| 10:42p |
You know what I want to see?
I want to see a "surprise" pregnancy in a femslash story. This is a truly bizarre thing for me to think of, since I don't read femslash, am slightly squicked by femslash (yes, that's weird, coming from a slash reader), and am squicked by pregnancy even in real life. Still. There exists this odd desire to read it.
I do want it with explanation though, and none of your MPreg-worthy explanations: no "it's just magic," no "I as the author like the idea and therefore will bend every law of nature," no "in this universe it's possible." Come on, folks: even "it was an alien virus!" would be better. |
| 11:44p |
Fic Summary Sniping (Part One)
You know what amuses me? The way some people tout their fics in the fic summary, instead of giving a plain, well, summary. Rather than give an intriguing premise and an introductory plot, they give out promises, big flashy "keywords," and meta.
Examples:
Bill/Snape Slash!! Romance, Role Play, and Ravished Snapes!!
Harry is depressed! Can his friends cheer him up?////Also, Harry is having trouble sorting out his feelings! TRANS ISSUES!
A multi-chapter action-packed extravaganza involving Sly Cooper & Co.
PG for mild language. This is a DVD-Like film for special features and a special Behind-The-Scenes Interview with Writing Guy! A hacker finds a book an things happen! Look, I cant summarize, just please R&R
This will be an InuYasha and Tenchi Muyo crossover it will be I/K, M/S, & T/R. I will have a showdown between InuYasha and Tenchi included. Please R&R
All of these "summaries" are terrible. [This is my journal. I may make strong opinionated statements.] They are substituting flash and hype for actual storytelling ability, and they are the sort of summary that warns me away from a fic. Why, you ask?
First, the plot is minimalised. Each of these summaries reveals very little about the action of the story and where it is going. Plot is the foundation of stories. It is the "thread" that weaves through all the characters and emotions and separate actions to make a whole. The plot is why you read and follow a story, and a good summary should give the reader a starting point with which to understand the plot.
You don't have to tell us the whole plot! I can't stress that enough. If your entire plot is reduced to three summary sentences, there's no point in my reading the story anymore. The summary should be "introductory," laying a brief path of "stepping stones" to the beginning of the fic. This is especially vital in AU or alternate reality stories, but is important to all fics. A summary should tell something about the plot that makes the reader want to find out the whole story. Without that, they fail to stir the reader's interest in the story, and it will not be read.
So, how do these summaries fail the plot test?
The first is merely a disjointed collection of plot elements, little pieces that don't make sense together or provide any idea of what the story is actually about. That horizontal thread of "plot" is missing, and without it you have a bunch of random elements with no apparent connection.
The second is similar; it provides what looks at first glance like a plot summary, but "Harry is depressed" is not really a plot. This is a plot element. The plot of this story is the way Harry's friends manage to alleviate that depression, and absolutely nothing is even hinted at in the summary. Will there be a daring escape from the Dursleys? Will they throw him a surprise party? Will they organise a massive Gryffindor orgy? Without a clue as to what happens in the story, potential readers can't tell if they're interested in it.
The third summary is a blurb. It describes the fic in terms of categories: action, multi-chapter. This is like those newspaper photo captions of Order of the Phoenix, where the line of text underneath says "Weighing in at over a pound, Rowling's new book has Harry facing a plethora of new challenges, as well as the mysterious character death hinted at months ago." Does this tell you anything at all about what happens in the story? No. It tells you that the characters will have adventures, something that is obvious from the book's existence, and describes the length and weight of the physical document, and tells us only that it involves certain characters. Well, of course it does-- it's in that category! Similarly, this summary is describing the physical document of the fic, rather than the plot.
The fourth summary reads like a sales ad. Its summary is touting the author's "interview," not the story, and the "plot" is a mere sentence that gives the reader no incentive to read it. Author's interviews are nice only if I actually like their stories-- who wants to interview someone who's boring? "Things happen" is a basic assumption of plot; it is not a plot in itself. In effect, this summary tells the reader that there is a plot, but that's not enough-- they need to know if it's an interesting plot, a well-written plot, a plot that appeals to their fic preferences.
This fifth summary is a plea. It makes promises for specific plot elements-- pairings, a fight-- but says nothing about the circumstances in which it will take place. The author wants me to read it-- really wants me to read it! There's no connective tissue for these scattered elements, however, and no conceptualisation of how they are tied together. Is it a sweeping epic? A short piece, with already-established relationships? Is it a combined world, or are the characters from Tenchi thrown into the world of Inu-Yasha and his friends by means of a plot device?
(To be continued)
Current Mood: high
Current Music: Eagle Eye Cherry, "Save Tonight" (please make it go away!) |