Wikipedia:How to write a plot summary: Difference between revisions
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→Characters, locations, etc.: Not sure we should use the word "biography", as guidelines indicate that an article about a fictional character should not be written like the biography of a real person. Defending a thesis statement doesn't seem like a good way to characterize this. Tag: Reverted |
m →Ways of organizing a plot summary: hyphen Tag: Reverted |
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==Ways of organizing a plot summary==
{{shortcut|WP:PLOTPRESENT|WP:PLOTTENSE}}
The plot is usually placed in a self-contained section (designated by {{nowrap|1=<code>== Plot ==</code>}} or sometimes {{nowrap|1=<code>== Synopsis ==</code>}}). By convention, [[story plot]]s are written in the [[narrative present]]—that is, in the [[present tense]], matching the way that the story is experienced.<ref>At any particular point of the story, as it unfolds, there is ''now'', and hence a ''past'' and a ''future'', so whether some event mentioned in the story is past, present, or future changes as the story progresses; the entire description is presented as if the story's ''now'' is a continuous present.</ref> If it makes the plot easier to explain, events can be reordered.<ref>For some stories—''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'', for instance, or ''[[If on a Winter's Night a Traveler]]''—presenting events in the order of the original would not be helpful. The events in these stories are presented nonlinearly, and much of the experience is based on untangling the plot. For the purpose of an encyclopedia, we do not want to add to mystery—we want to explain it. <br /> For something like ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'', where the original order is there for a dramatic reason, we might note that the story is structured in a particular way, and we'll surely want to explain what parts of the story are treated as big revelations.</ref> A [[backstory]] can be mentioned before the point at which it is revealed in the narrative, or an ''[[in medias res]]'' opening scene of a film might not be mentioned at the beginning of the plot summary. If the summary follows the order in which events are presented in a
The plot section should usually avoid commentary. Anything that is not a straightforward description of the plot must be supported by a [[WP:RS|reliable]] [[WP:PSTS|secondary]] source.
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