NOTE!: This is a random tutorial that I wrote because of all the people I know that say they can't write a summary. I have left plenty of other info in the artist comments so go read that if you must, now! Oh, and I am looking for errors so tell me if you spot any, I need to change them, ktnxsbai!

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HEY! Have you always wanted to write a summary that was so good your readers read the summary more than your story? Well I hope not, then no one would be able to read the writing would they. But have no fear, although I may not be the most amazing writer ever I’m sure I can give you some basic tips on how to write a good summary that makes all the people who read it want to read the story right there and then.

Now I’m not saying you are incapable of writing one, no, everyone can. But, there are certain ways you can write it to ensure that people are going to read it. Obviously you need a nice story title, if there isn’t a good title people might not even bother to read the summary (except in rare cases where all they ever do is read a summary). I’m a picky type of reader and if the summary doesn’t grab my attention I won’t really bother with the story. Sure that may be a waste and I’m missing out on a good story but that’s simply the way I think. Now there are some tips on stuff like, not repeating the same plot line that thousands of other people have, in here somewhere but that would be for a story writing tutorial, this is a summary tutorial.

If you are wondering why I’m even writing something like this is because a lot of summaries I read can never seem to interest me all that much, mostly because I’m picky. But also on Fanfiction.net I noticed many people say that they can’t write a good summary, this is here to fix that!

Step 1 – The content

The content of the summary is very important. You want to give the reader enough info on the story to get them started while hiding plenty of interesting plot twists and replacing them with questions. Questions spark the reader’s curiosity. Humans are naturally curious, remember that, and the more curious you make them the more likely they are going to read the story. (This doesn’t apply to everyone) A suspenseful summary is also recommended. There could be no questions that you wrote in there, but plenty that come up on their own.

Ex. 1 From “Sign of the Cross” by Chris Kuzneski –

“A Vatican priest is found murdered on the shores of Denmark – nailed to a cross in the shadow of Hamlet’s castle. He is the first victim in a vicious killing spree that spans the world. Each horrific murder exactly mirrors the crucifixion of Christ . . .

Meanwhile, deep in the Roman catacombs of Orvieto, an archaeologist uncovers an ancient scroll dating back two thousand years. The scroll, he knows, holds the key to a dark and treacherous secret that will rock the very foundations of the Church. But only if he can decipher its lost meanings – and only if he can live long enough to reveal them.”

As you can see there is not a single question in that summary. Do notice all the questions that arrived though. Who is killing all these people? Why? Where in the world? What does this have to do with the scroll? What is written on the scroll? Is the church doomed? Will someone kill the archaeologist? And there are even more in there. Mystery books have good questions summaries, even without writing question marks in there. There is also good suspense written in there that simply makes you want to find out what happened. And, whether or not mystery is your style doesn’t matter. I don’t usually read mystery but this interested me quite a bit, and I’m hard to please. (Just a note this really is one of the best books I’ve read, check it out sometime)

I’ll throw another example at you and then we shall move on in content okay?

Ex. 2 from “Warriors, The New Prophecy, Midnight” by Erin Hunter –

“The wild cats of the forest have lived in peace and harmony for many moons—but a doom that will change everything is coming. Strange messages from their warrior ancestors speak of terrifying new prophecies, danger, and a mysterious destiny.

All the signs point to a young warrior Brambleclaw as the cat with the fat of the forest in his paws. But why would the song of the wicked cat Tigerstar be chosen to be a hero? And who are the other cats mentioned in the prophecy? All Brambleclaw knows for sure is that the strength and courage of the greatest warriors will be needed now, as the quest to save the Clans begins.”

Okay, obviously the destiny thing is a bit cheesy but that’s kind of what this book is about, fate and all that fun stuff. So let’s just ignore all of that. Besides that do notice she leaves you with questions as well as a few answers. Let’s say you never read the first series of warriors (this being the second series) you still know that Brambleclaw is the son of Tigerstar who was obviously a bad guy in the last series. Also notice she tells you that they have warrior ancestors who are telling all the cats this. Do note that if you are writing a sequel you need to give away some info that people know from the previous book. This way if you capture the reader’s interest they will be sure to look for the first book and then go on to the next. Starting in the middle of a series can provide for a lot of confusion. Do be sure though not to give away the last story or the reader will never read it as well. And note the kind of questions she put in there. “And who are the other cats mentioned in the prophecy?” Notice that nowhere else in the summary does she mention that there are other cats involved, which makes you know there is probably a lot more to this book then she can fit into a summary, hence the reason you go and read it.

Step 2 – The format

In the many years I’ve read summaries I’ve noticed they all seem to be the same format. Usually third person, talking about all the characters and the story line. Now, provided you have good content there is usually nothing wrong with this. However, if you make an interesting format this is another great way to bag and reel your readers into the story that you’ve written. Some examples are writing the summary in the way that the story is written. For instance, if the story was in first person then you can write the summary in first person as I did with one of my stories, example later. Or, an even more fun way to do it is to use second person by saying you. Such as “Imagine you...” or “You went to...” and do it like that, not reveling the characters name until the end of the summary like “...that’s how it would be if you were [insert name here]”. By doing this you can give the reader a feel for how it is to be the character and also give away a lot of the start off story line this way. Emotions are a great way to tap into your reader so if you grab their emotions it is a great way to pull them into your story.

