Hi all, I've googled the living hell out of this but have been unable to find any modern examples of a good memoir synopsis. Can anybody point me in any helpful directions or offer suggestions? Writing the synopsis seems to be more difficult than writing the damn book, for me at least, and everything I've thus far tried has been a complete mess. What do I leave in? What do I take out? First person present tense or third person past tense? It's all very overwhelming. The only part I have so far is the 'essence' message, and even that I'm not particularly happy with! My frustration is killing me! Cheers NC
Hey there! This is only a guess, but have you ever told a friend about a movie you watched that he/she hasn't watched? If so what nature of stuff did you leave out? This is still guessing, but in the case of one of my flash fiction works let me try giving you a synopsis of it and see what you think. BTW, if you would like to see the actual work you will need to tell me how to send you all 508 words of it in a way that doesn't violate forum rules. Synopsis of "News Item": The story shows a reporter exposing a news release as the results of a group of people getting the mistaken idea that the fantasy creatures called pokemon are not only real but that they are being exploited by the fictional trainers. As part of this expose (there should be an` over the final "e" in "expose", but I have no clue how to do that). The reporter goes on to tell something about some of the more noteworthy members of the group showing things about them that he feels make them and the group look more foolish than what the group is standing up for. The above takes the story's 508 words (including title) down to 105 words without a title. I don't really know if it works well, but I tried. In the hopes that it will help, The dawg.
By 'memoir synopsis' do you mean you need to recap the entire memoir? Are you getting it published via a traditional publisher who requires this? If you're trying to create a blurb that will sell the memoir (either to a potential agent or to an eventual reader), however, that's a different thing. If that's the case, I'd say focus on what makes YOUR life story unique. 'Here is my life story, please read it,' isn't going to attract a reader unless they already know you and are curious about you. What have you done that's particularly unique? What have you learned about life that's particularly unique? What is your memoir's 'angle' or particular purpose? Take a look at other published memoirs—paying especial attention to ones that are NOT memoirs of famous people (who are writing for readers who are already curious about them.) Maybe it's a person who lived through a unique period of history, or witnessed a unique event, has done something out of the ordinary, has an unusual ancestry, talent, handicap, etc. Focus on what would create interest in a stranger who doesn't know you at all.
