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Revision as of 18:25, 17 July 2007 editCkatz (talk | contribs)Administrators82,937 edits rm. NS text - the page is currently unstable. Reconsider when things settle down.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023 edit undoJJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs)Bots, Administrators3,672,524 editsm Moving Category:Misplaced Pages essays (arts) to Category:Misplaced Pages essays about media per Misplaced Pages:Categories for discussion/Log/2023 December 4#Category:Misplaced Pages essays (arts) 
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{{Redirect|WP:FICTION|the style guideline|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction}}
{{Misplaced Pages subcat guideline|notability guideline|Fiction|]<br />]}}
__NOINDEX__
{{Notability essay|WP:FICT|WP:FICTION|WP:NFICT}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Nutshell|Fictional elements are expected to follow the same ] guidelines as any other topic.}}
{{IncGuide}} {{IncGuide}}
:'''A ] is being proposed at ].'''
:''For the fiction style guidelines, see ].''
From ]:
:'''''Plot summaries'''. Misplaced Pages articles on works of fiction should contain real-world context and sourced analysis, offering detail on a work's achievements, impact or historical significance; such articles are not solely or overwhelmingly a summary of a work's plot. A plot summary may be appropriate as an aspect of a larger topic.''


There is no special guideline for the '''notability of fictional elements''' (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant ] in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:
==Fiction in Misplaced Pages==
* The ]
#'''Major characters''' and major treatments of such matters as places and concepts in a work of fiction are covered in the article on that work. If an ] of a character causes the article on the work itself to ], that character is given a main article.
* The policy on ]
#'''Minor characters''' and minor treatments of such matters as places and concepts in a work of fiction are ''']d''' with short descriptions into a ''"List of characters."'' This list resides in the article relating to the work itself, unless it ], in which case a separate article for the list is created.
* The manual of style for ]
#:<small>The difference between ''major'' and ''minor'' characters is intentionally vague; the main distinguishing criterion is how much nontrivial information is available on the character. Some works could plausibly have multiple major characters.</small>
#It is useful to add ''']s''' to the article page or list of minor characters, from listed items<!--Is that clear enough? "in there" certainly wasn't-->.
#'''Plot summaries''' are kept reasonably short, as the point of Misplaced Pages is to describe the works, not simply to summarize them. It is generally appropriate for a plot summary to remain part of the main article rather than standing alone as an article. In some cases, sub-articles and lists are created when the potential for an ''encyclopedic coverage'' is hindered by the ''recommended length guidelines'' for articles. Guidance and exercises<!--tension between this and the next title--> appear ].
===Examples===
For examples of what Wikipedians consider "high quality" fiction articles, please see the lists of articles that have been rated as ] and ] quality. Other specific examples include:
*] and ] are major characters in the '']'' films. They are discussed briefly in the ''Star Wars'' articles, but their own articles contain much more detailed information.
*] is a major character in the '']'' series of novels. His own article was created in order to prevent the main ''Harry Potter'' article from becoming too long, though it still retains a short summary of his character.
*] is a major character from the novel '']''. He is covered comprehensively in the ''Brothers Karamazov'' article, and the ] link redirects there for convenience.
*] is universally well known and transcends the original work he appeared in, so he has his own article.
*] creates a single, substantial article out of a list of characters otherwise too insignificant for their own individual articles.
*] provides information on minor characters in the '']'' series of video games who have some background, but lack sufficient relevance to the overall plot.
*The ] was an article that summarized a portion of the plot for the game '']''. Relevant information was merged into the plot synopsis of the ''Galactic Battlegrounds'' article, and the ] link now redirects there.
*], ] and ] were evolved from lists of terms, events and concepts into general encyclopedia articles.


For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.
==Being bold==
If you find articles (particularly stubs) on fictional characters (and places, concepts, etc.) you may want to ] and merge them into an appropriate article or list. This allows the information to become more organized and easier to access, with a future option of compressing and trimming excess information. However, if you should do so, '''be careful not to delete meaningful out-of-universe content'''.


==History and rationale==
You should obviously remove redundant headers ('this is a fictional character from such-and-such book by such-and-such author') and original research, but you should not summarize or otherwise reduce the articles in question unless the information can be compressed in a succinct manner.
Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.


