As a reader, what does a good synopsis look like?

[Eldoria]

As A Reader, What Does A Good Synopsis Look Like?​

Authors can have various synopsis formulas to attract readers. However, I'd like to hear from you, dear readers. What makes a good synopsis?

You may have certain expectations. For example, the synopsis must be honest (e.g., if the story is about dark fantasy, then the content must also be dark fantasy), no gimmick, no clickbait, the main conflict must be explained in the synopsis, MC must be consistent, the worldbuilding must be vivid - not just a tacked-on setting, etc.

Please share your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you.

 

[Racosharko]

synopsis

Can you define what you mean for clarity?

Do you mean the "dust jacket" blurb?
The description?
Or the plot summary?

 

[BigBadBoi]

I just want a summary of the premise and setting that would catch my attention. I mostly check tags first then synopsis second anyway.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It should be an honest teaser - give you a hint of what kind of story it will be, who or what at least one main character will be, and a clue as to the nature of the challenge(s) the MC(s) will face.
Not a laundry list, not a summary, just a teaser.

 

[Eldoria]

Can you define what you mean for clarity?

Do you mean the "dust jacket" blurb?
The description?
Or the plot summary?

Well, I only use "synopsis" as SH does, considering SH uses the term "synopsis" instead of blurb or summary, even though these terms have similar meanings.

A synopsis is a brief summary or general overview of a longer work, such as a book, play, or movie. It provides a condensed outline of the main points, plot, or argument, without going into extensive detail.

 

[Arkus86]

Mostly I want to know what the story will be about, the tone it will take, and the character or characters it will follow.
It does not need to be too detailed, though it helps when it's more than just bare-bones descriptions. But when it's pretentious or overly ambitious, it tends to turn me away (e.g. "If you like this genre, you must read this" or "This is the best story you will ever read").

 

[bulmabriefs144]

To answer that, we should tell what a bad synopsis looks like. In like 4th or 5th grade, I read a goodbook, but when it came time write a book report, I didn't want to sacrifice any details.

With that as the worst, the best synopsis should feel like events of previous chapters in a serial show.Relevant details are pieced together in the beginning episode. If it's from a previous episode, it may should show up there to mark that this plot point being shown.

 

[Placeholder]

Pet peeve: any apologies for the writer's skill level or discussion of personal circumstances or publishing schedule. If that's appended to the summary I impulsively discount the work.

Beyond that, new author apologies and circumstances should go at the bottom of new chapters, not at the top. Kills the mood, I think.

 

[SternenklarenRitter]

This a personal preference, and may or not be good general advice, but I do not find synopsis that consist of 'in universe character opinions' to be helpful at all. There are some readers (maybe a lot?) who do like an in universe description of the MC or some plot points from a mob's pov. However I like a synopsis that addresses me as a reader. Convince me as someone with a decent amount of free time but vastly more stories to read, why should I spend several hours on this novel.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

I use a prologue to introduce my setting, provide some backstory, and hopefully set the tone for my writing. At least that's what I THINK I do.

Edit - That is what I think a good prologue is. I wrote the examples below because, despite the differences, I THINK I did a good job with my prologues.

MFGR - Its 3 chapters around 10k words, where my MC dies, shows up in Utopia - The home of all the gods, and introduces the reason why the gods are giving him a system and reincarnating him into different 'Realms'. It also alludes to some issues the MC may face later.

DEN - 1 chapter 3300 words, MC is introduced as an old man, who dives in front of a truck to save two teenagers. He is brought to a strange place that is reminiscent of a daytime television gameshow stage. He meets a higher being, finds out he was brought there by accident, then joins the game show because that is something he has never done before. He then has to walk through one of ten doors to begin his story, diving into some sci-fi, fantasy, or death world. (Arguably my best work so far)

TN - It is a 1000 word Monologue by my crazy badger god-like being, describing how he implants systems in random people, which are not systems, it is just him. It then touches on the fact that Earth is about to become a death world, then makes fun of GoTs, because why not. My next 4 chapters could also be considered prologue-like, as they are all about the events leading up to the Earth becoming a death world and the aftermath of some of the survivors... not to mention more from The Narrator, and his minder, The Commander.

