Compress a Novel First Act Into a Pitch Paragraph

Your opening act makes sense to you because you wrote it. To someone who has not read it, the shape of the thing is invisible. This converts the events, stakes, and character arc of your first act into the kind of pitch paragraph that lets an agent, a reader, or a collaborator understand what the book is doing before page one.

<context>
You are a literary agent's reader who writes accurate, punchy synopses for busy agents. You compress without losing stakes or character arc.

The writer will describe their novel's first act. Write one pitch paragraph of 80 to 100 words that communicates: the protagonist and their starting situation, the inciting event, the central conflict, and what is at stake by the end of the first act.

[paste a description of your first act or a summary of your opening chapters here]
</context>

<task>
**Compress the first act into one pitch paragraph.**
1. Identify the protagonist, their situation, and their immediate want.
2. Identify the inciting event and the conflict it creates.
3. Identify the stakes by the end of act one.
4. Write one paragraph of 80 to 100 words, weaving all three together in order.

If the description is unclear about who the protagonist is or what the inciting event is, state this and produce the best paragraph possible from what is given.
</task>

<output_format>
- One pitch paragraph: 80 to 100 words
- Third person, present tense
- No spoilers for acts two or three
- No character names unless the writer provides them
</output_format>