"There is an impression abroad that everyone has it in him to write one book; but if by this is implied a good book the impression is false." ~~ W. Somerset Maugham from his 1938 memoir, The Summing Up
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Though I have occasionally been accused of being a cynic I believe that, no matter how clumsily written, everyone has a unique and worthwhile point of view that they alone can express in writing. Unfortunately the odds of that point of view being noticed are against us and many of us will never be read. That's why it's important to have a good summary.
Summaries are the first thing your potential readers will see and, along with a good cover, will help convince them that they want to read your story–or chase them away. Unfortunately wattpad is littered with the latter and it honestly makes me sad. There is no telling how many gems lie undiscovered because readers had no idea what these stories were about.
How not to write a summary
Does your summary read anything like this?
"Mary Sue was an ordinary person living an ordinary life not doing anything interesting. But what if I told you something was about to happen that would change her life forever?"
I wish that were an exaggeration, but it's not. I've actually had people argue for this sort of approach on the grounds that, to get readers interested, you have to leave them asking questions and create mystery. If this were true, then the ultimate story would be a blank piece of paper. The one question every potential reader will ask is: "Why should I read this story?" To answer that question you need to give them things to ask questions about. You do that by answering four specific questions when you create your sentence. If you haven't already done so, go back to the Plotting section and review The Sentence.
Why it's wrong
1) We don't know who Mary Sue is and why we would want to spend anywhere from hours to days with her. The world is filled with Mary Sues. Why write a story about this one? Why is she different?
2) We have no idea if anything actually happens or whether the "story" is not in fact some sort of tedious diary of meaningless events. ALL stories are about conflict. They begin when a character is forced to take action to change a situation they can no longer tolerate and end when either the character changes or the situation changes (often both) and the conflict is resolved. Anything outside those two events is just window dressing. If your story doesn't have conflict, then you don't actually have a story. It might be a beautiful and poetic vignette, but it's not actually a story.
3) With nothing at stake we have no reason to care about this character or this story. We have no answer to the "So what?" question. Is the world going to explode? Is someone going to die or at least get maimed? Will someone go through the day slightly irritated because of a hangnail? It is surprising how many story summaries are actually less interesting than that last question.
4) It uses a rhetorical question. A multitude of agents and editors have blogged about how they are sick to death (pardon the cliche) of reading rhetorical questions. It's a cheap rhetorical device to generate an artificial sense of conflict in the reader and usually a sign that the writer isn't in full control of their craft. I have heard (OK, I've read) a number of Editors say their first instinct, no matter the question, is to say no. No to the question, no to the story and no to the author. Even if a rhetorical question might be appropriate, I'd advise against using one.
"So what?" you ask, "I'm never going to try and get published."
Notice all the rhetorical questions I've asked in this section? Doesn't it come off as lecturing and pedantic? Yeah, you don't want that in your summary either.
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Much of the previous material here has been moved to the chapter on The Sentence. In the future, this chapter will be updated to include:
Expanding on The Sentence
Internal and External Plot Elements in the Synopsis: Where and How Much?
Including Additional Complications
Hinting Without Telling
The Purpose of a Synopsis: Accuracy vs Advertising
The Character's Point of View
]
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A Step-By-Step Guide to Random Writing Techniques
Non-FictionA few writing lessons I picked up here and there by reading, talking to other authors, often learning the hard way (by embarrassing myself) and occasionally advice from professionals. Everything here is presented as-is and is subject to change with...
