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

[coyoteclaw11]

I like summaries that give me a good idea of what I'm getting into! What's the setup? What's the vibe? Especially with fics involving a journey (physical/emotional/etc.), stating where they started and like... giving an idea of the journey they're about to go on is good! I also sometimes like summaries that leave me with a "gasp what does that mean!!" feeling without being "no seriously wtf is that even supposed to mean..."

Some fic summaries from my Ao3 bookmarks:

• After the Scratch, Dave (almost) remembers John.
  - Like Forgetting the Words by elwing_alcyone
  
  
• When Tamaki’s quiet life is interrupted by a curse that turns his very power against him, Mirio leaves their village in his quest to find a cure. Fearing for Mirio's safety in a world full of monstrous creatures, Tamaki ventures into the darkness to pursue him.
  But the biggest trial of all may be to keep from becoming a monster himself.
  - Heliophagus by silvercistern, SpectrumArcadia (Underlined the real interest-catcher here)
  
  
• Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back.
  - Eclipse by Mijan
  
  
• When you have the tendency to shut your door twenty-six times, it's hard for people to come in. But sometimes, especially in the case of a certain blue-eyed, half-Italian neighbor, it's hard to keep them out.
  - Emerson by reeology
  
  
• Merlin is thirteen and in love when he kisses Arthur for the first time. His skin is always too tight, there’s constantly the taste of chlorine in his mouth, and a lot of things—too many things—are left unsaid. It’s very complicated and very confusing, not helped at all by the fact that Arthur doesn't seem to know what he wants either. Early teenage awakenings, unrequited love, pining, coming of age, and feelings. Lots of feelings.
  - Small Weird Love by Emjayelle

Summaries that are quotes from the fic itself are good when done properly!! It's rly has to be like... pivotal to the fic tho or give you a really good idea of what's going to happen w/o completely spoiling it. (This is a rly popular one. An alternative is to include a quote and a prompt/basic description of the setup. Those work rly well together.)

What don't I like? Poetic summaries.... quoting a song/poem with absolutely nothing about the premise of the fic. Reeeeeaaally barebones summaries like "It was going to be a long day" which don't really tell you much of anything.... That said none of them really matter at all if the fics have stellar tagging. If your summary tells me nothing, but you've got a decent set of tags that give me a good idea, then I'm a happy reader ^^ You just have to give me something to go off of in either of those areas. ((I passed over sooooo many fics on FF.net where there's no tagging because of their uninformative summaries...))

[yourlibrarian]

What's the setup? What's the vibe?

Well put.

An alternative is to include a quote and a prompt/basic description of the setup.

Yes, that's a good way to cover your bases.

I passed over sooooo many fics on FF.net where there's no tagging because of their uninformative summaries...

When the summary is unhelpful the tags can be a good alternative. But I have found I am more likely to skip stories when I see their tags. Especially for kink-fic or PWPs, I get using very specific tags -- you're finding your audience. But I daresay I have skipped right over stories I might otherwise have liked because you are telling me way too much about the sex scenes (which I'm probably not going to read anyway).

[coyoteclaw11]

Oh I feel that. Overly tagged pwps are... interesting to say the least lol