S is for Synopsis Bleh

Need some motivation to write that synopsis?

I would have loved to share with you the inside secrets of writing the perfect synopsis. But, as I am currently working on the crappiest synopsis ever, I think I'll steer you towards some that know better than I.

From the Holly Lisle course, How to Revise Your Novel (my all-time favourite course on editing), I found the key is to have a conflict sentence for each scene you write. This conflict sentence will outline what the character is doing and what is stopping them or making it worse. Here's some examples from my novel Dog Show Detective:

• Kitty is nervous about entering the dog show with Spade, but forgets all that when she finds a lost dog.
• Miss Norfolk explains that her grandmother left her a fortune in her will - but only if nothing happens to her beloved dog, Ozzie.
• The Walkers attend to the mess left by the intruder, wondering why nothing is stolen, until Kitty realises the intruder was after the dog.
• The killer is unconscious and the girls could escape, but Jack has a broken ankle. Kitty decides to stay with him and let Jessica go for help.

A conflict statement will usually be MC tries to.... BUT Mr X...... or MC gets into trouble..... AND ........ makes it worse. Holly Lisle refers to this as 'The Sentence'. 

If you need some help making sure there is conflict in every scene, you can check out my earlier post:

Get a Little Conflict in Your Scene

There seems to be different advice on how long your Synopsis should be, but in Australia, most publishers advise they want 1 page double-spaced.

Some sites to visit for your synopsis writing:

Author Aaron Paul Lazar outlines how he wrote his synopsis at Murder By 4

Elana Johnson's How to Write a Synopsis

A Synopsis Workshop by Sheila Kelly