So I hope...

[kellifer]

If I was doing something constantly in my story summaries that was annoying... someone would tell me, right? (I am asking here... honestly). I've just reformatted slightly the way I do them because I saw someone else's way I liked.

Is it me or does the following just make you want to throw heavy objects about -

-> You can see the pairing if you squint - Argh! Either it's gen or it's ship or it's that weird murky land of pre-ship, but it shouldn't be "gen" with an appeal to shippers to read it too because they might be able to read between the lines... We have to do that enough with the actual shows.

-> Secks - Who started this?? I keep seeing it! Whoever it is, I want to staple things to your head.

-> I suck at summaries, please read - You might as well write "I like ponies, please read" or "Whip, whip, snokity whee!" There was a little while there where I didn't see this as much but there seems to have been a resurgence. Also - the any summary will spoil the story thing. What? Unless your story is one of those six-line things floating around, I don't think it will.

I'm just saddened that I am finding myself filtering out communities more often. I *like* reading new stories by new people. Help me out here people!

Bah... I think I'm just cranky. Maybe I need a nap.

Comments

[shaedowcat.livejournal.com]

-> You can see the pairing if you squint

I hate those fics/summaries. I don't want to freaking squint! Like you said, it's gen, or it's ship, or it's pre-ship...pick one! *sticks pins in You can see the pairing if you squint-author voodoo dolls*

-> I suck at summaries, please read

Unless the fic is written by someone I've read before (and they've been great), I won't read any fic with that in the summary. It's ridiculous. I mean, how hard is it to write something like "John and Rodney get stranded on another world"? I mean, it's eight words long! Summaries don't have to be works of art...that's the story's job!

I'm not going to go into the "secks" thing, because it offends me on a grammatical level. I may have to beat those people to death with a stick.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Hehehe...

*hands you sticks and more voodoo dolls*

[libra-traveller.livejournal.com]

Honestly I get annoyed with people who use a line from their story as a summary. Take the time to explain what the story is about people. Yet it seems everyone is doing this now, sigh.

[lark_ascends]

I'm one of those people that you get annoyed it, so I just wanted to say why I often do it ;-) My random five cents worth.

I usually write a style of story that largely doesn't have a plot, or really any transition from A to B, which often makes it hard to write a summary for it. Other than that, sometimes one of the lines from the fic really does summarise what the story is about, without giving too much away. Usually if the story is longer (i.e. it most likely has some sort of plot...) then I'll give a proper summary, otherwise I will often use a line which summarises the fic. However, I think I've become better at doing that over time, with really picking a line that does summarise it, or altering the line so it definitely does.

[libra-traveller.livejournal.com]

That I can understand, and if it summarizes the fic that's good. Even if it's just a line that's meant to intrigue. But often times the line has nothing to do with the story, and it's out of context hanging out there. It just bugs me.

[lark_ascends]

*nods*

Yeah, that is the thing. Using that sort of summary you do need to be careful what you use.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I do like it though because it kinda sometimes gives an indicator of the writer's style...

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Nah, me too... but I've changed the way I'm formatting my summaries lately... doing a summary and then using a line from the story as the link.

[stargazercmc.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I've decided now that all of my summaries should include "Whip, whip, snokity whee!" :P

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

As you should! How else are we going to know what it's about? Hehehee...

[stargazercmc.livejournal.com]

I still don't have a ton of experience with fic just yet (6 stories and counting) but I use this one-line summary technique as well. I don't do it unless there's a single line that sums it all up. But part of my writing style is based in that -- it's usually one line that sticks in my head that gets me going and the rest falls in place around it.

I suppose it could be annoying if an outside person didn't get the same sense of things being summed up in that thought. I'm definitely going to be self-conscious about it in the future now (which may not be a bad thing).

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

Eh, I'm fine with the one line from the story. I actually think that all those people who say, "I suck at summaries" should just use a line from the fic. If it's a really horrible line, well, then you know to stay far, far away. :P

[annerbhp.livejournal.com]

You are not alone in cranky land. I suck at writing summaries too, but I still give enough of a damn to give it a try!

I might have to be quiet about the first though...I find ship/pre-ship/gen to be annoying things. I understand why that person wrote that...scared to loose either side, because gen'ers often won't read anything with even the teensiest hint of ship (and feel ambushed when they aren't warned) and because shippers can be snippy bitches if there isn't anything overt enough to be called out and out ship. I feel stupid every time I have to label a fic team *and* ship, just to advertise the fact that there are more than two characters involved in the story and that yes, there is also a thread of ship. Sigh. I think this is why I don't even bother to label anything on my website. Read at your own risk. (Though I imagine most people know me as a SJer anyway so no big surprise. I won't get into the 'MG she had the gall to write another pairing' BS) But this probably just makes me sound like an uptight, egocentric writer. Oh well. :) All that said, I do see your point. Saying 'ship if you squint' is probably, just like the rest, a sign of a youngun quite concerned with getting as many hits on that story as possible. Hopefully they will grow out of it. :P

But now you have made me self-conscious about my own summaries. Lol.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Oh noes... don't be self-conscious!!

Honestly, it's just the way it's done. I'm in the don't-have-to-warn-about-every-little-thing camp. I don't necessarily believe in having every single pairing or vague hint of UST spelled out or anything like that, but being so wishy-washy about it just gets me.

[lark_ascends]

Pairing if you squint - yep, that annoys me too. If the shippers want to see ship, they will find a way, so you don't need to say that.

