Or How to Boil Down 80,000 Words Without Losing Your Soul
Picture this: You’ve just spent two years crafting your masterpiece. Maybe it’s an 80,000-word fantasy novel with immaculate world-building and a magic system that has perfect internal logic. Or perhaps it’s a 120-page screenplay where every scene crackles with tension and your dialogue shines. Your romance subplot perfectly complements your mystery plot, and your character development rivals the greats. Now you need to summarize all of that in 500 words? For agents, producers, or competition readers who’ll spend roughly 30 seconds deciding your project’s fate?
Welcome to the synopsis circle of hell, where dreams go to be condensed into bite-sized, business-like chunks. Whether you’re submitting your novel to literary agents or your screenplay to competitions and industry professionals, the synopsis remains your most crucial marketing tool. But here’s the thing: a great synopsis isn’t just a necessary evil—it’s your project’s elevator pitch, movie trailer, and first impression all rolled into one terrifyingly important document.
Your Story Deserves to Be Seen
FROM THE PAGE TO THE SCREEN: Crafting Visual Stories
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Register todayI recently participated in the PennWriters 2025 Conference where I spoke with several editors about what they want (re: The ‘dreaded’ synopsis). The following tips, exercises, and hopefully useful guidance should set you on the path to nailing a synopsis that admirably shows off your project.
What You’ll Learn (Because Your Time Matters)
By the end of this article, you’ll know how to:
- Structure a compelling synopsis that agents actually want to read
- Decide which subplots to include and which to sacrifice
- Write character descriptions that pop in minimal words
- Avoid the most common synopsis mistakes that scream “amateur”
- Maintain your story’s voice while hitting professional requirements
- Transform the dreaded synopsis from obstacle into opportunity
Whether you’re writing sci-fi novels, fantasy epics, romance screenplays, mystery teleplay pilots, or any other genre/medium project, these techniques will help you create a synopsis that opens doors instead of slamming them shut. The principles work for both prose and screenwriting—after all, both mediums require clear character arcs, compelling conflicts, and satisfying resolutions.
What Agents and Industry Professionals Actually Want (Spoiler: It’s Not Your Beautiful Prose)
Let’s get one thing straight: agents, producers, and competition readers don’t want to experience your project through your synopsis. They want to understand it. Think of your synopsis as a Wikipedia entry for your story, not a teaser trailer designed to build suspense.
The Industry Checklist:
- Clear beginning, middle, and end (yes, spoil the ending!)
- Main character motivations and obstacles
- Major plot points and turning points
- Professional, business-like tone
- 500-1000 words (1-2 pages, max)
- No flowery language or atmospheric descriptions
Notice what’s missing? Your gorgeous world-building details, your clever magic system rules, your snappy dialogue, your brilliant visual metaphors. Save those for the actual manuscript or screenplay. The synopsis is where beautiful writing goes to become functional writing.
Try This: Exercise #1: The Plot SkeletonBefore you write a single synopsis sentence, create your story’s skeleton:
Write each of these in one sentence. If you can’t, your plot structure might need work before you worry about the synopsis. |
The Art of Strategic Spoiling
Here’s where synopsis writing gets counterintuitive: you must spoil your own ending. Agents aren’t reading for pleasure—they’re evaluating commercial viability. They need to know your book has a satisfying conclusion before they invest time in representing it.
Don’t write: “Will Detective Martinez solve the case before the killer strikes again?”
Do write: “Martinez discovers the killer is her former partner, whom she must arrest to save the final victim and restore her faith in justice.”
The first version is a logline designed to entice readers or audiences. The second is synopsis gold—it tells industry professionals exactly what happens and how the conflict resolves.
Subplot Surgery: Deciding What Lives and Dies
Your genre project probably has multiple plotlines because, let’s face it, good speculative fiction and compelling screenplays thrive on complexity. Your fantasy epic has political intrigue, romantic tension, and magical conflicts. Your sci-fi thriller screenplay weaves together corporate conspiracy, alien contact, and family drama. But your synopsis has limited real estate, so you need to perform some strategic amputations.
The Hierarchy of Plot Importance:
- A-Plot: The main storyline that drives the entire narrative
- B-Plot: Secondary storyline that significantly impacts the A-plot
- C-Plot: Tertiary elements that add depth but aren’t essential to the core story
Include your A-plot completely. Include your B-plot if it directly affects the A-plot’s resolution. Only mention your C-plot if you have space and it connects meaningfully to the main story.
Example: If your urban fantasy has an A-plot about stopping a demon invasion, a B-plot about the protagonist’s forbidden romance with a half-demon, and a C-plot about her strained relationship with her mundane sister, focus heavily on A and B, and only mention C if it impacts the magical conflict.
