HOW TO WRITE A SYNOPSIS

A short one today and not a screenplay review. 

I just finished writing a synopsis of a feature film of mine for a producer.

Synopsises aren't easy to write. It's hard enough to write a feature film in long form, to then ask a writer to re-write that same story in summary form can be daunting. 

Here I want to share a quick guide to writing a good synopsis quickly and easily. 

WHY DO I NEED A SYNOPSIS?

Because people are time-poor and nobody wants to waste their time reading a script that sucks. 

A synopsis is a short form version of your story that allows the prospective producer/investor/talent to decide if they want to spend the time reading the entire full length script.

HOW LONG SHOULD A SYNOPSIS BE?

I suggest writing three synopsises of different lengths. They are....

1) Logline - this is one sentence that sums up your entire film. See my previous post on loglines here. 

https://deconstructthescript.blogspot.com/2016/04/loglines-article.html

2) A half to full page synopsis. In this version only touch on the major elements of your story. The hero, their goal, obstacles, the hero's flaw, the antagonist, stakes, urgency and the basic plot points of your storyline.  

3) Long form - 3 - 6 pages. The tighter the better. Aim for closer to the three pages end of that spectrum than the six pages end. 

Remember, the goal of synopsises are to get people interested in reading the full script. 

Your synopsis needs to read fun and fast.  


SHOULD I GIVE AWAY THE TWIST IN THE SYNOPSIS?

Not in the logline. 

But yes, definitely in the medium or long form version of your synopsis. 

I have never met a producer who doesn't want to know what the hook or twist is. 

The hook or twist is often the very reason producers get onboard with a project. To not let them know for fear of it ruining the surprise is shooting yourself in the foot. 

SO, HOW DO I WRITE A SYNOPSIS?

There's a saying that goes something like, "If you want me to speak for an hour give me the day to prepare. If you want me to talk for five minutes give me the week."

Meaning, it is harder and requires more preparation time to condense what you want to say into a shorter form. 

The same holds true for writing a synopsis. You'll find the 10 page version easier to write than the 1 page version.

And it is with this 10 page version that I suggest you start. 

Open two documents side by side. In the first document you have your completed screenplay. The second is to become your long form synopsis. 

The average screenplay length is 100 pages. (roughly) So to get this number down to 10 pages you're essentially looking to compress 10 screenplay pages into one synopsis page.

Very often a screenplay will start with a hook that if often 3-5 pages long. Try to condense this hook into half a page. Remember, if 10 screenplays pages equals one synopsis page, then 5 screenplay pages equals half a synopsis page. 

Go through your entire script working like this. Read a section of pages until you find a natural break in the storyline then summarise that section into synopsis form, keeping in mind the ratio of 10:1.

It will take you while, but there's no great technical skill required here. All you do is read your script then summarise. Do it section by section and after a time you will have your 10 page synopsis of your script. 

Ok, that's a great start, but ideally, you want a 5 page version. 10 pages is still a little too long.

How to get there?

Close the original screenplay document. Save, then duplicate the 10 page synopsis. 

On this duplicate start to edit out the beats that aren't really important. 

In a screenplay you have a lot of small beats that are necessary for the story to have texture and feel real. What you do now is remove the smaller story beats that aren't critical to understanding the main storyline. 

A great test to know if a beat is important or not, try removing it, then re-read your new synopsis. Does your synopsis still make sense without that beat? If so, good, you've removed a smaller beat that's not important. If not, then you have identified a beat that is critical for your audience understand the story. 

Repeat this process over and over until you have halved your synopsis from 10 pages to roughly 5 pages. 

You now have two synopsises, your 10 page version and this 5 page version. 

Next, you need a 1 page synopsis. 

Save and duplicate the 5 page version of your synopsis. 

Now, on your new copy of the 5 page version, you're going to start fusing beats together. 

Read two beats side by side and rewrite them as one fused beat. This will involve really stripping back your story to its essence, but it's a relatively easy process. 

The more you go over your beats, the more you will come to realise how many beats you can remove and the general plot of your story will remain comprehensible  

Simply repeat this process until you have whittled 5 pages down to 2. 

Then take those two pages and look harder. Repeat the process of removing beats and seeing if the plot still makes sense without them. 

You'll find that in the one page form you will focus on the hero and their main storyline. Almost all ancillary characters will fall away, except for key supports and the antagonist.

It's ok to cut the B storyline. In a one page synopsis no one expects to get all the detailed nuance of each character and how they relate to the others. All they really want are the broader strokes that paint a general picture. 

SUMMARY

Start with a ten page synopsis then work your way down from there. 

You'll want three lengths at the ready for when a producer/agent/talent requests a synopsis. 

1) Logline 
2) 1 page synopsis.
3) Long form 3 - 6 page synopsis.

FINAL TIP

Get your synopsises done before sending out your script. It's better to have a great synopsis at the ready than to have to tell someone who is interested in your story that you'll get back to them in a few days when you've had a chance to write a synopsis. 

You look professional when you have your synopsis at the ready.