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Fanfic Summaries

I was pondering this earlier in the week. People have summaries they like and ones they will scroll past without considering the story at all.

I'm rather open with summaries. I think the only ones I dislike are either when there isn't one or when the words aren't actually a summary, but author's notes. I prefer those for after I've clicked on the story.

I've read in the past people want them to be snappy, but I was considering longer works. Complicated stories. In those cases, I prefer a few paragraphs to introduce the basics of characters and plots. On the other hand, if the story is short, a longer summary doesn't make sense.

What types of summaries do you like? Which ones do you like to write? Does anyone else think writing a summary is easier than coming up with the title of the fanfic, or is it just me?

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  • There's a sweet spot for summaries to be vague enough to entice, but also clear enough that the reader can get a gist of the story. The only ones I tend to skip are those that don't bother at all.

    With my own summaries, I've recently started adding excerpts from the story, then an overall quick view. My format tends to go:

    Summary blurb
    "Excerpt"

    Overview

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