==Improving articles==
==Details==
Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.
This ''guideline'' was initially created from strong consensus at ] and other discussion at ]. It should be helpful for making a decision on keeping, merging or deleting of fiction-related articles.


Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to ], independent sources.
If you are unfamiliar with a certain field or are unsure whether some character (concept, place, etc.) should be considered minor or major, please ask around on the relevant talk pages before making radical changes.


If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to ] and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of ] can also take the form of ] the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.
Fiction includes books, TV series, films, computer games and roleplaying games, and so forth.


==Relevant guidelines and policies==
''']''', on the other hand, may well be considered ''vanity'' (not by default, but often so), which is grounds for deletion. This includes, for example: anything self-published, put on ], or done by ]; information about a player's character in roleplaying or MMORPGs; and computer game mods or custom maps.
===Notability guidelines===
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Notability}}
The ] is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.


There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:
Fiction not yet written may be considered ''speculation'' (again, not by default, but often so) which is grounds for deletion because ]. This includes not-yet-released books, movies, games, etc., unless there has already been substantial press coverage about the to-be-released item.
* ]
* ]
* ]


===What Misplaced Pages is not===
See also ] and ].
{{main|Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not}}
Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly ]. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.


===Manual of style===
==Making good use of Wikibooks and Wikisource==
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)}}
], Misplaced Pages's sibling project, contains instructional and educational texts. These include annotated works of fiction (on the ]) for classroom or private study use. ], similarly, holds original public domain and GFDL source texts. See ].
Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review ] and ] to understand the general approach and content of these articles.


==Lists of fictional elements==
One possible course of action to consider, which has already been successfully employed for several works of fiction, is to make use of all of the projects combined: to have an encyclopaedia article about the work of fiction on Misplaced Pages giving a brief outline, a chapter-by-chapter annotation on Wikibooks, the full source text on Wikisource ('''if''' the work is in the public domain), and ] joining them all together into a whole.
Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) ''may'' be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at ] and at ].


==Consult Wikiprojects==
===Examples===
Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:
*''Atlas Shrugged'' has ] and ].
* ]
*''Lord of the Flies'' has ] and ].
* ]
*''Of Mice and Men'' has ] and ].
* ]
*The ''Harry Potter'' series of novels has articles on the individual novels on Misplaced Pages (such as ]) and a ] on Wikibooks, comprising a detailed book-by-book chapter-by-chapter annotation of the whole series, including a topical index to link each topic in Harry Potter to the chapters in which it appears.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


A ] was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.
==Related topics==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]: ] | ] | ]
* Possible proliferation of fictional-universe-related articles is discussed in the essay ] and its talk page.
* ]
* ]
* ]


==Previous proposals==
]
* ], the original attempted rewrite from c. 2007-2009
]
* ], a previous failed proposal from 2007
* ], a previous proposal abandoned in 2008
* ], a previous failed proposal, in 2011 recategorized as an essay

==See also==
*]
*]
*]

]
]

Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023

"WP:FICTION" redirects here. For the style guideline, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction. Essay on editing Misplaced Pages
This is an essay on notability.
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Misplaced Pages contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Fictional elements are expected to follow the same notability guidelines as any other topic.
Notability
General notability guideline
Subject-specific guidelines
See also

There is no special guideline for the notability of fictional elements (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant policies and guidelines in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:

For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.

History and rationale

Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.

Improving articles

Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.

Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to reliable, independent sources.

If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to WP:BEFORE and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of WP:PRESERVE can also take the form of redirecting the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.

Relevant guidelines and policies

Notability guidelines

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Notability

The Misplaced Pages's general notability guideline is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.

There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:

What Misplaced Pages is not

Main page: Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not

Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly Misplaced Pages is not simply plot summaries. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.

Manual of style

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)

Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review Writing About Fiction and Misplaced Pages:Writing better articles#Check your fiction to understand the general approach and content of these articles.

Lists of fictional elements

Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) may be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at the general notability guideline and at Stand-alone Lists and Topics.

Consult Wikiprojects

Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:

A Misplaced Pages:Fiction/Noticeboard was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.

Previous proposals

See also

Categories: