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Winning synopsis?

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Forum Name: Creative Writing Corner
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Topic: Winning synopsis?
Posted By: Monsieur Renard
Subject: Winning synopsis?
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 1:06pm
Hi guys, can anyone clarify if the synopsis is judged? If so, what's an example of a good synopsis, and an example of a bad one?

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Replies:
Posted By: jibwriter
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 1:21pm
I think the judges' tastes vary, as sometimes they comment on the synopses. But I don't think they judge them. I think if they comment at all it's just bonus advice. I do believe a good synopsis can really set a piece up-- it's free words!

Here are guidelines I try to follow:
-I've been told to use the main character's name(s) in the synopsis (i.e. instead of "a police officer investigates..." you'd say "Officer Jones investigates..." 
-I use the 2 sentence limit to my advantage, but I keep them short. I think of it as a one-two punch. Name the character in the first sentence, then hint at the challenge or the driving force in the second.
-I've seen many synopses that are just quotations from other works, which can go well but only when very relevant to the plot.
-Don't sweat it.




Posted By: Monsieur Renard
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 1:39pm
Cheers. Just re-worded my synopsis. Also thought I'd have a look at my last two synopsises - round one got 15 points, the synopsis was very brief:

An unwelcome visitor forces a ghost to confront the circumstances of its death.


Round two was a bit longer, the entry got 5 points:

Robbie is slipping rat poison in Darren’s tea every day, and impassively watching him waste away. But when Darren passes out at the wheel of his concrete mixing truck, Robbie’s act of heroism leads to a moment of catharsis and an uncontrollable torrent of emotion.


Obviously, the points are given to the stories as a whole rather than the synopsis, so not a viable comparison of which is better, but interesting.


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Posted By: MattrickBT
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 2:10pm
That synopsis confuses the f**k out of me. So he's poisoning a guy, and then he saves the same guy? Or is the poisoning the act of heroism?


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Posted By: justmel
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 2:10pm
I don't think the synopsis is technically judged, but it does influence the judges.  I think if they're diving into a story whose synopsis they love, they're predisposed to think positively about the story itself, and conversely, the converse.  In this year's Short Story R1 comp, I didn't do myself any favors with my last-minute "Augusta Troy had nightmares."  First time in three years of doing SS that I didn't get into R2.  Not saying it was *only* because of the synopsis, but I do think it contributed to the story's problems. So although I think jibwriter offers otherwise excellent advice (which I will take), I don't think you should take "don't sweat it" too much to heart. Edited to add:  And the judges did comment on my synopsis, and also my equally last-minute title, which they also didn't like.


Posted By: MattrickBT
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 2:11pm
That synopsis confuses the f**k out of me. So he's poisoning a guy, and then he saves the same guy? Or is the poisoning the act of heroism?


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Posted By: Monsieur Renard
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 2:20pm
Originally posted by justmel justmel wrote:

I don't think the synopsis is technically judged, but it does influence the judges.  I think if they're diving into a story whose synopsis they love, they're predisposed to think positively about the story itself, and conversely, the converse.  In this year's Short Story R1 comp, I didn't do myself any favors with my last-minute "Augusta Troy had nightmares."  First time in three years of doing SS that I didn't get into R2.  Not saying it was *only* because of the synopsis, but I do think it contributed to the story's problems. So although I think jibwriter offers otherwise excellent advice (which I will take), I don't think you should take "don't sweat it" too much to heart. Edited to add:  And the judges did comment on my synopsis, and also my equally last-minute title, which they also didn't like.

Good points. I actually hate having to write a synopsis at all, as I'd prefer have the judges read the story as it unfolds, rather than have any information up front. I do know that in reality very few people read a story without knowing anything about it first, so appreciate that it is a useful skill to build.


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Posted By: Monsieur Renard
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 2:21pm
Originally posted by MattrickBT MattrickBT wrote:

That synopsis confuses the f**k out of me. So he's poisoning a guy, and then he saves the same guy? Or is the poisoning the act of heroism?

Cheers for that. Yeah, he ends up saving the guy he's been poisoning.


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Posted By: sarahnut
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 3:20pm
Originally posted by Monsieur Renard Monsieur Renard wrote:

Originally posted by justmel justmel wrote:

I don't think the synopsis is technically judged, but it does influence the judges.  I think if they're diving into a story whose synopsis they love, they're predisposed to think positively about the story itself, and conversely, the converse.  In this year's Short Story R1 comp, I didn't do myself any favors with my last-minute "Augusta Troy had nightmares."  First time in three years of doing SS that I didn't get into R2.  Not saying it was *only* because of the synopsis, but I do think it contributed to the story's problems. So although I think jibwriter offers otherwise excellent advice (which I will take), I don't think you should take "don't sweat it" too much to heart. Edited to add:  And the judges did comment on my synopsis, and also my equally last-minute title, which they also didn't like.

Good points. I actually hate having to write a synopsis at all, as I'd prefer have the judges read the story as it unfolds, rather than have any information up front. I do know that in reality very few people read a story without knowing anything about it first, so appreciate that it is a useful skill to build.

