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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. Many episodes of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', for instance, involve the main characters getting captured and escaping repeatedly in the middle portion of the adventure. Although such events aremay 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 passagesimpact and confuse the readerscommentary. EvenOn thoughthe theyother may know howhand, the ''Odyssey'' ends,contains it'svarious hardscenes towhere saypeople thatrecount theymyths understandto theeach workother which have welllittle enoughimportance to appreciatethe itsmain contextplot, and impactthus might be skipped entirely.
The three basic elements of a story are plot, charactercharacters, and themethemes. Anything that is not necessary for a reader's understanding of these three elements , or is not widely recognized as an integral or iconic part of the work's notability, should not be included in the summary. ▼The ''Odyssey'' contains various scenes where people recount myths to each other which have little importance to the main plot. If most of these are left out or consist of only a sentence or two, that is not a problem as long as they help to keep the focus on the main story. In works less vital to the foundations of academia and the founding of the Western literary tradition, details and lengthy subplots could be left out due to being relatively unimportant.
▲The three basic elements of a story are plot, character and theme. Anything that is not necessary for a reader's understanding of these three elements, or is not widely recognized as an integral or iconic part of the work's notability, should not be included in the summary.
===Length===
{{shortcut|MOS:PLOTLENGTH}}
There is no universal set length for a plot summary, though it should not be excessively long. Well-written plot summaries describe the major events in the work, linking them together withwhile fairly brief descriptions ofminimizing the less-important scenes or paraphrase dialog.
The [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]] provides general guidance on length, with allowances for exceptions. The [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Film#Plot|Film style guideline]] and the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Novels#Plot|Novels style guideline]] both specify 400 to 700 words for full-length works. The [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Television#Plot section|TV style guideline]] specifies a maximum of 200 words for entries in episode lists and up to 400 words for standalone episode articles. The [[Wikipedia:VG/CONTENT|Video game style guideline]] advises no more than approximately 700 words.
While longer descriptions may appear to provide more information, a concise summary may be more informative if itcan highlightshighlight the most important plot elements. By focusing attention on the larger structures of the plot and leaving out unnecessary trivial detail, a shorter summary can often be helpful to enablehelp the reader to better understand the work.
==Maintenance over time==
HavingAt writtensome point, a concise plot summary, authorsis mustlikely to be waryedited ofby someone else; editors do not [[WP:OWN|excessive attachmentown]] to their golden prose. At the same time, "plotchanges bloat"should isbe aclosely serious problemmonitored. Plot bloat is the gradual expansion of a plot summary over time by wellWell-meaning editors whomay dobe not have the advantageunaware of the prior discussiondiscussions aboutor theconventions preferredregarding levelplot ofsummary detaillength. forPlot thisbloat particularis work.thus Periodica reviewsserious andproblem. reassessmentsHowever, byplot newexpansions editorsshould arenot essentialbe tosummarily maintainingreverted Wikipediawithout articlesexplanation. andConsider towhat maintainingchanges plotmight summary sectionsbe inworth particularkeeping.
==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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