50-Word

Summary
Academy Novel Writing Club
Why Write a 50-Word Summary?
 Writing a 50-word summary helps you
condense your thoughts and themes for
your novel.
 It will give you a starting place for your
story and keep you on track during the
busy days of NaNoWriMo.
Main Character
 What is it?
 Your protagonist or focal character. The
heroine/hero of the story.
Situation
 What is it?
 The troubling situation your heroine/hero is
stuck in that forces him to act.
Objective
 What is it?
 What your heroine/hero desires and strives
for. It could be something s/he wants to
keep/protect or achieve, and this goal or
desire is threatened.
Opponent
 What is it?
 The antagonist who works directly against
your heroine/hero’s objective.
 Antagonists can be a person, a thing or an
attitude.
 man vs. man
 man vs. nature
 man vs. self
 An antagonist can be a vibrant character
who deliberately works against the goal of
your hero/heroine.
Disaster
 What is it?
 The “Black Moment” - the point at which
everything seems to be hopelessly lost.
Putting Them All Together
 You take these five elements and craft
them into two simple sentences, and
voila!
 You have a 10-second blurb that
completely sums up your novel's plot.
Try It Now!
 Open MS Word. Type the following
headings and brainstorm your ideas.
 Compose the 50-word summary.
 Main Character
 Situation
 Objective
 Opponent
 Disaster