So, I'm looking for some tips on writing good/better summaries. I know alot of people have trouble with these buggers and they are really important since they need to draw people in to read the story.

I've gotten multiple reviews saying something to the effect of 'I wasn't going to read this but.... in the end I'm glad I did' and I can only assume this was because my summary wasn't eye catching, and I've also gotten some that were 'you need to work on your summary' or 'rethink your summary'

I figure telling the readers I suck at them would help.. but I have a peeve against putting 'I suck at summaries' in my summary because I think that show of lack of confidence in my own writing is even more of a turn off than just the bad summary...

Tips from anyone on how to make my own better or just in general bits on how to write good ones would be much appreciated and hopefully this thread can be a resource for other stuggling summary writers too.

Thankies -MontiK

You know, I have the same problem lol.

I've seen other writers use lines from their fics as their summery. Maybe a line that's suspenseful, or could indicated--or throw hints to the plot of story.

Good luck!

I am certainly not an expert but I always try to put myself in the reader's place when I write a summary. I try to think 'If I was the reader, what would tempt me to read my story?' Then I just go from there.

I'm no expert either but I know some of the best summaries are hook, line, and sinker.

You generally wanna open with what you feel is the most grabbing part of your story, what makes it special.

Then, you leave a suggestion, give them a little bit but make them HAVE to read the story. Tease 'em with what they can read.

And chances are, you'll drag 'em in and make 'em loyal readers. ^^

Hope that's helpful.

"I suck at summaries" is definitely a big no no, as MontiK pointed out.. In fact, I think anything directly addressing readers is a must in the "turn off" category (just like A/Ns in the middle of a chapter...)

For example: "Please read" or "Read and find out"

However, it isn't summarizing the story in a few sentences either.

It's like a "slogan" (trad?), something that catches the attention and makes you want to click to find out what's behind it. It tells us about the writer's skill too.

Um.... I'll put an example, so that I can make a little more sense...

"Inuyasha dumps Kagome for Kikyo, and then Sesshomaru finds her in the forest, and then they fall in love." It's "bleh", as far as I'm concerned. I know all I have to know, and I definitely won't read any more of it.

"Sometimes, going forward is the only choice left. S/K CU" would be a far better summary. I don't know anything about the plot, but I know it's a Sess/Kag and Canon Verse (well, when on Dokuga, you don't even need to write that). I find this kind of little mysterious sentence catching, I'll just have to have a look to know if I'll like the story.

I hope that was helpful

I have to say that a summary saying "I'm no good at summaries but please read..." or something similar to that effect is probably the one thing guaranteed to put me off reading a story. If the author themselves thinks that they have no ability to write a summary, this doesn't exactly inspire me with confidence that the actual story will be worth reading. It's very off-putting to say the least and I've probably missed out on one or two good stories by refusing to venture further than a summary saying, "Lol, I'm no good at this but please read anyway".

I think a good summary gives the reader a hint or some insight into what the basic premise of the story will be but leaves the reader hanging as to how it will be resolved. Perhaps quote a pivotal line from one of the characters?

MontiK: Personally, I thought your summary for "Growing Pains" was just fine.

Kagome gets a lesson in demonic growth spurts. Sesshoumaru learns more about his brother's human pack member Kagome. Their adventures draw them together in the best of ways.

It makes me wonder - what are demonic growth spurts? Why would this lead Sesshoumaru to be interested in Kagome? etc.

Just be concise with a little bit of myster. That always manages to entice me

Thank you guys so much ^.^ These are all really awesome tips!

Ty to Redoxide too, Im glad you thought that summary was okay. I was worried it might be too bland and matter-of-fact. But now for future stories I can use all the tips to make more eyecatching summaries ^.^ *happy dances*

*huggles everyone* Ty again

-MontiK

I realize this thread is 5-6 mos old but I just came across it and felt I needed to throw in a bit of support to MontiK as well as my 2 cents in general. (No idea if anyone is reading this anymore but oh well). MontiK, as someone already mentioned your summary for Growing Pains was just fine. I thought it was compelling and made me want to read the story (and the story did not disappoint either).

And now for my unsolicited two cents -- Saholia noted that some authors use lines from the story in their summaries.

Please, for the love of Sesshoumaru, any authors who are considering quoting lines from their own story instead of coming up with a catchy synopsis - don't do it!!! (No offense Saholia, not meaning to put down your comment - but this is a pet peeve of mine!) It's a total turn-off (to me at least) - I put that in the same category as those authors who simply write "I suck at summaries" - what it tells the reader is "I am incapable or too lazy to create an interesting tag line or summary for the story, so I'll just copy and paste something from the fic instead of trying to summarize." It's possible that I might miss some decent stories from avoiding these fics, but I am confident that I have saved myself a lot of reading through muck in return...

I have to disagree with you there Taixi, I find using exerts to not only be eye catching but in no way a lazy man's way out. To give the best examples I can think of off the top of my head...

'She is leaving me. “Don't forget me.” she pleads as another drop of her crimson blood slides out of her parted lips.' that is the line I used in my story Playing Kami for a summary.

And my original summary for The Void 'One minute everything is perfectly fine and the next? In the next you are transported to an endless nothingness, pulling from the depth of your soul a relentless fear that can never truly be described.'

Both obviously worked since they are some of my most read stories, hehe, and since I as the writer wrote them it is most certainly not 'being incapable or too lazy to create an interesting tag line or summary'.

Some stories it's pretty much impossible to 'summarize' without giving too much away and anyone who reads my work knows I do not like to give anything way. Though I will agree with you, and the others, on not liking the 'I suck at summaries' summaries, I simply ignore those stories completely.

And since I tend to sound a bit rude when I'm not trying to be, let me make this clear. I am not saying you are wrong, simply that I disagree and gave the reasons why .

I'm also one of those who borrows something from the story to summarize. At least most of the time.

Take my fic "Embrace the Silence" for instance. The summary is something Sesshoumaru writes to Kagome:

"Silence is the voice of time, it speaks to you in a language without words. You must listen in order to hear it. You must watch in order to see it. You must be still in order to feel it. And then you must understand it if you wish to embrace it."

It tells you nothing of the setting, but I did that intentionally. The story opens into a chaotic long term care facility where Kagome is a nurse. Sesshoumaru turns up as a patient in a coma, and suddenly her life is a mess all over again.

What I did was almost a bait and switch by NOT stating the setting. So by the time the readers get started, they seem to get hooked in all the mystery of why Sess is there, why he has scars on his body and why he's unconscious.

I find a major turn-off is when the summary has bad grammar or punctuation, or if a word is misspelt. I want to read well-written stories that make good use of the language, not ones with shoddy punctuation where I have to sound out every other word to know what it is, and reread sentences three times because the placement of the words makes the sentence difficult to understand. It also gives the impression that the writer doesn't really care, because they didn't take the time out to do a quick spellcheck, or ask someone to read it for them.

If it is to vague I will not bother

I have a story that I have begun to write, and in my writer's OCD reworking over and over that I feel I am finally ready to put up. However, when I went to add the portion of the story I deemed acceptable, -_- I realized I had no summary. I worked myself into a frazzled mess because I want to give almost nothing away but I am afraid to be too vague and thereby turn off any potential readers. So could someone give me an example of a summary that would be too vague?