Fic Talk > General Discussion

Summaries

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RokofAges75:
Thanks!  I know I responded to this topic back in the summer, but I agree with you and most everyone who has responded - short and vague with just a hint of intrigue is usually what I prefer, too.  From the writer side of things, I don't like to give too much away about the plot of the story - one, because I like to keep it to myself, and two, because sometimes I'm afraid people won't want to read it if they know what it's going to be about upfront LOL.  Sometimes I feel the need to lure them in and get them hooked, then spring the real plot on them.

From the reader side, I like the intrigue, too, and a summary that's vague enough to sound like it might be interesting will at least get me to click and check it out, whereas a summary that's detailed enough to make me think I won't enjoy it will not get me to click at all.

One recent summary I actually really liked once I read the whole thing was this one, for "Suddenly I See" by BiancaRJ:


She's a foreign post graduate student at NYU and she's ready to take the greatest career opportunity of her life.

He's returning to the group he left almost 8 years ago as a new chance is given to him.

She's carefree and outspoken

He's focused on work and very, very serious.

She knew she would easily fit in.

He knew he would have a hard time adjusting to the new dynamic of the group.

She wanted to be taken seriously as an entertainment reporter.

He has always been very cautious when it comes to the media.

They would probably end up hating each other.

This is not their love story.

But suddenly he'll see why the hell she means so much to him.


I really liked it cause of the part I bolded; it started out like so many of the typical romance summaries do, and then she threw that twist on it, and that actually got me to click on the story, cause I thought it was clever.  So sometimes long summaries work too. :)

mare:
See, I think that bolded line is very clever but I think the summary itself is entirely too long. I think if she managed to cut down half of the facts she has on there it would be just as effective.

Sakabelle:
I saw that summary too, Julie and I agree with both you and Mare. I did find the bolded part intriguing but it was a bit long for me.

RokofAges75:
Yeah, probably just three sets of facts would get the same idea across, but I also think it just LOOKS long because it's so spaced out, one sentence per line.  If it were condensed into a paragraph, it wouldn't seem AS long.  That said, there's something to be said for character development - working those details into the story instead of spelling them out in the summary (which I think she did).  Still, just the cleverness of that one line was enough to make ME click on a KEVIN ROMANCE to check it out.  Can I tell you how many Kevin romances I've read before?  Um, ZERO.  So props to Bianca LOL.

mare:
LOL yes, definite props to her.

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