Try This: Exercise #2 – The Pitch Paragraph ChallengeWrite three versions of your opening paragraph:
Example for a space opera about a ship’s engineer who discovers her AI is becoming sentient: Version A: “Ship’s engineer Maya Chen maintains the aging freighter Celestial Dawn, keeping its systems running on spare parts and determination.” Version B: “When the Celestial Dawn’s AI begins asking existential questions, engineer Maya Chen realizes her ship has achieved consciousness—and someone wants to destroy it.” Version C: “In a galaxy where artificial consciousness is punishable by immediate deletion, the Celestial Dawn becomes the first ship to think for itself.” Try all three approaches and see which creates the most compelling opening for your specific story. |
Character Descriptions: The Thumbnail Sketch
Agents want to understand your characters quickly, but they don’t need extensive backstories. Think “character sheet essentials” meets “motivation statement.”
Instead of: “Kira, a complex half-elf shaped by her dual heritage and the prejudice she faces in both human and elven societies, struggles with belonging while wielding powers she doesn’t fully understand.”
Try: “Kira (half-elf mage) uses her forbidden necromancy to protect the living, despite facing persecution from both human and elven communities.”
The second version gives us species, profession, key conflict, and stakes in half the words.
The Dreaded Business Tone (And How to Not Sound Like a Robot)
“Business-like” doesn’t mean “personality-free.” Your synopsis should be clear and direct, but it can still hint at your book’s flavor. The key is finding the sweet spot between sterile plot summary and overwrought prose.
Too Sterile: “Character A encounters Problem B and implements Solution C.” Too Flowery: “Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of her former life, Zara embraces her destiny as the chosen one…” Just Right: “Zara accepts her role as the prophesied mage-killer, knowing she must destroy the magical abilities she’s spent years learning to control.”
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Try This: Exercise #3 – The Connection TestFor each major plot point in your synopsis, write one sentence explaining how it connects to the next plot point. If you can’t make that connection clear, you might be including unnecessary details or missing crucial transitions. Example:
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Common Synopsis Sins (And How to Avoid Them)
The World-Building Encyclopedia: Including every cool detail about your magic system, alien species, or alternate history. Solution: Focus on elements that directly drive the plot.
The Teaser Trailer Trap: Ending with mysterious questions instead of clear resolutions. Solution: Spoil everything. Agents need to know you can stick the landing.
The Character Parade: Introducing every character who appears in your book. Solution: Focus on characters who drive major plot points.
The Passive Voice Plague: Writing “mistakes were made” instead of “John made a mistake.” Solution: Keep your protagonist active and making choices.
The Genre Confusion: Failing to clearly indicate what type of book you’ve written. Solution: Make sure your plot points and character motivations align with your stated genre.
The One-Page Challenge: Making Every Word Count
If you’re aiming for a one-page synopsis (about 250-400 words), every sentence must earn its place. Here’s a brutal editing approach:
- Write your first draft without worrying about length
- Highlight only sentences that advance plot or reveal character motivation
- Cut everything else
- Combine related sentences
- Replace wordy phrases with precise language
Wordy: “Elena came to the realization that she needed to make a decision about whether or not she was going to use her dark magic to save the kingdom.” Concise: “Elena decides to use forbidden dark magic to save the kingdom.”
Finding Your Synopsis Voice
Your synopsis doesn’t need to sound like everyone else’s. While it should be professional and clear, it can still reflect your book’s tone and your voice as a writer.
For a humorous urban fantasy: “When barista-turned-accidental-necromancer Zoe raises her first zombie in the coffee shop’s storage room, she realizes her new powers come with a strict no-return policy.”
For a hard sci-fi thriller: “Dr. Sarah Kim’s breakthrough in quantum consciousness transfer threatens to revolutionize human existence—if the corporate assassins hunting her don’t destroy the research first.”
Both are professional and clear, but they hint at different types of reading experiences.
Key Takeaways: Synopsis Success Strategy
- Start with structure: Know your beginning, middle, and end before you write
- Spoil the ending: Agents need to know your book has satisfying resolution
- Focus on the A-plot: Include subplots only if they directly impact the main story
- Write in present tense: Even if your novel is in past tense
- Keep characters active: Show them making choices and driving the plot
- Be specific: “She faces her destiny” is vague; “She uses forbidden magic to kill the demon lord” is concrete
- Cut ruthlessly: Every sentence should either advance plot or reveal crucial character motivation
Remember: It’s a Tool, Not an Art Form
Your synopsis isn’t meant to be beautiful—it’s meant to be effective. Think of it as a detailed map rather than a scenic photograph. Agents use it to navigate your story and determine if they want to take the full journey.
The good news? Once you’ve mastered the synopsis, you’ll have a clearer understanding of your own story structure. Many writers discover plot holes or pacing issues while working on their synopsis. Consider it free developmental editing.
Now stop procrastinating and start summarizing. Your story deserves a synopsis that opens doors rather than creating barriers. Just remember: you’re not condensing your soul into 500 words—you’re creating a professional tool that helps your soul find the right home.