Summaries are always difficult, especially with the limited space provided here. I loathe the "summary sux but plez read!!1!11!!" summaries. My belief (and I think many have said this on the other forum also), if you have problems creating a summary, you probably have problems creating a good story as well.

I'll be using this thread to post good and bad examples of summaries along with tips. Feel free to add any tips or questions.

One tip I have: steer clear of using questions (such as "what happens if" or "can so-and so do this"). They often are cliche and turn me off from wanting to read a fic.

I don't know why I see this so often, but I have seen people give away the ending of the story in the summary. With any luck I shouldn't have to explain to you why and why not.

Now, I'm not the paragon of how you should write your summary...but before you write yours...pick crucial and major plot points that you start off with (or even end with, whichever you prefer), and make the most of them. Make it enticing...make it so that if you were browsing the section you would click on your own story. This is your draw and the way you get new and old readers interested in your story.

Sample of a big plot and then summarized:

I'll do another example off the top of my head...(this is MY plotline...do not steal please).

Basic Plot: Harry Potter, final year, tragic events force Harry to return to school, vampire OC becomes new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Harry struggles with the events of the past and the death of his mentor (spoiler). He desires revenge, and becomes obsessed with Snape and Voldemort to the point of alienating his friends, Meanwhile, Voldemort has set plans in motion for the Boy Who Lived, and plots to use Harry's isolation against him, and in the midst of it all, the vampire OC sees this dangerous similarity between her moody student and her own desire for vindication. Wonders: will both their pasts consume them?

Now, we have 255 characters to work with...hmmm, how to make this exciting?

Final Summary: "Tragic events force Harry to attend his final year at Hogwarts despite his vow to never return. But his obsession with destroying Voldemort clashes with those of the new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, entwining both within a web of lies and betrayal."

Whoo, with 3 spaces to spare.

Also, here is my tip: Don't say more info is inside. Inside what? Your head? Please, use something that'll made readers want to read. If you think your story is worth reading than the summary is the motivation. Yes, it is hard to cram what you want to say in such little space, but it's possible. Just try. I know I've passed up a lot of stories beacuse their summary doesn't tell me anything, other than I should look inside.

My answer?

Fuck no.

I'm actually working on a story. First in three years, and first fic in English. But even though I'm sure it'll be full of mistakes, I'm already trying to do my summary.

Why? Because it is the second thing people will look at (right after the title)!

And if it's crap, no one will read what I'm spending so much time on!

"Lookinside4moredetails" notuntilulearnhow2typ!!121

I will look if it is something like "Zuko captures Aang, but things don't turn out as planned when Azula shows up, to take the Victory from the fire prince… Compleat summary inside." _Then_ I might look at it, so long as it looks like some amount of effort went into it. then I *might* look.

-Dare people to flame you.

-Ask not to be flamed.

-"lookinside4moredetails".

-Eliminate spaces and punctuation to fully utilize the 255 characters available.

-"plzRnR".

-"If you review something good will happen".

The most common problems she has, and more writers each day have too, is simply the way she write them.

So I told her:

Your summaries really need improvement. It looks like you have done them at

the last instant without thinking. Always be careful, since the summary is the

first exemple of your writing the readers will have and it is the only way you

have of making a good impression.

- You know that every sentence start with a capital and ends with a dot, right?

(May sound weird, I don't know, but my teachers always repeated me this in a

French version when I was in elementary school.) And that every character's name

also starts with a capital? If you do, then PUT THOSE CAPS!

-- No abbreviations whatsoever in summary. Nor story, for that matter. So no

'cuz', no 'kinda', unless it is in dialogues (Then again, unless it is a

character who always talk in that manner... Don't.). Be careful of the spelling

and not to add any unneeded... capitals. Heh. Too much is as bad as not enough.

-- Try to not ask questions in your summaries. It can be good, but most of the

time it just looks like you desperately want to catch their attention, and that

will not work. Or if you really want to add a question, don't make it a 'what

will happen'. Maybe a 'why did that happen', or a 'how much will he do to...',

but don't ask the two in the same summary either.

-- Don't spend a whole sentence talking about things that are not in the

summary, like the pairing, the fact that it is or not a lemon, or a slash, or a

song-fic, or whatever you can think of. Make a tag for what is important.

[slash] is better than "This is a slash, so those who don't like don't read, I don't want flamers!!", for

an exemple.

-- Try to have all of your sentences grammatically correct. It's easier to read

and nicer on the eyes.^^

-- Don't make author's notes in your summaries, please.

