Synopses

[EmilyMiller]

Do you write a synopsis on multi-chapter work?I’ve not done much multi-chapter, and when I have, it’s been a series of short pieces. No need for a synopsis as the pieces themselves are so short.

But soon I’ll have a three instalment story of 10k, 20k and 30k words. I’ve written a synopsis of episodes one and two for episode three. But I’ve put it at the very end (with a note at the beginning) so that it doesn’t inconvenience those who have read the first two bits.

What do you do? Or does it vary?

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

Do you write a synopsis on multi-chapter work?I’ve not done much multi-chapter, and when I have, it’s been a series of short pieces. No need for a synopsis as the pieces themselves are so short.

But soon I’ll have a three instalment story of 10k, 20k and 30k words. I’ve written a synopsis of episodes one and two for episode three. But I’ve put it at the very end (with a note at the beginning) so that it doesn’t inconvenience those who have read the first two bits.

What do you do? Or does it vary?

Em

I've never thought of it, but perhaps it's a good idea. You seem to be suggesting one for every two or three chapters? Maybe it's like those television shows that used to summarize the previous episode. Off-hand I can't remember which ones did that.

 

[alohadave]

I have a short one on each of the stories in a set I'm doing now. Just enough to set the tone, since they are ostensibly independent stories-though some will tie in to each other.

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I sort of do. At least a reminder of the main plot points. Put it together with trigger warnings at the beginning of chapters a short "authors note". I figure if readers want to skip they can. But I would rather they not skip the trigger warnings (readers in I/T, for example, are very easily triggered by anything other than I/T. Fetish readers are my favorite. The only thing that seems to trigger them is too much vanilla).

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Ah, there is my fix... Yes I write synopses (I googled the plural form ) for every series I write. Usually I write a longer one for the first chapter, where I explain the type of kinks, what I generally intend with the story, but of course without revealing or spoiling anything. For the next chapters I just choose a few sentences from the first synopsis and copy paste them

 

[PennameWombat]

What do you do? Or does it vary?

Em

I don't write a synopses, but what I do varies. I usually have an author's note as a preface to all of my stories, generally just a paragraph.

If it's a numbered series (e.g., Chronicle - Mel and Chris Ch. 01), I say little more than highlight the previous works, since it's obviously a direct continuation. If you choose to dive in here without reading the previous entries, well, you were warned.

But I also do 'serials,' where each entry is meant to be reasonably standalone but focusing on the same core characters (e.g., You Promised Me Geeks), I highlight the prior entries but again, don't provide a synopses.

I guess the closest I get is that I usually include the tags for the story in my preface, which acts to somewhat identify the subject matter. I also usually mention where violent death and destruction is included.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I don't write a synopses, but what I do varies. I usually have an author's note as a preface to all of my stories, generally just a paragraph.

If it's a numbered series (e.g., Chronicle - Mel and Chris Ch. 01), I say little more than highlight the previous works, since it's obviously a direct continuation. If you choose to dive in here without reading the previous entries, well, you were warned.

But I also do 'serials,' where each entry is meant to be reasonably standalone but focusing on the same core characters (e.g., You Promised Me Geeks), I highlight the prior entries but again, don't provide a synopses.

I guess the closest I get is that I usually include the tags for the story in my preface, which acts to somewhat identify the subject matter. I also usually mention where violent death and destruction is included.

Thanks.

I don’t know why, but I just felt a compulsion to write a synopsis. I not sure why.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

I've never thought of it, but perhaps it's a good idea. You seem to be suggesting one for every two or three chapters? Maybe it's like those television shows that used to summarize the previous episode. Off-hand I can't remember which ones did that.

Or it only occurred to me after episode three

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have a short one on each of the stories in a set I'm doing now. Just enough to set the tone, since they are ostensibly independent stories-though some will tie in to each other.

I borrowed from George Lucas. Episode one (four) is stand-alone. Episode two (five) ends with the disappearance of an MMC. Episode three (six) is the denouement.

