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At some point, a plot summary is likely to be edited by someone else; editors do not own their golden prose. At the same time, changes should be closely monitored. Well-meaning editors may be unaware of prior discussions or conventions regarding plot summary length. Plot bloat is thus a serious problem.
A plot summary should be written in the narrative present tense. A summary for a full-length novel should be between 400 and 700 words. When a plot summary exceeds 700 words, look for things that can be trimmed without losing anything important. Very occasionally, there may be exceptional reasons that warrant a longer summary.
For example, a summary of Citizen Kane should establish that much of the film is an extended flashback that is bookended by scenes in the film's present; the entire plot summary should still be written in narrative present tense. Summaries may depart from the fiction's chronological order if doing so enhances clarity or brevity.
In the case study, "Little Red Riding Hood", the actual story can be written in 10 pages. The plot is about 240 words. In a 300-page novel (not really long), a proportion plot summary would be 7,200 words - about as long as "Little Red Riding Hood". So "Little Red Riding Hood" is not a realistic example, it's far too easy.
MLA Style Manual, formerly titled MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing in its second (1998) and third edition (2008), was an academic style guide by the United States–based Modern Language Association of America (MLA) first published in 1985. MLA announced in April 2015 that the publication would be discontinued: the third ...
Plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. The summary should not exceed this range unless the film's structure is unconventional, such as with non-linear storylines, or unless the plot is too complicated to summarize in this range. Discuss with other editors to determine if a summary cannot be contained within the ...
In Wikipedia, the lead section is an introduction to an article and a summary of its most important contents. It is located at the beginning of the article, before the table of contents and the first heading. It is not a news-style lead or "lede" paragraph. The average Wikipedia visit is a few minutes long. [1]
Wikipedia articles concerning fiction frequently feature overly long or excessively detailed plot summaries. While any plot section can be trimmed, it can be hard to know what to cut if one hasn't consumed the relevant media, while those who have might be tempted to explain any intricacy that arises to give the reader the full experience of the show.