How to Write a Synopsis for Your Novel

Did you know that you need a synopsis if you plan to publish traditionally and query for an agent?

I wrote a synopsis for my current work in progress, Project Prehistory, a year ago while working on the third draft. That synopsis is of course not query-ready, as the novel will undergo some major changes yet, but I found it a good exercise to see what the essence of the story was and how I could condense it into a short summary. This is what makes a synopsis a helpful tool for indie authors as well! You get to see the “bare bones” of the story, and that can help you identify if there are any problems in your novel. Or if you’re a plotter, you can write a synopsis already in the planning phase, before writing a more detailed scene list and starting to draft the novel.

So What Is a Synopsis?

Synopsis is a one- or two-page (ca. 500–1000 word) summary of the novel. Note, however, that the length of the synopsis may vary depending on the agent. They may ask for a shorter or a longer synopsis, so make sure that you follow their instructions! For Project Prehistory, I wrote a thousand-word summary. It works as a starting point from where I can either condense or expand to the desired length.

The synopsis is written in third person and present tense regardless of the point-of-view and tense of your manuscript. And yes, it’s supposed to tell everything that happens in the novel, even the plot twists and the ending, regardless of how spoiler-y it might be. A synopsis needs to tell the agent that you have a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, and to give the agent a reason to want to read the entire manuscript.

Here’s How I Wrote Mine

Step 1: Write a Scene List

Write a list of all the scenes in your novel. If you’re a plotter, you may already have done this before writing the first draft. If you’re a pantser, you can do it after the first or second draft. Try to condense the essence of the scene into one sentence. For example, in the first scene of Project Prehistory, “the male main character goes hunting with his father and fails.”

Step 2: Condense, Condense, Condense

Condense the scene list until you have the bare bones of the story. That means deleting all those fantastic subplots you’ve developed and all the exciting details of worldbuilding you’ve come up with. The synopsis should concentrate on the journey and character development of your main character (or at most two main characters). Don’t worry if the synopsis ends up sounding boring, it’s supposed to be that way. No one reads synopses for fun! 

The Structure of My Synopsis (981 Words)

• Paragraphs 1–2: Introduction to the two main characters and their background (1 paragraph per MC)
• Paragraphs 3–4: First third of the novel up until the first pinch point
• Paragraphs 5–6: From the first pinch point to the midpoint
• Paragraph 7: Midpoint
• Paragraphs 8–9: From the midpoint to the second pinch point
• Paragraphs 10–11: From the second pinch point to the climax
• Paragraph 12: The final chapter and the end of the book

Note that the number of paragraphs isn’t important. You can use as many (or as few) as you need. I structured my synopsis by pinch points and the midpoint, but you can use a three-, four- or five-act structure as well, if that works better for your novel.

I have two main characters, so I used two paragraphs to introduce them and provide background information. If you only have one main character, you’ll only need one paragraph. Only give the most important information: what is the character’s goal and what do they need to learn in order to be achieve that goal. If you have more than two point-of-view characters, choose one or two and focus on them.

Helpful resource

Writing Fiction for Dummies

If you want to learn more about writing a synopsis, I highly recommend Writing Fiction for Dummies by R. Ingermanson & P. Economy. Chapter 9 of that book talks about scene lists and synopsis and gives other helpful information for the querying process.