But no Ewoks, cross my heart.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Ah, there is my fix... Yes I write synopses (I googled the plural form ) for every series I write. Usually I write a longer one for the first chapter, where I explain the type of kinks, what I generally intend with the story, but of course without revealing or spoiling anything. For the next chapters I just choose a few sentences from the first synopsis and copy paste them

I’ve written actual summaries.

**** SPOILERS ****

If you want to read Coleoidphilia and Determination, scroll down quickly now!

———

Please note I haven’t even proof read this yet, let alone edited.

———

SYNOPSIS
Episode 1 – Coleoidphilia
Emily Wilson is the great granddaughter of acclaimed erotic novelist, Emily Miller. She is a junior officer on a commercial space freighter. Only one crew member is on duty at any one time, the rest remaining in suspended animation. Emily is lonely, bored and sexually frustrated, relying on vintage porn and the ship’s “entertainment center” for stimulation.

During one of her shifts, the vessel is engulfed by a strange cloud, which terrifies Emily, but apparently nothing else happens. Later, while randomly searching for porn, she comes across a strange video in which a girl is fucked by tentacles, she finds it oddly arousing.

The next day, a giant octopus manifests, to Emily’s astonishment. He is a shape-shifting, telepathic alien, called David. He has been banished by his people for the crime of having sex with other species and has been floating as an amorphous cloud in interstellar space for millennia. Being able to read Emily’s mind, David discerns Emily’s sexual needs and they become lovers.
—
Episode 2 – Determination
Emily and David have been together on the vessel for some time, exploring their relationship, emotionally and sexually. David is preoccupied by the idea that his species are searching for him. Emily is restless and struggling with both commitment and the concept of consent, when one partner can read the other’s mind. She is also worried about what sort of future she can have with an immortal alien. She finds herself very irritable much of the time.

David, tries to help and suggests that he could make Emily like him by using a machine. Emily is unsure and is beginning to yearn for something other than what she has, she realizes that this is her pattern. In secret, David builds the machine they have been discussing, assuming Emily will be pleased. She is apoplectic and feels that David is pushing her into things she is not ready for. The pair break up and Emily decides to pursue human relations again.

Reluctantly, David helps Emily to revive a female crew member, Park Na-ri. David meanwhile adopts the persona of another officer. After several false starts, Emily and Na-ri hook up. Emily feels that she and Na-ri are in different places and she seeks solace again with David.

David explains that Emily is pregnant, a result of her and David fucking with him in humanoid form. This explains some of the weird behavior of both David and Emily, though Emily also recognizes her own fear of commitment. David also explains that there are dangers for both Emily and their potential offspring if she continues with the pregnancy. These would be avoided if she used the machine.

Still not 100% sure what to do, but thinking that she now understands David better and probably also wants the baby, the pair reconcile. Na-ri returns to cryo-stasis and Emily and David begin to work on what to do next.

Then the vague fears that David has had materialize and he is arrested by the Banishment Enforcement Agency. Emily is left pregnant, confused and bereft. After agonizing about options, and discovering a secret message from David, she decides she is going to do all she can to rescue him. That requires using the machine and the episode closes with Emily firing it up.

———

**** END OF SPOILERS ****

 

[MelissaBaby]

I borrowed from George Lucas. Episode one (four) is stand-alone. Episode two (five) ends with the disappearance of an MMC. Episode three (six) is the denouement.

But no Ewoks, cross my heart.

Em

Star Wars in only 9 posts. Congrats.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I think mostly it's a bad idea. From reading other's story, if I open up chapter 3 and there's a 1k dry synopsis of parts one and two, it's not particulary going to grab my attention. Better to start part 3 with something powerful ('Sam having picked up the ring has realized Frodo isn't dead) then the virgin reader willl hopefully go 'This sounds like fun, lets go back to parts 1 and 2. Unlike, say TV, you're previous installments are easy accessible at a moments notice.

That's not to say you shouldn't include nudging reminders (The ring in his pocket, the corpse of the giant dead spider, shots of Mount Doom in the background) to get your readers back upto speed about what exactly is going on.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I think mostly it's a bad idea. From reading other's story, if I open up chapter 3 and there's a 1k dry synopsis of parts one and two, it's not particulary going to grab my attention. Better to start part 3 with something powerful ('Sam having picked up the ring has realized Frodo isn't dead) then the virgin reader willl hopefully go 'This sounds like fun, lets go back to parts 1 and 2. Unlike, say TV, you're previous installments are easy accessible at a moments notice.

