Doing the impossible. Again

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by Tim Burdick on 29 February, 2016

Your novel. Done.

Query. Nailed it!

Now, writing a synopsis is a difficult task. How can you condense your 35, 000 word novel down into one or two pages so that anyone can see it and be captivated? Impossible right?

My first attempt, I re-read each chapter of my book and wrote a sentence or two that captured its spirit. After only 15 chapters, I had almost two pages and still had nine chapters to go. Bleah!

So, a fellow writer passed on a link and it stated how my synopsis had to have three things the major characters the main plot and the emotions.
www.janefriedman.com/novel-synopsis/

It was amazing how I removed tiny details, minor subplots and secondary characters tons of back story and have a one page bare bones synopsis.

But still, I was scared. I had doubts. Was the content perfect? Was I one step closer to publishing my book? So, I reached out to my writer’s group. See their comments below:

“Synopsis should include all the major plot points (not the minor ones), and give away the ending.”

“Find examples of synopsis.”

“Synopsis should be written in present tense. Also the characters names should be in capital letters the first time you introduce them.”

Another recommended article—Synopsis Secrets by Robyn Conley

Now I have final checklist. After a few re-reads, I found cracks in my synopsis. Now, I can fix them. I almost done. Finally.

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