A great, simple, short and, most of all, helpful book on how to write a synopsis for your novel. Filled with great advice, proven best practices, as well as illustrative examples and even worksheets to assist you with working up your own synopses... seriously, what more could you want?

A great book that delivers exactly what it promises to deliver. ( )

I like the fact that the author makes few assumptions about the reader's (writer's) knowledge, and lays the process out clearly. Even if you know some, or all, of the rules, the content is quick to move through so you don't feel frustrated by rehashed information. And some of that rehashing is warranted anyway: there's a lot to remember, some of which is easily forgotten.

The book is designed as a work-along with several examples from multiple genres that makes the information learned applicable across the board. You're adding skills to your toolbox, not simply memorizing for a one-time session.

Highly recommend this book to any writer. I'm fresh off the BA & MA in writing train, and found the book is exactly what I needed for the back end writing process that goes along with the front end writing process. ( )

When a friend of mine learned I would have to write a synopsis for my Project Approval at grad school, she demanded I read this book. So I listened, bought it, and read. And I have to say, it's definitely worth the cash.

McCutcheon lays out the synopsis in a very easy, step-by-step way. By breaking up the elements needed in a synopsis, and by providing worksheets so you can define those elements for your novel, it makes writing your synopsis FAR more manageable. Better still, she uses three different examples from films: An American President, Speed, and Star Wars: A New Hope, so that you can see how synopses can vary depending on your story and genre. It is fortunate that I'd already seen all three of these movies, so it made it even easier to follow along, but even if you haven't seen these films, it won't hinder your progress, I don't think.

Course, I haven't done my synopsis yet. ;) Sue me, I'm a procrastinator! But I have done the worksheets--something I rarely do with these kinds of books--and I'm ready to hunker down and get the synopsis out. All the elements are there, I just have to string it together in a cohesive manner.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in any genre (unless you write under the "literary fiction" label) to find this book and read it, especially if there's a synopsis looming on your horizon. Granted, different agents and editors have different requirements, but often, that has to do with format and length. The content remains the same, and this book will help you sort that out. I've provided the link where you can buy this book new if you want to (trust me, I understand the compulsion), but know where to look, you can probably find this used on various sites. :) I hope this is helpful to all of you novelists out there. I'm definitely glad I checked this book out. :) ( )