That's not to say you shouldn't include nudging reminders (The ring in his pocket, the corpse of the giant dead spider, shots of Mount Doom in the background) to get your readers back upto speed about what exactly is going on.

I generally agree. I think it's better to remind readers of what they need to know from previous chapters through the narrative than via a synopsis.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I’ve written actual summaries.

**** SPOILERS ****

If you want to read Coleoidphilia and Determination, scroll down quickly now!

———

Please note I haven’t even proof read this yet, let alone edited.

———

SYNOPSIS
Episode 1 – Coleoidphilia
Emily Wilson is the great granddaughter of acclaimed erotic novelist, Emily Miller. She is a junior officer on a commercial space freighter. Only one crew member is on duty at any one time, the rest remaining in suspended animation. Emily is lonely, bored and sexually frustrated, relying on vintage porn and the ship’s “entertainment center” for stimulation.

During one of her shifts, the vessel is engulfed by a strange cloud, which terrifies Emily, but apparently nothing else happens. Later, while randomly searching for porn, she comes across a strange video in which a girl is fucked by tentacles, she finds it oddly arousing.

The next day, a giant octopus manifests, to Emily’s astonishment. He is a shape-shifting, telepathic alien, called David. He has been banished by his people for the crime of having sex with other species and has been floating as an amorphous cloud in interstellar space for millennia. Being able to read Emily’s mind, David discerns Emily’s sexual needs and they become lovers.
—
Episode 2 – Determination
Emily and David have been together on the vessel for some time, exploring their relationship, emotionally and sexually. David is preoccupied by the idea that his species are searching for him. Emily is restless and struggling with both commitment and the concept of consent, when one partner can read the other’s mind. She is also worried about what sort of future she can have with an immortal alien. She finds herself very irritable much of the time.

David, tries to help and suggests that he could make Emily like him by using a machine. Emily is unsure and is beginning to yearn for something other than what she has, she realizes that this is her pattern. In secret, David builds the machine they have been discussing, assuming Emily will be pleased. She is apoplectic and feels that David is pushing her into things she is not ready for. The pair break up and Emily decides to pursue human relations again.

Reluctantly, David helps Emily to revive a female crew member, Park Na-ri. David meanwhile adopts the persona of another officer. After several false starts, Emily and Na-ri hook up. Emily feels that she and Na-ri are in different places and she seeks solace again with David.

David explains that Emily is pregnant, a result of her and David fucking with him in humanoid form. This explains some of the weird behavior of both David and Emily, though Emily also recognizes her own fear of commitment. David also explains that there are dangers for both Emily and their potential offspring if she continues with the pregnancy. These would be avoided if she used the machine.

Still not 100% sure what to do, but thinking that she now understands David better and probably also wants the baby, the pair reconcile. Na-ri returns to cryo-stasis and Emily and David begin to work on what to do next.

Then the vague fears that David has had materialize and he is arrested by the Banishment Enforcement Agency. Emily is left pregnant, confused and bereft. After agonizing about options, and discovering a secret message from David, she decides she is going to do all she can to rescue him. That requires using the machine and the episode closes with Emily firing it up.

———

**** END OF SPOILERS ****

Nice try missy, but I am not getting tricked into reading your tentacle stories! As far as I am concerned, the only good tentacle is a cooked one, with a side of chard and potatoes...

 

[EmilyMiller]

I think mostly it's a bad idea. From reading other's story, if I open up chapter 3 and there's a 1k dry synopsis of parts one and two, it's not particulary going to grab my attention. Better to start part 3 with something powerful ('Sam having picked up the ring has realized Frodo isn't dead) then the virgin reader willl hopefully go 'This sounds like fun, lets go back to parts 1 and 2. Unlike, say TV, you're previous installments are easy accessible at a moments notice.

That’s why I put it at the end, having my cake and eating it I guess.

