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This is to all of my fanfiction.net peeps, and to anyone who wants to learn how to write a quick, less-than-five sentences summary of their fanfiction or story.

1. For the love of all that is good fanfiction/writing, stop writing summaries like this:

A story about a boy and a girl that meet on vacation...Sry I suck at summaries. Plz read. It's good I promise. I am so much better at writing stories than writing summaries. Before you even try to give me an excuse, let me give you a fact. 99.99999999% of readers DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO READ YOUR STORY BECAUSE OF THAT. I can't tell you how many times I have seen that on FFN and I just keep on scrolling past every story with one of those. You may not intend it, but this is the message you are sending to potential readers:

"I am not going to even try writing a summary because I am not confident at all in my writing abilities. I am a novice please give me a chance please please please!"

...No. Just no.

Stop it.

If you are one of those FEW who somehow gets readers this way, well your readers are probably new to FFN or whatever site you use, or readers who have read literally everything else in that search criteria and saying "What the hell, I guess I'll try it." No. That's not how you want to get readers.

2. If you discount yourself, your readers will discount you.

In other words...

My first fanfic. Plz be nice and review!First off, telling me that this is your first one makes me want to skip over it because you're telling me you have very little experience, probably still tweaking your writing skills, and probably haven't read my (insert shameless self-promotion) "Guide to Writing Fanfiction." Humor aside, seriously, read a few guides before you start. It will help you so much in the long run.

Second, telling me that it's your first fic also tells me you probably won't handle criticism very well. When you write a story, yes you'll get a lot of fluffy reviews, but you'll also get some from other writers who will seem to be picking apart your work when honestly they're trying to help. It's what we do because we've been there. Most of us are really nice, a lot of us are brutally honest.

So then, FOOL ME! Make me think it isn't your first by just not even telling me that. Don't even say "This is my first time writing a fanfiction for (insert series/movie/book/whatever here). Ignorance is bliss on this one. Tell me either in a response to my review, or at the VERY END of the story that it's your first fic. Trust me, prove yourself first as a capable writer and then tell me where you are experience wise. You'll impress more people that way.

Please note that I AM GUILTY OF THIS. I am pretty sure I did this exact same thing for my first fanfiction. I recognize this. I probably lost some potential readers because of it and didn't even know it, so that's why I'm offering this advice to you.

3. Quit your rambling!

Like this...

Mature themes. Dirty smut. Don't like don't read!! You have been warned!! And if you're under 18 SHAME ON YOU!!! Disclaimer: I don't own (insert show/movie/book/etc.).Okay seriously, how much space did you just waste by doing that? People know what they're searching for if they choose the M rating, you don't have to tell them that. THAT'S WHAT THE RATING IS FOR *slap*

My point here is you could've used what precious little space you already had constructing a well-written summary and instead you probably only had 1-2 sentences of what the story is about and the rest is warnings and disclaimer.

Forget the warnings, not necessary as long as you use the rating system right. The disclaimer, put it in the first chapter (before the story starts) and then you don't have to touch it again.

4. Ratings, Ratings, Ratings...

I could've tacked this on with the last one, but then it would've been ridiculously long and I'm already notorious enough for doing that...

Anyway, roll the example:

(blah blah blah summary) Rating M just to be safe...And then the only "mature" thing is a total of 3 swear words and extremely vague, only hinted at graphic scenes, and not at all graphic really, just letting the reader fill in the blanks.

STOP DOING THAT.

If it is graphic violence or other graphic mature themes, then YES it should be rated M. If you only use some vulgar words and graphic scenes are only hinted at or vaguely described, that's T. If you are a a beginning writer who is nervous about writing anything remotely considered PG-13, then what you're writing is probably K or K+. I really shouldn't have to walk you through this, FFN HAS a guide on HOW TO USE THEIR RATING SYSTEM. READ IT. *flips table*

Even if you don't use FFN, then whatever fanfiction site you are using should have some sort of rating system as well and all have guides on how to use/read the ratings. If they don't...well then you're using a site that SCARCE FEW use. Ratings are our friend.

*Public Service Announcement*

Please make sure you put in what characters are in the story, at least the main characters. It saves a ton of headache for the readers.

(that one was so short I didn't really want to put a number for it)

5. Give 'em a sneak peek.

Back on the actual writing of a summary train...Think of a summary as a way for potential readers to "test the waters" with your writing and creativity. There are MANY ways to do this, so I'll give you a few options.

