Summarise a Sprawling First Draft Into a One-Paragraph Elevator Pitch

A draft that has grown past its outline stops being pitchable in one breath, and that is usually the first sign of trouble. This forces it back into four sentences, protagonist, want, obstacle, stakes, and tells you plainly if one of them has actually gone missing.

You have a first draft that has grown past its original plan and you have lost the thread of what it is actually about. Paste a rough summary of the plot and characters as they currently stand: [paste summary]. Summarise the draft into a single elevator pitch paragraph (3 to 4 sentences): protagonist, central want, central obstacle, stakes. If the current draft does not clearly support one of these four elements, say so plainly rather than inventing one.