Rename the skill directory to writers-helper and update the name field, eval manifest skill_name, skill README title and example paths, root README catalog entry, and the skill-triggers index. Regenerate llms.txt, .claude-plugin/marketplace.json, .codex-plugin/plugin.json, and .agents/plugins/marketplace.json from their generators. Content is unchanged. Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
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Synopsis (One Page)
The story compressed to a single page: third person, present tense, full arc revealed (including the ending), no dialogue, no author intrusion, no commentary on how good the characters are. Feelings shown through action. This is a marketing document — the appeal must survive the compression.
Structure
1. The hook (first lines)
One to two sentences that make an agent keep reading: the protagonist, the want, the obstacle, the stakes — the same engine as the logline, slightly expanded.
2. The protagonist and the trigger
Who, where, and the event that disrupts the ordinary world and sets the conflict in motion.
3. The escalation (middle)
The chain of events in cause-and-effect order: obstacles, the antagonist's power growing, the halfway recommitment, subplots only where they change the main story's outcome.
4. The crisis
The lowest point — the figurative death of the old self — and the backstory reveal if it lands here.
5. The climax and resolution
The transformed protagonist's decisive action and how the story ends. Reveal the ending — agents need to know where it lands.
Rules
- One page (fiction; nonfiction proposals use chapter-by-chapter outlines instead)
- Third person, present tense throughout
- No dialogue, no internal monologue
- No author intrusion ("this gripping tale...", "a story about...")
- Feelings shown through action, not named
- The ending is on the page
- Clean layout: plain font, no colors, no gimmicks
The compression ladder (before you write the synopsis)
- Logline (≤25 words) —
- Meets line —
- One-paragraph summary —
- One-page synopsis ← you are here
- Chapter-by-chapter outline (for the proposal)
Drafting trick
Write the letter-to-a-friend version first (a plain letter describing the story to a trusted friend), then edit it down. The natural voice survives; the padding doesn't.
Final check
Read it cold — does the appeal survive? Would you want the book after reading only this page?