General Summary: Summarize what the first portion of the story is about, don't give away the plot progression just yet, unless that's your use for the Hook (more on that later). Example: "After the Christmas Town fiasco, Jack is interested in exploring the other holiday realms and decides to take Sally along with him. Fun mayhem and hilarity ensues, like when Jack's head is mistaken for an egg in Easter Town."
"What if?" Summary: Be careful when using this one, don't get too carried away! I'd say no more than 4 or 5 question sentences (5 is pushing it). Here's an example (of not getting carried away) Example: "After the Christmas Town fiasco, Jack is interested in exploring the other holiday realms and decides to take Sally along with him. What happens when they enter these other realms? Will they be welcomed? Will they be chased out? What if they accidentally cause a whole other Holiday fiasco?"
Snippet Summary: Some writers like to take an actual snippet of writing/dialogue from their story and use it in their summary. This is much more of a hook than anything else, but since it's something that's quite common I put it in here. Example: "As Sally chatted away with the leprechaun with hair much like her own, Jack spoke to Gracious O'Riley. "Thank you so much for your most terrific tour of St. Patrick's Town!" "My pleasure Jack. Have you heard yet about the legendary Lucky Coin?" Jack was clearly intrigued so Gracious held up a gold coin. "It's no legend. I think you could use a bit of luck Jack, mm? I'd like to make you a deal."
Dramatic Summary: I think this one will speak for itself. Example: "Jack and Sally were exploring the holidays together just for pleasure's sake. It was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be a vacation. But then disaster strikes when Jack is lured into a deal with a leprechaun and yet again has no idea of the consequences of his actions."
(Please note I completely made up this story in my head, it does not exist)

6. It's all about the hook!

You got to give your readers a good zinger. I've already made a few examples up there, because that's what a good summary has. A hook. Hooks usually happen at the end of a summary, like in the last two examples. Sometimes the whole summary is the hook, like in example 2. You want to make your story stand out. What does it have that the others in your genre don't?

You always want to imply the plot so readers can decide if they want to read or not. Like how I implied that something bad was going to happen in example 3, and plainly spelled it out in example 4. I hinted at it in example 2 as well. I didn't so much in example 1 because it's just generic, that and I hadn't made up my hypothetical story really yet until I hit example 2 haha! Sometimes all you want is a generic one if your story is simply fluff (no major conflict or climatic point) and there are tons of readers out there who just want the fluff!

But most readers want an engaging story, so your hook is what engages them and brings the story to their attention. Trust me, they're more likely to click on your story if you do.

In closing, I hope this helps out those who struggle with summaries. This at least gets you an idea in your head and where to start.

Happy Writing!

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

This is to all of my fanfiction.net peeps, and to anyone who wants to learn how to write a quick, less-than-five sentences summary of their fanfiction or story.

1. For the love of all that is good fanfiction/writing, stop writing summaries like this:

A story about a boy and a girl that meet on vacation...Sry I suck at summaries. Plz read. It's good I promise. I am so much better at writing stories than writing summaries. Before you even try to give me an excuse, let me give you a fact. 99.99999999% of readers DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO READ YOUR STORY BECAUSE OF THAT. I can't tell you how many times I have seen that on FFN and I just keep on scrolling past every story with one of those. You may not intend it, but this is the message you are sending to potential readers:

"I am not going to even try writing a summary because I am not confident at all in my writing abilities. I am a novice please give me a chance please please please!"

...No. Just no.

Stop it.

If you are one of those FEW who somehow gets readers this way, well your readers are probably new to FFN or whatever site you use, or readers who have read literally everything else in that search criteria and saying "What the hell, I guess I'll try it." No. That's not how you want to get readers.

2. If you discount yourself, your readers will discount you.

In other words...

My first fanfic. Plz be nice and review!First off, telling me that this is your first one makes me want to skip over it because you're telling me you have very little experience, probably still tweaking your writing skills, and probably haven't read my (insert shameless self-promotion) "Guide to Writing Fanfiction." Humor aside, seriously, read a few guides before you start. It will help you so much in the long run.

Second, telling me that it's your first fic also tells me you probably won't handle criticism very well. When you write a story, yes you'll get a lot of fluffy reviews, but you'll also get some from other writers who will seem to be picking apart your work when honestly they're trying to help. It's what we do because we've been there. Most of us are really nice, a lot of us are brutally honest.

So then, FOOL ME! Make me think it isn't your first by just not even telling me that. Don't even say "This is my first time writing a fanfiction for (insert series/movie/book/whatever here). Ignorance is bliss on this one. Tell me either in a response to my review, or at the VERY END of the story that it's your first fic. Trust me, prove yourself first as a capable writer and then tell me where you are experience wise. You'll impress more people that way.

Please note that I AM GUILTY OF THIS. I am pretty sure I did this exact same thing for my first fanfiction. I recognize this. I probably lost some potential readers because of it and didn't even know it, so that's why I'm offering this advice to you.

3. Quit your rambling!

Like this...

