Inside Scoop

[19] Summaries and/or Descriptions

How do you come up with a good description and/or summary?

Leigh19: Not over-thinking it .

I usually scribble down the plot I have for the story, a general guideline of where I want to go with the story and base my description/summary off of that. You never want to give more away about the story because like that saying goes "Less is more." Give them a brief but concise description that generally tells you what type of story it is or what it has to do with and leave it at that.

 I like to make sure the reader sees why my story is different and worth reading because to me I want a person to read the description and in their mind have it set that they’re going to enjoy my story. I find when I over-think and put too much work into a description making it overly descriptive and too polished  which doesn't give it the same effect.

I aim to make it short and bittersweet.

Vicky_nfs: haven’t quite figured that out yet

 I find writing a summary or description for a story difficult - you want to get the possible reader interested to read your story, yet, you don’t want to give too much away. It has to create a certain feeling of wanting to read about the things that might happen in the book, wanting to know what the story is all about, but then again, you don’t want to tell everything that will happen in the story.

Great summaries, descriptions or blurbs, to me, are the ones that manage to give you an idea of what the story will be about in only a couple of lines and begin or end with a few questions. I think that the questions make the description more effective seeing as even when you didn’t manage to make the possible-reader wonder about your story, the questions will do it for you.

 A summary shouldn’t be too descriptive or go into too much detail as you want to attract more readers. Basically, when you keep it a little vague but still interesting, more people will give your story a try compared to when you make your description very specific. I’m not sure how much sense this makes, but when you write your description in such a way that it is completely clear that it’s all about romance, or entirely about horror and gruesome scenes, you’ll only spark the interest of those people who love these specific genres. Whereas, when you keep it a little less specific and add perhaps a hint of different genres, more people will be interested in reading your work.

Emmiie: With A LOT of brainstorming…

Honestly, I find the description/summary to be the hardest part. You need it to be short and sweet, yet hook your reader and make them want to continue reading. And this, for me, is the biggest challenge.

I’m a person who can’t write short stories; it’s like physically impossible. I’ve tried writing them, but somehow they end up being 400-600 pages long! I honestly take my hat off for those people who can engross their readers in only a few pages – let alone finish a story by then. I really believe it takes a lot of talent to be able to write a short story—to be able to describe the plot and reach the climax of the story without rambling too much, which (as you can see) is the part I struggle the most with.

One day, I’d like to make another attempt at writing a short story, just to prove to myself that I can do it, and don’t always get carried away whilst typing. Not that there is anything wrong with longer stories, I love being able to sit down and read/write a book length novel, but at the same time; it would be nice to know that my writing is versatile.

So aside from my inability to get to the point, descriptions and summaries are challenging. I normally just try to pin point important factors about my stories, but in brutal honesty, I’m not happy with my descriptions/summaries and plan to rewrite them before self-publishing.