That's not to say you shouldn't include nudging reminders (The ring in his pocket, the corpse of the giant dead spider, shots of Mount Doom in the background) to get your readers back upto speed about what exactly is going on.

I did think about an alien spider, but I don’t like spiders much.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Nice try missy, but I am not getting tricked into reading your tentacle stories! As far as I am concerned, the only good tentacle is a cooked one, with a side of chard and potatoes...

They aren’t about tentacles really, PM me if you want to know what they are based on.

Em

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't see the point of a chapter synopsis. Once a story has been posted in its entirety, I figure readers are able to remember the previous chapter when they click into the next one. Like in a book, one turns a page and, gosh, the next chapter starts straight away.

Too much (over) thinking goes on about the first launch of a story and the consequences of slow chapter release. But once it's been out for while, none of that matters. Put effort into the next chapter, not extolling the virtues of the last one!

 

[SimonDoom]

I see no point. Just jump into the story. A synopsis is just a form of interference with a good read.

 

[gunhilltrain]

They aren’t about tentacles really, PM me if you want to know what they are based on.

Em

He was referring to calamari - squid, in other words - which I don't think is what you are writing about.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

No. The story explains itself. It should anyways.

 

[ronde]

Do you write a synopsis on multi-chapter work?I’ve not done much multi-chapter, and when I have, it’s been a series of short pieces. No need for a synopsis as the pieces themselves are so short.

But soon I’ll have a three instalment story of 10k, 20k and 30k words. I’ve written a synopsis of episodes one and two for episode three. But I’ve put it at the very end (with a note at the beginning) so that it doesn’t inconvenience those who have read the first two bits.

What do you do? Or does it vary?

Em

I don't typically write stories in installments, but I do write stories with the same main characters. In those I'll usually take a paragraph to reintroduce my main character along with a note such has "If you've read my earlier stories, you'll understand...".

 

[MetaBob]

Do you write a synopsis on multi-chapter work?I’ve not done much multi-chapter, and when I have, it’s been a series of short pieces. No need for a synopsis as the pieces themselves are so short.

But soon I’ll have a three instalment story of 10k, 20k and 30k words. I’ve written a synopsis of episodes one and two for episode three. But I’ve put it at the very end (with a note at the beginning) so that it doesn’t inconvenience those who have read the first two bits.

What do you do? Or does it vary?

Em

Oh, it varies fer shur.

One of my favorite things to do is, when I post a chapter, I include a teaser for the next chapter at the end. Like this:

Next in chapter 4:
Match | Bob gets his ass kicked. And finds his ...

or

Next in chapter 6:
Syllabus | Marc pleases Chloe. Nia's hairbrush helps. And hurts.

For full-on synopses, not so much, but yes, I've done them.

 

[nice90sguy]

Once. It's introduced in the story thus:

This final part continues my style of exposition, with the usual flashbacks, flash-forwards, scene jumps and all the other whizz-bang gimmickry I love to employ.

However, as this is the near the end of the story, I think I'll summarise, as simply as I can, the "forward" story thus far (or as much as has been revealed of it thus far), without all those time-jumps and implied facts. Feel free to skip it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I agree with those that question the need.

In a chaptered story, the intent is for the readers to start at the beginning and move forward from there, so a synopsis anywhere within the story would be inane.

For a series, each episode should stand on its own, written in such a way that key character and plot elements are provided in enough detail that a synopsis of other episodes isn't required. Ideally, one episode would entice readers to seek out the others on its own.

Now, if you wanted to create a synopsis of your portfolio of stories and place that into your profile to aid readers in navigating the stories, I would agree with that approach.

 

[Rollinbones]

I don’t have time for that. I just sort of write and marvel at the weird places I end up. Anything that I’ve broken into chapters I’ve done after I’ve finished and it was difficult cause I had to make sure each bit felt complete. When I’ve tried to go chapter by chapter I just lose my way and lose interest in it all. Perhaps that’s immature of me as a scribbler. Sometimes I’ll sketch concepts or section ‘vibes’ in dot point if I have a direction like an epiphany when I set off and do many times I look back when I’m finished and I’ve veered a long way off course. I’m still just learning how to make stuff up and write it down though.