Help:Article structure/Summaries
This is a guide to the suggested structure for Coppermind summary articles. Some summary articles may omit one or more of these sections if inadequate information is available. Looking at existing articles to get a sense of a useful structure is always a good idea.
Intro
All summary pages should start with a statement like the following:
This page contains a chapter by chapter summary of '''''[name of book (linked)].''''' We hope this summary will make it easier to find specific areas of the book, as well as providing a quick plot refresher for anyone who doesn't want to take the time to reread the entire book.
This is followed by the following line of code, used to move the table of contents to the right:
<div style="float:right; padding-left:1em">__TOC__</div>
Chapter summaries
The bulk of a summary article will consist of chapter-by-chapter summaries.
Each chapter is laid out as follows:
{{anchor|Chapter 1}}
== Chapter 1 ==
{{epigraph|
Something wicked this way comes.}}
;Characters
{{columns|
* [[Person A]] (Point of view)
* [[Person B]]
* a worker
* [[Person C]] (mentioned only)
}}
;Plot Summary
Lorem ipsum dolor amet, ipsum bacon is yummy.
Pay careful attention to the capitalization of each element.
Anchor
Notice that this anchor is above the chapter heading. The anchor is done using an anchor template: {{anchor}} and the parameter should be "Chapter" followed by whatever is supposed to appear in {{book ref}} templates in order to denote chapter. In most books this will be simply the number of the chapter.
Heading
If a book has parts, each part should be a level two heading with each chapter being a level three heading, as follows:
== Part 1 == === Chapter 1 === === Chapter 2 === etc.
Otherwise, each chapter is simply a level two heading:
== Chapter 1 == == Chapter 2 == etc.
Chapter and part names and numbering should be consistent with those given in the book (for an extreme example, see Summary:The_Shattered_Lens). A more moderate example is Stormlight books, which have a chapter number followed by a name, as follows: Chapter 1: Stormblessed.
Epigraph
For books that have epigraphs, they should be included in an {{epigraph}}. The single parameter is the full text of the epigraph.
Character list
This begins with ;Characters. It should include a list of all the characters, in a bulleted list (using asterisks) within a {{columns}} template. Point of view characters appear first, followed by characters featured in the chapter, and lastly characters mentioned. Even a single mention is enough to warrant inclusion in the list. Unnamed characters and groups of characters should also be included. Within each category, organize roughly by order of appearance.
These names should be linked each and every time they appear in a characters list. However, character names should still be linked the first time they appear within the actual text of the summary.
Plot summary
Begin with ;Plot Summary and then summarize the plot.
If the chapter begins with a time marker, include it as follows:
:''X years ago''
This indents and italicizes the time marker.
If a chapter has multiple point of view characters, each section of the chapter with a new point of view should be indicated like so:
'''Character's name'''
This results in a bolded character name. Be sure to put empty lines between this name and the paragraphs above and below it, in order for it to show up on its own line.
Outro
A page should end with the following elements, under == Notes ==:
{{summaries}}, with the parameter correctly indicating article status- A series template such as
{{Stormlight}} - The correct series category and numbering, such as
[[Category: Stormlight Archive|+1]]or[[Category: Stormlight Archive|+sa2.5]]
TODO: When should chapter icons be included? For example, tWoK has chapter icons for each part, while RoW does not. The Rithmatist has no chapter icons anywhere, despite the icons existing and being uploaded. Should every book have character lists? Some older ones and shorter ones don't. How to caps (point of view) and (mentioned only)? How to include annotations? Should PoV characters be included even if there is only one in the chapter? In the entire book? tWoK uses bolded, non-indented time markers whereas more recent books use italicized, indented ones. How to deal with the first time marker in tWoK? Unlike most, which are attached to chapters, its attached to "Book One of the Stormlight Archive".