A synopsis or a summary (I like the word Summary so I'm going along with it) is a short description that hives readers an insight of what to expect from your story.

A summary should be written in the third person, and it should introduce the main character, the setting (optional), the conflict, and the stakes.

Wait!

Your summary is written in the first person, which is wrong on so many levels. Moreover, you're missing the conflict and the stakes in your summary. What do you do now? *gasps*

Stop fretting. Deep breaths everyone, it's okay.

Let me break it up to you. In a summary, you introduce the main character with their real name.

Sarah Devon had nothing...

Once you've introduced the main character, you introduce the setting of your story, especially if you're writing fantasy. True, you can go away without a setting if you're writing a young adult or something along those lines. But in a fantasy story, it's a must.

The place of the introduction of the main character and the setting can be switched, i.e. you introduce the setting first and then you introduce your main character.

Example:

Surrounded by iced mountains of Ohioro, exists the town of Delingway. Covered by frost from everywhere, the town is but abnormal.

After that comes the conflict. A conflict is a problem the main character is suffering or is going to suffer from. It's important to introduce the conflict in your story, because, without it, the reader won't be pulled to your story.

A conflict can be anything, it can be as normal as the theft of a precious shirt. Just make sure your conflict is something that will change the life of your main character.

When the cannibals threaten to break through the barriers of the icy mountains to get to the town of Ohioro,

Now comes the action. What is the role of your main character in this conflict? Is he asked to save the world, cheat a girl, or asked to leave away the world? Is she going to lose his life, maybe his sanity or a precious and powerful weapon? Maybe he has to work for some super aliens to gather information about something. It could be anything as long as it suits the theme of your story.

Sarah must reach out to the warriors inhabiting the icy mountains, and convince them to fight for the town of Ohioro.

Then comes the stakes. Stakes are the most important part of your summary. If your summary gas everything, but is missing the stakes, it's a problem.

Stakes are the conclusion that your story will reach if your main character does not do what he's supposed to be doing.

If she fails to complete her mission on time, the town of Ohirio will be in ruins before the sun can shine on the land of frost.

Ta da! You got your summary. Follow this pattern and your summary will be good to go. Tell me what is going to happen, tell me the role your main character will be playing in it, and tell me what will happen if she fails in her task.

This pattern applies to Romance, Vampire/Werewolf, Tenn Fictions, and LGBTQ stories too.

Readers root for these things. If you don't expose them to the conflict that lies within your story, they won't be tempted to pick up your book no matter how gorgeous it is from the inside.

If you're still not sure about your summary, here's a checklist I've created. Feel free to use it!

Be detailed with your answers!

Bonus:

• Does your summary introduce your main character? Does it focus on the character's appearance or the basic information if the character?

• Does your summary introduce the setting of the world you've created? If yes, what is your fictional world like, and what is the climate there?

• Does your summary introduce the main conflict of the story? If yes, what is the conflict and how does the conflict plays a role in your story?

• Does your summary introduce the role of your main character in the conflict? If yes, what is the role of your main character? Is the goal humble, or us it wicked? Or will it lead to something unknown?

• Does your summary introduce the stakes of your story? If yes, what are the stakes and how severe can they be if they happen?

Ta da! You got your summary.
Congratulations!

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An upvote for the hard work, guys?