They are incredibly important to your story. Let's break this down a bit.

Descriptions catch the reader's eye. They're usually what's called the "hook" of the story. If you were publishing this, your hook would be on the back or inside cover of the novel. They're attention-grabbers. Their entire purpose is to say "Hey! Read me!" It's also an indicator for whether or not your story is something worth reading or not.

Forewords aren't as important, in my opinion. You can either a) put in a few lines from your story to further pique interest, or b) do what I do and add personal comments because there doesn't seem to be any other place to put them.

That out of the way, back to descriptions.

There are a few things that should never be included in your description:

• A character chart
• Your entire basic plot
• "Copyright"
• Personal comments/fangirling

Before I go ahead and elaborate, no, I am not singling out anyone in particular when I say this. I've seen this in many, many stories. It's just a reoccurring bad idea, basically.

Character charts: Like (I believe) I said earlier, character charts are always a no. You want to use the first couple of chapters in your story to really introduce and develop characters, not lay it out bit-for-bit in the description. I don't want to sound redundant so I'm moving on.

Plot: No, no, no, no! One goal of writing is to reveal the plot chapter by chapter and to keep readers guessing. If you give away what is probably going to happen for the next 60 chapters or so (far too big a number, by the way), what's the point of even writing those 60+ chapters? You want it to be fun, not "oh well that was a cool plot, now I don't have to read this story!" Give your description and/or plot a sense of mystery - even if you're just writing something cute and fluffy or something angsty and suspenseful.

Copyrights: The literal definition of a copyright is this: "The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same." (source: dictionary.com) Now, that being said, you CAN place a copyright on your work, but it has to have the correct symbol: ©. This just makes it a tad bit more official. If you really want to officially copyright your work so much, you can find ways to apply for a copyright online. http://www.copyright.gov/ Is one such place to do so. Basically, slapping a "Copyright ME 2k12" is not going to cut it. And it just looks extremely obnoxious when you put it in big bold letters and wave it around in everyone's face.

Personal comments: Please, put it in the foreword. Descriptions are the things seen under your title and posting date when readers are scrolling through tags or your stories. If you have an awesome title but your description is "I love Super Junior so much!" Well, what makes me want to read that? I am by no means saying that you shouldn't post personal comments in a story (I'll explain more in a minute), but merely that you should find the right place to put them.

While I'm on that subject, let's talk about author's notes, more commonly known on AFF as "A/N."

There is a time and a place for them. Right in the middle of your sentence/paragraph/heartbreaking moment is not it. Author's notes really shouldn't be used at all. There should be no need to elaborate on anything if you're staying consistant and your plot is understandable. Author's notes that are nothing but "OMG he sounds so hot" or "Squeeeeeeeeeee" are not appopriate at all. Save your personal fangirling comments for somewhere other than your story, if you must. Placing one of those bad boys smack dab in the middle of your story is not only distracting and, frankly, irritating, but it also takes away from the mood or tone you're trying to set. It makes the reader snap out of that little universe they might dive into when they start reading. And, as an avid reader, there is nothing more annoying than being brought back to reality in the middle of a good story.

I think that about covers it. I profusely apologize for any offense that might be taken or any rambling I may have just done.