Sometimes called a blurb, it seems, your synopsis is the short description people will read the moment they visit your novel. Most of the time, this is the moment in which they decide if they'll start reading or give it a pass. What makes for a good synopsis and what makes for a bad one? Is there a general structure you can follow? Any tips? I'll try to get into it to the best of my abilities.

On the forums I'm frequently the one telling people that the 'rules' for writing are just 'guidelines' and the same applies here. Nothing in here is something that must be done. Read my opinion and make up your own


in the synopsis you should introduce or hint at all the important elements of the novel. Their order isn't set in stone, change it to fit your story. Those are:

• Who
• Why
• Where
• What

There is one more, but it depends greatly on your novel. It's mostly used for historical settings or science fiction/science fantasy set in the future:

• When

Example: 

Zariel, warrior of the tribes, just witnessed his best friend being killed by a cowardly ambush. Driven by anger, he swears vengeance to the ones who ordered the murder. His quest takes him across the lands of Xatlopican and uncovers a danger which is stronger and stranger than he could have imagined. Soon he realizes the struggle to survive has only just begun.

All the real information is in the colored parts, the rest is flavor text to distinguish your story from the others.

• Who

This should contain the main character or main characters. It can be John, A Motley band of Friends or The Local Brass Band. Optionally you can include the great enemy, if there is one, but you can choose to leave that as a mystery to be uncovered in the novel.

• Why

This is where you get to the motivation of the character. Greed, vengeance, a desire to get stronger, boredom, survival instinct, no choice in it or curiosity, why is the character involved in the story.

• Where

This is not always the most important part. It can be 'a fantastical realm', 'a city', the name you gave a place or, for more contemporary settings, the actual place(s). People are still bound by naming conventions and in this example it would not be surprising to see an Inca, Maya or Aztec like setting, just because of the name of the place

• What

Finally, we get to what is happening. Here you can try to provide a general idea of the events in the novel. Is it going to be about romance, intrigue, action and fighting, mystery or whatever you feel your novel will bring to its readers. No need to be explicit about it, the goal here is to pique interest and curiosity, not to spoil the story.

• When

If the time period matters for the understanding of the story. In the late 18th century, the near future, stone age etc. In fantasy settings this is often less important, but can still be used for something like 'the empire is on the verge of an industrial revolution'. Alluding to the industrial revolution gives the readers a frame of reference in what to expect about this empire. There are similar keywords you can use to refer to different historical time periods to help you prepare your readers for your novel without giving anything away. After all, while it is similar, it is not the same and we'll just have to read it to discover how, what and why.


Note that the choice of words can have an impact on what the reader will expect. A task, job, mission, quest or assignment all mean something you have to do, but each has it's own different meaning. A task is something someone told you to do or you told yourself to do, a job something you do for work. A mission is usually assigned or taken and can be quite grim (military mission anyone?) while a quest tends to deal with lofty ideals. An assignment is like a task, but in a more official tone and always given to you by someone else. If you can think of different words to use, give a thought about what the differences are and which one is best for you.


The most common problem I find with the synopsis of a novel is too much information. 

Example: 

The kingdom of Holm was founded by a great hero named Rudolf with high ideals of freedom, justice and equality. He had many friends to support him and the kingdom flourished. His son Piotr managed to maintain the kingdom at it's peak at great effort, but as he got older the ideals started to crumble. Now Yingvar, the grandson, is on the throne and the kingdom is giving in to corruption from withing. Far from the capitol in the northernmost barony of Ritterheim, the young knight Alvin has passed his trials and is given his first official task: to bring a missive to Brun, the commander of the garrison in the nearby city of Urmand. On the way there he will face many challenges and when he finally arrives he is immediately sent off again, this time to the capital to meet with the king. When he meets with the king it triggers the escalation of many plots put in place by the Shadow Wraiths, an organization that tries to bring down anyone who does good works. Behind the Shadow Wraiths is a mastermind, the enemy of all life, the Dark One. Will our young knight succeed in saving the kingdom?

That is waaaay too much information. How about we change it? 
We don't need to know all the names, we don't need the history of the kingdom, we don't need to know what happens to Alvin on the road, we don't need the details on the great enemy.

Changed:

Alvin has just received his first official assignment after becoming a knight while far away king Yingvar, grandson of a great hero, is trying to hold on to a crumbling throne. What is supposed to be a simple missive delivery will end up bringing him in front of the king. Together they will have to face the threat and plotting of an ancient evil long forgotten and its minions. Should they fail, the whole world will suffer for it.

So much better!