I have already written about this topic in my previous blog (which got deleted as it was something like a practice exercise) and I’m again posting this.
Either you are a newbie or an experienced drama watcher, there is no way you’ve not heard of Dramabeans. A perfect site for all your drama musings. I was also enthralled and fascinated by the amazing writing of Javabeans and rest of the members of the site. And they surely inspired me to start my own blog for freely expressing and cherishing my love for Kdramas.
Recaps are an important and very popular feature of many blogs. I especially go to Dramabeans and Koala’s Playground for that. And on reading those, I thought that it would be so cool and fun to write these recaps myself. Right. NO. I realised later that the job is far more difficult and tiring than it seems so.
My previous blog [at which time I was quite naive as it was my first experience in writing anything as a writer (if you can call it)] came into existence during the premiere of 2012’s hit melodrama Nice Guy and I decided to recap it. And after doing like 4 or 5 episodes, I came to the conclusion that I should never try it!!
My Observations/ Inferences:
- Recapping makes watching a drama an exercise rather than the relaxed enjoyment. It’s like we are completing an assignment for a class or a job. You remain more alert and think about how this particular scene is gonna be written or expressed.
- There is always an anxiety to recap as soon as possible after an episode is aired. Availability of the episode video and the subs play a very big role in proliferating this anxiousness.
- There is a high chance that the recaps need you to write straightforwardly the scenario rather than thoughtful expressions, because come on, you just need to write what happened. And that can cause conflict with your inner writer.
- The screenshots. Well, you’ll keep on wondering that which scene would look good in the picture rather than watching that scene. Even when I decided that let me watch the episode first and I’ll take the screenshots later, well, rewatching, marked with occasional fast forwarding, is not an easier thing at all. A total headache.
- Fast forwarding, because that can save time and you can quickly go to post the recap on time. Again, the drama watching is disturbed.
- I used to love it when there was more music so that I would have to write less. Isn’t that funny? 😀
- Writing for aggravating characters can be..well, aggravating!!
- Time. It takes a whole lot of time to write a single episode recap. Just try it and you’ll know 😉
Finally, I came to this conclusion that recapping is one of the most annoying and tiring things and hats off to those who write it, and so perfectly laced with humour and wit at that. Even they explain each and every scene in a detailed manner. I think I can write summaries but that also somehow kills my enjoyment.
I LOVE reading recaps but I’m gonna stick to writing reviews, updates and everything drama related EXCEPT recaps. LOL.
The Drama Corner 
Yeah recaps definitely take A LOT of time to write. I used to recap dramas but eventually I switched to just writing reviews. Even writing reviews takes a lot of time..but I think it’s more enjoyable than writing recaps. >_<
yeah…..writing a review is pouring your own thoughts and it’s fun….but recap is altogether a different thing which can really become tiring 🙂
I’ve never written recaps eversince…. but i do reviews but it depends on the movie or drama of my preference.. if dramas/movies have given a really good impact on me it gives me great motivation to write reviews about it.
Writing reviews is fun 🙂
You get to express thoughts and all…but recap is tiring as it requires less innovative and more commentary kind of thing…..
yeah.. 😀 I was thinking of watching gu family’s book… do yah think it is worth watching??? just a rating would be fine.. 😀
Hmm…I’ve only watched ten episodes of it….so depending on that I can say that it was cute at some parts but the writing was all over the place…too many tragedies….and when I read the ending (couldn’t help it), I decided to drop it….I guess you can watch some other show instead 🙂
Love this post!
Recapping needs lots of love and determination. Once you fall out of love or have little time to spare for watching, not to mention writing about it, it’s the end for the recap. Happened several times to me so nowadays I’m sticking to summaries and occasional reviews 🙂
Time can be the biggest challenge in writing a recap O_O The fastest that I could manage to finish one is around four hours. Imagine all the time spent by those amazing recappers at dramabeans and other drama blogs!
I’m glad that you liked the post 😀
Seriously time is a very important factor….to write each scene, make it interesting so that it doesn’t look repetitive..and add editing and screencaps to that…phew!!
Kudos to the writers at Dramabeans who recap so brilliantly and fast….
Summaries and reviews are fun as they give satisfaction and help us pour our own thoughts….
