Here’s another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it’s THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013), and, yes, the synopsis below has spoilers. If this were a book, it would probably span the bridge between young adult and middle grade. The biggest challenge with this one was cutting down on which characters to give attention...
Here’s another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it’s The Ides of March (2011). It's a thriller, sure, but a character-driven one.The biggest challenge with this one was cutting down on which characters to mention. You'll notice how Jeffrey Wright's and Paul Giamatti's characters are glanced over. This is on purpose. I just...
Here’s another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it’s Robocop (1987). I took a crack at this one because my synopsis examples were light on cyberpunk and science fiction stories. Notice how a lot of the action is stripped from this, and the character of Bob Morton is not even mentioned. You have...
Here's another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it's Ransom (1996). One thing to notice here is that, in the movie itself, the five kidnappers all have their own personalities. But here I had to cut all that and just focus on the leader. Tom is the main character here, and we need...
Here's another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it's The Fly (1986). I took a crack at this one because my synopsis examples were light on horror stories. The main thing with this synopsis was to streamline Seth's transformation process (and I left a lot of details on the cutting room floor) so that...
This time it's Courage Under Fire (1996). This story seems like a thriller to me because of its action sequences, but it's also a mystery at heart, with a "detective" (Denzel) investigating a case. Notice how I leave out several secondary characters to keep the story moving.
This time it's A History of Violence (2005). This story is most likely a thriller. The synopsis below is short because the main hook of this story is easy to convey. Nothing needs to be over-explained. Get in, get out, move on.
This time it's House of Games (1987). This story is not quite crime fiction nor literary fiction so I call it mainstream, but it definitely has plenty of noir in it. Notice how this synopsis moves fast, but we still see important things: who the main character is, what they want, how they change,...
So after the synopsis webinar, I decided to try my hand at such a synopsis. I decided on TRAFFIC, which is a film I love that has multiple storylines and tons of characters. I got the synopsis down to about 540 words, which I thought was a success. Below read the synopsis and see...
Ah, the pesky synopsis. If you write adult fiction, kids fiction or memoir, you know what I'm talking about. The synopsis is a strange animal, and a unique writing challenge of its own. That's why I'm teaching a webinar on Jan. 6, 2011 called "Critique Series: Novel Synopses." If you're stuck on your novel/memoir...
This time it's Matchstick Men (2003). This story is not quite crime fiction nor literary fiction so I call it mainstream. Notice how, as usual, the most important things to show in a synopsis are the bones of the three acts and the arc of the main character.
This time it's The Big Easy (1987), a crime/noir story. There's a lot of New Orleans flavor in this story that I had to nix here, as a synopsis is not designed to show the spice, but rather the three acts. It was important to show Remy's arc, more than explain the small, interesting...
Those pesky synopses for novels and memoirs are very tricky to do. Questions abound. How long should they be? Which characters should you mention? Should you have plenty of detail or just sparse mentions? If these questions are crossing your mind, you've come to the right place.
This time it's The Wrestler (2008), which would probably be called either literary or mainstream fiction. I had to leave a lot out concerning Pam/Cassidy and Stephanie, because the story really is about Randy and his experiences.
This time it's Spartan (2004), a tightly-wound thriller. As with thrillers, there are lots of twists and turns, and I had to leave a lot out of the synopsis so it would flow quickly. One thing to notice here is that the character of Bobby Scott, who is by far the biggest character in...
This time it's Fearless (1993). I chose this movie for several reasons. A commenter asked me to compose another literary fiction synopsis; Jeff Bridges is the man and discovers his forthcoming Oscar; and I just watched this movie recently. You can see all posted synopsis examples by clicking on the "Synopsis Writing" category on...
This time it’s The Rock, my second attempt at a thriller. The story is high-concept, but I didn’t want to glance over the three lead characters, as they are all pretty cool. A lot of the story takes place on the island, so I had to do plenty of summarizing there.
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and provide several interesting articles on said topic. Writing a good synopsis for your novel or memoir can be one of the hardest and most frustrating things we have to do as writers. Today I’m serving up 8 articles to...
This time it's Punch-Drunk Love, my second attempt at a "literary fiction" story. The female lead here, Lena, is somewhat bland, so the synopsis rests on showing the strange-yet-likeable nature of Barry, and explaining his arc, because it is a big one.
This time it's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, my first real attempt at a "literary fiction" story. A lot of the magic of this story is in the dialogue and character interaction, but those are tough things to show in a synopsis. But don't be worried—the point of a synopsis is just to...
This time it's Gladiator. A story like this is big and bold, so you have to keep it moving. You can't spend too much time detailing historical locations or anything like that. Garden variety example: Before Maximus meets Commodus in the Colosseum, he is reenacting a specific battle from the past. Does this detail...
This time it's Flight of the Navigator. In book terms, this would be considered fun middle grade, considering the protagonist is 12. More specifically, it would probably be a science fiction adventure. Concerning this synopsis, I cut all out mentions that Max's home planet was called Phaelon. I cut all info about how the...
This time it's Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. In book terms, this would be considered fun YA (maybe even a "boy book"). I've tried to break up the synopsis below into the three acts of the movie, with the first two paragraphs being Act I, then the next one Act II, then the next...
This time it's Witness. Witness is kind of strange category—probably mainstream fiction in book terms. It's got the Amish elements, a dash of crime stuff at the beginning and end.Look at the synopsis below. I like how it's pretty short. There could be a lot more said about the culture clash in Philadelphia...
This time it's Dragonslayer, a fantasy! I know a lot of people are writing fantasy stories and it's a category I don't read as much as I should.
