Well, I decided it was time to have actual content on my user page. David here. I am known as "DavidK93" on a wide variety of platforms, although there are also places where the username is claimed by others.
I dedicate a significant portion of my Wikipedian efforts to writing and rewriting plot summaries. I provide summaries for works that lack them, expand "summaries" that actually only provide a setup or premise, and edit down summaries that exceed guideline lengths.
How can you tell if what should be a summary is instead written as a teaser or introduction? In such a case, it usually contains phrases that obviously allude to information not provided. If you see such content, edit it to simply provide that information. For example, change "but there may be more to him than meets the eye" to "he is a werewolf." Change "with tragic consequences" to "she dies." You may have noticed that the phrases providing less information often are actually wordier than more comprehensive statements.
Here are some tips for reducing word count, which is often critical in crafting a plot summary that satisfies guidelines:
- Avoid the passive voice, which typically uses at least two extra words: "The book was left on the stairs by Jim" (9 words) becomes "Jim left the book on the stairs." (7 words)
- Don't provide a blow-by-blow account of an action scene or extensive transcripts of dialogue; just state the outcome of a fight and/or conversation. In this edit, I changed
Emma sees the dream catcher she and Neal had shared and takes it down to look at it. Gold becomes suspicious of her interest in the dream catcher and demands to know what she is hiding. After Emma asks Henry to go to the bathroom, Gold knows Emma was bluffing when she tries to lie and say she doesn't know Bae. Rumplestiltskin yells at her, saying she will tell him or he will make her, leading him to break things and threatens Emma by reminding her that "No one breaks deals with me!" After which Neal bursts in to defend Emma. Neal refuses to talk to Gold, who then realizes Emma and Baelfire know each other and knew that she was lying. (122 words)
- to
When Emma discovers that Neal has kept their dreamcatcher, Gold become suspicious of her interest in it and violently demands to know what she is hiding from him. Neal returns and interrupts the fight, explaining that he did not return for Gold's sake, but because he doesn't want Emma to be punished for breaking her deal. He demands that Gold leave, but it soon becomes clear to Gold that his son and Emma know each other. (76 words)
- I cut 46 words, over 1/3 of the original text, without reducing the plot relevance of the summary.
- "Reveals" are a very common feature of fictional narratives. When very pressed for space, omit the initial suspicions or evidence that leads to a reveal, and just describe the reveal. So, for example, "After catching Jennifer in a lie, Thomas researches at the courthouse and finds Jennifer's legal name change documents, realizing that under her former name of Rachel Wilson, she was a criminal." becomes "Thomas discovers Jennifer has a criminal past." However, this is really only necessary if you're pressed for space; if this incident is the entire plot of a single episode of a TV show, for example, there's no reason not to keep it in the longer, more thoroughly descriptive form. On the other hand, if Jennifer's past is already known to the audience, and if there is a need to shorten the description further, one could even abridge it to "Thomas discovers Jennifer's criminal past."