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| Dreamflower's Musings by Dreamflower | 3 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Noleme | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/12/2016 |
| Very nicely written, good examples. If I were an author I'd use it as a summary guide. I have to agree with all you write, with maybe two buts - with the creative language and negative tags I'd argue it comes down to the author's reader scope. Simpler language might attract younger and less language proficient international readers. As for the negative tags, while I agree tags such as 'character bashing', 'implied slash' and 'OOC' are a turnoff for many readers, at the same time I'm very grateful for the author's honesty (probably they wisely wish to avoid flamers), as nothing annoys me more than when I start reading a story only to have it spoiled by the presence any of the above without any warnings. Anyway, good read; always looking forward to your writings. N. Author Reply: Vivid words do not have to be complicated; they can be quite simple. Some words just sound more exciting than others. Warnings about character bashing and OOC are probably necessary, especially in some fandoms. It's usually best to use tags or drop-downs for most warnings, but in older archives, such things might need to be used in the summary. Sometimes thing like that can also be put in a header for the story. Headers usually have a place for warnings. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/6/2016 |
| Again, an excellent topic to get us thinking. I wish that I always wrote good summaries, but know that some are dead. Love the one from Fiondil! Author Reply: We can't always get them perfect. I certainly have some that I think could use improvement. But some people don't even try! | |
| DrummerWench | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/4/2016 |
| Thank you, Dreamflower, for a useful and interesting essay! *sideyes own summaries pretty hard* Wow, do they tend to the dry, minimalist end of the spectrum! Maaaybe I should consider rewrites. Though even when starting out, I never understood why people said, "I suck at summaries." Do you ... /not want/ people to read your stories? Author Reply: Some of my own are a bit dry and minimalist--it's hard to hit it out of the park every time! Exactly. I am quite sure (as fanficrants attests) that I am not the only person who simply never clicks on a story that has "I suck at summaries". As to why, I put it down to the following things: 1. The fear that the summary really does suck, and the hope that pointing it out will make the reader less likely to point it out. 2. False modesty and the hopes that someone will click on the story out of pity. 3. A lame attempt at humor. 4. (And this the most pervasive, I believe) New writers see it in older writers' summaries, and incorrectly believe it is the "cool" thing to say. It's a desire to fit into the culture of what "everybody" (which is false, since NOT everybody does it) does. | |