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[[Michelangelo]] is said to have created ''[[David (Michelangelo)|David]]'' by "taking a block of marble and cutting away everything that was not David". Writing a plot summary is a similar process—you take a long work, and you cut out as much as possible. The question is, what do you cut?
The basic structure of many narrative plots includes a lengthy middle section during which characters repeatedly get in and out of trouble on their way to the climactic encounter. Although such events may be exciting to read or watch, they often clutter a plot summary with excessive and repetitive detail. Cutting less important ones can make the plot summary tighter and easier to understand. Identify the significant story beats; often, briefly stating that the plot progresses from situation A to B rather than delineating ''how'' it gets there, i.e. skipping to the results of a sequence or even entire subplot, is a practical rule of thumb for staying at an efficient high-level overview.
''Necessary'' detail, however, must be maintained. A summary of ''[[Odyssey]]'' as "Odysseus, returning home from the Trojan War, has many adventures which he uses his wits to escape until he reunites with his wife and kills the men who were trying to take over his kingdom" would omitbe almosttoo allsuperficial offor understanding the importantwork's impact and detailscommentary. On the other hand, the ''Odyssey'' contains various scenes where people recount myths to each other which have little importance to the main plot, and thus might be skipped entirely.
The three basic elements of a story are plot, characters, and themes. Anything that is not necessary for a reader's understanding of these three elements should not be included in the summary.
==Characters, locations, etc.==
For especially large or complex fictional works, certain elements may be split off into sub-additional articles per [[WP:SS]]. Such related articles should be clearly cross-linked so that readers can maintain their understanding ofunderstand the full context and impact of the work.
InSuch thean casesarticle where wemay have articles on characters, locations, and other parts of a fictional work, we often have a section thatwhat amounts to a fictional biography. These sections are, essentially, just a different kind of plot summary. For instance, an article on [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet the character]] as opposed to [[Hamlet|''Hamlet'' the play]] would just summarize Prince Hamlet's individual plot arc through the play. This works just like any other summary – again, you come up with a thesis statement, and defend it with evidence from the play. Perhaps youYou might begin the section with something like, "The play charts Hamlet's tragic downfall as he pursues revenge against his uncle Claudius", and then you'd summarize the events that contribute to that tragic downfall, using all the same guidelines you would in general.
==Spoilers==
{{main|Wikipedia:Spoilers}}
By the nature of being an encyclopedia covering works of fiction, [[WP:DISC|Wikipedia contains spoilers]]. It is traditional for Wikipedia articles on fiction (including [[WP:FA|featured articles]]) to summarize the work's plot in the section fairly early on (often immediately following the lead, though in other cases after a background section or list of characters and the actors who play them). InformationNothing should not be intentionally omittedhidden from summariesthe reader in an effortorder to avoid "spoilers" withinruining the encyclopedia article. (Spoiler warnings were used early in the projectsurprise, butnor theshould consensusa ofspoiler editorswarning was that this practice was unencyclopedic so their use has beenbe discontinueddisplayed.)
However, when summarizing a plot and choosing what details to include, editors should use discretion. The advantages of exhaustive coverage of the work are in dynamic tension with the desire to preserve the artistic qualities of the work for readers.<ref>This standard parallels the dynamic tension between the policy that [[WP:NOTCENSORED|Wikipedia is not censored]], and the practice of not tolerating sensationalism or offensiveness for its own sake.</ref> Wikipedia should contain potentially "spoiling" detail where it substantially enhances the reader's understanding of the work and its impact, but be omitted when it merely ruins the experience of the work of fiction for our readers.
==Citations==
{{Shortcut|WP:PLOTCITE}}
{{Further|WP:PLOTSOURCE}}
Citations aboutmay theor may not appear in a plot summary. The work of fiction generally (thatitself is, citesthe addressingprimary the commentarysource, impactand ordoesn't otherusually real-worldneed relevanceto ofbe thecited work)for aresimple plot details. [[Wikipedia:No original research#Primary, secondary and tertiary sources|secondarySecondary sources]] noare differentneeded fromfor citationscommentary, ofbut non-fictionalthat topics.generally Allshouldn't interpretation,appear synthesisin or analysis of thea plot must be based upon some secondary sourcesummary.
Citations about the plot summary itself, however, may refer to the primary source—the work of fiction itself. For example, primary sourceInline citations are appropriaterequired when includingdirectly notable quotesquoting from the work, citing the act/chapter/page/verse/etc. of the quote within the work. For consolidated articles, discussing a work published or broadcast in a serial form, a citation to the individual issue or episode is appropriate and should be included to help readers to verify the summary. Plot summaries written purely from other summaries risk excessive loss of context and detail. While consulting other summaries may be helpful in narrowing down on what the major plot elements are, be sure to consult the primary source material to make sure you get it right.
==Case study: Little Red Riding Hood==
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