Little Random Crumbs About Writing

Writing a Synopsis

Before you decide on writing a synopsis, first make sure kung need mo ba talaga ito at alam mo kung ano ito.

According to dictionary.com, a synopsis is a "brief summary of the plot of a novel, motion picture, play, etc." Or basically, anything na may story. This is not the same as a blurb, na typically ay makikita sa likod ng isang libro. A synopsis summarizes everything from beginning to end, while a blurb is written as a sales pitch, something that will attract readers to read your work—na syempre, walang kahit anong information about sa ending para ma-intrigue talaga sila at makuha ang libro mo. While a synopsis has ending info. It tells you kung nagtagumpay ba ang protagonist sa story, kung paano siya nito naapektuhan, at kung ano-ano pa.

So para saan ang synopsis?

This is usually written kapag balak mong i-submit ang manuscript mo sa isang publisher, kasama ang query letter mo, or anything na nire-require nila for submission. So in short, you only need to write this kapag tapos na ang novel mo. You don't need this before starting on writing, so medyo dulo-dulong part pa ito ginagawa.

But if you really wanted to create one and you don't know how to, start by analyzing each chapter of your story. I-summarize mo bawat isa sa kanila into 2-3 sentences. Use a Because/Then sentence structure. Like this one:

CISCO doesn't know how to fully control his newfound power, and has no intention of becoming a superhero. Offended upon knowing this, ADRIAN sets out to teach him the basics.

That is just a short summary I've written for Chapter 26 ng Canon, one of my novels, as an example lang dito sa part (because I've never actually written a synopsis pa haha).

But that's how you do it. You need to trim every chapter like that with the focus muna sa plot. Then if you're done, balikan mo uli isa-isa, and make sure the protagonist completed his character arc, na dapat may something pagbabago sa character niya from beginning to end, in order to tell if the story really affected his life, that he's a totally changed person by the end.

Next, tie them up with a string and trim the word count to a 1000-2000 word range. Yup. 'Yung 50K-80K words na pinaghirapan mo, need mong ikwento uli, only this time, sa sobrang ikling word count.

And make sure you follow the Standard Synopsis Formatting:

- Kailangan daw na nakasulat ang synopsis mo in third person and in present tense, kahit pa sa ibang point of view or verb tense mo siya sinulat.

- At sa tuwing may character kang first time pa lang na na-mention, write their names in all-caps, at nang sa gayon ay madali silang mapapansin.

Final tip, maging meticulous ka sa pagpili ng mga words kapag nagsusulat ng synopsis. Use strong verbs, write in active voice, and always ask yourself two-three times kung may iiikli pa ba ang mga sentence mo. And don't forget to read it out loud to check if it has the right tone.

That's it! Voilà!

I used Marissa Meyer's blog post about writing a book synopsis as a reference. She's an american novelist, the author of Cinder. Naka-include sa external link ang blog post niyang reference ko.

This part is a response by the way to PornHero's question, "Paano gumawa ng Synopsis?"

I hope nasagot ko ang tanong mo! Hehehe!