Synopsis Wizard
If you are like me, you hate writing a synopsis. You hate thinking about them and then having to write them down. (And it doesn’t matter if it’s a synopsis for historical, urban fantasy, or even a thriller. It’s all scary!) I hope this little tool will at least make it less painful. This doesn’t magically make the words in your head come out. You’ll have to do the work and add in the elements for your synopsis.
Once you add in all the “pieces” your synopsis will be generated in a new window. Copy and paste into your preferred word processing application and then you are done!
Not sure where to start in terms of summarizing your work? I highly recommend filling out The Novel Notebook by Lynn Viehl. I’ve used it in the past when stuck and it’s very helpful. Find it here as a Google Document.
Updated 8-8-2023 (WORKING AGAIN)
Tips
- Intro: On the intro tab, this is where you put your title and the opening hook. Dig deep here. It is important for you to grab the reader. Remember that you want to sell your book. Giving a dry overview of your story is nice, but it is possible to to do more.
- Protags: Who are your protagonists? The hero or the heroine. Maybe you have two heroes. I dunno. The important thing is to know what they want, why they want it, and what is stopping them from getting what they want. Not sure about that? Try my Goal, Motivation, Conflict Wizard. Print off a worksheet and come back. (Link opens in a new window in case you have work in the new window. Updated Feb 2022)
- Inciting Incident: How about we know jump into the deep end of the pool. What is the point of change? Well, that is when your character changes trajectory toward their overall goal. Your story may start with your character going through every day life, but at some point in the story something happens that will set them on a particular path with a particular goal in mind.
- Plot Points: This is where things get harder and it will be so easy to say this happened and then this happened. Be careful. Look for turning points. Plot twists. Look for points in the story where the goal, motivation, or conflict changes. Also, look at your secondary characters and their subplots.
- Dark Moment: Not all books have a dark moment, but if yours does, put that sucker in there. Don’t hold back.
- Conclusion: This is where you wrap up everything in a pretty bow.
Shawntelle’s Process
- Identify characters via GMC Chart.
- Write the synopsis.
- Check story’s timeline. Ask a million why questions. (i.e. Why did a character make a particular decision? Are there actions and reactions to plot points?)
- Hand off to critique partners.
- Rinse and repeat.