This is also part Rant •◦ ❈ ◦•

3. Story Description

Oh the story description. This is your other chance to get your reader to read your story and help them decide whether your book is interesting or not, so it's important that you also put an effort to at least put a story description. Please, for the love of.....

*Deep Breathes*

So as mentioned previously, story descriptions are like the teaser trailer of your story and can give an idea on what it is about. It's important that you make it interesting and again, avoid cliches to lower your chances of instantly turning off or boring your audience with the same old pattern.

What are the cliches? Here's a few:

"Amanda is just an ordinary girl who didn't expect her life to change forever....."

"She's not like other girls..."

"My name is Derick, and I'm a freshman in high school..."

And in fanfictions, somewhere along the lines of:

"Y/n is an orphan and has a tragic past...."

"Y/n's life is hell until she met (insert anime characters/ celebrity that is Y/n's love interest), how will her life change?"

"She never thought that she would get involved with the popular and hot guys of the school when all she wanted to do was finish her studies and graduate...."

"There's a girl/boy named Y/n who works hard to earn money and get a decent life, but everything changed when the hot vampire offered them a chance to earn higher. But what if they fall in love?" (this is not exactly what I read but many times, this is the kind of set up for a lot of plots)

Also: "She's not like other girls/ He's not like other guys"

And surprisingly, for me, this one: "One day......" (Like I was reading a children's book. If you've seen an actual novel with this beginning, fine. But this is usually seen in children's book or fairy tales)

And it keeps going on repeat, every. Single. Time.

For fanfics, usually anime fanfics that I've read so far has this statement:

"Read to find out, I'm too lazy to put a description"

"I'm not good at writing descriptions"

"This is my first fanfic so please don't judge" (I think it's better to place this in an Author's Note rather than the story description or else it can be a factor for your audience to become disinterested and might not check the rest of your book. Just a thought)

So how do you write your story description?

Here's a few tips that may help:

a. Be careful not to reveal the good stuff

You know what I mean. All the things that are suppose to be kept secret until the reader gets to that chapter to find out. Don't jeopardize your own book by making this mistake or else there's no reason for people to read.

b. Keep it brief

Sometimes, we get worried that our readers might not catch on with what we're trying to tell so we often end up making a long explanation of what's going to happen or what's happening in the story.

You don't have to put every element of what's going on in your book. Just give your readers something to start with then they'll find out more in the chapters. You want to keep them interested, right?

c. What does your reader need to know before they start?

You can use a paragraph or two to introduce your character and at the same time, set the mood and place of your story while giving an idea of the situation or problem/conflict of the story. For example:

"Jonathan never liked the dense forest of Phantom Creek Woods when most teenagers like him would die to prove the mysteries surrounding it, despite it's reputation of being a graveyard for countless corpses of missing people around their neighborhood.

When his mother disappeared along with her team after being assigned to search the area for another case of missing children, Jonathan is forced to enter the gates to the possibilities of life and death to get his mother back. But what awaits him in the darkness of the infamous forest? What causes people to disappear and then be found dead? Will he even find out before death breathes down his neck? Will he be able to find his mother and get out alive?"

Sorry if that was a bit dark but anyway! Here are some memes:

And back to the topic!

So basing from the example, the character is introduced along with the age group he belongs to. The place and the mood and tone is also set, immediately letting you know that things are going to get pretty serious and dark... And deadly.

The problem is also given a little peek to get the reader to want to read the book to know more about it.

Additionally, here are some guide questions to ask yourself before writing story descriptions:

1. Who is the main character?

2. Where does the story take place?

3. What is the problem/conflict?

REMEMBER!

Do not give everything away. You have to tickle that curiosity out of your reader for them to keep reading, and wanting to know the details by going to the chapters. Then keep them entertained, leave cliffhangers on every last chapter (or every other chapter) or depending on how your story goes. It's up to your creativity and wit to form your own craft.

So that's it for story descriptions! If you have any questions or requests to check your stories for me to review, I'm welcoming them! (Yes, I am now giving permission for you to drop your stories in the comments but just for reviewing and checking them. This isn't the same as plugging or advertising... So....)

Anyway! Next chapter will contain topics for fanfiction writers so stay tuned!

You can do it! Being an author is not as easy as you may think or what other people think but if you are passionate about writing, then you'll  find ways to overcome.

~Zula Romanov~