It doesn't matter what I try, any summary I write sounds like a fangirl's wet dream. Anybody willing to share a tip or something because I'm very close to an aneurism right now.

 

Don't look at me. I always leave them until after I'm so exhausted from actually writing the fic that I can't see straight. Typos and unformed thoughts abound.

 

Beats me how to do them well. 256 characters (ff.net) isn't a whole lot to distinguish one's story from the rest of the slag heap. Patronuscharm.net gives twice that, which still isn't all that much.

The only summary that stands out in my mind as being an effective hook was jbern's for Bungle in the Jungle, which starts, "If you read just one fiction tonight make it this one." This was my intro to his work and I recall clicking with the intention of finding a horrid story on which I could leave a snarky review.

I generally don't bother checking out a story if there's bad spelling/grammar mistakes in the summary so at least do that much. (Too often it's a sign that the author didn't put much care into the story).

 

If you write something complex, and use big words, chances are someone that otherwise would not consider reading your story will click it because they hope it'll make them feel intelligent if they put it on their favorites list and if they review it.

 

Try to think of the one distinguishing characteristic of your fic. Is it a crossover? Does it start with Harry realising he isn't alone. Is is set in an AU? Include this detail, then give a little bit of info about it. Whats the crossover? Who stands with Harry so he isn't alone? Whats the main difference that makes it an AU?

 

A good tip for writing intro's...write an intro that would make YOU read your story. I mean, c'mon. If it's enough to make you interested in it, my bet is others would at least give it a try as well. Of course, in my opinion, a good intro would raise as many questions about the fic as answers.

Edit: This does not mean you should ask questions in summary form. The details you DO put in your summary should make people curious, have them question what they might read. Curiousity is quite a drawing force.

 

Definitely, it's an excellent idea, I always go for the summaries that sound the most intelligent. It's usually a sign of a better story, since the idiots that try to sound intelligent usually come off as...Well, idiots.

I'd also advise to never directly ask a question in the summary. That gets so damn irritating...

The more distinctive the better.

 

Rhetorical questions are quite good at drawing people in.

 

Right, but they would ideally be limited at one. For example, for Time Travel, the one that comes to mind is "Will he fare better the second time around?"

 

Yeah, one question..Eh, they're way too overused, but I can deal with it, if the question is interesting.
(Really, like 8/10 summaries use questions)

But the summaries that are solely composed of rhetorical questions deserve death.

 

Beat me to making this thread...

My plot starts very different than it ends, and I have subplots out the yinyang. Its hard to make a summery that isn't lying, but that doesn't give anything away either.

 

Whenever I write a summary it basically just says what the premise is. The trigger event that starts off whatever plot I've cooked up is usually it.

Aekiel

 

The problem is my trigger event is bland and cliche, but it really isn't. It seems bland, and cliche (and like a giant plot hole thats usually ignored by fanfic authors) but the trigger event is just a catalyst. It's totally unimportant in the overall scheme of things.

=/

 

Well... Could always go with an excerpt from one of the more exciting/interesting/important parts of the first chapter. I find including the words Avada Kedavra tend to bring readers in by the flock load. Clichéd, I know, but it makes the Dark!Harry fanboy inside me get excited.

Even after that you could always go the tried and tested route of copying the style of some of the better authors out there.

Aekiel

 

Have you thought about looking at the back cover of one of Rowlings books? They give the briefest of brief summaries about what Harry is doing at the start of the story and leave the rest to the reader to excited about.

 

My problem: If I just do a vague, first event-summery, it will come off as a very cliche, VERY overdone clone of every other mentor-AU fic out there .

I'll get it eventually though... I wonder, how did they originally advertise LOST? As a survival show?

 

As a matter of mechanics, what I did with mine lately was to write a quick draft of a summary (a pair of summaries, actually--a short one for ff.net and a longer one before the start of the story) and then I continually returned to tweak it into something I thought would work. Looking at it with fresh eyes helped find where it fell flat.

I think it's worth the effort to do a decent one, since it'll be shown on hundreds of C2s and hundreds or thousands of favorites. It's fly-paper for eyeballs if done right.

 

As a fanfiction reader who's read more than ten million words, here's what turns me off, personally.

1) Rhetorical questions. "What will Harry do now that he's lost his magic?" sounds fucking stupid.

2) An excerpt from your fic. A couple hundred words are far too short to accurately give a sample, and I just find it cliche.

3) Excessive vagueness. If your summary says that, "Harry had never seen this coming. His face blanched in fear, as Ginny watched," and nothing more, I will skip it. At least give me an idea of what's going on.

4) The words slash, Draco Malfoy, or Severus Snape.

Pro-tip: If you think you have a great, clever, and original idea for a summary, it isn't. There's a 99% chance it'll come off as cliche and dumb.

P.S. See DLP's 20+ page section on horrible summaries for more.

 

Agreed with most here. A good summary is more like a trailer than a clear embodiment (or "summary") of the entire fic. Details about the start or premise are good, but really you're just trying to interest them to the point of reading the fic.

Rhetorical questions and excerpts from the fic suffice but never stand out (unless its a really exceptional excerpt, in which case it'll probably stand out for the wrong reasons).

Whether your summary is good or bad has absolutely no effect on whether the story is good or bad. And no one will remember it (unless it's really, really bad). So don't sweat them that much. A good title is 50 times more important than a good summary.

EDIT: It also helps to spell things right. Like say, summaries is not spelled with a Y. Thread title edited to correct that one.

 

Oh, I'm going to claim temporary retardedness for that one.

I ended up just going with a simple short one until I think of something better.


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