Is it any good? Anyway, those are my ideas of what paying attention to when wanting to catch people's attention with a summary.

There's too many of those in just about every section in the romance section.

I just don't care! I want to know what's going on in the story, that's it! Mention the first (and if you really insist, the second) pairing, and that's enough.

And if a reader wants you dead because you hinted that guy #15 and girl #2598 like eachother and "OMG! You didn't tell it in your summary!!" then that reader has no life, really.

Good advice. It always amazes me when people don't check their summaries once they post. It's easy to not only check it but change it if necessary. I come across reviews that urge people to fix summary mistakes, but months later the mistakes are still there. That's the *first* thing people read of your story (besides the title). Why people don't put time and effort into it astounds me.

I especially like "will think of summary later" or "no summary just read". Very creative. And surprise, surprise, these authors are usually the ones who whore for reviews at the beginning and end of each chapter.

You're right: the summary, aside from the title, is the first thing anyone reads from your fic. If I see numerous mistakes in the summary, I usually skip over the story. It says a lot when someone can't be bothered to write and proofread a summary. Don't get me wrong--we all make typos. But if people in your reviews are making suggestions about it, and the person still isn't changing it--then it's probably not worth clicking. It depends on the writer though--some change it and others don't want to bother.

"No summary just read" is an immediate turn-off. I especially don't like: "I hate this and I don't know why I put it up, but here it is." If you don't believe in your own writing, why would you expect others to? That's one of the biggest lessons I learned. I called my writing "crap" in college and a friend, who was a creative writing major looked me straight in the eye and said:

Don't you ever call you work crap. If you don't believe in your writing, no one will.

I never put down my writing again. Sometimes I have my doubts, but for the most part I'm proud of the work and effort I put into it. A summary is one way to show that you have pride and confidence in your writing.

It´s set in the Sonic fandom, and I basically took two main characters (Sonic, the carefree, spirited hero and Shadow, the gothic dark anti-hero with the angsty past) and swapped their attitudes. In a sort of thought-experiment I explain how they could have just as well ended up this way, when I retell their pasts with critical main events reversed.

here´s the summaries i´ve written so far:

1. A broken hero mourns the loss of a beloved one. Sonic tells you his tale how he became but a shadow of himself – until Shadow himself enters, trying to cheer Sonic up with a story of his own. Can a spirit heal?

-- that´s purple prose, right? just read that somewehere else...

2. Wait, what´s that? Why is Sonic suddenly emo and angsty? And why is Shadow joking around? No, they haven´t switched bodies…Just a look at how our past makes us who we are.

-- would you say it´s bad because of the questions in there? I thought it sounded quite snappy when i wrote it, am I wrong?

3. If a beloved one dies, can you live on? If you have friends, can you survive hardship without your spirit breaking? Prepare yourselves for tales of drama and fun as our two favourite blue and black hedgies tell you how they became what they are.

-- my current summary.

4. “Sonic stared at the rain outside, grey waterdroplets spattering against the window. His face was expressionless, although if someone knew him well enough, they could see the fury born from pain mixing with the sadness in those emerald eyes…”

-- uhm, yeah. the story itself is actually not quite so mushy, so this would probably a bad summary...

5. Someone has died and Sonic finds himself unable to pick up the pieces. Luckily for him, his (self-declared) pal Shadow drops in and tries to retrieve the spirit of his blue friend which seems to have gone forever. What has the black hedgehog got in store and – why does he even bother?

after I read the tip with the a+b+c=? method of writing a summary, I was quite impressed. I treid again, so this is my latest...

6. Sonic is a depressive and scornful hedgehog who wants nothing but to be left alone ever since his best friend died. But then Shadow, his happy-go-lucky, carefree pal drops in, looking for a race. Soon, their pasts unfold before your eyes as stories are told and secrets revealed.

soooo, what do you think? My story has gone through quite few summary changes...geez, they should offer friggin evening classes on writing those things...

I like #5 the best because just from reading the summary, I want to know who died. Who is this "someone"? Why did this person die? How did they die? Those are questions that came to mind when I read the summary. It makes me curious. I also like the bit about Shadow dropping in and the question as to why he would help Sonic. It sounds more character driven--as in, what is Shadow's motives for helping Sonic? How is the death affecting Sonic? When I see questions in summaries, I click the fic to see if the answers will be found in the fic. So, based on that, I'd go with #5.

