Summary Writing Tips
Mar. 1st, 2020 03:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luciferxdamien posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
het_bigbangThese summaries are what will help a fanworker determine if they want to work with your story! Please read through these do's and don'ts, to help sell your fic! It’s important to know that this is a summary written for a fanworker, not for a reader. You’ll want to include more visual information that will attract a fanworker, versus what you would write to attract a reader. Some of these “don’ts” are fine for attracting a reader, but aren’t as helpful for a fanworker!
Please take your time when writing your summary and ask for help if you need it!
Things not to do:
Don't just give a quote from the story! A quote probably won't tell the fanworker enough about your story as a whole, just one specific point. It doesn't give the fanworker a clear picture about what they are claiming, so they may pass your story for another one that has more information.
He woke to the sound of soft laughing, the trilling chuckle of his wife cutting through the ringing of his ears.
Or:
“May I?” Persephone asked and Hades shuddered, his thoughts interrupted. He was unused to anyone being here with him. It was late and he was weary, readying himself for bed and then…
While a quote such as these might draw in a potential reader, it doesn’t give enough information to a fanworker for them to make a decision and know what they are working with.
Don't turn in a wall of text! It's good to give potential fanworkers plenty of information, but a full, lengthy story summary is more likely to cause people to tune out. Strike a balance between giving enough information, but also keep it focused. We recommend no more than 3 reasonably sized paragraphs.
Don't list every character that appears in your fic. You want to keep the focus on your main characters and/or pairings, and including all your background or minor characters/pairings could get a fanworker's hope up for that character/pairing being more prominent than they are.
Things to do:
Do make sure that your summary is edited! A summary that has typos and bad grammar is less likely to inspire a fanworker in your writing abilities. This goes back to taking your time with your summary and asking for help, if you need it!
Do give a well-thought out summary. If you put time into your summary, it's more likely to show. Ask for help if you need to! A good summary gives a clear idea of what your story is about. If you have an outline for your story, consider working from it to develop your summary.
When Lord Aizu agreed to allow Saitou and Tokio to marry, it was on the condition that a child of theirs be adopted to the Numazawa Clan. Twelve years and two children later, they still have not fulfilled their end of the bargain and Tokio is now desperate to have one last child that she can let go. A child created out of hatred and disdain… She drugs her husband monthly, when the moon is high, and tries to force him to impregnate her, before she grows too old to bear another child. However, Saitou has been through many battles in his life and questions his own fertility, having survived through fevers and fire. He could stop her from attacking him monthly, but only at the loss of one of their sons, something he, himself, cannot bear any more than Tokio can.
Or:
Hades has evaded marriage for eons, but he can ignore it no longer when Zeus decrees it is time for him to take a wife. Amongst Zeus’ numerous daughters, it is Persephone that has been selected to take the place of Hades’ wife. Hades and Persephone must navigate their arranged marriage, while also learning how to cope with their annual six month separation. Persephone is warm and open while Hades is closed off and cold, denying Persephone his touch as he hides his body and terrible scars of the past. Can he learn to open up to her before he pushes Persephone away for all eternity?
Do give some visual information of places or time periods, if appropriate or applicable to your story! For instance, if your story involves taking a trip to Rome, a fanworker who loves the idea of drawing Roman architecture, may want to pick your story! A good way to do this is to include a second paragraph, with a few scenery notes.
The story is set in Meiji Era Japan, mostly inside of a traditional Japanese house. Kimono and traditional Japanese hairstyles are featured heavily.
Or:
This story takes place primarily in the Underworld, from Ancient Greek Myth. Some scenes take place on Mount Olympus, as well as on Earth in a field of wildflowers.
Do be clear about warnings! If your story contains things that need warnings, you can choose to take a little extra space by explaining what your fanworker might encounter. For example, if your story has dubcon in the final version, an explanation in your summary can help fanworkers decide whether or not they will be comfortable working with your story.
Graphic noncon is heavily featured, with Tokio raping her husband frequently while drugging him and subduing him. Forced drug use and domestic violence against Saitou also occurs.
Or:
There is uncle/niece incest between Hades and Persephone. Past mentions of Hades having been tortured is featured, as well as detail scar descriptions. All sex is consensual.
