Orion's Toolbelt

Hook, line, and sinker

Writing an enticing summary

by The White Lily

I must admit I don't have a lot of time to read lately. Heck, I don't even have a lot of time to write lately, let alone seek out things to read. So when I do occasionally make it to the front page of Fanfiction.net, I only have time to read one - maybe two fics. Do I read yours? Maybe. Maybe not. But I do read something you've written. The question is: does your summary reel me in?

Fanfiction.net only gives us 255 characters to catch our readers, and that's a ridiculously small amount when you're talking about doing justice to the beloved work of art that is your story. No wonder we're all terrified of writing summaries! But a poor summary can mean that a huge portion of your potential readers never even give your fic a chance. But with a few simple rules and a little bit of elbow grease, I say anyone can write a good summary. And here's how...

Part 1: What's wrong with my summary now?

Let's start off with a summary for an abandoned fic on my hard drive called Dear Mother.

This one isn't my best work, but its all about Artermis's first days back at St Bartelby's and basicly he writes a letter, but it doesn't say what's really happening because of Mr Manson and Dr Poe and the fairies. Not like all the others. PLZ R&R NO FLAMES

Hmmm. It may make 255 characters, but it's certainly not a fic that would attract me. And I actually know how good this fic is! So what is it that makes this such a bad summary?

Mistake 1: Typos, spelling errors, or truncations.
There is nothing - absolutely nothing - that turns a reader off your fic like a misspelling in the title or summary. Typos happen to the best of us, and most people write their summaries at the last minute, straight into the summary box on Fanfiction.net, where there's no spell-check to protect them and no way to check the length but "submit it and see". How crazy is that?

Mistake 2: Insulting your story, or yourself.
If you don't think its the worth reading, why should we?

Mistake 3: Telling your readers what your story is not.
Saying that your original character is not a Mary-Sue, or that your fic is not just another St Bartleby's story, isn't just a waste of time - it's counterproductive, because it actually raises these possibilities in your reader's mind.

Mistake 4: Telling your readers what to do after they've read it.
It doesn't say much for your story if your reader still remembers the summary by the time they've finished it. So, if you want lots of reviews, or if you don't want negative comments or flames, put your author's note saying so at the bottom of the fic/chapter, right next to the review button. It'll do a much more effective job there.

Mistake 5: In fact, addressing your reader at all, in the summary!
There's very little you can tell a reader that will make them interested. You need to show them that they want to read your story, and you can only do that by showcasing the actual story. Even if you don't need all the space you have, padding your summary with explanations that you can't write summaries, that it's your first fic, pleas to read, or promises that they'll like it distracts the reader and reduces the impact of your hook.

Mistake 6: Using your original character's name in the summary.
Unless it's a sequel, no one knows your OC yet. You may convince us to care deeply about them by the end of the story - but halfway through a 255 character summary? All you're telling us is that your story is about a character we don't care about, which certainly doesn't help draw us in.

Mistake 7: Spoiling the ending of the prequel.
This seems obvious to me, but so many people writing sequels do it. In a summary, you should be trying to attract new readers for both fics. By all means, mention elements from the original story! But if you spoil the climax, the reader just won't want to read the original.

Mistake 8: Wasting time on weasel words.
"It's kind of this, and basically this happens." Of course your story's more complicated than you can put across in the summary - the reader already knows this. Keep it to the point and state things as simply as you possibly can.

Make sense? All right, let's try again, avoiding the mistakes we've highlighted.

Part 2: What do I need in my summary?

But... what should I say? The main reason, I think, that a lot of us fill up our summaries with distracting and unhelpful clutter is that we can't think what should be there. So let's have a look at the essential elements of a summary.

Element 1: Pairings, warnings, etc.
Don't forget these. Unless your romantic pairing is meant to come completely out of left field in a twist, marking your summary with "AxH" or "HxT" etc, will help draw readers who are likely to enjoy your story. If your fic has a rating, state what it's for (eg. Dark, Violence, Swearing). Specific warnings ensure that readers who avoid higher ratings aren't put off your fic unless they need to be.

