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USA TODAY bestselling author and winner of the RONE Award. Maggi's books are International bestsellers of Regency and Victorian Historical Romance. She also writes contemporary romantic suspense and young adult stories. Learn more about her at her website: https://www.maggiandersenauthor.com

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Nobody likes writing a synopsis, least of all me. Here's some tips to remove some of the pain.

Because a synopsis is a summary of your book they can be tough to write. Begin by making it clear what your book is about. What genre, thriller? Mystery? Word length? Where might it fit on a bookshop shelf, and what writers inspired you to write it.
1. Length: Two pages unless otherwise requested. Any less is too little, too long may work against you.
2. You must tell the ending - in a synopsis you reveal all. This is probably the only time you will want to reveal the ending.
3. For genre fiction - explaining your characters and plot points is important. Make sure there's a clear, beginning, middle and end.
4. Write it in plain, simple language. Style and voice is not important here. It's 'tell' not 'show'. The reverse of writing the book.
5. Introduce characters' names in Capitals. And don't name too many. Leave sub-plots and secondary characters out, if there's more than six.
6. Don't fail to detail the important plot points in the novel.. Show the conflict! How characters interact, change and grow. And if it's a romance, how they fall in love.
Fitting all that into two pages is definitely a challenge.


Good luck!

Maggi

2 comments:

Rachel Lyndhurst said...

Gold dust, Maggi! I hate,hate, hate the rotten things - see, I can't even type the word. Thanks for this!
x

Maggi Andersen said...

Lol, Rachel! Hope it helps!