Site Post » A clarification about Summaries Short and Long · 7:27am Dec 27th, 2013
Dear Fimfiction Authors,
Wanderer D here, on behalf of the rest of the staff.
Most pertinently, the pre-readers who have to read dozens of stories per day to approve/fail your lovely work.
I believe it is my duty to inform you, that while the following sentences speak volumes of your intelligence, they are not, in fact, appropriate short descriptions for stories you submit:
"See description"
"What the Title says"
"hurr durr 2deep4u"
"They must not be forgotten."
Let me repeat that: Those. Are. Not. Descriptions.
Now, I know, and I realized that this does not apply to all authors here (thankfully), and to those of you that DO take the time to write appropriate descriptions short and long, I apologize for my ranting of the requirement. You guys are good, and this is not directed at you.
But to the ones that it IS directed at, (if you're not sure, look at the short description of your stories and ask yourself: Is this actually describing anything at all?) please pay attention.
Those lines I quoted above?
They are NOT describing anything at all. This is not something I should have to explain. This is a simple fact that common sense (I know, I know) should allow you to realize. A short description should at the very LEAST give readers an idea of what they're about to read. Hence, description:
de·scrip·tion (d-skrpshn)
n.
1. The act, process, or technique of describing.
2. A statement or an account describing something: published a description of the journey; gave a vivid description of the game.
I will help you realize, though, that such wise-ass lines as you plaster on the field for short descriptions are grounds for your story not passing moderation. And honestly, "X passed before" is not an excuse for prolonging the cycle of mediocrity.
If you need more clarity, I will attempt to present it with a very concise warning:
Write a real short description or we will fail your story.
Wait, let me underline the important parts:
Write a real short description or we will fail your story.
And just to make sure, I will also use bold on the little bits that you must not miss.
Write a real short description or we WILL fail your story.
I went ahead and used italics and red on it as well, just so you can't miss it.
Capisci?
Good.
Now, you might be wondering, why this is important at all.
"Mah stori iz Beautyfully!" You write in your angry PMs. "Yu do dis to me for snort dexcriuptions?"
There happen to be very good reasons for this being a requirement.
You see, from a user/reader standpoint, having correct grammar and an accurate description is an actual invitation to carry on reading your story: It presents exactly what's inside.
From an author's perspective, you don't have to spoil the story to make it interesting, but you can make an effort to make that hook... that first impression count by writing it in a way that's attractive, and communicates what your story is about.
The short description covers this function by allowing users to know what's going on at first glance. Don't tell us you can write 1000+ words of a story you care about and not bother to spend a minute writing a couple of sentences that will help gather interest in your story.
It might be hard to write awesome descriptions, but it's something that practice helps you perfect if you make the effort. So do so, because while we are forced by the rules to pass mediocre writing in both descriptions and stories, it doesn't speak well of you or your story when it's displayed in all its glorious disinterest and half-assery.
Do everyone a favor: take some time to write that very important part of your story. The description captures the interest and imagination of the readers even before they have read the first sentence. They might even give you the benefit of the doubt past the first couple of chapters because the premise you present there is just that intriguing.
And if you really don't care about that... at least it'll help your story pass moderation.
~WD
I'm tired of feeling like the short description is having an existential crisis.
This again? People never learn...
I like short descriptions. They're comfy and easy to read.
Herp derp, I'm pretty sure my story was one of the stories that pushed this blog post into creation this afternoon.
1652330
Seriously. It's like no one can do the most simple tasks.
1652333
What if the short description is the story title?
[Angst intensifies]
1652339
Then you must be high as fuck. XP
I just go all Hollywood summary on my stories and make the main description short enough for the "short" description.
1652339 Then unless the title is an adequate short description, it won't be an adequate short description.
If I might say, Wanderer, I think it's also helpful when a prereader or mod or someone who holds up a story makes it abundantly clear that the short description is the problem, not a short description. I had an unfortunate occasion once where the person who held up a story I was posting forgot to make that clear and I mistakenly believed they were griping about my long description being too short, instead of the short description not measuring up.
Just something to keep in mind.
1652344 What if the story title is the short description?
1652347 That is a valid point. I think everyone is getting better at saying exactly why things don't pass.
1652349
Well, if that is the case, then you are probably still high.
1652347
Yes clearly our fault that when there are two boxes for descriptions and one has a character limit in place, it becomes difficult and near-impossible to distinguish the two when stories are failed for a Description and a Short Description.
