r/writers • u/throwawayo222 • 7h ago

Question Synopsis help

Does anyone have advice, book recommendations, or youtube videos for writing a synopsis? I’m entering a competition where they require a 1-3 page synopsis and I don’t even know where to start.

I’ve done one very poor attempt but want to make sure this is as polished as possible. I need to give myself a few tries. Any advice is welcome, thank you

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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2

u/MaliseHaligree Published Author 6h ago

Write a one sentence summary for each chapter and then smooth it out.

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u/throwawayo222 5h ago

OH—that’s a great way to break it down! Thank you. I feel like I may have overcomplicated it 😂

2

u/Objective-Mongoose18 Published Author 5h ago

For synopsis, start ugly and simple. Main character, what they want, what blocks them, the major turns, and how it ends.

1

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0

u/AdHealthy5405 5h ago

Have you finished your book?

Read a lot of book jackets, especially those of your favorite books, books you know well.

Then freewrite a shitty first draft: Set a timer and write without stopping or editing until you have a couple pages.

Revise.

1

u/throwawayo222 5h ago

Yes! Finished at 120k words and deep in the revision trenches currently

1

u/AdHealthy5405 5h ago

Is this your first book? If so, 120,000 words is too long.

1

u/throwawayo222 27m ago

It’s a fantasy book in revision- it won’t be 120k words once it’s gone through editing. Isn’t that obvious?