Ex. 3 from “The Fire Thief” by Terry Deary –

“Prometheus was a Greek god on the run. His crime? Stealing fire from Zeus and giving it to the human race. His punishment? To be chained to a rock and have his liver torn out by a monstrous bird--every day for the rest of his life—until he escaped, that is. And that’s how he came to Eden City in 1858—and into my life. Who am I? (You really are a very curious person, aren’t you?) My names is Jim, and I’m an orphan. My job? I relieve rich people of their wealth. Prometheus and I were soon as thick as thieves.* But when danger came calling, I learned that sometimes even gods need help . . .

*Oh all right, probably because we WERE thieves! No one’s perfect!”

This kind of summary reflects the authors writing style very well. This book is filled with footnotes (as seen) and plenty of humor (as read). The book is also in first person from the kid’s point of view so it makes sense that he writes the summary like that too no? The author is serious when he writes in first person by taking on the personality of the character completely, so well you would belive it was this person who wrote the book. The summary does have questions that the writer answers himself. Although you do have to wonder how are a god and a boy connected and what might happen? (A lot more than you expect I’m telling you)

Ex. 4 from “Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesic” by Gabrielle Zevin –

“If Naomi had picked Tails, she would have won the coin toss.
She shouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps.
She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.
She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.
She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn’t be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can’t possible remember.
She’d know about her mom’s new family.
She’d know about her dad’s Fiancée.
She wouldn’t have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.
She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her.
She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.
But Naomi picked heads.”

You know, this was a really awesome summary. Just reading this in a book magazine instantly made me want to buy it. The formatting here is simply brilliant in my opinion. Notice how he starts the whole thing of with if. If she had done this, none of the following would have happened. And then he ends it with if’s best friend but. You know if she had picked heads, none of that would have happened but you would also have no story. The author is telling you many of the results of her amnesia and what triggered it. As you go through the story a lot of stuff happens that you didn’t expect. Although this story is written in first person this summary works best in third, for obvious reasons. If (hehe, there goes if again) the author had decided first person the formatting would have been different and perhaps not quite as interesting.

Step 3 – Revising

There isn’t going to be any examples for this step but it’s just as important. After you write your summary you need to go over and make it sound right and maybe ask yourself a list of questions.

- Did I give away too much information? Too little?
- Does it sound like something I would want to read if I hadn’t written it? (takes a bit of imagination but if you could write the story you can do this)
- Are there enough questions lingering in there to fire up the reader’s curiosity?
- Does the format go well with the story?
- Is there any useless information in there? Did I leave out anything that might be vital?

There are more questions you can ask yourself, but this covers the basis of it. After you check these and any common grammar errors that aren’t supposed to be there try handing it off to a friend who already knows the story line and one who doesn’t. Peer editing is a great way to fix any problems you may have missed.

Examples from a to-be writer like you –

Here are a few summaries that I wrote for my stories, feel free to tell me what you think, after all, I still need to work mine too.

For “A Bet of a Dress”

“You know, there is nothing I hate more in my life than Susan Smilike. With her long blond hair, light blue eyes, and disgustingly perfect teeth, she thinks the must be God’s gift to the world. I know what a gift is, and it most certainly isn’t that popular slut of a witch. In fact I bet if you tore off that “perfect” skin of hers you’d find nothing but dark matter under there, pure, dark, evil matter. We’ve hated each other as soon we started high school and now she made a bet with me, and got John involved. Apparently I have to attempt to get popular and get one of the five guys she listed to ask me out. Anyone can do it if they try, that’s what I said, and that’s where the bet came from. But I can’t tell John, my best friend and the schools local nerd, anything about this. I better get this bet over with soon before the worst comes to worst and the viper (or Susan, or whatever she is) actually wins the whole thing anyway.”

For “The Revolution of Karome”

“Welcome to the world of Karome. A green nature filled planet with all sorts of unusual creatures and abilities. However, the king in one of the smaller countries is thirsty for blood and fire as his men storm through the villages in search of something the king wants. Before Nathan knows quite what happened his village and everyone in it, save himself, is reduced to nothing but piles of ashes on the ground. Soon he bumps into Katie and Bryan who are also on the run from the destructive knights. They all head off to a hidden village where the other survivors are but the road there isn’t easy and things get even harder when they finally arrive there. And when Nathan finally discovers what the king is looking for will he be able to stop the insane killing spree and take the king down once and for all? Or will he simply bring more pain to the people he’s trying to save?”

For “Ghost of a Werewolf’s Best Friend”

“Imagine this, you just said bye to your friends at school and starting riding your bike home, peaceful right? You start thinking about the delicious noodles your mom makes and how you are going to have some for dinner, nothing wrong with that. The thing you were thinking about the least, if at all, was what was going to happen at your funeral. Right when you smack your lips you hear a loud screeching and in an attempt to find out what’s going on you turn your head, which turns you arms, which sends the bike strait onto the road and you get hit by the swerving car head on. Needless to say you probably wouldn’t be alive would you? Well that’s exactly what happened to poor, innocent, clumsy Anna. Soon she wakes up to find out she’s a ghost. And although there are perks to being a ghost, while she among the living she discovers things she never thought possible and truthfully, never wanted to know.”