Element 2: Who is your fic about?
Which canon characters is the focus going to be on? Put their names in - or at least an unmistakable reference to them - because you want to draw readers who like to read about those characters. For an integral OC, use a short description rather than their name (eg. it's far better to say "the new PhysEd teacher" than "Mr. Manson").

Element 3: What are your sources of emotional tension?
Most of us don't read a fic for the action plot. The action plot is essential to support the character interactions - but it's those interactions that really suck us in and make us decide that we loved the fic. So make sure you include a forecast of that in your summary.

Element 4: What is your story about?
I'm not talking about real plot information here - just the general category your fic fits into. Is it based around school life at St. Bartleby's? A formative episode in a character's life? An Arty meets his match fic? A poetic character reflection? You can probably think of several categories where your fic belongs.

Element 5: What makes your story special?
Only now do you get to talk about real specifics from your story. The first four elements give the reader enough information to decide whether they're likely to enjoy your fic. This element makes them choose your story out of all the other stories they might like. What is it that makes your story different the other ones in its category? If it's a humour fic, you should try to be witty. If its a mood fic, you could use a quote or paraphrase. If it's a concept or plot point youre most proud of, make sure you hint at it. This is no time for modesty - what is it you love about your fic? Show us that in your summary...

And that's more than enough to produce a summary. I usually end up with a set of notes something like this:

1. None.
2. Artemis, Angeline, Timmy, the new PhysEd teacher, Holly (less important: Mulch, Foaly, Sool, Dr. Po, other students)
3. Mother/Arty misdirection, Father/Arty playful battle, Artemis morality
4. St. Bartlebys, helping the LEP, an elaborate Artemis plan
5. Sanitised letter, Arty+PhysEd=Hilarious, multitasking

So all you have to do is arrange that into 255 characters that make some sort of sense... Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Part 3: Writing the summary

Hmmm, maybe not, especially since the elements you've identified in your fic are probably every bit as cryptic and incomprehensible to anyone but the author as mine are above. So how can you fit it all together?

Tip 1: Use present tense, regardless of the tense of the fic.
This is just convention, and makes your summary easy to read.

Tip 2: Prioritise
Don't feel like everything on your list has to go into the summary. If you're like me, you'll end up needing to pare down your list down quite ruthlessly to get a doable amount. Try to keep at least one thing that will be expanded on quickly (in the first chapter/scene) and one thing that deals with the overarching story.

Tip 3: Don't feel that you have to use up all of the space you're given.
If you can convey everything you want to in a shorter summary, then more power to you! A short summary is almost impossible not to read at a glance, and is thus extremely effective in hooking in readers.

Tip 4: Don't reveal too much
If your reader feels like they know how your story's going to end before they click through, why would they bother? Give them just enough to get an idea of the story and whet their appetite, but not enough to satisfy them. For that, they need to read the story. Click. Bingo.

Tip 5: Use short sentences. Trail off... Or have you tried using a question?
Using short sentences or statements can make your summary easier to read. Questions and ellipses are cues for the reader's brain to engage in wondering in the right direction. But beware: don't overdo it, or you'll lessen the impact.

All right - feel ready? Lets try again:

Artemis doesn't tell his mother what really goes on at St Bartleby's. She'd only worry. Between dodging the new PhysEd teacher, classmates, Dr Po, his father's games, and helping Holly with her latest case, Artemis may just find he has limits after all...

Wow! Exactly the same length, but how much more did we manage to say? It really is amazing how much information you can fit into just a few words when you prioritise and use them efficiently.

But don't sweat if this seems like a long involved process to create just a couple of short sentences. Summaries are hard work at first, but like everything else, they're really just practice. Once you've got your own system going, you'll be writing little snippets of brilliance to pull in the readers without even thinking about it...

So good luck, and happy writing!