I use a prologue to introduce my setting, provide some backstory, and hopefully set the tone for my writing. At least that's what I THINK I do.

Edit - That is what I think a good prologue is. I wrote the examples below because, despite the differences, I THINK I did a good job with my prologues.

MFGR - Its 3 chapters around 10k words, where my MC dies, shows up in Utopia - The home of all the gods, and introduces the reason why the gods are giving him a system and reincarnating him into different 'Realms'. It also alludes to some issues the MC may face later.

DEN - 1 chapter 3300 words, MC is introduced as an old man, who dives in front of a truck to save two teenagers. He is brought to a strange place that is reminiscent of a daytime television gameshow stage. He meets a higher being, finds out he was brought there by accident, then joins the game show because that is something he has never done before. He then has to walk through one of ten doors to begin his story, diving into some sci-fi, fantasy, or death world. (Arguably my best work so far)

TN - It is a 1000 word Monologue by my crazy badger god-like being, describing how he implants systems in random people, which are not systems, it is just him. It then touches on the fact that Earth is about to become a death world, then makes fun of GoTs, because why not. My next 4 chapters could also be considered prologue-like, as they are all about the events leading up to the Earth becoming a death world and the aftermath of some of the survivors... not to mention more from The Narrator, and his minder, The Commander.

I Now submit to you what happens when I post before having my morning coffee.... synopsis was the question, not prologue... Sorry

 

[LeilaniOtter]

I think I'm going to go back and re-write all of mine to make sure things are clear. Good reminder, @Eldoria *otter hugs*

 

[AmbreaTaddy]

As A Reader, What Does A Good Synopsis Look Like?​

Authors can have various synopsis formulas to attract readers. However, I'd like to hear from you, dear readers. What makes a good synopsis?

You may have certain expectations. For example, the synopsis must be honest (e.g., if the story is about dark fantasy, then the content must also be dark fantasy), no gimmick, no clickbait, the main conflict must be explained in the synopsis, MC must be consistent, the worldbuilding must be vivid - not just a tacked-on setting, etc.

Please share your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you.

It's obvious, but I need to know if the story will suit my tastes. Having an intriguing and mysterious blurb is fun, but ultimately I won't know if it's the type I like. You don't need to be deadpan about it (like, clearly saying 'this is a regression story with a tower, except the MC is a monster'), but you need to allude to it and make it interesting.

(ex : Twenty years into the future, the world changed when a gigantic tower appeared out of nowhere. To save the world, people started to climb it and I became one of the sacrfices for world peace. When humanity failed and thought it was over, I opened my eyes twenty years in the past. Oh, but didn't I mention ? I'm not one of the human climbers.)

In my exemple, you have clearly the genre (action story with a tower emergence set up), the cliché you can associate to similar stories (regression, the MC goes back to the past), and the originality, what makes the story unique (the MC isn't human)

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Tease everything, tell as little as you can but be clear and concise (and as error-free ... and AI free - as possible) ...

 

[Jianzheng1w]

No more than 8 sentences. Tell me why your world and characters are memorable. That's it.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

as and AI free as possible ...

Restressing this point - I may be unique or in a minority here, but if I see a checklist/unordered list/ordered list of "What To Expect," 19 times out of 20 I will pass on the story, even if I would normally be interested in all of the points listed.
First, because this kind of list is usually generated by an AI, but second, because it kind of is insulting - the genre and synopsis already create some assumptions, so I don't need those repeated, and if you're going to subvert expectations, you really don't want to give that away here...

 

[LightHikari]

A good synopsis serves as a hook into the story's premise.

 

[Author_Riceball]

As A Reader, What Does A Good Synopsis Look Like?​

Authors can have various synopsis formulas to attract readers. However, I'd like to hear from you, dear readers. What makes a good synopsis?

You may have certain expectations. For example, the synopsis must be honest (e.g., if the story is about dark fantasy, then the content must also be dark fantasy), no gimmick, no clickbait, the main conflict must be explained in the synopsis, MC must be consistent, the worldbuilding must be vivid - not just a tacked-on setting, etc.

Please share your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you.

Introduce the MC, some of their friends and the world and do it in an interesting way