Put it all together and this is what your summary form should look like:
Username: LuciferxDamien
Title: Drowning with the Koi
Word Count: Around 12k total, 8k written
Genre: Drama, Angst
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Characters/Pairings: Saitou/Tokio
Warnings: Graphic noncon (spousal rape), domestic abuse, forced drug use
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When Lord Aizu agreed to allow Saitou and Tokio to marry, it was on the condition that a child of theirs be adopted to the Numazawa Clan. Twelve years and two children later, they still have not fulfilled their end of the bargain and Tokio is now desperate to have one last child that she can let go. A child created out of hatred and disdain… She drugs her husband monthly, when the moon is high, and tries to force him to impregnate her, before she grows too old to bear another child. However, Saitou has been through many battles in his life and questions his own fertility, having survived through fevers and fire. He could stop her from attacking him monthly, but only at the loss of one of their sons, something he, himself, cannot bear any more than Tokio can.
The story is set in Meiji Era Japan, mostly inside of a traditional Japanese house. Kimono and traditional Japanese hairstyles are featured heavily.
Graphic noncon is heavily featured, with Tokio raping her husband frequently while drugging him and subduing him. Forced drug use and domestic violence again Saitou also occurs.
Or:
Username: LuciferxDamien
Title: Untitled
Word Count: 16k
Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst
Fandom: Ancient Greek Myth
Characters/Pairings: Hades/Persephone, Zeus
Warnings: Incest (uncle/niece), torture (past), graphic scarring described
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Hades has evaded marriage for eons, but he can ignore it no longer when Zeus decrees it is time for him to take a wife. Amongst Zeus’ numerous daughters, it is Persephone that has been selected to take the place of Hades’ wife. Hades and Persephone must navigate their arranged marriage, while also learning how to cope with their annual six month separation. Persephone is warm and open while Hades is closed off and cold, denying Persephone his touch as he hides his body and terrible scars of the past. Can Hades learn to open up to her before he pushes Persephone away for all eternity?
This story takes place primarily in the Underworld, from Ancient Greek Myth. Some scenes take place on Mount Olympus, as well as on Earth in a field of wildflowers.
There is uncle/niece incest between Hades and Persephone. Past mentions of Hades having been tortured is featured, as well as detail scar descriptions. All sex is consensual.
~ ~ ~
Remember! This summary does not have to be the summary you use when posting your story. This summary should be designed to catch a fanworker’s eye! You are more than welcome to change and/or tweak things to catch a reader's eye. For example, you can remove visual information about time periods and locations, and the detailed information on warnings/triggers, if you so choose when writing your summary for a reader!
Please take your time when writing your summary and ask for help if you need it!
Things not to do:
Don't just give a quote from the story! A quote probably won't tell the fanworker enough about your story as a whole, just one specific point. It doesn't give the fanworker a clear picture about what they are claiming, so they may pass your story for another one that has more information.
He woke to the sound of soft laughing, the trilling chuckle of his wife cutting through the ringing of his ears.
Or:
“May I?” Persephone asked and Hades shuddered, his thoughts interrupted. He was unused to anyone being here with him. It was late and he was weary, readying himself for bed and then…
While a quote such as these might draw in a potential reader, it doesn’t give enough information to a fanworker for them to make a decision and know what they are working with.
Don't turn in a wall of text! It's good to give potential fanworkers plenty of information, but a full, lengthy story summary is more likely to cause people to tune out. Strike a balance between giving enough information, but also keep it focused. We recommend no more than 3 reasonably sized paragraphs.
Don't list every character that appears in your fic. You want to keep the focus on your main characters and/or pairings, and including all your background or minor characters/pairings could get a fanworker's hope up for that character/pairing being more prominent than they are.
Things to do:
Do make sure that your summary is edited! A summary that has typos and bad grammar is less likely to inspire a fanworker in your writing abilities. This goes back to taking your time with your summary and asking for help, if you need it!
Do give a well-thought out summary. If you put time into your summary, it's more likely to show. Ask for help if you need to! A good summary gives a clear idea of what your story is about. If you have an outline for your story, consider working from it to develop your summary.
When Lord Aizu agreed to allow Saitou and Tokio to marry, it was on the condition that a child of theirs be adopted to the Numazawa Clan. Twelve years and two children later, they still have not fulfilled their end of the bargain and Tokio is now desperate to have one last child that she can let go. A child created out of hatred and disdain… She drugs her husband monthly, when the moon is high, and tries to force him to impregnate her, before she grows too old to bear another child. However, Saitou has been through many battles in his life and questions his own fertility, having survived through fevers and fire. He could stop her from attacking him monthly, but only at the loss of one of their sons, something he, himself, cannot bear any more than Tokio can.
