Dear Mary…
The get-to-the-point answer: Regardless of which tense you use within your manuscript, your synopsis should be written in present tense.
The nifty technical-mumbo-jumbo answer: Characters and events in fiction exist in an eternal Now called the literary present. Thus, any writing (such as a synopsis) that describes a piece of fiction should be written as if the events are happening now, this very moment—in present tense.
Happy writing!
The Editor
Thank you for the clarification. I wrote it that way, but I wasn’t sure I should have.
I understand the tense and the voice in a synopsis. The thing that confuses me is the length. I’ve read how-to’s that say anywhere form 500 words to 10% of the completed ms (in other words if the ms is 80k, the synopsis should be 8k). Please let us know about length when you have time…
I’d never even thought about it. Thanks for clarifying why we’re supposed to write in present tense.
A synopsis is the hardest thing to write. The manuscript is easier.