Wag The Dog Synopsis
Rubi Strycker
One thing writers hate doing but will inevitably have to do (one day or another, at least) is the Dreaded Synopsis. An agent may request it in his/her submission materials, or an editor might want it once your agent has you out on subs. My film agent needed it for shopping around Something Strange & Deadly, and I would imagine other rights-agents would want a short, simple synopsis for the same reason. So in other words: you have to learn to do this. You need it before you're published, and you'll certainly need it afterwards. Specifically, you'll need to be able to write the 1 or 2-page synopsis.
To learn how to write a short synopsis, I took workshops, read books, and wrote a few drafts until I had a gleaming 1-page book summary. And after all that practice, I realized I had my own method (built from the methods of my various teachers, of course), and I'm sharing that method with you here. To use this worksheet, fill out the questions in sentence form. Though your story may not follow this exact format, try to find some critical event in the story that can be placed in that space.
You will likely notice that the worksheet is very similar to the Hero's Journey (because most stories follow that format!), and I have filled out the questions using my All Time Favorite Movie as the example. Once you have filled out the worksheet, rewrite them on a fresh sheet of paper and try to eliminate words, tighten sentences, and variate sentence structure.
To escape the desert planet, Ben and Luke hire a low-life pilot and the pilot's hairy, alien friend. Luke, Ben, Luke's robots, the pilot, and the hairy friend leave the planet and fly to the Death Star, Darth Vader's home and the Empire's main base.
What is the middle turning point? What happens that causes the MC to make a 180 degree change in direction/change in emotion/change in anything? Again, once he/she has crossed this line, there's no going back.
Luke is devastated over Ben's death, and he is more determined to fight Darth Vader and help the Rebels defeat the Empire. Luke joins the Rebel army, and helps them plan an attack on the Death Star's only weakness.
The Death Star arrives in space near the Rebels, and the attack begins. Luke joins the assault team of fighter ships. The Rebels suffer heavy losses, and soon Luke is one of the few remaining pilots and ships. He takes his chance and initiates the final attack. Guided by Ben's voice and the Force, he manages to fire the single, critical shot to explode the Death Star.
To escape the desert planet, Ben and Luke hire a low-life pilot and the pilot's hairy, alien friend. Luke, Ben, Luke's robots, the pilot, and the hairy friend leave the planet and fly to the Death Star, Darth Vader's home and the Empire's main base. Once on board the Death Star, Luke discovers the princess is being held as a hostage. He and the group set out to find the princess, while Ben sets out to find a way for them to escape the base. After rescuing the princess, Luke and the group try to escape. Ben sacrifices himself so they can flee, and Darth Vader kills Ben. The group flees the Death Star on their own ship.
Luke is devastated over Ben's death, and he is more determined to fight Darth Vader and help the Rebels defeat the Empire. Luke joins the Rebel army, and helps them plan an attack on the Death Star's only weakness. The Death Star arrives in space near the Rebels, and the attack begins. Luke joins the assault team of fighter ships. The Rebels suffer heavy losses, and soon Luke is one of the few remaining pilots and ships. He takes his chance and initiates the final attack. Guided by Ben's voice and the Force, he manages to fire the single, critical shot to explode the Death Star.
With the Death Star destroyed and the Empire severely damaged, the Rebels hold a grand ceremony to honor Luke and his friends. The princess awards them with medals for heroism. Though Luke is still sad over the loss of Ben and his family, he has found a place among the Rebels, and with them, he will continue to fight the Empire.
I hope this helps you all! I know I use it as a general guide every time I write a synopsis. Sometimes, I even use it before writing a novel to help me get an idea of the general plot I want to follow.
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How many words do you have? You want to shoot for under 500, and you want to have some \u201Cspace\u201D left for inserting connective words (e.g. meanwhile, then, after, etc.). You also want to have extra space to add any events that are needed for explanation/flow.
When he buys two robots, he finds one has a message on it\u2014a message from a princess begging for help. She has plans to defeat the Empire, and she begs someone to deliver these plans to a distant planet. Luke goes to his friend and mentor, the loner Ben Kenobi, for help.
Ben tells Luke about a world where the Empire rules and Rebels fight back, where Jedi Knights wield a magic called the Force, and how Luke must face Darth Vader \u2013 the man who killed Luke's father and now seeks to destroy Luke too. Luke refuses, but when he goes back to his farm, he finds his family has been killed. He has no choice but to join Ben.
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, a controlling government called the Empire takes control of planets, systems, and people. Anyone who resists is obliterated. Luke Skywalker, a na\u00EFve farm boy with a knack for robotics, dreams of one day escaping his desert homeland. When he buys two robots, he finds one has a message on it\u2014a message from a princess begging for help. She has plans to defeat the Empire, and she begs someone to deliver these plans to a distant planet.
Luke goes to his friend and mentor, the loner Ben Kenobi, for help. Ben tells Luke about a world where the Empire rules and Rebels fight back, where Jedi Knights wield a magic called the Force, and how Luke must face Darth Vader\u2014the man who killed Luke's father and now seeks to destroy Luke too. Luke refuses, but when he goes back to his farm, he finds his family has been killed. He has no choice but to join Ben.
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