The HEA Cafe

Yesterday, we talked about the components that need to be included in your synopsis. Today, we’ll discuss how to fit them all in there, and look at a sample synopsis. Tomorrow, I’ll use the sample synopsis as an example in troubleshooting, then Friday, we’ll do Q&A.
III. FORMAT & A SAMPLE SYNOPSIS

So, how do you get all this stuff into a synopsis? What if I tell you that you shouldn’t need ten pages, double spaced to do all of this?

If the synopsis isn’t going to literally recount the whole story, then you can save a lot of space. In fact, the focus should be on the set up of the story. Also, the “rules” we use in writing stories don’t apply to synopses - it’s perfectly fine, for example, to tell rather than show in a synopsis. This makes sense as there’s no dialogue in a synopsis: you can just say that your hero is impatient or imperious or imperfect .

This is how I write my synopses, but as mentioned earlier, everyone is different and there are no perfect synopses. With any luck, this will give you a plan of attack and get you started.

1. I begin with that summary paragraph, which will only be three or four lines long.

2. Then, I explain one character’s history and situation (usually the hero, because my books are strongly focused on the hero) what got him here, what made him what he is, what he believes and what he wants. This should be very concise - we probably don’t care what he looks like, for example, at least not in the synopsis. This paragraph shows that the character is sympathetic and should also illuminate his/her internal conflict (which always comes from backstory).

3. Then I do a similar description for the other character - usually, the heroine. Again, we’re talking one or two paragraphs. By the bottom of the second (double-spaced) page of the synopsis, there’s the Meet.

4. In the Meet, the issues should be clear between the two characters here and their opinions clear. The obstacles they must surmount should also be clear. This is where you present the external conflict.

5. Then I summarize the progression of the story, or more accurately, the sequence of challenges to each character’s perspectives. You need to show the resolution of the conflict in incremental, plausible steps. Focus on the key moments or turning points: What makes her decide to believe him? What makes him decide she was right all along? When does she realize she loves him? etc. There should be a sense of building tension, even in the synopsis, that culminates in one big confrontation or climax where everything is finally sorted out and resolved.

The best way to deal with this one is to think of the story as a ball bearing in a pinball machine. One character has to give it a push to get it going in one direction: the other pushes back to send the ball bearing in another direction, on and on to your end goal. Everything should proceed because of something else, making a logical progression through the book. Think cause and effect. Think of a game of Hot Potato. Your heroine does something, which makes your hero think something else, which makes him do something, which makes her believe something, which makes her respond to him in this way….and so on and so on.

Consider each scene and its import - every single one should be there to achieve a specific purpose. When a book or synopsis fails at this, it’s often labeled “episodic”. This means that event follows event for no discernible reason and the story doesn’t seem to go anywhere. (Check in yesterday’s post for links to my blog entries on fixing episodic books.)

6. And then, naturally, the happily ever after ending.

Because I write romance, I include the emotional details in the synopsis. What does each character think of love? What does each character think of marriage? What does each character think of sex? By the end of the book, of course, they both trust each other, have been physically and emotionally intimate, and generally have married or decided to marry. In romance, intimacy (physical or emotional) quite frequently marks a turning point in the resolution of an internal conflict, whether the character in question sees it or not. I usually include the consummation in the synopsis, because I think this is romantically significant, but often I’m wrong about the timing of it. I’m always right though about the emotional change it accompanies - because I sell on proposal, its quite common for the characters to change the direction of the plot in the actual writing of the book

SAMPLE SYNOPSIS
Capture the Moon - Synopsis
by Claire Delacroix

©2005 Claire Delacroix Inc.

Capture the Moon is a light-hearted sexy vampire romance, set in contemporary Boston and Renaissance Paris, between a no-nonsense investigative reporter and the passionate vampire who has impatiently waited centuries to claim her as his eternal soulmate.

Reynaud de Corneille has been waiting a long time for salvation. Made a vampire in Paris in 1620, he has seen everyone he knew and loved pass away, as well as the life he knew and loved. The thrill of otherworldly power faded quickly for him, as did the lure of immortality. Reynaud is lonely and misses being mortal. He has learned over the centuries that he can become mortal again by drinking the blood of his one true love. A man whose romantic notions led to his becoming a vampire against his own will, Reynaud finds a certain appeal in this notion, no less in the warning that his true love must surrender her blood willingly to him.

