Let Your Synopsis Be Your Guide

Many novelists write toward the ending, meaning they know what the last scene is going to be (more or less) before they begin. But how to get from that first scene to the last? That's where the synopsis comes in. Writing a synopsis can be challenging and frustrating, but it is a profoundly valuable part of the process. Not just a series of statements about what happens in the novel, a synopsis, at around 2,000 words, is the condensed version of what the whole story is about. The synopsis can help you discover what your characters want and why, how they are shaped by their place in the world, who or what will help or hinder them along their way, and how they will be changed by the journey. Not only is a synopsis required by agents and editors, it can be your green light across the bay, guiding you toward the novel's resolution while still allowing for those unexpected cross-currents that will inevitably complicate your course along the way to a complete draft.