I'm having a real devil of time getting the synopsis right for my story.

My problem is that the novel isn't a straight forward here's the main character and then A happens, then B happens etc. It's largely about how she's feeling!

Okay the story is about a woman called Amelia who is suffering from depression. She's been keeping this (and a failed suicide attempt) secret from her husband and the rest of her family. Of course he's noticed that something is up with her but seems to have no idea as to the extent. The two of them have recently moved from her native city of Seattle to his native Scotland so her problems have been compounded by the seperation from her family and friends. In an attempt to cheer her up he invites her family to come and stay for Christmas with them. This includes her three younger sisters the most important of which is Bridget. She's the black sheep of the family, who's heavy drinking and wildly irresponsible. The two of them have a strained relationship to begin with but Bridget is increasingly becoming the target of Amelia's vitriol. The reason for this along with the important events in Amelia's life are described through flash backs but they're in a non linear fashion, little bits of information are given to the reader at a time and by the end of the story it all comes together (it's a little like Arundhati Roy's The God Of Small Things in that respect). So there's essential two stories going on, one which explores her past and then the "present day" story with the family arriving and the effect that has.

This is probably a very confusing post but I'm finding it near impossible to write a synopsis for this thing! Help!!!!!

Niniel
I find synopses incredibly hard too (I think Emma D said recently that absolutely all writers hate them!)but might it help for you to start off by writing what you would like to see written on the back (or inside the flyleaf, etc) of the book? The publisher's blurb that invites the reader in? It might be a good start because it would force you to sum up the 'shape' of the story and maybe you could then expand on that. Just a thought.

Niniel, yes, things with more than one strand are awkward.

You probably need to plan it out so that you know which bits of the backstory are crucial to explain, and which would just clutter up the main story. You could try drawing two columns, one for the main story, and one for what's revealed of the past. Then the rows are each chapter. That should make it possible to track things reasonably clearly, if not always elegantly, when you smooth it out into continuous prose (trying to get rid of as many of the 'had had's as possible):

In a drunken row, Bridget reveals what Amelia never knew: that their mother didn't die in a car crash, but...

Returning to Scotland, he is overwhelmed with memories of his violent introduction to school which culminated in his being expelled, but to Amelia everything is new and exciting...

I'm sure your characters are much less clichéd than that, but you get the idea!

Emma

it would force you to sum up the 'shape' of the story

Yes, we all hate them, but for this reason they can also be embarrassingly salutary!

thanks emma, I'm definitely going to give the column idea a try and see if I can't knock some shape into it!

Having written the 3 3/4 page synopsis and the 1 page synopsis (11 pt very useful, thanks for the tip, Emma!) not to mention the original 6 page version before I did the rewrites to the story - I now find an independent press who'd like a 5 to 20 page chapter by chapter breakdown, please.

Retreats to darkened room to have breakdown...

Synopses - don't you just love them?

Sarah