I suck at summaries - oh,yes, this one irks me no end.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Along the lines of the 'if you squint' complaints, I'd like to add 'wink wink' summaries. Like 'we all know I want them to get together!!!!111!!!eleventy' or something like that.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Oh my god... I just want to bury my head under a pillow when I see something like that... or smother the author... heh... :)

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

But, but, sometimes, I feel like I'm insulting people if I actually say there's a pairing. I mean, sometimes (especially with me) it's freakin' obvious that there's a pairing involved.

Honestly, though, the thing I hate most? The people who use a piece of poetry or lyrics as their summary rather than something from the story.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

oh, and also, I hate writing summaries, anyway.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Ha! Ditto! Especially when you read the whole story and then are like "Huh, I *still* don't know what that quote had to do with your story!"

Summaries that Suck

[stargatebabe.livejournal.com]

LOL. You hit my pet peeve. LOL. I have worked at summaries and found the following...let me slam someone's head against a wall here...(that's angst btw)

1. If you say 'ship' and it's NOT S/J better say so upfront before someone lynches you...LOL. I had that a few times. Got flamed.

2. I hate reading a 'line' from the fic for the summary. Just write something.

3. If you want folks to read it, you have to put something catchy. I had several dozen readers SEND me advice on how to do this. For an SG1 Rome fic, someone told me that the idea of SG1 going back to Rome was a turnoff... hey it was about a planet stuck in the Roman Empire system...how do you NOT say it's about Rome? D'Oh.

4. If you even think it might be for older kids/teens/ etc... better say so. I have heard of parents flaming authors.

5. what are "Secks"?

6. There are folks out there who will NOT read anything not S/J. Tell them to go jump for me please.

7. Please, get over the basic trite descriptions... "lost on a planet, captured and tortured, get in trouble, never thought possible, strange inhabitants, must save each other, against orders, impossible odds, save the planet,..." I'll shoot the next guy who uses those descriptions. Are we writers... or .... mice?

Thanks for the rant.

LMAO!

Re: Summaries that Suck

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

5. what are "Secks"?

As in hot monkey secks... *groans* Your mispelling is neither cute nor quirky... argh!

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

I don't mind squinting, but I'm actually less likely to read a fic if it says that, because I'm usually in the mood for ship, so if there isn't any there... ehhhhh. Unless it's a funny team fic or an author I know.

Totally with you on the "I suck at summaries" people. You can write a whole fic but not come up with one intriguing line for a summary? This does not bode well for you. It's become a sort of red flag now.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

This does not bode well for you.

Avast! Off with their heads... :)

I don't mind if there is UST or pairing is implied, but I hate people washing their hands of any responsibility like that. I'm sorry, do they not know what they wrote??

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

I suck at summaries, please read -

I prefer the "I suck at summeries, please R&R!" version. *headdesk*

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Ooooh... this is a new emergence aswell... I seem to be seeing this more and more... :P

[dirty-diana.livejournal.com]

I hate apologies of any kind in summaries. Not beta'd, I haven't written fic in a while, I took some liberties with canon, I wrote this at 3am while drunk and blindfolded...all of this kind of strikes me as stuff we don't need to know. Either the story sucks and I will notice, and then I won't really care why it sucks, I'll just stop reading. Or it doesn't and I won't. Fewer excuses!

*deep breath*

There, now that's off my chest. :)

[indian-skimmer.livejournal.com]

Oooh "not beta'd so don't yell at me if there are any mistakes!" makes me want to pull my own hair out.

I've used the liberties with canon one myself though. Sometimes with shows with slightly unreliable canon *cough*Smallville*cough*, or Batman-fic where there's 102 different backstories, it's best to clarify which version you're using. It also saves you getting 20 bits of feedback saying "you've ignored so-and-so's line in episode three..." when that's something you did deliberately.

[crayonbreakygal.livejournal.com]

Napping is good.

Secks? Huh? Spelling error? Please staple things (like a dictionary) to this person's head. I do suck at summaries too, but I'd never put that in the summary, for goodness sake. Damn, don't people look at a TV guide or whatever and see that you can summarize a fic in one or two sentences. Sure, it's difficult. I suck at it too. Actually, I suck more at titles.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Hee... if stuck, why not just ask your beta to summarise for you...

I understand it's a skill. I mean, authors don't write the blurbs on their own books... :)

[rigel-7.livejournal.com]

You can see the pairing if you squint

This one always makes me laugh, because I can ship my favourite pairing with absolutely nothing to go on :P
eg. "Cameron walked into the room and went over to where Sam was standing..." I'll immediately assume they're having hot monkey sex in their free time :D

But I completely agree, it's either ship, pre-ship or gen - pick one!!

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

I'll immediately assume they're having hot monkey sex in their free time :D

Because they totally are.

:)

[indian-skimmer.livejournal.com]

My personal favourite summary of all time was in a TV listing magazine and read simply "Daniel Jackson goes missing".

That doesn't even narrow it down to a *season*.

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Hahahaa... that's almost as useless as "Daniel Jackson dies"...

[octavia-b.livejournal.com]

I suck at summaries, please read - You might as well write "I like ponies, please read" or "Whip, whip, snokity whee!"

Hee! And yes! This drives me nuts too. But I don't come across it that often because these days I only read authors I already trust, or someone who's been recc'd by someone I trust. You're on the list *g* I just don't have the time to wade through everything.