tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post5000864475202827331..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Seven Deadly Sins of Synopsis WritingJulia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-88982876548699973032010-08-08T11:47:38.331-04:002010-08-08T11:47:38.331-04:00You know, people are very busy, tired, and even bo...You know, people are very busy, tired, and even boring now, but your ideas are so fresh and interesting that I'll surely read all of your posts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-8107370432784208302010-08-07T18:28:40.953-04:002010-08-07T18:28:40.953-04:00It's very good that we can share opinions on t...It's very good that we can share opinions on this topic here, because as William R. Alger told, "Public opinion is a second conscience."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-25780166778155971672008-09-01T06:27:00.000-04:002008-09-01T06:27:00.000-04:00Mary B, thanks very much for all this terrific inf...Mary B, thanks very much for all this terrific information. My problem is that I find it next to impossible to stick to a pre-planned synopsis. I can write quite a plausible one, short or long, and the background, the beginning, the whodunit, and the whydunit are pretty well fixed, but the rest of it changes and develops as I write. The twists and turns of plot, the way the characters evolve...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-45725439966694318562008-08-31T14:15:00.000-04:002008-08-31T14:15:00.000-04:00Hello Chris ~~Waving right back at you from the We...Hello Chris ~~<BR/><BR/>Waving right back at you from the West Coast! I'm actually going to be giving a lot of live workshops on the East Coast this Fall -- Conn., Maine, North Carolina and Chicago -- which isn't technically east but it's way east from me *grin* so if anyone is near any of those locations and might participate I'd love to place a name with a face and say hello!<BR/><BR/>Take Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-16032210659479208772008-08-31T14:11:00.000-04:002008-08-31T14:11:00.000-04:00Hello James ~~What is meant by 'transition" is a w...Hello James ~~<BR/><BR/>What is meant by 'transition" is a word or phrase that can shift a reader from what was said to a different concept or idea. We use transtions all the time when we write something like - Meg was furious but then she realized her mother was truly a kind person. The "but then" is a transition to guide a reader to the fact that elements of the story are going to change. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-11941834866955973382008-08-31T14:04:00.000-04:002008-08-31T14:04:00.000-04:00Hello Lucille ~~Regarding the average length a syn...Hello Lucille ~~<BR/><BR/>Regarding the average length a synopsis should be really varies. The trend tends to be toward shorter and very short [the one page variety] simply for speed of reading but since many editors realize that it's hard to sell a project up the line - meaning to senior editors, Marketing departments, the accounting dept, etc - without enough information a publishing house is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-84629154443495545442008-08-31T12:40:00.000-04:002008-08-31T12:40:00.000-04:00Hi there,I like your seven deadly sins of synopsis...Hi there,<BR/><BR/>I like your seven deadly sins of synopsis writing. And that St. Gregory was Great, wasn't he?<BR/><BR/>Can you tell me what you mean by a 'transition'?<BR/><BR/>Thanks<BR/>James TonerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-68128600482250338202008-08-31T12:24:00.000-04:002008-08-31T12:24:00.000-04:00Waving from NJ at Mary.cmrWaving from NJ at Mary.<BR/>cmrChris Reddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00429148293004912993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-50506246605542426082008-08-31T10:43:00.000-04:002008-08-31T10:43:00.000-04:00This is excellent - really useful. How long do pub...This is excellent - really useful. How long do publishers' readers prefer a synopsis to be?Pageturnershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11681391971166742053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-81884061750382000802008-08-30T20:13:00.000-04:002008-08-30T20:13:00.000-04:00Hank ~~So nice to see you here and a true pleasure...Hank ~~<BR/><BR/>So nice to see you here and a true pleasure to be invited by Darlene to blog today. Thank you Darlene and all the PDDs!<BR/>As I'm on West Coast time I'll continue to check back if anyone has any other questions, concerns or comments about writing Synopses.<BR/><BR/>All the best ~~ Mary B :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-26057492350914880112008-08-30T19:56:00.000-04:002008-08-30T19:56:00.000-04:00Mary, this is terrific. And so helpful. As usual. ...Mary, this is terrific. And so helpful. As usual. Thank you so much! (And thank you for inviting her, PDD's!)<BR/>I'm printing this whole thing out, including the great comments and questions, and keeping it forever.<BR/><BR/>xo Hank<BR/>(whose synopsis is 70 pages long.)Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-82070651117496382432008-08-30T17:40:00.000-04:002008-08-30T17:40:00.000-04:00Marilynne ~~I'm glad you're enjoying the informati...Marilynne ~~<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you're enjoying the information. Understanding the ups and downs of writing a synopsis can make the process of learning how to write one so much easier to accept. Great news is there is no one perfect way to write a synopsis so if you've found the craft of synopsis writing challenging after learning XXX or YYY, know that somewhere there will be a process that clicksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-71467108026311641662008-08-30T17:36:00.000-04:002008-08-30T17:36:00.000-04:00Susan E ~~Your question about an editor/agent's ab...Susan E ~~<BR/><BR/>Your question about an editor/agent's ability to read what's left out is a good one because it's actually part of a larger question - 1) what is the true intention of a synopsis and 2) are synopses meant to replace reading our manuscripts. YES, agents and editors know how much is left out of a synopsis if for no other reason they read on average anywhere from 50-100 of these aAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-43801143782187955132008-08-30T17:23:00.000-04:002008-08-30T17:23:00.000-04:00Short vs Long :-)Great question. A short synopsis ...Short vs Long :-)<BR/><BR/>Great question. A short synopsis is usually considered to be a one-page, single-spaced synopsis or a two-page double-spaced synopis both of which add up to about 500 words. A long synopsis is usually considered 1 synopsis page for every 10,000 words of the novel so a 10 page synopsis for a 100,000 word manuscript is the standard length. A 12 page synopsis for the same Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-41951975996099619452008-08-30T16:23:00.000-04:002008-08-30T16:23:00.000-04:00This is truly useful. Thanks.MarilynneThis is truly useful. Thanks.<BR/><BR/>MarilynneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-51714505167066803772008-08-30T15:16:00.000-04:002008-08-30T15:16:00.000-04:00My concern when writing a sysnopsis is by leaving ...My concern when writing a sysnopsis is by leaving so much out I'm misrepresenting my book. Are agents and editors experienced enough to fill in the spaces, or is there any code writers can employ to make clear their book is a smart alecky tale of betrayal?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-35025358340296969192008-08-30T15:01:00.000-04:002008-08-30T15:01:00.000-04:00Hi Mary, could you explain the difference between ...Hi Mary, could you explain the difference between a short synopsis and a long one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-45769241576948983402008-08-30T13:27:00.000-04:002008-08-30T13:27:00.000-04:00Hello there Darlene! So nice to see your smiling f...Hello there Darlene! So nice to see your smiling face! <BR/>Here's the great news. After all the work we put into our manuscripts, telling about said story in a couple of pages max, or a couple of hundred or thousand words, will sound dull. That's the nature of Telling not Showing. A police report tells, an ad shows. But the synopsis is meant to do a different job function than our wonderful Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-23799588771315276772008-08-30T13:13:00.000-04:002008-08-30T13:13:00.000-04:00Mary, I'll confess that my fear when I'm working o...Mary, I'll confess that my fear when I'm working on a synopsis is that it will sound melodramatic. Any tips for dialing down the melodrama without writing something that sounds too dull?Sofie Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830230500527705589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-27501947306336620432008-08-30T13:09:00.000-04:002008-08-30T13:09:00.000-04:00Hello Terry ~~How delightful to see you here and t...Hello Terry ~~<BR/><BR/>How delightful to see you here and thank you for your kind words. For most of us we only have a chance to work with a synopsis once, maybe twice a year -- any skill that's used so infrequently can get rusty. Plus we're very, very close to our own work. So sometimes that cold read from somone who doesn't know your story can make all the difference. I get the chance to work Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-10795989552368584192008-08-30T13:05:00.000-04:002008-08-30T13:05:00.000-04:00Hello Lori ~~Two POV's -- not a problem - make sur...Hello Lori ~~<BR/><BR/>Two POV's -- not a problem - make sure you use transitions to indication the story line is shifting. Again - don't think chapter by chapter [unless such a synopsis is specifically requested] but think in terms of the story's plot line for each of your two protagonists. Thet each should have a story goal, obstacles to that goal, turning points in their story from their POV Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-73454490321291370172008-08-30T13:00:00.000-04:002008-08-30T13:00:00.000-04:00Hello Paul ~~Thanks for stopping by today. Word co...Hello Paul ~~<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by today. Word count can be a challenge and usually indicates one is trying to include more than the bare bones plot structure. An editor/agent KNOWS a short synopsis is short so they don't expect to see a lot of details, subplots, etc. What they are lookin for is whether the primary plot line is solid, has strong turning points [where the story changes Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-25485552852285325132008-08-30T12:36:00.000-04:002008-08-30T12:36:00.000-04:00This may sound kind of stupid, but I have trouble ...This may sound kind of stupid, but I have trouble with the beginning of a synopsis. I know I can't start with "Once upon a time" but sometimes I wish I could.<BR/><BR/>JudeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-90949178488720851052008-08-30T11:00:00.000-04:002008-08-30T11:00:00.000-04:00I'll vouch for Mary's being able to 'cut to the ch...I'll vouch for Mary's being able to 'cut to the chase'. I took her on-line synopsis course and it puts things in perspective.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-69064584710017821092008-08-30T06:30:00.000-04:002008-08-30T06:30:00.000-04:00Welcome Mary. I have a manuscript written from th...Welcome Mary. I have a manuscript written from the POV of two different characters--they alternate chapters. How do I explain this in a synopsis without going into way too much detail?<BR/><BR/>Thanks,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com