Summary

What do you think should be included in a story's summary?

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I think a summary is actually a very important part of your story.

Some people skip it. Personally, I will never read a story without a summary. Why should I? No summary tells me nothing about what I'm going to read.

I believe that a summary should at least partly fit the tone of the actual story itself. If your story is choppy and straightforward, your summary should be as well. If your story is angsty and dramatic, you probably shouldn't have a summary filled with jokes.

Don't give away the entire story in your summary. Make the summary cliff-hangerish or something of the sort. People need to find a reason to read your story after they read your summary.

If I read something like Frerard. Skittles. Funny. Read. I'm not going to read it. If I read something like This is a Waycest. It's not good. Comment please. I'm not going to read it.

Try and sound as witty as possible aswell, but still remain mildly formal.

Give a short summary of the plot (not the stuff Dru pointed out about offering skittles and stuff). Give something that makes the reader go 'o mi, i wonder wot it's going to happn. :omfg:'

It's all a case of Who, What, Where and How.

Who: will be the characters?
What: will be happening?
Where: will it be taking place?
How: will it turn out?

Don't be too obvious. Explain, but not too much. Leave the twists to be totally unexpected. It's all about suspense and making the reader want to read it. Sell the story.

I also think that characters should remain a mystery until you begin writing the chapters. You can say their names and where they are, but giving useless information about their height and eye colour no one really cares about. (The reader won't be thinking about how short or tall they are to the exact centimeter or how many colours their eyes have.)

Stuff like pictures of the characters aren't that appealing. Having an image of what you want the character to look like does nothing for the reader. Readers like to create the character in the minds with the descriptions you give in the story. Besides, some readers might not like images of the characters and be turned off reading the story because they are always picturing the character to be that way. But, if you want to use an image for the character, it's fine as long as you don't give away every aspect of them. (Leave a bit for the reader's imagination.)

Here's what I think is a bad summary that makes me hit the exit button (Its an example, not from anyone's story):

lol, just read please. (luv, emo, skittles etc etc just read)

http://bree.blogzoom.fr/images/mn/1182419925.jpg
Name: Sarah Jessica Anne Pitsberg
Height: 5ft 48cm 95mm
Eye color: Bright blue with a hint of green when it sparkles in the sun
Skin color: Tanned and pale, because she loves to sun bake under trees
Favorite food: ice cream with choc sprinkles and skittles, mountain dew as well

http://foto.rambler.ru/public/h/e/helena1666/3/22912338_21007785__emo2/22912338_21007785__emo2-web.jpg
Name: Jack Jake Harry Lovet
Height: 6ft 1cm 2mm
Eye color: dark brown and with a hint of sexy white that looks like ice cream
Favorite food: chocolate
Likes: skating, partying, dancing and listening to heavy metal. He also loves to go on the internet and speak to his best friend who doesn't appear in this story.

They bump into each other and fall madly in love.

READ AND COMMENT PLEASE!

And here's a better version (I made it up):

Sarah is just a simple girl just old enough to live alone. Unfortunately, living alone in her new home in New York can bring some troubling times. Walking to work on a cold winter's day, she unexpectedly hits a bump in the road.

Jake was more than a simple boy. He has lived in New York his entire life. He lives with out a care in the world as long as he has his friends to support him through rough times. But, sometimes only having friends isn't enough. Walking home on a cold winter's day, he unexpectedly hits a bump in the road.

Could they both accidentally fall in love?

I suggest reading the blurbs on the back of novels, those are great examples.
Here's a good one from the novel Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery.

With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsports and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks away her memories of Rural Avonlea and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises...including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. But tears turn to laughter when Anne and her friends move into an old cottage and an ornery black cat steals her heart. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anna must decide whether she's ready for love.

It all depends on your writing style, but remember that the summary is just as important as the story itself and it's the thing that makes someone read the story.

*stops rambling*

If you're writing a classic storyline, make sure the summary isn't classically boring.

o sry. :c just giving examples...idk. :)

um...Stop describing every square inch of the main character's body. Seriously. Don't overload it with pictures. We know what Billie Joe looks like, thanks. And at least give a small gist of the story. Something important about the story, like what makes it different from any other. Like, instead of just "This is a Waycest." a captivating summary would be like

"Incest, a crime in any country.
Love, a bond beyond all others.
Family, first and foremost. Forever.

They never did drugs. They never stayed up late. They even helped old ladies cross the street and Mom and Dad were ever so proud. Mikey and Gerard Way had always been your typical boys next door.

And they're learning to live outside the law."

or something. It's lame, but I'm in a rush.

Lately, I've been into quotes. "The Nightmare Series" has three quotes in each story summary. Two are contributed to the series and the other identifies with that particular story. I included part of the "Alice in Wonderland" poem in "The Wonderland Chronicles". I also have a quote about murder in "The Blood on the Kitchen Floor".

I like subtlety in story summaries. Something that leads me to wonder what's going to happen in the course of the story.

I can't stand character sheets. Even without pictures.

I never use summaries much :shifty Just one-line quotes from the story [the ones that really capture it] or -if it's a long one- I put up a definition sort of thing. :cute:
I think too much summary can spoil it the story. Too little and more relevant can attract more readers I believe :cute:

If the summary is like, almost equivalent to the first chapter in length I won't bother to real the story. You've over-exposed it to me.

And character sheets are a no-no to me because honestly? Who gives a damn about what Gerard likes to eat for breakfast or where does he shop?
Plus we all know what he looks like :file:

Honestly... I usually don't write the summary. Lately, I have been. I am either afraid of giving away too much, or just not worried about it.

Sometimes I insert quotes that fit the tone of the story, and sometimes I use banners (with or without words) which I feel introduce the general idea quite obviously.

Summaries are my favorite parts of the story to read, so if I find it interesting and inviting, I definitely read and or comment right aWay. I am not a big fan of stories without summaries, unless they are compilations of one-shots, or songfics.

My summaries are very short and brief. Like, for example, my new story 'Photographs of You' which I'm posting soon, the summary for that is:

He watches him, he's amazed by him, but it's those final photographs that break his heart.

I don't like it when people have long summaries.
I don't wanna see what your character looks like, how old they are, etc.
I don't want to read some of your story in the summary.
I just want a line that you came up with at random that catches my interest.

Sometimes there's nothing I can say in a summary that won't make the story seem trite. Like, my new story To the Bones. Which sounds better?

Ryan Ross has an eating disorder

or

I want to be so thin, light, airy, that ...

... that when the light hits me, I don't leave a shadow behind.

... that when I walk across the snow I will not leave so much as one footprint to mar its virgin purity.

... that I can dance between the raindrops in a downpour.

If I can find quotes that say it better, I'll pass over my ego and use it.

I hate when summaries are longer than the chapters are, which I often see.
It just really bugs me.
they give you so much info in the summary, that theres no intrigue and there's no point in reading the story.

I find it odd that when a summary mentions dedication to someone, less people read it regardless of how good the story is. O,o I don't know if that's ever a good thing or a bad thing...

The Damned.:

I find it odd that when a summary mentions dedication to someone, less people read it regardless of how good the story is. O,o I don't know if that's ever a good thing or a bad thing...

I dedicate in stories. Generally if the story is for someone, betaed by someone, or inspired by someone. But I don't dedicate it to people just for comments. I know what you mean though.

I really suck at writing summaries. I never know what to write. However, in summaries, I personally like to see the general gist of the story, even if it's something like "self-discovery" and I don't want to know the plot. I want something that will interest me. Write a hint of what the conflict will be about.

Gur, I'm so sleepy.
Good night.

The Brightside.:

I like subtlety in story summaries. Something that leads me to wonder what's going to happen in the course of the story.

I can't stand character sheets. Even without pictures.

Exactly what I was about to say...

And, though a story banner is good - why do people post pictures of their characters? Especially if they're famous. It just takes time to get to the chapters and is rather annoying...

I read in the Things You Hate To See In Stories thread that someone hates rhetorical questions in story descriptions. Is that a common pet peeve? Because I do it all the time...

And should the long description be like the blurb of a book? Enough to get you interested, but not giving anything away? Or is that more the short description?

JustSteph:

I read in the Things You Hate To See In Stories thread that someone hates rhetorical questions in story descriptions. Is that a common pet peeve? Because I do it all the time...

And should the long description be like the blurb of a book? Enough to get you interested, but not giving anything away? Or is that more the short description?

I saw that post and I think they meant multiple rhetorical questions.. as in, more than one. Such as:

Will the character make it out alive?
Will they find the questions they've been searching for?
Will they...
and so on.

Sometimes I do long descriptions or short descriptions - kind of depends on the story.