Plot Synopsis

 

 Plot Synopsis

 

There are two types of plot synopsis, one that is short and sweet that wets the whistle of a reader to buy your book, and then a lengthier synopsis that entices a publisher to want to publish your book. The lengthy one is part of your book proposal that also includes genre, characters of note, the setting, the style and so on. Here is an example of a short and sweet synopsis for one of my books, The Last Wish.

On the brink of losing her job and facing financial ruin things can’t get any worse in Kendra Doyle’s life, until she learns that her grandfather has died. Will his last wish solve her problems or add to them?

In the above synopsis I introduced the main character, what her main plot point is and that her grandfather is a key player in the outcome of the story, even though he has died. His last wish is for her to fulfill this last wish and maybe it will help solve her financial problems.

(I will go over the proposal aspect of producing a synopsis when I post out how to produce a book proposal for a publisher. Meanwhile we will continue to how to produce a synopsis for your book to be turned into a movie script. Because after all, you will write that too, because no one knows your story, your characters and your plots better then you do, right?)

TV producers have been known to produce not only a trailer introducing their new TV show but also a synopsis explaining what the new show series will be about. For example, everyone knows about the television series, Downton Abbey, this synopsis tells the story about the Crawley family, where they live and what the main theme and major characters, whereby giving the viewer a taste of what the series will show once it is aired. Here is the synopsis for the show.

The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era—the great events of the time having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

Now lets look at the film industry synopsis. For this example, I have chosen one of my favorite movies, Hunt for Red October. Movie producers create the synopsis to build excitement and anticipation for their film to a broad audience. You see when a new film is being announced, film people, mainly producers will share the synopsis along with a few clips of the movie which is known as a movie trailer. The movie trailer is the visual aspect of the synopsis.

Based on the popular Tom Clancy novel, this suspenseful movie tracks Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) as he abandons his orders and heads for the east coast of the United States. Equipped with innovative stealth technology, Ramius' submarine, "Red October," is virtually invisible. However, when an American sub briefly detects the Russians' presence, CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) sets out to determine Ramius' motives, fearing he may launch an attack on the U.S.

While many writers begin writing the book then pray it will be picked up for a television series or a movie, I personally write the movie script first then write the book. By writing the script first, I can get the story out of my head and on paper scene by scene and dialogue by dialogue per character. Then when I sit down to write the book, I can flesh out the rest of the story. You know, what the room looks like, what the thoughts are of the character while their doing something which helps me ensure that the synopsis is written correctly.

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.