In the end, go with what you're happiest and comfortable with. My personal taste may differ from yours, but I like what you did: you wrote the summary in at least 6 different ways. Each one has a different tone. Spelling, grammer, and punctuation aren't the only things important in a summary (and within the fic). It's also your word choice. I like your word choice for #5 much more than #2 and #6. #5 has a somber note to it. It's objective and states briefly what the fic is about. It pulls me in.

I hope this helps!

I think it's for lack of acutal plot.

Anyways, NEVER put something like this:

(Story title) Cookies

(Summary) Cookies

Yeah. Uh, what? So your story is titled Cookies, and your summary says cookies. Huh.

Never put irrelevant details in it (I think it's already stated), and, uh, at least have SOMETHING in there.

I also get annoyed when I mysekf need to write a summary, because I somehow always end it with a bad question like, 'What will happen?'. I'm trying to fix it but it gets so annoying. I do think about my summaries, but there is very limited space. Sure, the summary shouldn't be the story, but it should be allowed to be longer.

or just:

"Yeah, okay, so... [insert perfectly normal summary here]"

What is up with that last one? Why do people feel the need to ruin perfectly good summaries by starting them with yeah, okay, uhm, like or other forms of I'm-asking-a-boy/girl-out-on-a-date-and-I-don't-know-what-to-say speak?

[indepth FF7 novelization] A motley group of rebels struggles against a mega corporation bent on exploiting the Planet’s lifeforce for wealth and power. But what begins as a fight against a company turns into a battle in which the stakes are much higher…

You don't know how looong it took me to shorten it to 254 characters...

Is it posted yet so i can check it out?

Example:

It’s because of her really, that he is depressed. It’s because of her that he’s lost his will to live.

OR

The water runs off her body into the bathtub beneath until she’s ankle deep in sin.

These are both actual summaries. What do you guys think?

They don't seem like questions to me.

They're statements written in stream of consciousness.

it is completely overused and a poor attempt to hook readers.

*blushes* In older fics, I'm guilty of using emoticons in the summary. I've quit that.

Here's some actual summaries I use. I won't plug the titles. Go see my profile if you get curious:

Why is the world so cruel? (line from the fic)

Godzilla pisses Shezilla off and an unlikely source helps him make it up to her.

Not all victories are happy ones.

An aging Bowser has stopped menacing the Mushroom kingdom and lives vicariously through the now grown Junior by getting him married to Mario and Peach's daughter...the RIGHT way. But why is Bowser in such a rush to see Junior married off?

I realized that I did win something. I won over my fear. And it's all because of my brief time as a Power Ranger.

Void kidnaps Santa! What are Piccolo and I going to do? Fly to the North Pole and rescue him, of course! But there's one other problem...

***

Bwahaha, I love the last one. Makes me snicker every time.

How does this sound?

News of Jade has reached the DomZ hivequeen, who is determined to capture her by any means necessary. Jade & Double H work to eradicate the DomZ remaining on Hillys, but a corrupt reporter & an insider with a deadly grudge threaten to destroy IRIS forever.

(no characters left!)

This is what I had before, but I didn't feel like it gave enough of the story:

News of Jade's existence has reached the DomZ hive queen, who is determined to capture her by whatever means necessary. Meanwhile on Hillys our protagonists, unaware of the lurking threat, struggle to return to normalcy.

I have to admit that I dont always put that much thought into them. Sometimes a summary will just jump out at me, and then other times they are just so elusive its annoying! I've changed them a couple of times in order to try and get people interested in reading them. It worked on one, but that might have been just the time that I reposted the story, especially since all the stories I reposted at that time got a review when they had none before.

They are one shots and so there isnt that much information to convey, but I still wish mine would sound as interesting as some of yours.

I think "Leontes Puckle" had to be the hardest to write and it still makes me cringe.

"Pre Hogwarts. During the summer before her first year at Hogwarts Hermione Granger trys to apply for an elite all boys boarding school. Slight Malcolm in the Middle crossover."

Half of the point of the one shot is that the reader does not know who Leontes Puckle is. They have to work that out for themselves since at no point in the story do I tell them. (its pretty obvious since the answer is in the name and I have placed plenty of hints) and yet I still want to convey that Leontes is not an OC.

Of course that left me with no where to catagorise the story and with no cannon character to name that might get anyone interested. (and in the Harry Potter universe you really need to catagorise as much as you can) In the end I caved and just told the answer in the summary and in the catagory. It is most ingenious thing I have ever written and it annoys me that I can not come up with a summary that matches it.