I'm struggling with the same thing - I don't really want to give away what happens, but when I try to kind of hint at stuff, it just ends up being cliche! I'm terrible at titles too!


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Posted By: Alexis_H
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 4:15pm
I think the point of the synopsis is to generate some interest. I suck at titles and synopsis but here I am. I'm ending to think they aren't judged but worth giving it some thought to try and grab a bit of interest right from the start if you can.

I know when I've been scrolling the forums, I always remember a particular synopsis or title and know I'm going to go find that story when they're posted. The judges are only human. 


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Posted By: nixie
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 4:20pm
NYCM started with film contests.  The logline is traditional/standard for a movie. They extended it here for - some unspecified reason.  Annoying, unnecessary - and a great way to determine whether you know what story you are trying to tell. Once you have written your synopsis - use it as a mission statement.  Go back and read your story, and ensure that each paragraph in some way furthers the mission. When you are struggling to cut to word count, it's a great decision-making tool.


Posted By: kodanie1
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 5:06pm
For the last challenge, one of the judges did critique my synopsis. They said something about the second sentence not working for whatever reason, and then left no real feedback that was helpful. I'm not sure how much the synopsis influenced the points I earned (I received 11 points for the story), but it does seem to be something taken into consideration.

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Posted By: Nicky Mc
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 6:04pm
Fun fact: the terminology is different in Australia. We would call a short teaser the tagline.

A synopsis (according to the Queensland Writers Centre) is a longer summary which introduces character and conflict AND explains how the conflict is resolved.

I didn't realise this for my first NYC flash fiction so my synopsis was a ridiculously long and pedantic two sentence summary of the whole story.




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Posted By: nod1v1ng
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 6:58pm
Originally posted by nixie nixie wrote:

NYCM started with film contests.  The logline is traditional/standard for a movie. They extended it here for - some unspecified reason.  Annoying, unnecessary - and a great way to determine whether you know what story you are trying to tell. Once you have written your synopsis - use it as a mission statement.  Go back and read your story, and ensure that each paragraph in some way furthers the mission. When you are struggling to cut to word count, it's a great decision-making tool.

I'm overwhelmingly terrible at the log line. (Titles too) However, I love the analogy of a mission statement. Brilliant.


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Posted By: Alonzo Mosley
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 12:24am
I, on the other hand, write the synopsis while submitting...

And I hope to holy heck it's not judged, for reasons I won't divulge until after judging is complete.


Posted By: Monsieur Renard
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 7:21am
I too have always written the synopsis while submitting. Will be changing that approach now!

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R2 G86: https://bit.ly/457i1Bi" rel="nofollow - A Normal Junket Thing


Posted By: MegOverman
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 8:11am
I am the worst at taglines. But maybe that helps? Maybe the judge is like "Uffff, here's one that'll be boring AF." And then the judge reads and is like "Hm. Exceeded the expectations that total crap logline set up. Points!"

Yeah. That is my dream. >.>


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Have a glass of wine and take it like a writer.

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Posted By: Zblugg
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 8:18am
Here is a good example of a sucky tagline. Incidentally, it's the one I submitted:


In the Long Whiteness

Nikita Kozlov’s orders are simple, just like the days he spends at the radio tower. When an unknown enemy threatens his mission, he has no choice but to prepare for the ultimate sacrifice.

Now, one good way to present it, so that it doesn't sound like a B-movie, would be like this:


In the Long Whiteness

Snowshoeing and figure skating are integral part of Nikita Kozlov's daily routine. Then again, so is the willingness to kill.


I am actually banging my head for not having taken more time to design a cool, punchy synopsis.

(Errrr... does that count as a "spoiler"? Am I allowed to do that?)


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Posted By: Jhill
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 7:52pm
Originally posted by Zblugg Zblugg wrote:

Here is a good example of a sucky tagline. Incidentally, it's the one I submitted:


In the Long Whiteness

Nikita Kozlov’s orders are simple, just like the days he spends at the radio tower. When an unknown enemy threatens his mission, he has no choice but to prepare for the ultimate sacrifice.

Now, one good way to present it, so that it doesn't sound like a B-movie, would be like this:


In the Long Whiteness

Snowshoeing and figure skating are integral part of Nikita Kozlov's daily routine. Then again, so is the willingness to kill.


I am actually banging my head for not having taken more time to design a cool, punchy synopsis.

(Errrr... does that count as a "spoiler"? Am I allowed to do that?)

Ooh, the second one is awesome! 

I think I need to take a class on writing titles/synopses (ies? ises?). Mine always suck. I like Nixie's advice (above). Maybe I'll put some effort into improving this before the short story challenge.


Posted By: HeatherHaze
Date Posted: 14 Nov 2017 at 4:08pm
At 11:30PM Sunday night, my story was done but I still didn't have a title or synopsis. I couldn't find anything in my story that really jumped out at me, which sent up a warning flag. I realized my story needed...something. I came up with a simple little metaphor that perfectly captured the essence of the story. I finished the revisions at about 11:50PM, with brand new title and synopsis, and submitted a much stronger story at 11:57PM. It's amazing how two little sentences can make such a difference.

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)-|-( Heather Haze
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