summaries

[sixbeforelunch]

So here's a question I've often wondered about. What makes for a good fic summary? Is there anything that can get you to click when you might otherwise not have been inclined to?

Conversely, what types of summaries do you like least? Are there summaries that will make you skip a work even if it's tagged with all of your favorite ships and tropes?

Comments

Re: Summaries survey

[yourlibrarian]

Yeah, when it comes to rare pairs or small fandoms, finding works at all trumps whatever the summaries might suggest. There are a few pairings I would definitely click on regardless of what the summaries suggest just because I'd want to see how it was addressed.

At the same time I am thinking of one pairing that I would be glad to read and which, in fact, begs a in-depth exploration given the canon. Yet I have tried story after story and have yet to find one I've enjoyed (or even been able to finish). The common element seems to be a summary and first page that is a lot of exposition and no snappy dialogue at all.

> Ben Solo meets his online arch rival, Rey Sanderson in a Waffle House on the third night of Dragon*Con.

Actually I thought the summary should have stopped right there, that's all I needed to hear. It immediately made me think of Kyloki which I wish had more episodes.