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]

Haha for my response I just went through my bookmarks and picked out summaries that I remember had convinced me to read the fic (as opposed to the tags or ship+trope combos).

If I were to point out the intrigue of the summaries you listed (apologies for length?):

1. I'm definitely curious about whose wedding is about to take place and Arthur & Merlin's roles in it. And I'd def want to see like... idk. The past 10 years comment definitely makes me want to see some of that past relationship explored and referenced in more than just passing. It definitely makes me want to see smth tho so I would check it out.
   
   
2. I might skip over that one since it feels more... one-shot fluff without plot, which isn't generally my vibe unless I'm like... really feeling it for my ship
   
   
3. This one also doesn't rly lay out any kind of plot so much as a setting. Which, if one's rly interested in the kinda AU setup they're laying out, they'll definitely give it a try!
   
   
4. "right up until an exploding pen explodes" something v interesting has happened and I'm definitely asking myself: why?! O:
   
   
5. Another summary geared at ppl who are more interested in the setup than finding out what the plot is. Personally, I skip over fics like this,,, All it's told me is that Arthur is (wants to be?) a writer... maybe it's just a quiet coffee shop AU? idk not my vibe
   
   
6. ooOOOH stuff is HAPPENING here we've got a canon divergence and a big conflict and it's like woAH how did this go down??? What's going to happen???? How is Merlin alive???? (how did Merlin die in the first place???) Also "it's their destiny to put things right." I'm a hella sucker for seeing how characters fix something. Break anything & I wanna see the process they go through to set it right
   
   
7. "Modern AU with magic" tfw modern magic aus are ur favs so ur already willing to give it a chance sdfghj. It does leave me v curious about why they're out in the wilderness in modern times and how a baby dragon got mixed into it.
   
   
8. A Toy Story crossover? o: Dunno if I'd go for it, but it's definitely an intriguing summary
   
   
9. Mmm... I'd like this one better with like.... an added "or, the one where Merlin and Arthur blah blah blah" like a overview of what's going to happen. That scene rly doesn't tell me a whole lot besides "they're on the verge of getting together and merlin wants to" which... could apply to a loooooooooot of fics. If this is a rly (rly) short fic only encompassing the scene in which that dialogue takes place, then it's not bad actually, but if anything else happens in the fic like,,, idk there's nothing telling me about it
   
   
10. I think that one has good stuff in it? But a lot of unnecessary stuff. It's like those wordy math problems that throw a bunch of information at you when all u need are a couple of numbers hidden within.

[yourlibrarian]

No apologies needed, and funny thing is, your take is very close to mine! I totally agree about #2 for example, "one-shot fluff without plot." I often skip over those because at this point I've read enough Merlin fic (and Merlin/Arthur fic, which is practically the same thing in that fandom) that I really want to see something I haven't before, or which just does really well at whatever trope they're using.

So what caught my attention about that one is that, normally, that trope would indicate a h/c fic centered on illness (which is not my thing). However from the sound of it, it's either not going to be Arthur taking care of Merlin or it's going to be Merlin maneuvering him into it. And that is a bit different, so I was curious.

That's also very true about #3. In that case two things interested me about it -- the fact that they were doing a supernatural AU but still in an office setting, and M was going to be an important character. In the various Q/Bond fics I've read so far they are set after her death, and I quite like her character so I wanted to see a story with her in it.

With #5 this was actually not a setup interest (because does anyone need another coffee shop AU, though in this case it's not) although I have read a few stories in the past where Merlin, Arthur, or both are writers and I've enjoyed them so I shouldn't say that this aspect wasn't a draw. But the fact that this line was chosen for the summary suggested to me that there was some factor of a frustrated professional aspiration there, which is not something I've seen in almost any fic. (It's almost like one rarely ever sees a story about unrequited love). I also liked the writing of the line, with the description of the sugar packets.

Break anything & I wanna see the process they go through to set it right

Yes, #6 definitely seems to be following the advice of "describe the conflict in the story"

I agree with you about #9 -- the trope is clear, though what sets it apart is not. However this was probably just enough to get me to click through and look over the first page which must have gotten me to download.

The key phrase to me for #10 (besides the fact that it was a Princess Bride fusion which I have actually already seen in this fandom) was "obliges in their own idiosyncratic asshole way." That made me curious -- how was this canon going to be adapted? The setup of the summary suggested to me that this was going to be a story about the fandom itself as well as Merlin and I tend to like those meta-ish tales.