Fic: warnings and summaries
I've been reading about the edges of what seems to be a big dispute about warnings on fanfic. I don't want to argue here about anyone else's warnings; instead, I'm wondering whether mine are sufficient. I don't write a lot of the hot-button issues for people: I don't kill major characters, I don't want rape or any kind of non-con in my stories (heck, I hardly have even implications of sex in my stories!). I do get into some medical details, and a couple of my stories deal with PTSD, which I realized only recently I never labeled as such.
Ought I to label PTSD as such, or give any other kind of warning? For anyone who wants to look, do you think my warnings are sufficient, too vague, too idiosyncratic, or helpful?
On a related note, sg_fignewton has asked people what kinds of summaries make them read stories, and I was also discussing this on another LJ (I've forgotten whose; if you've seen my comments there, please remind me!). I realized that I've been describing as summaries I don't like exactly the sort of summaries I give for my own stories. I mean, really:
• Is "'Menace' retold from a crucial point of view" actually a useful summary, or too vague to be any help? (If I've done my job right, you figure out whose point of view within a few sentences--am I wrong to hold onto that element of surprise?).
• "Sam and her brother talk after 'Threads'"--I don't want to spoil "Threads" for anyone who hasn't seen it and so might not know of what I consider a major character and arc development, but I doubt I would read this story, if it were written by an author I didn't know and I stumbled across it on a day when I already have several tabs' worth of fic open!
My stories can all be found at Aelfgyfu's Mead Hall. (That's actually the link to the right-hand side of the bar above my entries on my LJ page, but I've noticed that people keep missing it, perhaps because they read my entries on their friends' page or in their own style rather than on my page in my style. Or maybe they miss it because it's not differentiated from the "Previous Entries" "Next Entries" etc. standard info in the bar.)
Feel free to comment on my warnings, summaries, etc.; I don't feel that I get a lot of readers, and I'd appreciate anything that could help me attract more. I'm also curious about what my friends do, and happy to talk about your descriptions, either in comments or on your LJ, if you make a similar post. (Dang, I suppose this entry is too long to start a meme! We could do:
1. Are my warnings too detailed, too vague, or just right?
2. Which of my summaries do you like best? Least?)
Ought I to label PTSD as such, or give any other kind of warning? For anyone who wants to look, do you think my warnings are sufficient, too vague, too idiosyncratic, or helpful?
On a related note, sg_fignewton has asked people what kinds of summaries make them read stories, and I was also discussing this on another LJ (I've forgotten whose; if you've seen my comments there, please remind me!). I realized that I've been describing as summaries I don't like exactly the sort of summaries I give for my own stories. I mean, really:
• Is "'Menace' retold from a crucial point of view" actually a useful summary, or too vague to be any help? (If I've done my job right, you figure out whose point of view within a few sentences--am I wrong to hold onto that element of surprise?).
• "Sam and her brother talk after 'Threads'"--I don't want to spoil "Threads" for anyone who hasn't seen it and so might not know of what I consider a major character and arc development, but I doubt I would read this story, if it were written by an author I didn't know and I stumbled across it on a day when I already have several tabs' worth of fic open!
My stories can all be found at Aelfgyfu's Mead Hall. (That's actually the link to the right-hand side of the bar above my entries on my LJ page, but I've noticed that people keep missing it, perhaps because they read my entries on their friends' page or in their own style rather than on my page in my style. Or maybe they miss it because it's not differentiated from the "Previous Entries" "Next Entries" etc. standard info in the bar.)
Feel free to comment on my warnings, summaries, etc.; I don't feel that I get a lot of readers, and I'd appreciate anything that could help me attract more. I'm also curious about what my friends do, and happy to talk about your descriptions, either in comments or on your LJ, if you make a similar post. (Dang, I suppose this entry is too long to start a meme! We could do:
1. Are my warnings too detailed, too vague, or just right?
2. Which of my summaries do you like best? Least?)