Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Story

Creating the Perfect Synopsis

Although this chapter really doesn't have anything to do with making your book better, I still believe it to be important. To clarify, the kind of synopsis I am referring to is not the chapter-by-chapter summary that you would sometimes be required to submit to a publishing company; it is what you would find on the back of a book, commonly referred to as a "blurb" on Wattpad.

Anyway, this chapter is included in this book for the same reason as my cover tutorial was: they are both selling points of your story. No one is going to want to read your book if the blurb is no good. Enter me. I'll hopefully be able to impart you with some valuable tips that will stick with you throughout your writing career.

Tip #1:

For every story, there are three basic necessities it must include. You should briefly mention the main character (hinting as to their gender and general age, if not telling), the setting of your story (past, present, future, place in your story's world), and the conflict. The last part is the most important and should create the basis of your synopsis. Mention the external conflict, but also hint at an internal struggle or hard choice the main character may have to make to solve that conflict.

Tip #2:

Write in third person. Always. You can say "I" all you want but it makes it way harder to get your point across and ends up sounding more like an excerpt from your story versus something you would find on the back of a book. Plus, it gives your character a name.

Tip #3:

Make your story sound unique. If you are writing your synopsis and it sounds basically like a million other stories you've read, it's missing something. You have to include an element that will separate it from another story. If you don't, someone will read your blurb and decide to read another story instead that sounds similar. I'm going to give you two examples of a blurb. The first one will be fairly cliché and the second will have a unique twist to it.

Example #1: 

Lily has always considered her life to be painstakingly ordinary. She has two loyal best friends, a college degree, and everyone at her high school seems to mind their own business. That is, until the new kid turns up, charming and handsome Adam Robinson. With his glowing smile and natural charisma, he is every girl's dream. Lily's life seems to finally be getting exciting when Adam demonstrates his growing interest in her. Except as their bond deepens, Lily has to ask where their relationship is going and if she is ready for what it may ask of her. 

There's my first example. The plot is predictable and I'm fairly certain I've read the story before. Let's see how it could be changed.

Example #2: 

Lily has always considered her life to be painstakingly ordinary. She has two loyal best friends, a college degree, and everyone at her high school seems to mind their own business. That is, until the new kid turns up, charming and handsome Adam Robinson. With his glowing smile and natural charisma, he is every girl's dream. Lily's life seems to finally be getting exciting when Adam demonstrates his growing interest in her. Except as their relationship progresses, Lily begins to question what she knows about Adam. After delving into his past life she comes to a shocking realization: Adam isn't who he says he is and his reasons for being with her are far from what she had hoped.

Admittedly not my best work, but I like to see the second synopsis as an improvement from the first. It provides a suggestion of a new kind of conflict, one that doesn't generally grace the genre of teen fiction. That in itself may be enough to pull in more readers than you usually do.

Tip #4:

The writing in your synopsis should always be clear and easy to read. Use simple words, nothing elaborate. Using the word "syzygy" in your blurb probably wouldn't be your smartest idea. Likewise, your transitions must be smooth and each idea should flow from one to the other. If your blurb is confusing, people won't want to read the actual story.