Screenwriting : Struggling with the synopsis by Evelyne Gauthier

I wrote one that was about 5 pages. My producer ask me to get it to a page. So I had to describe the story in emotional beats and escalation paths. So rather then talk about the escalation of events, I talked about the feeling of the escalation.

Exactly. It has to be 1 page long. According to what I read about this, I have to focus on the most important conflict or events, introduce the main character with something unique about her, hook in the reader with a compelling introduction of the hero, convey the genre and tone of the script, let my “voice” shine through, convince that the story is interesting, use strong visuals, highlight the protagonist’s arc, choose effective words that tell the story in an exciting and efficient manner. Phew... isn't it a little complicated? I feel kind of overwhelmed.

It's very tough. I dread the summary every time. The logline comes easier and the summary will too after a few of them.

Sometimes I think they want an expanded logline and not much more. Keep it short.

Yeah, it's pretty much like what I read about this so far. But... maybe I'm just overthinking the whole thing... Maybe I'm seeing this as more complicated than it should be. Thanks, I'll get back to that tomorrow. :)

Tell yourself a story...this is what synopsis basically is. Try say Cindarella or better yet The Wizard of Oz...see how it flows easily when it has all the components and attributes attached...that is what may been missing in yours.

A synopsis is usually going to be a single page. If you can write a logline that sums up your screenplay and focuses on what makes it Unique the Universal and Exciting, you can write a synopsis.

One brief paragraph on the protagonist. Then a paragraph for each of your three acts. Simple. Make sure that the paragraphs sound exciting and interesting, because you want them to request the screenplay.

Thanks, people! I'll go back to it. I'll figure this out eventually.

Evelyne: I'd be happy to have a look at your logline and synopsis.

Moi aussi si tu veux.

I find synopsis to be one of the hardest things for me to get down behind logline.

Yes! Synopsis are hard. I have written synopsis before writing the actual script, and then that worked better for me, same with loglines. In the book save the cat, he talks about writing the logline before anything. It's an interesting approach

Checkout Stage 32’s Netflix Pitch Webinar with Christopher Mack. It has an example of a synopsis.

Thanks, William, Rohit, Phillip and Myriam (merci!). I'll do some rewrites, because it needs a little more action and I need to add a little twist. Phillip and Myriam, I could show you the next version, if you want to. :) Louisa and Mariannjely, thanks, I feel a little less lonely. ;) I heard about Save the car. Maybe I'll take a look into it. Lovie D, I'll check that out! Thank you so much, everyone! :)

everyone hates those bloody things

Evelyne:

Send it to me when you're ready.

Hi Evelyne, they can definitely be daunting but that along with the logline can draw readers in, you know your book as other have said all you are doing is pulling the best bits out of it.

A good place to start is to strip the story back to its basics and then add some of the details that make this uniquely your story after. That way you have made sure that you haven't missed anything important and shown what makes this special. Its all about getting the reader to want more.