Reynaud is, however, impatient. He has been seeking this woman for a long time, traveling incessantly with no luck. In his current identity, he has styled himself as an artist, the better to explain his eccentric schedule. By chance, he attends a Hallowe’en party in his neighborhood and spies the woman in question. He recognizes her immediately and he doesn’t wait for an introduction to see his issue resolved.

Melissa Cornwall is an investigative reporter, driven to succeed. She’s sure that she’ll be the next big name on the news, the famous reporter who always gets the inside scoop. It hasn’t worked out that way so far, but she remains optimistic. After all, her dad was an ace reporter so it must be in her blood. She is persuaded by a friend to go to a Hallowe’en party - and stop working for one night - but taking a night off proves to be bizarre. A guy in full gothic garb insists that she is his one true love, that he is a vampire, and that she has to accompany him immediately and share her blood with him. This would be more creepy if he wasn’t so charming. And handsome. And if she didn’t get all hot and bothered just looking at him.

Since Reynaud has spent five centuries waiting for Melissa to reappear, he is blunt in stating their twined fates and his expectation of her. A romantic to the core, he is certain that fated love can’t be thwarted - he’s also sure he shouldn’t have to do anything much less compromise to make love work. Because Melissa has no faith in anything she can’t see - and is at a wild Halloween party to boot - she concludes that he is either drunk or crazy and ignores his claim as she moves away. Her disregard infuriates Reynaud, who as a direct result, kidnaps her, intending to do whatever is necessary to persuade her to his point of view. They’re destined to be together, after all.

Melissa, however, doesn’t share Reynaud’s perspective, even after he lays a kiss on her that just about melts her bones. In fact, it’s a bit scary that she could be attracted to a man who is obviously a few bricks short of a load. She resolves to escape, and to notify the authorities about the insane artist loose in Boston’s streets. When Reynaud leaves her alone the following morning, she flees. She does go to the authorities, but they don’t believe her.

A cat-and-mouse game ensues, with Reynaud pursuing Melissa each night. The sexual attraction between them increases with each encounter, which just makes Melissa more afraid of his mysterious power over her (or at least over her body). She resolves to find out more about him, and discovers that his name and identity come from a dead baby - he doesn’t really exist. This convinces her that he must be a criminal of some kind and she accuses him of as much when next they meet. Reynaud, faced with no choice, confesses the truth of his quest and his nature to Melissa. She doesn’t believe him and declares that she never wants to see him again. Reynaud, fearing that she really will be able to evade him and that he will lose his chance at mortality, captures her once again.

This time, he takes her to Renaissance Paris, travelling back in time to show her how the whole story began. They are like ghosts, in this time to which neither belongs, and she witnesses how he was made a vampire against his will. She also sees his character more clearly when he was mortal, and sympathy for him allows her to admit that there is much she admires about him, beyond his ability to rouse her. They make love in Renaissance Paris, and she allows Reynaud to drink her blood.

This leaves Reynaud as a mortal in Renaissance Paris, which although charming, is not where Melissa wants to be. Melissa, meanwhile, has become a vampire herself, a detail which she did not anticipate. Reynaud offers to let her drink his blood, thereby completing the spell, but Melissa finds the notion repugnant and refuses. Also, she is afraid that they will both end up trapped in this time period instead of her own if she does so.

The pair has many adventures as Melissa learns to control her new powers. She is a quick study and Reynaud has a difficult time keeping up with her in his mortal form. His diligence and concern for her welfare convinces Melissa that he really loves her, and the pair exchange sweet confessions.

Finally, Melissa manages to master the technique of passing through time and she brings Reynaud back to the present day. She drinks his blood in Boston, becoming mortal again herself, and the pair live happily ever after.

N.B. This could be fleshed out more, particularly in terms of the progression of the story, and I would do that if submitting it to a publisher. But we’re going to talk this synopsis more tomorrow…