Story summaries in posts

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

First of all - I really appreciate this community. It has helped me many times and I have found some really great stories through other people's queries as well. Kudos.

I was wondering though, is there some way of asking for help with a specific story (rather than, say a genre) without giving away the entire plot in the process? It's great to jog the memories of those who can help, but kind of takes something away from the story-telling for those who may not have read it yet. Perhaps starting with a general description and then spoiler'ing the details that are obviously major plot points? A clunky solution but maybe somebody has a better idea.

Moderators: if this is not allowed, please delete, but I'm hoping maybe it can help the comm in general.

Comments

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

Good question!!

I think that what happens is, in the search for a fic, a requester is trying to give as much info as possible to describe the story, not realizing that when they're done, they've pretty much described the whole thing. And so, yeah, you're like, "well, hell, don't need to read this, I know how it ends!"

A good example of not giving up the entire might go like this - let's use Myrna's If You Needed Me, since practically everyone has read it.

"I'm looking for a B/J fic, it's in four parts with different POV's, and it's about Justin having a brain tumor."

As opposed to

"I'm looking for a fic where Justin has a brain tumor, and he gets operated on, and moves in with Brian after, and they were broken up so Justin was with Ethan first, but then he dates another guy and Brian gets jealous, and..."

Thing is, it's all in the details. I think so many of us have been around so long, we've read all of the classics and forget that not everyone else has, too. I find that rec lists are very helpful when looking for fics. Most of them give a basic story outline without spoiling the whole thing.

Any way, consider this as your official mod permission for this post! After you've received some helpful (hopefully!) hints, will you update? I'll keep an eye out and make sure the discussion doesn't veer off too much.

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

Thanks, vlredreign. I know it's a really fine line to tread and the point of the comm is to find fics, so...

It's really just a personal thing for me - I don't even like movie trailers that make me feel like I've already seen the film before it ever hits theaters. I guess there's a reason that writing the dust-jackets for novels is a profession, huh?

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

Even writing dust jackets is a tricky thing. Most of the time, they tell you just enough to draw you in, other times...yeah. I always thought Stephen King had the best ones, cause they would tell you the plot outline, and you still came out the other end going WTAF JUST HAPPENED!?!" lol

[meta1960.livejournal.com]

Well, sometimes is enough to read one sentence and you know the story and the author, but other times even a big summary can't trigger someones memory. When I search for a fic, I try to post a small description as possible, but sometimes I'm not good at it. So I write and write as much as I remember from the story. And if the story that I found intriguing,(from someones else's search) it doesn't matter that I know almost all of it, I will still read it. But to each his own.

I've seen requests from people who gave a long or short description and the story was never found. It happened to me to. So, I think that people will give as much information as they remember or they want to put it in the search, because at the end, we all want the story we are searching for, to be found. But that is just me. Metka

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

I understand - and the point of the comm is to find stories, so that's cool. People have to do what works for them.

[ipitydaf00l.livejournal.com]

I both like and dislike this idea. The reason why I dislike it is because what if it's only the major plot points that someone remembers. Do they have to then put everything under a cut? How would they make it non-spoiler for others if those points are the only ones they can remember.

I know years ago in a yahoo group I was a member of, I requested that those who wrote reviews put a "Spoiler Alert" and lots of space before their review because when you logged onto the group you could always see the first sentence or two and most were going, "OMG I can't believe so and so did this! Not to mention that that happened!" Sort of defeated the purpose of my reading the chapter, so I understand where you are coming from with this request. There are new fans coming into this fandom everyday, but even while being told what happens in a fic I've discovered many through this community that I might never have read before if someone had not asked about it.

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

I know - it's a really fine line. I don't mean (or want) to discourage people, and I have also found great stories through the rec's, as I said.

I don't know that there is a solution except what vlredreign suggested above. Maybe a general description and then if there are no hits, a more detailed one.

I am one who never peeks at the last page of book to see 'whodunnit' and I even hate movie trailers that make me feel as if I've seen the best of the flick before it even hits theaters.

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

OMG, I used to read the last page in a book before, again, Stephen King called me out on it. Not me personally, but...I can't remember which book it was, I wanna say it was The Green Mile series when he was publishing it like every four weeks or whatever it was. He mentioned that he caught his mom reading the last page of a book and said it was cheating. He also talked about how, when he was a kid, how he used to practically pee himself waiting for the delivery of the Saturday Evening Post to read the next installment of whatever story was running at the time. He also mentioned how when Charles Dickens did a similar thing, publishing chapters one at a time, how there would be near riots on the docks between people wanting to read the next chapter. After that, I stopped peeking.

And let me tell you, when the last book in the Dark Tower series came out, that was the most painful wait ever. I'd been reading that series for...shit...ten years or more, dying to know how it was going to end, and I clamped my hand on the right side of that book so hard to keep from looking. Do you know what he did!?!?