I sure do like straw-men!
1652358 we don't use straw-men. They can't handle the flames.
Why make this a rule, though? Why not just let those stories wither and die because nobody reads them?
1652347 How's the language in the automated messages go... "the short description of your story is not adequate. It should be a synopsis."
I think... I mean, the field's called the short description, so I dunno how to make it clearer than that, myself. And you can always ask for clarification, if you're confused. It happens to everyone now and then.
1652362
Ooooooooh, burn.
"Rainbow Dash flies east."
There are days at work when I despair at the people who I have to work with. Then I read one of your blog posts and my job suddenly seems a lot more tolerable. Thanks!
1652367 That's about as simple as you can get and still fit the rules. The format we usually look for is what characters are doing what actions, and... those work. "A story about Rainbow Dash," however, is not, because it doesn't say anything about what happens.
1652366
Boy this guy sucks. Someone oughta thumbs down his lame attempt at making a pun.
1652367
Oh hey, a thing in the blog.
The short description is what appears for your story on the front page. Not filling that out is more idiotic that Myley Cyrus' attempt at getting away from Disney.
It really is sad that this has to be addressed at all. Y U disappoint so much fimfiction userbase?
1652378 There you go. I get you.
1652367 I see what you're trying to do there.
That description is perfectly relevant to the story. It's actually rather genius in its simplicity.
I'll be honest, I thought of the of short description box as more like a tag-line than anything else.
1652367
Rainbow Dash Continues to fly east
Damn, I liked that third one too...
Interesting. I suppose the issue could be larger than what I see as an ordinary user, but I know of only one person having this issue, and he is certainly not mediocre, or half-assed, or someone who commits offenses against the language. He is, in fact, one of the best writers on the site, in my opinion. He just happens to have fallen into a habit of writing a single, simple sentence -- albeit almost always a near-poetic one -- in the "short description" field. More than a dozen stories of his have been approved with "descriptions" of this nature, so it's not just a one-off thing.
If you must clarify/expand/rewrite the rules, that's certainly fine. I don't feel it's fair to paint Martian with the same brush as these other writers, however.
I think I've done that. And I think it passed. But for what it's worth, I'm a terrible person and I am terribly sorry. I was trying to be poetic. It failed.
1652367 Honestly, that's a pretty decent description of what happens.
This should be in Story Writing 101.
Honestly there are still people who don't do that?
1652394
"Rainbow Dash flies so far East she ends up West."
Has this ever happened?
I'd totally read it.
1652353 And that's good. :) Hopefully, writers respond in kind by being more careful about their short descriptions.
1652397
Like I explained to him: standards change. It's usually left up to the story approver to decide whether or not it's good enough.
1652397
Your not talking about me, are you?
1652413
Do you see your name in my post? No? Then no.
1652339
1652349
You're still drunk from Christmas. Go home.
1652416
It's as if... he may have also failed for this reason...
Maybe it isn't only just one person who has ever failed for descriptions
Maybe it's really dozens every week.
Okay, curiosity question time, D. I have seen a lot of stories with very brilliant, one-sentence descriptions. "Rainbow Dash Flies East" is a perfect example. I, personally, believe the short description should be based on its relevance and effectiveness.
And looking at it form that perspective, the guidelines of a "real short description" are incredibly hazy.
Any input on this?
1652416 I have to admit I smiled.
Anyway, I'm not saying he is or he isn't, however the requirement of a "Short Description" is for it to be nothing less than a short description. If that's the only problem he has—and I might note I did not mention anyone by name—then that's something easily remedied, and really not something worth spending too much time arguing about.
Having personally never read anything of him, I can't nor will comment on the quality of his work overall. But this post isn't just about one person, it's about a persisting problem.
1652364
Well, wouldn't you want to look at a story and see a good description of it so you have a general idea of what the story's about?
...Honestly, for the past 10 minutes, I thought, and I can't think of anything to add to that. I know there's more to be said, but I can't think of anything that wasn't already mentioned in this blog.
1652424 It's not any more complicated than answering a simple question:
"Does this actually describe what the story is about?"
1652429 SO, just to clarify on this, "Rainbow Dash Flies East" is okay because it is relevant, such as "Twilight Eats a Peach" would be if someone were to actually be crazy enough to write such a bogus story?