The Difference between Good and Bad Summaries

[awsomealice94]

The Difference between Good and Bad Summaries

I suppose you could classify this as a ‘How To’ post
Looking at the most recent page on the site really made me realize that I should bring this little problem into the spotlight. Good and Bad Summaries.
Sometimes, when I have time, I want to read a new fic. The Most Recent page is where I look first, just to see what is new and out there. Sometimes, not only is the story new but also the author who wrote it. I see the problem more in new writers than anyone else.
You see, when a reader goes to look at a story, the first thing they see is the summary of that story. Our eyes wander to the banner (if there is one-hint hint banners are an amazing way to draw attention to your story, which is why most authors use them) because its light and colorful-different than the light blue that we usually see on the page. Then we look at the summary-we usually don’t look at the title till the very last (though that can vary, I’m just saying in general). The summary needs to be amazing and intriguing in order to make us feel the need to click and read it.
I should start out with what a summary actually is, because I have been noticing that some people are a bit confused.
The dictionary’s definition-
A comprehensive and usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.
Translated into simpler terms-
A usually short paragraph of what your story is about-without giving to much information away-that draws readers in.
A summary is NOT ‘Please read this!!! I promise its good’ or ‘I stuck some new characters in and put twilight characters in it too’ or even ‘crazy idea I got a few days ago with twilight characters’. This seems to be a lot of what’s on the site
You can put some of that stuff into your chapter/story notes, which are the only places I can think of for stuff like that in your story. Those aren’t summaries-and quite frankly I don’t know how they would intrigue not only me but anyone else looking to read a good fic. I sort of get a bit annoyed with the bad excuses for summaries-and it makes me switch the page that much faster.
With this, I’m hoping we have not only addressed this problem but fixed it too

How to start off….

There are many different types of summaries you can go with. It all depends on what you want for the…feel of the story. (I’m going to put in bold the major things you need to keep in mind while writing your summary)

The Poem-

You really need to watch out on this one. I don’t usually prefer this particular route, but whatever floats your boat. Some authors like to put a poem in the summery having to do with the story-it is prettier if you put it in italics. Make sure it really does have to do with the story, and that it’s well written. The biggest mistake with this-authors can make the poem WAY to long. I don’t know one person that wants to read a summary that can be its own story.

The Quote-

I really like this for stories that have a more serious feel-they aren’t the happy light fluffy fics. These have one serious feeling/part that sets the tone for the story. You want this tone to show in the summary. When picking the quote make sure it is the most important one (and it’s not too long!!) that you can think of-it cannot give too much away, but then again gives everything away at the same time. Okay-that can be a bit confusing….um-example
For ‘Daunting’ I use a couple of quotes.
"This is what we have been waiting for. This was the formidable fight. This was something that I wasn’t sure we were even going to win. Each pair of daunting red eyes stared back at me, filled with hope that they would win. Hoping, just like us, that they would live."
What is this saying? Well notice that I use the actual title in it (4th sentence). It is also saying that this is the last…chapter-the last thing that everyone has been waiting for. This is promising uncertainty and death. Only one side will win a fight. So, you see that this gives away a lot of what will happen. But then it is vague enough that it leaves us wondering the answers to questions that we now have after reading the summary.

The ‘Short n’ Simple’-

This can be nice for one-shots. It’s basically a one or two sentence summary explaining what the story is about. It can be something like ‘Carlisle finds somebody waiting for him that he never expected to see’. Careful though-don’t make it so boring that we don’t want to read it because, well, what’s the point? There is a bit of a problem with the example I gave you above. Yes-it leaves us with some questions that we may want to find out. But no-it isn’t that intriguing. Adding a few words here and there can make it a lot better. ‘Carlisle comes home to find somebody waiting for him. Somebody that he never expected to see again in his existence-somebody he believed to be dead.’ See-much more interesting

The Epic Tale/Wow Factor-

I try to use this one a lot. This type of summary requires some definite time and attention. These are a bit longer-usually a paragraph. They explain what the story is about; again using a wide variety of words (we don’t want it to be plain because this is a longer summary). They also leave questions in our heads. But they make us go ‘wow. That sounds really good’. When writing this make sure it’s interesting-you want to keep the reader’s attention. Never make it longer than 8 sentences. Keep it so that it’s not too heavy-but not too vague either.

The Zinger-

This usually has one sentence that makes you want to read the story. Usually this is followed by a couple of sentences. It’s sort of like a ‘short n’ simple’ summary but, because of the sentence at the end, it’s not. I would keep the interesting sentence at the end-maybe even give it it’s own space. Something like-
‘Never did Jasper ever think he would find the one meant for him-
Until the impossible occurred’
The ‘until the Impossible occurred’ would be your zinger sentence

The Questions-

This summary is also one that you have to be careful with-it’s easy to overdo it. This summary explains what happens, but then you add some questions on to it that we may be asking ourselves-or maybe we weren’t asking ourselves. Regardless, after reading those questions you’re asking yourself. It sort of forces the ‘I want to read this story and find out’ thoughts upon us. Don’t overdo it- you can seriously put too many questions in which has the opposite effect. It makes us go ‘oh ugh-I’m not asking myself that and I don’t care to know the answer to it either’. Example- In my story, ‘Five Minutes’, I use this type of summary.
'In 1935, Emmett McCarty is twenty when he is saved by Rosalie. But there is his whole human life that became forgotten. What, or who, had really made him go camping-where he would soon meet Rosalie? What is he forgetting now that he is a vampire?'
So you see? You may not have been asking yourself those questions, but you are now.