Or:
Hades has evaded marriage for eons, but he can ignore it no longer when Zeus decrees it is time for him to take a wife. Amongst Zeus’ numerous daughters, it is Persephone that has been selected to take the place of Hades’ wife. Hades and Persephone must navigate their arranged marriage, while also learning how to cope with their annual six month separation. Persephone is warm and open while Hades is closed off and cold, denying Persephone his touch as he hides his body and terrible scars of the past. Can he learn to open up to her before he pushes Persephone away for all eternity?
Do give some visual information of places or time periods, if appropriate or applicable to your story! For instance, if your story involves taking a trip to Rome, a fanworker who loves the idea of drawing Roman architecture, may want to pick your story! A good way to do this is to include a second paragraph, with a few scenery notes.
The story is set in Meiji Era Japan, mostly inside of a traditional Japanese house. Kimono and traditional Japanese hairstyles are featured heavily.
Or:
This story takes place primarily in the Underworld, from Ancient Greek Myth. Some scenes take place on Mount Olympus, as well as on Earth in a field of wildflowers.
Do be clear about warnings! If your story contains things that need warnings, you can choose to take a little extra space by explaining what your fanworker might encounter. For example, if your story has dubcon in the final version, an explanation in your summary can help fanworkers decide whether or not they will be comfortable working with your story.
Graphic noncon is heavily featured, with Tokio raping her husband frequently while drugging him and subduing him. Forced drug use and domestic violence against Saitou also occurs.
Or:
There is uncle/niece incest between Hades and Persephone. Past mentions of Hades having been tortured is featured, as well as detail scar descriptions. All sex is consensual.
Put it all together and this is what your summary form should look like:
Username: LuciferxDamien
Title: Drowning with the Koi
Word Count: Around 12k total, 8k written
Genre: Drama, Angst
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Characters/Pairings: Saitou/Tokio
Warnings: Graphic noncon (spousal rape), domestic abuse, forced drug use
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When Lord Aizu agreed to allow Saitou and Tokio to marry, it was on the condition that a child of theirs be adopted to the Numazawa Clan. Twelve years and two children later, they still have not fulfilled their end of the bargain and Tokio is now desperate to have one last child that she can let go. A child created out of hatred and disdain… She drugs her husband monthly, when the moon is high, and tries to force him to impregnate her, before she grows too old to bear another child. However, Saitou has been through many battles in his life and questions his own fertility, having survived through fevers and fire. He could stop her from attacking him monthly, but only at the loss of one of their sons, something he, himself, cannot bear any more than Tokio can.
The story is set in Meiji Era Japan, mostly inside of a traditional Japanese house. Kimono and traditional Japanese hairstyles are featured heavily.
Graphic noncon is heavily featured, with Tokio raping her husband frequently while drugging him and subduing him. Forced drug use and domestic violence again Saitou also occurs.
Or:
Username: LuciferxDamien
Title: Untitled
Word Count: 16k
Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst
Fandom: Ancient Greek Myth
Characters/Pairings: Hades/Persephone, Zeus
Warnings: Incest (uncle/niece), torture (past), graphic scarring described
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Hades has evaded marriage for eons, but he can ignore it no longer when Zeus decrees it is time for him to take a wife. Amongst Zeus’ numerous daughters, it is Persephone that has been selected to take the place of Hades’ wife. Hades and Persephone must navigate their arranged marriage, while also learning how to cope with their annual six month separation. Persephone is warm and open while Hades is closed off and cold, denying Persephone his touch as he hides his body and terrible scars of the past. Can Hades learn to open up to her before he pushes Persephone away for all eternity?
This story takes place primarily in the Underworld, from Ancient Greek Myth. Some scenes take place on Mount Olympus, as well as on Earth in a field of wildflowers.
There is uncle/niece incest between Hades and Persephone. Past mentions of Hades having been tortured is featured, as well as detail scar descriptions. All sex is consensual.
~ ~ ~
Remember! This summary does not have to be the summary you use when posting your story. This summary should be designed to catch a fanworker’s eye! You are more than welcome to change and/or tweak things to catch a reader's eye. For example, you can remove visual information about time periods and locations, and the detailed information on warnings/triggers, if you so choose when writing your summary for a reader!
