The explicit command to write on the second set of plates is to write of the ministry and the prophecies. This must contrast to a more historical setting on the large plates. This contrast is yet another indication that the large plates were likely modeled on the brass plates in more than just material and format. The brass plates contained material from what we know as the Old Testament. That record contains spiritual accounts, but rolled into historical texts. The Old Testament as we know it contains as much of the mundane as it does of the sacred, and the sacred is extracted as the moral of the mundane in many cases.
These new plates are then a new literary paradigm for recording the workings of the Lord with some of his people. Where the large plates appear to follow in an established tradition, the small plates forge a new one, one which intentionally leaves out much historical context for the sake of the spiritual lesson.
This is indeed the definition of the accounts thus far in Nephi's narrative. Years in the wilderness are summarized in a sentence where a vision of a few hours covers entire chapters. Understanding the small plates of Nephi requires that we also understand that this is a very different set of scripture, and may be unique to the corpus of scripture in its conception and implementation at Nephi's hands. It is unique if for no other reason than that we have a very personal record of a major prophet. Even contrasted with Joseph Smith's prophetic writings, the small plates of Nephi are unique in that they are crafted as a continuous narrative with a future purpose, only some of which was known to Nephi at the time.