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I should have known better
Sep. 1st, 2025 11:41 am...than to wander into the notes on this post. The way people are so offended that readers would actually want to know what a story is about before devoting their time to reading it is just making my head hurt.
I had a whole rant about identity typed up, but I think this particular reblog chain covers it pretty well, especially the piece by Anna Daliza at the end. So instead, I'll rant about this skewed perception of stories and publishing that a lot of those in the comments seem to have.
(And just to clarify, the "you" mentioned here refers to the summary nay-sayers on Tumblr, not the readers of this post.)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T NEED SUMMARIES?! So many of you don't even seem to grasp what a summary is. No, it's not a list of tropes. No, it's not a list of fanfic-style tags. No, it's not a condensed version of the whole story; that's a SYNOPSIS. A summary is simply an indicator of the style and tone of the story, as well as a hint at the central conflict. It briefly introduces the characters and sets up the plot. It is, for lack of a better word, bait. Readers use (or used to use, apparently) a summary to gauge their interest in devoting their time to reading a particular book. If I am going to spend money or time on a book, I damn well have a right to know the type of book I'm getting into.
But, but, you're no good at writing summaries!!sob!! D: Guess what? Very few people naturally are! It takes practice, and even then, the whole process can still suck. If you're struggling, find someone to help you with writing summaries. Read summaries of published books. Write summaries of stories you've read. It may not necessarily get easier, but at least you'll know what the end product should accomplish.
I guess this is just another aspect of the fanficification of published books. But with fanfic, the reader is almost always familiar with the source material and characters (and this makes writing summaries for fanfic even easier than for original work), so just a few lines saying something like, "Blorbo and Obrolb, rival assassins, find themselves on the trail of the same target. They agree to work together to find this target, but they never could have imagined the desire that builds between them. Will Blorbo and Obrolb deny their passion to complete their work, or will they risk it all for one another?" There. BOOM! Summary. With original work, you simply have to incorporate some character and worldbuilding details and you're pretty much good to go.
So, stop whining because something is difficult. If you can write a story, you can damn well write a summary. It might not be pleasant, but it is possible.
---
And to add my two cents to the topic of the Tumblr posts, no, tropes and identities are not enough for me. Because all authors, regardless of identity, should be held to a reasonable standard of storytelling (whatever that means for you, personally). We're all hungry for representation, I know, but let's not infantilize and tokenize each other along the way, okay?
I had a whole rant about identity typed up, but I think this particular reblog chain covers it pretty well, especially the piece by Anna Daliza at the end. So instead, I'll rant about this skewed perception of stories and publishing that a lot of those in the comments seem to have.
(And just to clarify, the "you" mentioned here refers to the summary nay-sayers on Tumblr, not the readers of this post.)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T NEED SUMMARIES?! So many of you don't even seem to grasp what a summary is. No, it's not a list of tropes. No, it's not a list of fanfic-style tags. No, it's not a condensed version of the whole story; that's a SYNOPSIS. A summary is simply an indicator of the style and tone of the story, as well as a hint at the central conflict. It briefly introduces the characters and sets up the plot. It is, for lack of a better word, bait. Readers use (or used to use, apparently) a summary to gauge their interest in devoting their time to reading a particular book. If I am going to spend money or time on a book, I damn well have a right to know the type of book I'm getting into.
But, but, you're no good at writing summaries!!sob!! D: Guess what? Very few people naturally are! It takes practice, and even then, the whole process can still suck. If you're struggling, find someone to help you with writing summaries. Read summaries of published books. Write summaries of stories you've read. It may not necessarily get easier, but at least you'll know what the end product should accomplish.
I guess this is just another aspect of the fanficification of published books. But with fanfic, the reader is almost always familiar with the source material and characters (and this makes writing summaries for fanfic even easier than for original work), so just a few lines saying something like, "Blorbo and Obrolb, rival assassins, find themselves on the trail of the same target. They agree to work together to find this target, but they never could have imagined the desire that builds between them. Will Blorbo and Obrolb deny their passion to complete their work, or will they risk it all for one another?" There. BOOM! Summary. With original work, you simply have to incorporate some character and worldbuilding details and you're pretty much good to go.
So, stop whining because something is difficult. If you can write a story, you can damn well write a summary. It might not be pleasant, but it is possible.
---
And to add my two cents to the topic of the Tumblr posts, no, tropes and identities are not enough for me. Because all authors, regardless of identity, should be held to a reasonable standard of storytelling (whatever that means for you, personally). We're all hungry for representation, I know, but let's not infantilize and tokenize each other along the way, okay?
