing a synopsis like a pro, we’d also like to draw your attention to what you should avoid if you must write an excellent synopsis.

Four Things You Shouldn’t Do While Writing a Synopsis

Including a confusing series of events in the synopsis

If readers tend to get confused because your synopsis seems complex, your chances of intriguing an agent or publisher with that synopsis will be very slim. Even if the actual story or book has a complex series of events, you must try as much as possible to carve out an easy-to-understand summary from such complexity. No publisher, agent or even average reader would get intrigued by your 500-word synopsis if they have to read it for the umpteenth time before they can make out the confusing series of plot events in it.

Giving unnecessary (lengthy) description of characters, events, etc

While a synopsis can pass as a detailed summary of a book or story, it’s essential for a professionally written synopsis to be devoid of lengthy explanations, details or descriptions. If you want your synopsis to really appear excellent, you should edit it for the unnecessary details, words or sentences that you probably included subconsciously.

An indication of unnecessary detail in your synopsis could be that you’re telling everything a major character did as contained in the book.

Writing the synopsis like a typical back cover copy

As implied earlier in this post, a synopsis considerably differs from a blurb or any typical back cover copy for a story. Blurbs and/or back cover copies may be written with the motive of teasing readers to want to buy books. They may appear inconclusive so as to trick readers into buying a particular book before they can actually get the full gist of the book.

A synopsis should not be thought of as a typical back cover copy because the synopsis is a summary of the major points of a story. In that wise, the synopsis may be written to attract the interest of an agent, publisher, etc.

If you’re really keen to appear professional with the writing of your synopsis, you must, at all costs, avoid writing the synopsis in the style of a typical back cover copy.

Including all story characters (or too many characters) in the synopsis

Since a synopsis isn’t intended to narrate an entire story, it would be unreasonable to mention all of the story characters in the synopsis. Rather than feed readers with too many characters, a good synopsis simply focuses on the (major) characters that need to be mentioned for enough detail to be told about the story.

Conclusion

Writing the synopsis of your book, research or other literary/academic work isn’t something to be taken with levity. This is because the synopsis may be the actual determinant of whether an agent, publisher, reader or research supervisor (as the case may be) will develop interest in that work.

Having read this post up to this level, you should be convinced that if armed with the right tips and the ideal writing skills, anyone can churn out an excellent synopsis for their book, novel, etc.