Summaries-time, and the livin is...easy?

[dorinda]

I'm tinkering with revisions on my story for the Gimli/Legolas Big Bang, posting for which begins in a couple weeks or thereabouts (depending on any last-minute deadline shifts, of course).

And I find myself kind of stymied by the question of a summary. I wish there were "how-to" discussions out there about summaries, the way there are for writing in general (and fanfic writing in particular), to help me pull my thoughts together and get a sense of how to think about summaries, what makes a good one, etc.

I wonder about how important a plot precis is, vs. a setup for the story's emotional problem; how specific to be vs. how much to leave open; if it's very tightly tied to a particular canon event, does that make its way into the summary, or is that what the pre-story author's note is for? And much more. Hmm. Somehow I do not think the summary "EMOTIONS AND HORSEBACK RIDING" is going to cut it.

What do you do, for your summaries? Is it different for long pieces, vs. short? And/or, what kinds of summaries do you really like (or not like) when you're reading?

Comments

[astolat]

I'm sorry, my brain shorted out in the first sentence when I was all DORINDA HAS WRITTEN BIG BANG LENGTH LEGOLAS/GIMLI and I still haven't managed to parse the rest of the post because I am TOO EXCITED :D :D :D

[dorinda]

I must admit, it's not a 50K-word-minimum Big Bang--this one required a minimum of 10K words, but mine clocks in at about 35. Still! Longest thing I've written yet.

And I am also excited! For one thing: EMOTIONS AND HORSEBACK RIDING. But more importantly, my artist is awesome and produced an artsplosion that brings me great joy. I can't wait for folks to see what she's made!

[isis]

This was kind of my thought, too!

Also the idea of there being a whole FEST of Legolas/Gimli! \o/ RAH! YAY!

[aerye]

I've had this bookmarked for ages but haven't followed the links yet—offered possible resources!

http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/27066304468/this-is-a-towel-fan-fiction-summaries

[dorinda]

Ooooo. Thank you!! And thank goodness for you, because I would surely never have found that page of links myself, my ability to find things on tumblr being what it is. (To wit: nonexistent!)

[dorinda]

Update, after having read some of the links (which introduced good food for thought, so thank you again!): it's interesting and kind of sadly funny how many of the ff.net-specific tipsters have to hammer hard on the instruction "STOP SAYING 'SORRY THIS STORY SUCKS' OR 'SORRY THIS SUMMARY SUCKS' IN THE SUMMARY". Because yeah, there's a certain strain of authorship that does seem to do that by defensive rote...and it does guarantee that I'm back-buttoning out of there post-haste. "You'll probably hate this" = self-fulfilling prophecy!

[isis]

Anyway, back on topic. I like summaries to actually, you know, summarize the conflict or major event (as opposed to being a pull-quote, unless the quote really does act as a summing-up). I suppose in a novel-length story it's hard to encompass everything in a few sentences, but there ought to be one primary conflict that can be used. And of course I'm talking about summarizing the set-up, not the resolution - not a synopsis, but a summary, to use IMDB's phrasing.

[dorinda]

That's a handy reminder, that I should make sure not to think about a synopsis when what I want is a summary. I think I was letting the terms blur together a bit, and that's no good.

There is a primary conflict/question (truly, even among the Emotions And Horseback Ridings!), so that seems like the thing to zero in on. Hmmm, I shall mull.

[mlyn]

I think summaries should be just like the first sentence of a story: it should draw me in. If it sets the tone of angst or humor, great. But I don't care for paragraphs of a story I'm about to read, especially when they're the same as the opening paragraphs. :)

[dorinda]

Tone, that's good to keep in mind. And maybe I can give a slight sense of the sort of language the story uses--not as heightened as Tolkien, but not as ordinary as something modern. Give people a chance to duck out if they felt like something with sharper edges.

[thirdblindmouse]

Summaries are haaard. But for longfic summaries, yeah, I'd expect some idea of what sort of plot I'm getting into. A journey of healing, a murder mystery, a romantic comedy, a war epic... What SORT of emotions are they, and horseback riding TO WHERE?

But honestly, I think you'll have most people hooked with the words "Gimli/Legolas Big Bang". How did I not know this was a thing?!

[dorinda]

I like that way of thinking about it. The bare-bones sketch I was using as a rough summary during the rough-draft process (and to let prospective artists know what they might be getting into) didn't touch on the sort of plot that takes place on the journey, just kind of said that it's after X canon event and there are unanswered questions. But that could be anything from romcom to mystery to a musical! I gotta get a grip on the genre approach and tone.

What SORT of emotions are they, and horseback riding TO WHERE?

STAY TUNED FOR LOTS OF EMOTIONS ON A HORSEBACK RIDE TO LOVE!

...uhhhh.

[aris_tgd]

Wow, bizarrely enough, I wrote one of these a while ago... I mean, it's been a number of years, and my thoughts may have evolved, but I remember there being an interesting discussion in comments. One sec.

http://aris-writing.livejournal.com/8558.html

I have no idea if any of that will be helpful, except for procrastination?

[dorinda]

Aaaaah! Fantastic! Thank you for linking it, and for writing it in the first place. I've been craving just that sort of chewing-over the fact and purpose and process of summaries, and will frolic in that post with great abandon.

It's funny how unprepared I feel to let readers "know what they're getting into", when I've been spending quite a lot of time writing the story and therefore theoretically building what they're getting into! *facepalm*

[marycrawford]

Courtesy of the AO3 new stories feed, I have the PERFECT summary for you. You can thank me...later.

Is everything really as it seems to X when they meet Y. I do so love reading the comments you leave me :D Will end up containing mentions of Z and slash if this isn't your thing please don't read and flame me.

Just fill in the blanks!

No, really, I got nuthin', summaries are HARD. But my reaction is basically astolat's except with less surprise and even more gleeful anticipation. <3 <3 <3

(...now back to my own! which is so far from done omg.)

[dorinda]

Oh, that's perfect, why did I even worry? "Is everything really as it seems to Legolas when he rides on a horsie with Gimli. Read and Review. Will end up containing mentions of Aragorn and radishes if this isn't your thing hey bro don't flame me."

(...now back to my own! which is so far from done omg.)

But so delightful tho! I have seen some of it and I know! ♥______♥