Writing a Synopsis

You see?  There are just the beginnings, a glimmer, of the size and shape of my shed; an intimation of the height of the structure and the amount of space it will take up, as well as an impression of how it will sit in the garden, of its location.

It's a little bit like the synopsis of a story. A good synopsis will set out what the story is about, who the main characters are, what genre the book will fall into, and its target audience.  If you are contemplating writing one, you may want to sketch out the number of chapters (the struts holding up my walls) and summarise the major scenes in each one.  Even if you don't show the synopsis to anybody else, it will be a useful document for you to file away, because it provides a benchmark for your starting point; you can look back at it three months into your writing, six months, a year,and see how your ideas are developing, how your vision has changed.

So, if you have had ideas swimming around in your head for a few days now, try sketching out a synopsis yourself : notes on character (not just how they are at the outset, but how the action of the story will work upon them to bring about change); the skeleton of a plot.  It might help crystallise your thoughts a little and make you think who (other than yourself) you are writing for.

Later, much later, when you are ready to show your work to potential publishers, your synopsis will provide a useful hook to hang your submission on.