Thanks for voting! By a very narrow margin of 4 votes, you chose a no-spoiler synopsis.
I once read that writing a one-page synopsis of your story will be the worst exercise you ever put yourself through, and the writing itself will be terrible. I feel that on a very deep level!
Almost every agent and publishing house requires a synopsis when you submit a fiction proposal. That means you have to whittle 75,000 words down to less than 500. It’s the worst! You have carefully crafted your characters, settings, conflicts, and subplots to take a reader into your world… and now you need to slap together a few sentences that somehow encompasses it all and grabs the attention of a total stranger. Oy.
Fun fact: in a real synopsis, you include everything the publisher should know about the story, and that includes the twists and turns and ending. So, to keep from spoiling the story for you, below is a HIGHLY-EDITED version of the synopsis that I sent with my proposal.
Tovi and her twin brother do not belong in Adia. Abandoned as infants, they grew up in the village of treehouses that doesn’t quite feel like home. Tovi is surrounded by busy, joyful, contented Adians, but she feels out-of-place and lonely. She doesn’t buy the simple beliefs of her neighbors – that an invisible god named Adwin created the world and controls their lives from a distance. Her brother’s sudden disappearance adds anger and grief to the darkness of her doubt.
A day’s journey away, the king of Mount Damien loves to toy with Adwin, and he has a new game in mind. He gathers his strongest “weapons,” seven warriors who embody his core virtues – Wisdom, Perfection, Power, Pleasure, Prosperity, Adoration, and Control. Their goal: Mark an Adian with Damien’s trademark symbols and bring them to the mountain. The first to accomplish this will earn riches and titles beyond their dreams.
Tovi encounters each of these seven weapons, becoming entangled in their lessons and this “game” that is full of danger. Enticed by the promises of a better life, romance, and answers about her brother, Tovi is faced with a choice. Remain in the relative safety of Adia, or abandon everything she knows in search of answers?
Once she decides, escape seems impossible. Tovi witnesses the wrath of King Damien, discovers secret societies, befriends unlikely allies, and navigates the harsh lessons imposed by the weapons. What she learns about herself and her family is enough to destroy her. Exhausted, depleted, and running from the king, she has one last hope for rescue – Adwin. But if he has never shown himself before, why would he now?
I need your feedback! What questions do you have? What intrigues you the most? What do you want to know about the plot or characters?
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I’m so excited to read the full version! No wonder the publisher snatched you up!!!!