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Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Summaries are right up there with onions and snobby people as the bane of my existence (see: the fact that Fleeting doesn't even HAVE a proper summary o.O). They are a necessary evil, though, because they are generally the part of the header that people *actually* pay attention to, LOL. So, I try to use them to my advantage when I can.
I usually try not to summarize the story itself, so much as make it sound enticing enough to read. Sometimes I'll use the first vestiges of the raw idea - when I'm developing story ideas, I jot down everything, whether it's used in the final cut or not. Sometimes it comes out in such a way that I know it'll make fine summary fodder:
Sometimes the raw idea is too jumbled or messy or the final product resembles it but little. Those times, I pull one or two evocative lines from the story itself and let them serve as the summary:
I use this second method a lot with oneshots, especially those I post to communities.
Sometimes I truly do sum up the story as best I know how. This usually means the summary is (necessarily) vague, and I think these sorts of stories really only draw in the people who'd read them because of the fandom or pairing they're about:
I don't know how much others can even tell when I'm using a certain style of summary, but those are my general methods of attack when it comes to this part of the story writing process.
( Other days )
Summaries are right up there with onions and snobby people as the bane of my existence (see: the fact that Fleeting doesn't even HAVE a proper summary o.O). They are a necessary evil, though, because they are generally the part of the header that people *actually* pay attention to, LOL. So, I try to use them to my advantage when I can.
I usually try not to summarize the story itself, so much as make it sound enticing enough to read. Sometimes I'll use the first vestiges of the raw idea - when I'm developing story ideas, I jot down everything, whether it's used in the final cut or not. Sometimes it comes out in such a way that I know it'll make fine summary fodder:
Fragments: A chance encounter. An unforgettable attraction. Can new love be born from the fragments of shattered lives?
Nice Guys Finish First: When a gorgeous new girl begins attending Pacific Coast High, she unwittingly becomes the prize in a bet laid between Sly, Tony, and Mark. A riff on the subplot of episode 3x17, Tiffani's Gold.
break/even: Once upon a time, she'd fallen in love. Once upon a time, he'd broken her heart. On the eve of her junior prom, they find themselves with a second chance – if only they are willing to risk it.
Sometimes the raw idea is too jumbled or messy or the final product resembles it but little. Those times, I pull one or two evocative lines from the story itself and let them serve as the summary:
Coda: If it came down to a choice between his life and hers...there simply was no choice.
Temporary Insanity: Renee was not someone who admitted mistakes easily. She didn't know how she would live with the guilt of kissing her sister's boyfriend, but she didn't see how she had any other choice.
A Most Favorable Arrangement: Five years for her, five hundred for him – it didn't matter. They were strangers, distant companions in a time paradox; it was only logical that they eventually sought -something- in their strange, shared circumstance.
I use this second method a lot with oneshots, especially those I post to communities.
Sometimes I truly do sum up the story as best I know how. This usually means the summary is (necessarily) vague, and I think these sorts of stories really only draw in the people who'd read them because of the fandom or pairing they're about:
Secrets: When Stacy learns of a secret from Ryan's past, it threatens to shatter their relationship for good. Divergence/continuation from Season 5.
Gordon Hill, S.E. 6: Jonathan and Maddy share a close moment in the midst of her own personal tragedy. A missing scene from Series 2, Episode 3, The Scented Room.
Perfect Kiss: Kagome ponders the moment of her first kiss, and wonders just how perfect it could be.
I don't know how much others can even tell when I'm using a certain style of summary, but those are my general methods of attack when it comes to this part of the story writing process.
( Other days )
