the-horologist:

hey fic writers, when you post a story, please don’t put “i’m bad at summaries” or “it’s better than it sounds, promise” in the summary section. bc i’m going to be honest, i look at the summary for two things – one, to see if the story has a plot that sounds interesting to me, and two, to see if i enjoy your writing style. if all you put is “i’m bad at summaries” i don’t know anything about your story, and it’s going to make me doubt you’re a strong writer because you’re downplaying your skill. and I’m probably going to look for something else to read.

that said, i know writing summaries is super hard because you have to boil down your work into what feels like its most important elements, not oversell or undersell certain themes, and do it in a snappy, engaging way that will make people want to read it. and that’s really hard! and i’m not going to pretend i’m very good at it. 

so the easiest thing you can do is pull a couple lines from your story and make that the summary.

it can be that simple! your style and the story’s tone will be conveyed right off the bat, and if you pick a few lines that are introducing the conflict, you’ll make people wonder where the plot is going. you hit all the points a summary is supposed to, and you don’t even have to write anything new! so next time you finish a story or chapter and think “i have no idea how to sum this up in a few words” just scroll through your work and pick out a few sentences you think show off what’s best about your story. i promise people will be more excited to start reading it