a more decided "punch,"
by making some changes. In one, he added a character and transposed
several scenes, thereby strengthening the whole plot. In the other,
elimination of two scenes of minor importance made it possible for the
director to give more footage to a big scene. These changes being made
in the scenarios, the original synopses could not be used. It was
therefore necessary to write two new ones which corresponded with the
scenarios that went with them. Thus the original synopses of the two
accepted stories really amounted to nothing more than working, or
first-draft, synopses.

5. _Length of the Synopsis_

How many words should be allowed for the writing of a synopsis still
remains a matter of opinion. Almost every writer wishes that he could
use, within reason, an unlimited number. The acceptance or rejection
of the script depends so almost entirely upon the interest the editor
takes in the synopsis, that it unjustly hampers a writer to be limited
in the number of words he may use. This is peculiarly true if the plot
should happen to be one that requires the explanation of several
minor, yet important, details of the story. And even though you are
sending to a company that asks for the complete script, you must bear
in mind that some editors base their decisions wholly upon what they
get from the synopsis.

On the other hand, more scripts suffer from having the synopses
loosely and wordily written than from being over-compressed. The young
writer especially cannot be too careful in drilling himself in the art
of clear-cut, concise, yet effective expression. To be able to tell a
story in outline, using few but vivid words, is an art worth
cultivating.

However, now that the market has expanded from one to five, and even
more, reels, the limit of words is not so closely drawn. Indeed,
today, whether the studio is one that asks for the complete script or
insists upon examining the synopsis only, you may almost feel safe in
sending in a synopsis containing _just as many words as are really
needed_--which means, simply, that the editor's first consideration is
to be able to "get" your whole story from one reading of your
synopsis, whatever its length. It _should_ be concise; it _must_ be
clear and readily understandable. A busy editor has no time to waste
in re-reading certain paragraphs or even sentences the meaning of
which is obscure. One of the first things to remember is that certain
companies send