How do I write a synopsis from my draft?
Plan, draft, edit and pitch the same book in one project.
Start free in the Edit studio- A synopsis distills a finished draft to its main thread.
- Summarize each chapter's purpose to find the spine.
- Keep only main-plot beats; cut subplots and minor characters.
- Write in present tense, including the ending.
- Compress in passes from longer to the target length.
Write a synopsis from your draft by first distilling the spine: summarize each chapter's core purpose (a reverse outline helps), then identify the main-plot beats and the protagonist's arc, cutting subplots and minor characters. Compose this into present-tense, third-person prose that covers the whole story including the ending. Work in passes — draft a longer summary, then compress toward your target length (often one page), keeping cause-and-effect intact. Having the full draft makes the synopsis a distillation task rather than a blank-page struggle.
Chapter i·Why it matters
The synopsis is dreaded, but writing one from a finished draft is more tractable than inventing it cold — the story exists, so the task is distillation, not creation. Understanding how to find the spine (via chapter purposes), strip to the main thread, and compress in passes turns the synopsis from an impossible compression into a manageable process. Since a synopsis is required for many submissions, knowing how to extract one efficiently from your draft is a valuable, repeatable skill.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Chapter-purpose summaries to find the spine.
- Main-plot beats and the protagonist's arc.
- Subplots and minor characters cut.
- Present tense, ending included.
- Compression in passes to target length.
- Cause-and-effect preserved.
Chapter iii·Example
A writer turns her finished draft into a synopsis: she summarizes each chapter's purpose, extracts the main-plot beats and her protagonist's arc, and cuts the subplots. She drafts a two-page summary in present tense including the ending, then compresses to one page across two passes. The full draft made it distillation, not invention.
In WriteLoom
Stop running your query on a spreadsheet
WriteLoom's Edit studio keeps your chapter summaries and outline together, so a synopsis distills straight from the draft.
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Chapter iv·Related questions