The Simple Facts-

This summary can make it boring, so be careful. A nice banner helps to balance things out. You are basically stating the main facts in the story-
Characters, Rating, Category, pairings, spoilers etc. If you are going this route, accompany it by a ‘Short n’ Simple’ summary too. If done right, it can look really professional.

ON ONE MORE NOTE- PLEASE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU ARE PUTTING A BANNER IN YOUR STORY IT LOOKS GOOD (and is the proper size, just to appease the mods). If it’s a horribly done banner that’s just another turn-off on your story
Oh- and make sure everything is spelled correctly

Well, I think I’ve put just about everything I can think of in here. If I’m missing a couple, feel free to add them in a response
Hope this helps (after like an hour of writing it lol)

[JanetL]

Want to guarentee I wont read your story? Put PLEASE READ!!!! --- just like that in the summary. I kinda figure if youre not clever enough to write a decent summary, its doubtful your story is worth my effort.

[awsomealice94]

lol exactly! thats what i was trying to say. i hate when people do that

[edwardbella4ever]

I've seen this so much and it's really getting old. Is it that hard to write a summary? and then the same people absolute BEG for reviews. I really don't like it when they do that.
Oh, another thing to add to your very well written tutorial: you can add things after the story has been published.
I've seen a bunch of things where it says a certain chapter is posted, and the story is like way farther. That, and the summary is still in like an introductory phase. It really doesn't say much at all, and I ca understand that they may not want to give too much away. But even for new readers, you can update that summary to go with little details that have been revealed so far.
For example, with my stories, I really don't like giving a lot away. I usually tell about what's happening the first few chapters, since I usually start up what's happening pretty fast. For one story, I started with just what was in the first chapter, and I didn't want to give away the cliffie in the first chapter for continuous readers, so I changed it AFTER the big secret was revealed, to fit more with the middle of the plot.
Thanks for speaking out about such an annoying problem!

[EDWARDandBELLAFOREVR]

awsomealice94- This is where I say, "Wow, you have a LOT of free time!" I would not have been able to write all that Ya'll write really good summaries(considering I always get sucked into them, which is good. If I get sucked in the first few chapters, I stay with the story, and that means reviews for every chapter.

edwardbella4ever- I hate when people beg for reviews. It makes me irratated. The main stories I read are the ones with wonderful and compelling. Then, the ones written by my favorite authors. Lastly, if I'm bored, I go back and read the summaries again and find new stories. I rarely, if ever, read stories that are like,"PLEASE READ OR I'LL BE SAD," or, "PLEASE JUST READ, I SUCK AT SUMMARIES."

[awsomealice94]

haha-this is where i say 'i have no free time at all and i couldn't fall asleep' lol but thanks. i honestly have no idea how i wrote this-4 pages later on mircrosoft word...lol
But i really did feel like this problem should be addressed-i just sort of snapped when i saw how bad they were getting. the whole 'PLEASE READ THIS' crap makes me want to bang my head against a wall (i'll just be blunt). now that this is here, there should be no excuse for writing bad summeries like those lol

[EDWARDandBELLAFOREVR]

I have banged my head against a wall (must be why I'm a little...brainless ) My friend typed five pages of science notes while she was sick. I would be sleeping instead If ya'll use PLEASE READ in your summaries (looking at awsomealice94 and edwardbella4ever specifically) I will warn you in a review (doubt ya'll will, just know I'm watching you, always watching you *says it like the secretary in Monsters Inc.*) I'm going to shut up because I'm starting to get off topic

[Tundra]

Thank you for writing this (although it is quite long )!! This is exactly what has been annoying me for a while now. I don't read much fanfiction any more, but occasionally I do check the "Most Recent" page and am bombarded with outright begging and terrible-looking banners. Please, people, if you don't know how to make a decent banner, have someone do it for you or don't use one at all! Bad banners are a big turn-off. Another thing that definitely helps is using capitals and correct spelling in summaries. I don't expect a story to be good when the summary is poorly written. And use spell-check! I totally understand if not everyone is a spelling bee (neither am I!) but it really doesn't take long to have the summary checked on Word first (or whatever programm you use).

Another problem I see is people not explaining what the story is really about. "Edward leaves Bella and she is very sad." is not a summary. It doesn't make me interested in the story the slightest -- even overused schemes can be made interesting if you add something of your own. And I don't buy "I know you've heard the story a thousand times before, but this one is different!!". If you feel the need to say that, it most probably isn't different.

[awsomealice94]

you're welcome (haha and as for how long it is...well-what can i say? i'm a writer-it's like a sin to cut things down ) i totally feel that exact same way as you do. when you wrote about how people write 'this one is completely different than what you've already read!' in their summaries i not only want to bang my head against a wall but scroll down and away from the story. you're completely right!