So you want to write a summary that doesn't suck...

[silvercaladan]

So you’ve taken the fall. You’ve posted your first attempts at fanfic on fanfiction.net, or dipped your toe into the much smaller lj circle. But you’re not getting reviews! Obviously, no one likes your story, right?

WrongThey just aren’t reading it

Comments

[cheeto_bandito]

universal studios knows where its at... im sorry i was going to say something else but i foraged and got.

[anonymous]

Most of your advice is pretty good, but the tone you take with this piece is incredibly accusatory and condescending. I understand that this is something you're passionate about, and you want your words to affect the reader, but I think there are better ways to go about it. You might be more effective and make an impression on more people who actually need your advice with a friendlier, less supercilious voice.

It's possible that I misunderstood what you were aiming at, but I'd be happy to quote some examples if you want to see what I mean.

[silvercaladan]

I think this is more of a personal preference, then. I prefer to figure out the pairing, most people don't. I still think it is a good idea to leave the pairing out of the summary, but if you absolutely must know, put it in the notes at the top. That way, you've only wasted the few seconds it took to click and load the link. Perhaps that way the well-written summary will have already intrigued you.

Heh, this is why I edited the advice piece to give a link to what saturniia said above. Ah, personal preferences, they differ so much...

But I definitely agree on the last point!

Wow...

[irindel]

Oh... my... gosh.

I repeat.

Oh... my... freaking... gosh.

I can't really describe the feeling I got when I saw that you used my summary for The Lady of Shalott as an example, and a good one no less!

Yes, my nickname on FF.net is War Admiral, but I also use Irindel, depending on my mood when I sign up with whatever.

Anyway, excellent essay. I'm also a great fan of Dune. Aaaand I can't really think of anything else to say because I'm still reeling from the surprise that someone liked my little summary. If you'll excuse me, I have to go squeal privately for a few seconds.

Re: Wow...

[silvercaladan]

I'm glad you liked it! Plus, its also good to know that people are still reading this bugger, even after five months or whatever.

Yeah, sorry about not actually crediting you directly as the summary writer; I didn't do that because I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the essay, but I can go back and do it if you're feeling slighted ^^. I just assumed that people would be constantly reading the ff.net section, and would understand which fic I was talking about.

::heart::