Editing & Tools

I originally wrote this blog post for our big brother site Comic Vine, but it's obviously an important part of Screened's wiki articles too.  So, just what is a plot summary? I googled "what is a plot summary" and found some great answers.  According to Answers.com here is what a plot summary is:

A plot summary is a description of the story in a novel, film or other piece of storytelling. It is not a review and should not contain the opinions of the author. It should contain all the necessary information about the main characters and the unfolding drama to give a complete impression of the twists and turns in the plot, but without confusing the reader with unnecessary detail. 

And according to Wikipedia here's what a plot summary is not.  

A plot summary is not a recap. It should not cover every scene and every moment of a story.... Not only should a summary avoid a scene by scene recap, there's no reason why a plot summary has to cover the events of the story in the order they appear (though it is often useful). The point of a summary is not to reproduce the experience—it's to explain the story. If the original is non-linear or experimental in its structure, the article should state that fact in prose, not through regurgitation of the plot.  In fact, for a confusing story, we should assume that some of our readers will look the story up because they didn't understand it. Just repeating what they saw isn't going to help them!   

Let's look at another quote from that Wikipedia page since they are clearly smarter than me: 

While longer descriptions may appear to provide more data to the reader, a more concise summary may in fact be more informative as it highlights the most important elements. By focusing the reader's attention on the larger structures of a plot, without drowning it in trivial detail, a shorter summary can often help the reader to understand a work much better than an overlong one. Excessively detailed plot summaries may also infringe on copyright and fair-use concerns     

Here are some bullet points to follow when writing plot summaries: 

• Plot summaries should be in the present tense.     
• Avoid trivial details.
• Plot summaries should summarize; explaining only the most important elements of the story.
• Read what you write out loud -- read it word-for-word like a robot -- before you save it.  
• Write well.

 
For must see wiki video tips visit Wiki Editing Video Tutorials.  For a tutorial on English punctuation check out How To Use English Punctuation.  For more updates follow me on twitter: @red_lamp

@ethan: Ah...woops. Should I go back and reduce the length of the Chuck episode pages I wrote?

I find that plot summaries are the hardest things to write. Should you leave that moment out? Do you need more/less detail here? Does this make sense if I haven't seen the film? 
 
Thanks, Ethan.

Nice guide, it really does help clarify some of the doubts I had in my mind about plot summaries. 
 
@Joe: I'm with you there mate, deciding on what to include or omit in a summary is one of the most difficult decisions to make on an edit.

@skidd said:

" @ethan: Ah...woops. Should I go back and reduce the length of the Chuck episode pages I wrote? "

Uhoh, link?  ;) 
 
@Joe said:

" I find that plot summaries are the hardest things to write. Should you leave that moment out? Do you need more/less detail here? Does this make sense if I haven't seen the film?   Thanks, Ethan. "

Absolutely.  It's an experiment in editing.

@ethan: Eh...this would be the shortest one I've done...and this would be one of the longer ones. 
I don't have a problem going back over them - I won't be offended :)

@skidd: Yah those could be shortened up :)   
 
The problem I have on a big and filled out database like Comic Vine is... not only are the plot summaries too long, many aren't written well, or are just plain unreadable.  That happens over time to unchecked wikis, as people change things here and there with out reading the entire paragraph over again.

@ethan: Grand so, I'll get on that soon enough 
Edit: Actually, is there a specific episode page you could point me to - just as reference point for the appropriate length?

And this is why I'll be writing biographies for a while. I just can't seem to type up a proper plot summary. 
 
Especially for things like Eternal Sunshine, since that film follows a semi-real, semi-imagined, and mostly non-linear plot.

•  Read what you write out loud -- read it word-for-word like a robot -- before you save it

Will do sir, thank you! ^_^

I think reading what you have written out loud is probably one of the best pieces of advice any writer could have, regardless of what they're writing. 

@ethan: I'm interested in tackling a plot summary; could you link me to what you would consider the perfect example of this formula.

@Dylabaloo said:

@ethan: I'm interested in tackling a plot summary; could you link me to what you would consider the perfect example of this formula.

Check out the Avatar plot summary we launched the site with http://www.screened.com/avatar/16-127095/