Fanfic summaries

[wiseheart]

There are a few remarks that make me *not* read a story in any of my fandoms:

- I'm rubbish at summaries - learn to write better ones, kiddie!

- NOT SLASH! - and that in caps, too, as if it would make the author or the story any better. It usually doesn't. But even if it did, I wouldn't read it, just for that little remark.

- Don't like, don't read! - why, thank you, that's what I'm doing...

- It's better than the title - well then, why don't you find a better title?

Comments

[crowdaughter.livejournal.com]

You know, I do agree with the "NO SLASH!" part and the "I'm rubbish at summaries" etc. nonsense - but not with the "Don't like, don't read" part. The idea behind that was originally, of course, to fend off some pearl-clutching idiots who would read a story labelled AU or slash (or clearly announcing an AU plot or a slash plot in the summary) - and then ripping it apart because hey, it was AU or slash!!!101! Of course you can only know if you don't like a story if you read it - but for people who find certeain topics or pairings abhorring, the warning might still have some value.

This is why I use that caution in my numerous story warnings for my dark slashy slavefic AU, too - if people don't like slash, AU or slavefic, they should not complain that the story is just that. If they do like these things and still don't like my story, well, then that's my bad luck or I really did write something crappy. But then, they coukld at least have expected to find something they would like. :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know what you mean. And it's perfectly justified when it comes to a particularly dark and/or very AU story... although why people seem to be unable to recognize the big, honking AU level (happens with almost every single Atlantis or Torchwood story of mine) or read the warnings, is still beyond me.

However, I've once too often read that "don't like don't read" nonsense in the summaries of inane Merlin fics, where it meant that someone ships a particular pairing, and that's just plain childish, IMO.