Right before the very last chapter, he inserted a warning page. No lie. He said something to the effect of, "You might want to stop right here. Seriously. I will not be responsible for what happens if you choose not to. If you choose to go on...don't say I didnt' warn you." And I was like, "Oh, fuck..." and I inhaled that last chapter so fast that when I finished, I was like, "HUH!!?!?!?" and kicking my own ass for NOT stopping when he said to. lol Still, as much as I kinda HATED the end, the epilogue kinda made up for it, and in retrospect, the ending shouldn't have been a surprise, really. There were enough hints if I'd been paying attention.

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

Ha! that is awesome. I have read every word Stephen King has ever written, except the Dark Tower books. For some reason I was never able to get into them. Maybe I still will one day, who knows. That is such a Stephen thing to do though, I flove it.

I do have to say, however,as much as I love Stephen, he is really not a great finisher-of-stories. I don't know how many times I got to the end of a masterfully plotted story to say.. wtf? No, really. WTF???? (It comes immediately to mind.) On the other hand, I think The Green Mile was one of the best stories ever told, start to finish, and it's also one of the few movie adaptations of a novel that lived up to the book, thanks to some great screenwriting and spot-on casting. Same goes for Shawshank Redemption. Ironic, since some of the movies made from his books are also at the top of my 'worst' list. The trouble is, they try to make horror movies out of terror novels. Big difference!

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

Stephen King fan!!! *high fives you*

There was a period where he was deep into drugs and alcohol, and I think it did affect some stories. I LOVED IT, but the reveal of what IT was...yeah, I was like, really, Steve? REALLY? But overall, the story in and of itself, about the kids, bar none, pure excellence. The Talisman and The Stand are long time faves. You're right, a lot of his books don't adapt well, and it's because they're not written with a movie in mind. However, Storm Of The Century, which he wrote in screenplay form, was awesome. The Green Mile adapted well, but I noticed that his shorter stories do adapt better. The Body (which became Stand By Me) is a great example. Plus, it didn't hurt that Rob Reiner was the director. Shawshank came from that book, too. However, Apt Pupil, which was one of my faves in that book, was a mess. It could have been told so much better.

They've talked over the years about adapting The Talisman, and I wanted this so much. But now...seriously, unless Peter Jackson did it, I don't want it. It's a fantasy story, a coming of age, and I think PJ would give it the attention it needed. Or, James Cameron, for that matter. A story like that needs a director that is capable of filling all four corners of the screen, that has an affinity for dialogue and mood setting. James Cameron can be a dick at times, but really, the original Terminator? Before its time. Titanic? As schmoopy as that is (I always watch pt 2, after the ship hits the iceberg), the cinematography is top-notch, the story never lags, and in the ship sinking sequence, as long as it is, it never stops. If I remember correctly, he had the sinking happen in real time. So you got that sense of urgency and fear.

OKAY...tl:dr. Can't help it, film and books are two subjects I can go on forever about. Music is the third.

[ipitydaf00l.livejournal.com]

It is a fine line and I agree with what you said. I just thought of the time I requested fanfic and the only thing I could remember was Justin handcuffing Brian to the shower in order to detox him. It was a quick and easy find for everyone, but that's a major plot point. It doesn't provide the WHOLE story, but does tell someone what happens. I'm not sure how else I could have reworded that statement to not spoil that for anyone considering it was the only thing I remembered.

I think even knowing some of the plot points it doesn't ruin the story for me because while I may know those details I don't know the exact journey there. I've never looked at the end of the book to see "whodunnit" because most of the time I've already figured it out early on. I blame it on reading way too many murder mysteries that unless it's someone that isn't introduced until the last chapter I've pegged them early on.

Movie trailers though are sadly made to showcase the best parts of any film. It's a sad fact and in some cases (some of those cheesy comedies) are the only GOOD bits of the entire movie.

[q-dicted.livejournal.com]

I can't say that reading the big plot points has ever stopped me from reading a story either, but I do find myself 'waiting' all the time for them to happen instead of discovering them organically.

Argggh. Movie trailers. I literally cover my ears and go 'lalalalalala' if it's a film I really want to see. My friends love going to movies with me, I'm sure. *g*

[ipitydaf00l.livejournal.com]

Most of the time by time I read the story that I found here I've forgotten the spoiler parts by everything else going on and only noticing it listed in my "to read" fic list. :)

Not that I've read fanfic in months, mind you, but at one time I had a steady list started of various stories I hoped to read at some point in the future. I just stopped reading QAF Fanfic. Someday I may go back to it, but I still need more time.

--

I'm all sorts of Lol-ing over here about your experience in the theaters. There's been times that I've been sort of frustrated when something that I saw in a trailer wasn't actually in the movie itself. =/

Maybe I should stop watching them. Lol. D: