Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)/draft revision
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This page is part of the Manual of Style, and is considered a guideline for Wikipedia. The consensus of many editors formed the conventions described here. Wikipedia articles should heed these guidelines. Feel free to update this page as needed, but please use the discussion page to propose major changes. |
Wikipedia contains numerous articles on fictional worlds and elements from them. Fictional sources include books, films, television shows, and games.
Wikipedia articles can deal with the primary source material itself or, when notability is established, significant characters, objects, events and locations. This essay describes five key principles that should be adhered to when writing a proper article on fiction.
This guide also discusses the application of different writing styles using both in-universe and out-of-universe perspectives. Specific examples are given of well-written Wikipedia articles that may be used as templates or models.
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[edit] Five Key Principles
[edit] The subject should be notable
- Pages referring directly to a primary source material (e.g. books, films etc.) are typically notable.
- Major characters in a fictional work or series of works are typically notable. Minor characters are not usually notable, and should be combined into a single list-style document.
- Subjects must have either a significant real-world presence or a significant fictional presence, or both!
[edit] The article should be succinct
- Articles should be brief and to the point.
- As an extension of the notability principle, the level of detail of an article should be relative to notability of the subject.
- In particular, plot synopses and character biographies should be kept terse.
[edit] The article’s scope should endeavour to encompass both fact and fiction
- Articles should strive to describe the subject matter related to the real world.
- This may include:
- the author or creator;
- the design;
- the development, both before its first appearance and over the course of the narrative;
- real-world factors that have influenced the work;
- for fictional characters in dramatic productions, the actor who portrayed the role and his or her approach to playing that character;
- its popularity among the general public;
- its sales figures (for commercial offerings);
- its reception by critics.
- Articles should also include a summary of the plot or elements of character and exposition, treated briefly, and clearly defined as fictional.
[edit] The article should be thoroughly referenced
- When fictional material is summarized, it should be referenced to the primary fictional source.
- In the case of serial fiction (e.g. television series, movie trilogies, series of novels), the specific fictional works should be cited as appropriate.
- The idea of canon is permitted, provided there is no dispute about the source's canon status.
- References should be given for real world information on the creation, presentation, and reception of a fictional work.
- An article should clearly distinguish between sections of the article based on the fictional source material and real-world references.
[edit] The article should contain no original research
- This includes unreferenced critical analysis of the subject, influence of the work on later creators and their projects, and conflicts between different fictional sources (e.g. books and films).
- In addition to the primary source material, there are many sources of in-depth information for writers of article on fictional subjects (although some are more reliable than others). Examples include the following:
- Annotated books or screenplays;
- Behind-the-scenes documentaries;
- Critical reviews;
- Distribution materials;
- DVD commentary tracks;
- Interviews with creators, actors, etc.;
- Press coverage;
- Production diaries;
- Sales figures;
- Scholarly introductions to editions of the work;
- Texts from fields like cultural studies, film studies, etc.;
- Third-party analyses; and
- Websites or blogs run by the creators.
[edit] Perspectives in fiction
[edit] Out-of-universe
Using an out-of-universe perspective, it is repeatedly made clear that the subject of the article is fictional. Such a perspective is surprisingly versatile, and is the preferred perspective to use on Wikipedia. When referring to fictional material, this perspective should be written in the present tense, so long as the fiction still exists.
[edit] In-universe
In this perspective, fictional subjects are written about as if they were real, historical subjects. This perspective is useful for tasks like basic plot summaries, but can be misleading. Suggestions for using this perspective are provided below - for now, suffice to say that its use should be minimized.
[edit] Referencing fiction
Any information drawn from real-world or fictional sources must be correctly cited, as described at Wikipedia:Citing sources.
[edit] Real-world sources
A real-world source is any work which references the given subject, but is not a part of that fictional universe. Real-world sources need to be reliable, published sources, as proposed on Wikipedia:Attribution.
Other works of fiction which inspire, or are inspired by, the given character count as real-world sources. For instance, an episode of Farscape that parodies Star Trek may indicate the wide cultural reach of Star Trek. In this case, the evidence for the claim is the Farscape episode as a real-world source.
Nevertheless, this use of fictional cross-referencing should still be used with care - the reference should still be notable and not reflect original research.
[edit] Fictional sources
A fictional source is a work of fiction, based in the subject's universe, in which the subject appears. Fictional sources cannot be judged by the same standards as real world sources, since there is no means of verifying them. Instead, the concept of canon is used. If there is a conflict regarding a source's acceptance in canon, such conflict should be mentioned within the article.
[edit] Combinations of perspective and references
By combining these styles and sourcing methods, three are four valid styles, which can be used when writing articles about fictional subjects or universes.
[edit] Out-of-universe perspective, real-world references
This style should be used in the introduction of an article, to establish from the start that this is a fictional subject.
Afterwards, this style should be used to describe the interaction of that subject with the real world. Such interaction can take two forms:
- How the real world affected the work of fiction (e.g. budget constraints, actors quitting, inter-racial kiss taboos, the real-world author being inspired by other works of fiction)
- How the work of fiction affected the real world (e.g. copies sold, spinoffs, pop culture references, characters used as political symbols)
[edit] In-universe perspective, fictional references
This style is most useful when providing a plot synopsis in chronological form. It is also useful when writing character biographies. When used in such a fashion, it allows an editor to advance through the plot using natural language, making this section of the article more accessible to those unfamiliar with the series. However, this style should only be used sparingly.
[edit] Out-of-universe perspective, fictional references
Such a approach can be used when comparing fictional sources such as a book and a film. However, editors should be careful when using this style. It is very easy for editors to go beyond a factual analysis, and fall into the trap of speculating on the subject. Even if the editor provides valid fictional references, this falls under the category of original research and is not allowed. The preferred solution is to find such an analysis on a reliable source elsewhere, then list that source as a real-world reference.
An out-of-universe perspective with fictional references can also be used to provide a concise plot summary or character biography. This style is particularly useful when a collection of different fictional works need to be cited, such as in a television series or a series of novels.
[edit] In-universe perspective, real-world references
This tone might be used when describing fictional worlds which are directly based on our own, to the extent of using real-world sources as a major part of the fiction.
It is unlikely that this style will form a major section of most articles on fictional subjects.
[edit] Which style to use?
There are no hard and fast ratios or quotas which must be met when using these styles. The general rule is to minimize the use of in-universe perspective to only what is necessary, and to keep plot synopses and character biographies succinct. A ten-page description of a minor subject could very easily be fancruft, and violate Wikipedia:Fair use provisions. By the same token, a three-line description of a major movie subject is most likely incomplete. The summary needs to be proportional to the amount of source material available.
In cases of fictional subjects which are only notable by extension from their universe, a greater proportion of in-universe writing is allowed.
Similarly, fictional subjects which are only notable due to some real-world phenomenon require more focus on these real-world issues.
If you notice an article that predominantly describes a fictional topic from an in-universe perspective and provides no indication that a fictional subject is fictional, either improve it yourself or add the {{In-universe}} template to bring the issue to the attention of others. This template looks like this:
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This article or section describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style and may need cleanup. Please help rewrite this article according to the guidelines on writing about fiction, or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
[edit] Infoboxes and succession boxes
Infoboxes, usually placed in the upper-right portion of an article, give key data about the article's subject in tabular format. For entities within fiction, useful infobox data would include the creators or actors, first appearance, an image, and in-universe information essential to understanding the entity's context in the overall fiction. What qualifies as essential varies based on the nature of the work.
Another common type of template, succession boxes, should be used with caution. While they can be useful for describing in-universe relationships, their use can encourage the generation of new articles for characters that are not notable, just to make the succession boxes work.
[edit] Example articles
Here are some examples of some well-written articles about fictional subjects. Critically, they adhere to all or most of the five key principles and generally adopt an out-of-universe perspective.
[edit] Characters
- Captain Marvel (DC Comics) (comic book character)
- Felix the Cat (classic cartoon character)
- Palpatine, Padmé Amidala, and Jabba the Hutt (Star Wars characters)
- Link (The Legend of Zelda series) (video game character)
[edit] Complete works (films, television series, video games, etc.)
- Doctor Who (television series)
- Donkey Kong (video game)
- Krazy Kat (comic strip)
- The Illuminatus! Trilogy (science fiction novels)
- The Lord of the Rings (fantasy novel)
- Red vs. Blue (machinima science fiction parody serial)
- Tenebrae (film) (horror film)
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Spoo (fictional food)
- Three Laws of Robotics (fictional ethics)
[edit] See also
- Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)
- Wikipedia:Fancruft
- Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction
- Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information (#7, Plot summaries)
- Wikipedia:Naming conventions: TV | Books | Films
[edit] Related WikiProjects
These are some of the more important WikiProjects that deal with fiction material. They may have additional suggestions, article templates and styles that you might wish to make yourself familiar with.
