Template

Synopsis Template

Last updated May 11, 202610 min read

A synopsis is a complete summary of your novel from beginning to end, including the ending. Agents and editors ask for them because they want to know whether your story actually works -- whether the plot resolves, whether the protagonist's arc completes, whether the climax pays off the setup. Unlike a query, which teases, a synopsis tells. Everything is on the page. The act of writing one will surface every weakness in your plot that you have been quietly avoiding.

This template gives you a framework for writing synopses at three standard lengths: one page, two pages, and longer (5-10 pages). Most agents ask for one of the shorter versions. Some film and television markets ask for the longer ones. Knowing how to write each length is part of professional writing practice.

One framing principle. A synopsis is not a query letter. It does not hide the ending. It does not use rhetorical hooks. It is a narrative summary of the story, written in clean, present-tense prose, with the plot's logic visible and the major characters' arcs clear.

The Core Components

Every synopsis, regardless of length, contains the same components -- they are just sized differently.

Opening situation: Who the protagonist is, what their ordinary world looks like, and what they want or lack at the start.
Inciting incident: The event that launches the story.
Rising action: The major plot beats of Act Two. What the protagonist tries, who helps and opposes them, how the situation escalates.
Midpoint: The turning point that reframes the story.
Dark moment: The protagonist's lowest point near the end of Act Two.
Climax: How the protagonist confronts the central conflict.
Resolution: The aftermath, the protagonist's final state, and the thematic note the story lands on.

The one-page synopsis covers each component in one or two sentences. The two-page synopsis gives each component a paragraph. The longer synopsis can develop each component across several paragraphs, with room for subplots and secondary character arcs.

Section 1: The One-Page Synopsis

The hardest length to write, and the most often requested. The one-page synopsis covers your entire novel in about 500-600 words. It works because it is brutally selective.

Structure

Opening paragraph (~100 words): Protagonist, situation, inciting incident.
Middle (~300 words): Major Act Two beats, midpoint, the escalation that leads to the dark moment.
Closing paragraph (~100 words): Climax, resolution, final state.

Rules

Name your protagonist in the first sentence. First mention in bold or all caps is a common professional convention -- many agents prefer this.
Write in third-person present tense. Regardless of your novel's actual POV and tense, the synopsis is third-person present. "Maya discovers a list of names in her father's safe."
Tell the whole story, including the ending. Do not hint. Do not tease. State what happens.
Focus on the protagonist's plot line. Subplots can be referenced if they directly affect the main plot. Otherwise they are cut.
Limit named characters. The protagonist, the antagonist, and two or three key secondary characters. Walk-on characters who are named in the novel can remain unnamed in the synopsis. "Her best friend" is often better than introducing a name the agent will not remember.

What to Cut

To fit a novel into one page, you have to cut hard. Cut:

Subplots that do not directly affect the main plot's resolution.
Worldbuilding detail beyond what is strictly necessary for the events to make sense.
Secondary characters' arcs, unless they intersect with the protagonist's climax.
Backstory beyond the single most important formative event.
Internal thought and emotional texture beyond what is necessary to make character decisions legible.
Set pieces that exist for genre pleasure but do not move the plot. ("They go to the masquerade ball" stays only if something plot-relevant happens at the ball.)

What to write here: 500-600 words. Plan to draft long and cut.

Section 2: The Two-Page Synopsis

Slightly easier than the one-pager, and often the format requested when "one-page" is not specified. Around 800-1,200 words.

The structure is the same as the one-page synopsis, but each component gets a full paragraph rather than a sentence or two.

Opening paragraph: Protagonist, setting, ordinary world, inciting incident.
Second paragraph: First plot point (the protagonist commits to the central problem).
Third paragraph: Early Act Two -- the protagonist's first attempts, allies, complications.
Fourth paragraph: Midpoint and its consequences.
Fifth paragraph: Late Act Two -- escalating pressure, complications, the build to the dark moment.
Sixth paragraph: Dark moment and the protagonist's response.
Seventh paragraph: Climax.
Closing paragraph: Resolution and final state.

At this length you have room for one significant subplot, two or three secondary characters with brief arcs, and a slightly fuller picture of the world. Use the room judiciously. Two pages can still feel rushed if you try to summarize everything.

Section 3: The Long Synopsis (5-10 pages)

Common for film and television, sometimes requested by editors for nonfiction projects, occasionally requested by agents who want a fuller picture. Around 2,500-5,000 words.

At this length, you can develop each plot beat in detail, give significant secondary characters their own arcs, and convey the texture of the world and the prose. The structure becomes chapter-by-chapter or section-by-section.

The long synopsis is also a useful planning tool. Some writers draft a long synopsis before drafting the novel, treating it as a chapter-level outline. Others write the long synopsis after the manuscript is done, as part of preparing for submissions.

Section 4: Voice and Style Choices

The synopsis is not your novel, but it should sound like you wrote it. A few practical guidelines:

Match the register to the genre. A literary novel's synopsis should sound more literary than a thriller's. The agent will use the synopsis's voice as a proxy for your prose voice.
Avoid sounding like a back-cover blurb. "In this gripping tale of love and betrayal..." -- no. State what happens.
Use specific verbs. "Maya investigates" is weak. "Maya interrogates the bartender" is sharp.
Avoid hedging. Synopses suffer from "perhaps," "seems to," "begins to wonder if." The events of the story happen definitively. Write them definitively.
Italicize the title on first mention. Standard convention.

Section 5: The Hardest Part -- The Ending

Most writers find the ending the hardest part of the synopsis to write. There is a temptation to be vague, to preserve mystery, to hold something back. Resist all of it. The synopsis tells the ending.

Specifically, the synopsis tells:

What action the protagonist takes at the climax.
Whether they succeed or fail in their external goal.
How the antagonist or central conflict is resolved (and whether the resolution is final or open).
What the protagonist learns or how they have changed.
What the world looks like in the aftermath.
The final image or note the book lands on.

If your synopsis ends with "and Maya discovers a truth that will change everything," you have not written the ending. You have written a tease. Rewrite.

Section 6: When to Write the Synopsis

Three useful times in the project life cycle.

Before the first draft (as a planning tool): Write a one- or two-page synopsis from your outline. It will surface plot problems before you have invested 90,000 words in them.
After the first draft (as a diagnostic): Write a synopsis from the draft. The act of summarizing what you actually wrote often reveals that the book on the page is not quite the book you thought you wrote. Use the gap to direct revision.
Before submission (for the agent): Polish the synopsis until it is presentation-ready. Test it on a writing partner or critique group. The synopsis should make a reader who has not seen the manuscript curious to read it.

How to Customize This Template

For genre fiction: The synopsis must make the genre beats visible. Mystery synopses include the killer and how they are caught. Romance synopses include the relationship arc, including the dark moment and the reconciliation. Genre readers (and agents) expect these beats to be clearly marked.
For literary fiction: The synopsis still tells the whole story, but the language and the foregrounded elements can lean more toward character, voice, and theme. Plot is still essential, but the texture can be richer.
For thrillers and high-concept commercial fiction: Lead with the premise. The first sentence should establish the high concept; the synopsis then shows how the concept plays out across the book.
For series: The synopsis covers only the current book, but should note in the closing paragraph how the book sets up future installments. A standalone-with-series-potential is what most agents are looking for.
For nonfiction: The synopsis is replaced by a book proposal, which is a much longer and more structured document. See the Book Proposal Template.

Draft your synopsis in Plotiar. Keep the one-page, two-page, and long versions side by side, and use them as planning, diagnosis, and submission tools throughout the project. Try it free.