Writing Effective Episode Recaps

Have you been thinking about writing episode recaps for money? Or, are you currently writing episode recaps? If so, keep reading, because I will tell you how you can write episode recaps that will keep your readers coming back for more!

Currently, I write daily episode recaps for Soaps.com. Before Soaps.com, I wrote episode recaps on reality TV shows. So, overall I have written over 50 episode recaps. When I first began writing episode recaps, I thought it would be easy, but I learned it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. As time went on, though, I learned how to write episode recaps that would keep my readers' attention.

First, your episode recaps must be descriptive. You don't have to write everything that goes on in the show word-for-word, but you should give as many details as possible. Furthermore, when characters show emotion, write their emotions so the readers will get a sense of what's going on. Many readers have to work and can't always watch their favorite shows, and that's where episode recaps come in. If your episode recaps of their favorite shows are good enough, they'll come back for more! While reading your episode recap, they'll want to feel as if they're watching the show. Therefore, in order to give them that feeling, you should write descriptive episode recaps and describe emotions. Here's an example of an episode recap without emotion and one with emotion:

Without: Jane hangs up the phone. Apparently, what John had to say wasn't what she wanted to hear, because she doesn't look happy.

With: Jane screams at John over the phone about his encounter with Lisa. When she doesn't get the answers she's seeking, she slams the phone onto the receiver! She glances at her and John's wedding photo on the table. With tears forming in her eyes, she plops down onto the couch, buries her face in her hands and cries hysterically.

Which one grabs your attention the most? If you say the episode recaps with emotion, then you're correct! The episode recap without emotion gives us the impression that Jane isn't happy about the conversation she just had with John. However, the episode recap with emotion shows us she's her emotions and gives us a better idea as to why she's so unhappy.

Being descriptive and showing emotion in your episode recaps are only the beginning. Another way to write them to where they're interesting is by writing in present tense instead of past tense. Because you want your reader to feel as if they're watching the show, present tense works better. When I started writing episode recaps, I wrote them in past tense at first, but I realized present tense worked better, so I changed my style.

Just like with writing fiction... "show, don't tell." Telling only makes writing dull, but showing adds excitement and action. This refers back to when I suggested you "show" the characters' emotions. Here's another example to "show" you what I mean...

Telling: John arrives home and finds his belongings on the front lawn. He gets out of the car, goes inside the house, and then asks Jane why his things are outside.

Showing: Pulling up in the driveway, John's mood turns to anger when he notices his belongings on the front lawn. Slamming the car door shut, he stomps into the house!

"Jane! Oh Jane, where are you!" he shouts through the house.

"I'm in the kitchen! I'll be right there," she calls back.

"Why is my shi* piled on the lawn!" he demands, before she can say a word.

"Quit shouting at me, please. Your things are there because I want a divorce."

"Why? What have I done to upset you so much?" he questions, much calmer now.

"You know what you done. I asked you about Lisa on the phone, and because you couldn't give me a straight answer I figured it out on my own... you're having an affair," she replies as tears run down her cheeks.

Again, which example grabs your attention the most? If you're thinking the second example, you're correct. When writing episode recaps, you can use narrative and dialogue. Using dialogue helps you to show when you find yourself telling. However, you'll use a lot more narrative when writing episode recaps. Dialogue is good, but you'll want to keep it to a minimum.

Many who read episode recaps like to see screenshots from the show your writing the episode recap on. Screenshots give the reader visuals. If you have a digital camera that takes good high quality photographs, you can use it, and then crop the pictures on your computer before adding them to your episode recap. Another great way to take screenshots is with a TV capture card. You can invest in a TV capture card that doesn't have to be installed into your computer, or you can choose one that does; the choice is yours. Personally, I like the capture card that plugs into my computer's USB. TV capture cards are inexpensive. They usually run anywhere for $30 and up, depending on your preferences.

That concludes my article on writing effective episode recaps. Now that you know how, why not search for companies looking for someone to write their episode recaps. After you get use to writing the episode recaps, the job can be fun, and the best part is you'll be getting paid to watch TV!