Mature themes. Dirty smut. Don't like don't read!! You have been warned!! And if you're under 18 SHAME ON YOU!!! Disclaimer: I don't own (insert show/movie/book/etc.).Okay seriously, how much space did you just waste by doing that? People know what they're searching for if they choose the M rating, you don't have to tell them that. THAT'S WHAT THE RATING IS FOR *slap*

My point here is you could've used what precious little space you already had constructing a well-written summary and instead you probably only had 1-2 sentences of what the story is about and the rest is warnings and disclaimer.

Forget the warnings, not necessary as long as you use the rating system right. The disclaimer, put it in the first chapter (before the story starts) and then you don't have to touch it again.

4. Ratings, Ratings, Ratings...

I could've tacked this on with the last one, but then it would've been ridiculously long and I'm already notorious enough for doing that...

Anyway, roll the example:

(blah blah blah summary) Rating M just to be safe...And then the only "mature" thing is a total of 3 swear words and extremely vague, only hinted at graphic scenes, and not at all graphic really, just letting the reader fill in the blanks.

STOP DOING THAT.

If it is graphic violence or other graphic mature themes, then YES it should be rated M. If you only use some vulgar words and graphic scenes are only hinted at or vaguely described, that's T. If you are a a beginning writer who is nervous about writing anything remotely considered PG-13, then what you're writing is probably K or K+. I really shouldn't have to walk you through this, FFN HAS a guide on HOW TO USE THEIR RATING SYSTEM. READ IT. *flips table*

Even if you don't use FFN, then whatever fanfiction site you are using should have some sort of rating system as well and all have guides on how to use/read the ratings. If they don't...well then you're using a site that SCARCE FEW use. Ratings are our friend.

*Public Service Announcement*

Please make sure you put in what characters are in the story, at least the main characters. It saves a ton of headache for the readers.

(that one was so short I didn't really want to put a number for it)

5. Give 'em a sneak peek.

Back on the actual writing of a summary train...Think of a summary as a way for potential readers to "test the waters" with your writing and creativity. There are MANY ways to do this, so I'll give you a few options.

General Summary: Summarize what the first portion of the story is about, don't give away the plot progression just yet, unless that's your use for the Hook (more on that later). Example: "After the Christmas Town fiasco, Jack is interested in exploring the other holiday realms and decides to take Sally along with him. Fun mayhem and hilarity ensues, like when Jack's head is mistaken for an egg in Easter Town."
"What if?" Summary: Be careful when using this one, don't get too carried away! I'd say no more than 4 or 5 question sentences (5 is pushing it). Here's an example (of not getting carried away) Example: "After the Christmas Town fiasco, Jack is interested in exploring the other holiday realms and decides to take Sally along with him. What happens when they enter these other realms? Will they be welcomed? Will they be chased out? What if they accidentally cause a whole other Holiday fiasco?"
Snippet Summary: Some writers like to take an actual snippet of writing/dialogue from their story and use it in their summary. This is much more of a hook than anything else, but since it's something that's quite common I put it in here. Example: "As Sally chatted away with the leprechaun with hair much like her own, Jack spoke to Gracious O'Riley. "Thank you so much for your most terrific tour of St. Patrick's Town!" "My pleasure Jack. Have you heard yet about the legendary Lucky Coin?" Jack was clearly intrigued so Gracious held up a gold coin. "It's no legend. I think you could use a bit of luck Jack, mm? I'd like to make you a deal."
Dramatic Summary: I think this one will speak for itself. Example: "Jack and Sally were exploring the holidays together just for pleasure's sake. It was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be a vacation. But then disaster strikes when Jack is lured into a deal with a leprechaun and yet again has no idea of the consequences of his actions."
(Please note I completely made up this story in my head, it does not exist)

6. It's all about the hook!

You got to give your readers a good zinger. I've already made a few examples up there, because that's what a good summary has. A hook. Hooks usually happen at the end of a summary, like in the last two examples. Sometimes the whole summary is the hook, like in example 2. You want to make your story stand out. What does it have that the others in your genre don't?

You always want to imply the plot so readers can decide if they want to read or not. Like how I implied that something bad was going to happen in example 3, and plainly spelled it out in example 4. I hinted at it in example 2 as well. I didn't so much in example 1 because it's just generic, that and I hadn't made up my hypothetical story really yet until I hit example 2 haha! Sometimes all you want is a generic one if your story is simply fluff (no major conflict or climatic point) and there are tons of readers out there who just want the fluff!

But most readers want an engaging story, so your hook is what engages them and brings the story to their attention. Trust me, they're more likely to click on your story if you do.

In closing, I hope this helps out those who struggle with summaries. This at least gets you an idea in your head and where to start.

Happy Writing!