______

It also annoys me how shallow some readers are. I know that sounds strange, but a lot of readers wont read past what they want to hear. Some will only go for romance, other will only go for humour, and there are those that will only read a certain pairing. I have my preferances, but I have found that if a story is written well enough you will find yourself falling in love with the pairing.

I think it is also helpful to include key words in a summmary. If I feel like reading a Slytherin based fic I will search for Slytherin and see what comes up. If I was writing a story where Harry goes into Slytherin instead of Griffindor, I would be sure to mention both Harry and Slytherin in the summary.

For Example,

Although, "The sorting hat places our favourite scar faced hero into the sinister den of the snakes, where he makes some dangerous aliances" sounds better than, "Harry Potter is sorted into Slytherin at the start of first year and befriends Draco Malfoy. DarkHarry", the second one is more than likey to attract more readers.

I know neither is really that good, but I hope you get my point. I think the second summary has more used key words and tells the reader exactly what is going to happen. The people who would read that story would be people who LIKE those type of stoies. But those type of stories have to be searched for using keywords...

You need to create a balance between the two.

Singular: summary

Plural: summaries

What comes after springy and before autumnish: summery

My spell checker failed me. (I have to copy and paste every post into a word document.) You would have a heart attack if you saw the un-spell checked version.

I can not spell to save my life. I admit it. I shall go and change it. *hands head in shame* --- *Takes back head and hangs it instead* (In my defence it is 1am!)

1.) Koji’s company is about to unveil two new robots that will turn the dueltrack world upside down. A dawn attack on his star driver, Ikki Tenryo changed everything. Now Ikki and his friends must stop the bad guys or risk losing Koji and the robots forever

2.) Karakuchi Inc is about to make a revolution in the duel track world when a dawn attack on its star driver, Ikki Tenryo gave them pause. Will Ikki and his friends stop the mysterious group behind the attack or risk losing both their boss and the prototypes?

Actually, Karakuchi Inc is supposed to be Karakuchi Industries but the latter name is too long to fit the second summary. They may not the best but they are the only summaries that fit the story as well as the 255 character limit.

Thank you.

1.) Koji’s company is about to unveil two new robots that will turn the dueltrack world upside down. A dawn attack on his star driver, Ikki Tenryo changed everything. Now Ikki and his friends must stop the bad guys or risk losing Koji and the robots forever

2.) Karakuchi Inc is about to make a revolution in the duel track world when a dawn attack on its star driver, Ikki Tenryo gave them pause. Will Ikki and his friends stop the mysterious group behind the attack or risk losing both their boss and the prototypes?

Actually, Karakuchi Inc is supposed to be Karakuchi Industries but the latter name is too long to fit the second summary. They may not the best but they are the only summaries that fit the story as well as the 255 character limit.

Thank you.

Suggestion:

Koji's company will soon unveil two new robots likely to turn the dueltrack world upside down. But a dawn attack on his star driver, Ikki Tenryo changes everything. Now, Ikki and his friends must save the day, or risk losing Koji and the robots forever.

You end up with less words. Think of summaries like a sales pitch...you want bright, flashing lights and promises of adventure and thrills. You want the reader to click and keep reading, so hook them with strong terms and bold statements.

This is my first attempt for my LotR fic

Adele has no memory before her tenth year, found by Breelanders in the Old Forest she was adopted and has come to adulthood. But trouble is brewing in Middle-Earth and it seeks her. Chance meeting and eavesdropping force her to leave with four strange companions, but their path will not be hers for long.

252 characters, yes!

Edit:Five strange companions, thank providence five and four have the same ammount of letters.

They never work as a story.

Chances are, if you're fascinated by your summary, other people will be, too.

What started as a simple mission of bringing LDS Apostle Gennai to a multinational conference in San Francisco became a nightmare to Takuya Kanbarra. He will go through gangs, shadowy enemies and ghosts to finish his job and stay alive in the badlands run.

I hope you can help since I really tried to make a good summary following your tips and this is the best I was able to do. Also LDS stands for (Church of Jesus Christ of)Latter Day Saints since I had to make it brief.

May I add that the above religious organization has grown enough to make a separate autonomous region in the Anime Car Wars universe? Their territory is the state of Utah and a bit of Nevada.

The multi-national conference is between the United States, Deseret (LDS's autonomous region)and the Free Oil States (present day states of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma).

I hope I explained everything related to the summary and the story.

Once again, thank you for bearing with me.

EDIT: If you feel that I am trolling this topic, please let me know and I will not post at all from here on. I really tried to make a good summery but I still need your help in this.

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