Yeah, there’s a reason I stick to reactions and reviews. 😉 Dramabeans has such a strong set of writers who do such a thorough and informative (and entertaining!) job I couldn’t even imagine trying to do what they do.
And gosh — the way it could easily suck the fun out of drama-watching! Even just watching with the thought of a simple reaction post in the back of my mind changes how I take in a drama. Having to document every single scene… hats off to those who do it. Seriously.
I know….the times when I wrote mini-recaps, it was always on the back of my mind that let me complete this as fast as i can…Watching a drama becomes a secondary thing and main thing is to just write recaps on time 😛
The time and dedication the writers show at Dramabeans is simply amazing..they enjoy the drama and make us enjoy the recaps as well!!
Great post, snow_white!!
I only write reviews, and even doing that has completely changed the way I watch drama!! >.< Sometimes I do wonder if I should just stop writing them, and just watch dramas the way I used to 😛
And yes, I salute and am in deep gratitude to JB, GF, and all the other recappers out there who do such a magnificent job of it, and even make it look like FUN. Now THAT'S impressive!
thanks Kfangurl 🙂
I can understand that writing reviews like the way you do (which I LOVE as they are so compete and in detail ♥) can make you feel that way because you can’t help but be critical of so many points….but there is a great satisfaction and fun when we write a review, while recap is something tiring as it doesn’t require many thoughts of our own.
But the ladies over at Dramabeans surely make recapping an interesting thing…kudos to them 🙂
Yes, recapping is an artform and I wouldn’t even attempt it because the professionals over at DB etc, are so bloody good at it! I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed some dramas as much if I hadn’t read the recaps at DB, and in some cases, actually learned something new. Their re-caps of Sam Soon introduced me to Korean drinking culture! :). Mad respect to all recapers for performing such a valuable service in dramaland.
yes….they write it so beautifully…plus many of my doubts are cleared through their recaps 🙂
It really requires a talent to write a recap so perfectly and completely entertaining at that!!
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Recaps? Not gonna happen, not even in dreams!!! I’m reviewing my first daily drama (and probably my last), and my recaps are “quickcaps”, I don’t write more than one big paragraph. Even this started ruining the experience for me because I was worried I would forget important things to mention. But after a few “quickcaps” I figured it was ok to just focus on the whole picture, I’m not detailed oriented at all when it comes to movies and dramas. Writing reviews made me forget to enjoy the shows at first but now that I am more used to blogging, I learned to let it go and enjoy the moment, I KNOW if there is anything weird, awesome or stupid I will catch it (or most of it).
When I see Ms Koala and Javabeans write all of this I just wonder if these amazing writers have superpowers that they never told us about. These two are huge inspirations to me but I could never do half of what they do. Recapping would drive me nuts. I would try to be on “analysis-mode” every second instead of immersing myself in the story. But I guess all of us drama-bloggers have our identities and it’s a good thing we don’t enjoy the same things and are good at different things.
That’s the beauty of diversity. Snow, you are an amazing reviewer! One of the most inspiring out there to me.
It’s funny I actually planned to write about that. Not recapping specifically, but my overall experience with blogging so far. I have learned a lot in only a few months. ^^
Ohh…do post about your blogging experience. Would love to read about it 🙂
Awwww….thanks for writing this Blue…you don’t know how much that means to me…especially when I started using WordPress just for fun, with no experience in writing. I used to post lots of things but never got satisfied. Later when I created and deleted many blogs one after another, I realised that I don’t want to do what others are doing. I should have my own style and signature in my writing. That’s when I started ‘The Drama Corner’ and my love for writing and learning to write more effectively grew and it keeps on growing.
Kudos to Koala, JB, GF, and all other bloggers who write recaps in each and every detail, plus adding so much more than simply saying what happened. It’s such a tiresome process! I so agree with the fact that instead of watching and enjoying and living the drama moments, I felt anxious about writing and taking screencaps, and then waiting for the ep to end soon, so that I could write recaps! hahaha 😀
And after recapping, my whole energy would get lost to add personal thoughts.
Anyway, now I can only write summaries.
I love writing reviews as they help me improve and use my creativity and I don’t need to write details, only my opinion about everything in general. They allow me to watch a drama at my own pace (without worrying about releasing recaps as soon as possible!) and take in everything it has to give completely.