7/24/2019 Write a Synopsis That Gets Results

1/3

WRITE A SYNOPSIS THAT GETS RESULTS

Before agents, producers and studio executives agree to read a complete screenplay, they will often first ask

to see a synopsis. What is a synopsis? How can a solid synopsis help you sell your project? And how do

you write a synopsis that will produce the kind of response you want?

A synopsis is a brief telling of your screen story in written form. It contains all the important elements characters, storyline, actions, reactions and major incidents from beginning to end in chronological

order. (That being defined as the order in which events occur in the story.) Above all else, a synopsis is a

sales tooldesigned to get the reader eager to read your complete script or view your short film or web

series. To accomplish this, your synopsis should be as compelling, detailed and cinematicas you can make

it in the limited amount of space you have available.

Many fledgling writers confuse the terms synopsiswith treatment. Theyre different tools designed for

different purposes. As noted above, a synopsis is a brief retelling of your story designed to generate

interest. Its your verbal pitch in written form. A treatment, on the other hand, is a scene-by-scene

breakdown that contains just about everything to be found in an actual screenplay or short film, except

dialogue. (Although some extended treatments do include dialogue sequences to better illustrate the content

of key scenes.) Writers and producers usually write treatments as an intermediary step to help flesh out

story elements before committing time and energy to a full-blown screenplay or short film. As helpful asthey are to the writing process, treatments arent usually as good as synopses for marketing your projects to

would-be buyers.

Here, then, are some guidelines on writing an effective synopsis:

Length A synopsis should be long enough to pack in everything thats good about your story, but short

enough to be read in less than five minutes. This usually translates to two to three single-spaced typewritten

pages. Some writers try to tell their story in a single page, but the results are usually so truncated as to be

dry and lifeless. And if you go beyond three pages, you risk losing your readers interest. So aim for

two/three pages. Thats ideal.

Style Like your screenplay, your synopsis should be written in third person, present tense. Tell your story,

dont explain it. Start at the beginning and keep going until you reach the end. Relate the narrative in terms

of time, place, character and action as a series of (hopefully) connected scenes and sequences. Unlike a full

screenplay, a synopsis does not contain scene slugs or cinematic transitions.

Characters Introduce your characters with short, vital and memorable descriptions. More important than

physical descriptions are those that describe personality and temperament. Make your characters the focus

of your story and take time to describe their motivations and emotional responses to incidents. Why

characters do things is as vital to good storytelling as whatthey do and howthey do it.

Dialogue You may want to include small bits of important dialogue to give your synopsis life and

personality. (e.g., Michael Corleone explains to Kay, deadpan: He made him an offer he couldnt

refuse.) Like everything else in your synopsis, keep dialogue short and sweet.

Action Include as much detail as is necessary to capture the essence of an action sequence, but be stingy

with the detail. Focus on the elements that make a particular action sequence or set-piece unique and

exciting, writing in rhythms that capture the pacing and punctuation you intend to achieve on screen.

Subtext Subtext the meaningbehind overt statements and actions is usually verbottenin screenplays,

but they have their place in synopses. A good synopsis captures the emotional dynamics of the screenplay

or short film its describing, and employing subtext is often effective in achieving this end.

7/24/2019 Write a Synopsis That Gets Results

2/3

Act Demarcations Where your three acts begin and end are theoretical points that help, you, the writer

pace your action, but such demarcations dont actually appear in finished screeenplays. Hence they dont

belong in synopses, either. However, the proportional structure of your synopsis shouldreflect the structure

present in the screenplay it represents. In other words, if your script follows the classic 25-50-25 format of

traditional Hollywood screenplays (Act I is 25 percent of your page count, Act II is 50 percent and Act III

is 25 percent), your synopsis should be structured accordingly. If your synopsis is three pages long, about

one-half of Page one should be devoted to Act I, about a full page should describe Act II, and your last

half-page should deliver a rip-roaring Act III.

Should you reveal your ending? Absolutely. Its often been said that people remember the first lines of

novels and the last lines of movies. You should have a strong last line or memorable image to close out

your story; use it to seal the deal on your synopsis as well.

As with any work you submit to potential buyers, make sure it is expertly proofed. Bad grammar, typos and

misspellings immediately throw the reader out of the story and brand you an amateur. God forbid your

excellent story is rejected simply because you didnt bother to use Spellcheck.

Now that weve covered the basics, lets get to the key question: Using these guidelines, how can you write

a synopsis that actually gets results?How can you increase the chances that the person reading your

synopsis will then actually want to read your screenplay?

Here are some proven strategies:

1. Begin your synopsis with a log line. Before you actually tell your story, state your premise. This will

set your readers expectations and allow them to better visualize the tale youre about to tell. A logline

should be one or two sentences long and contain irony if at all possible. Basically describing where the

screenplay is at the end of Act I, a logline should include the protagonist(s), the protagonists central

problem and a sense of whats at stake. (Example: A put-upon teenage boy accidentally travels 30 years

into the past where he inadvertently interferes with his mother and fathers first meeting. While trying to

find a way back to the future, he must try to make his mis-matched parents fall in love or he will never be

born.)

2. Start with Your Lead Character in Motion. Immediately establish what your hero is trying to achieve

when the story opens. Get the reader quickly invested in your protagonists success.

3. Establish Clear Cause-and-Effect Connections. Synopses arent just chronologies, a set of events

related in chronological order. Write as to clearly connect your storys events in terms of character

expectations, actions taken, effects experienced and new plans formulated. As much as whathappens, we

need to know whythey happen.

4. Focus on Emotions. And write them BIG. Readers dont just want love, they want PASSION. They

dont just want fear, they want TERROR. They dont just want sadness, they want EMOTIONAL

DEVASTATION. As your page count contracts, what remains must be concentrated and deliver a strong

visceral impact.

5. Include Your Major Set-Pieces. Set-pieces are large, unified scenes of action, humor or drama. They

are the big sequences that make your screenplay unique and memorable. Although your synopsis is

necessarily abbreviated, take time in your telling to describe three or four big set-pieces, as these are

ultimately your scripts biggest selling points.

6. Think Cinematically. Use nouns, verbs and adjectives that have strong visual elements. Painting word

pictures helps the reader see not just your story, but your movie.

7/24/2019 Write a Synopsis That Gets Results

3/3

7. Go Out with a Bang. As noted earlier, good endings help sell a screenplay. Even more so, a synopsis.

Leave your reader with the feelings you want paying audiences to experience at your final fade out.

Ultimately, your synopsis is your movie in miniature, so it must necessarily suggest the

intellectual/emotional/spiritual impact of the full, final product.

Any professional screenwriter will tell you that half this job is selling. When you master the art of the

synopsis, you will find that sales become much easier to come by. And will leave you with more time to dowhat you really want to do: write. Allen B. Ury