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| These restrictions should and do hold for serious [[Wikipedia:Satire|satire]] such as ''[[Wikipedia:Gulliver's Travels|Gulliver's Travels]]'' or ''[[Wikipedia:Candide|Candide]]'' (and many works for the stage) where the fictional elements are designed to camouflage the serious political or social criticism within the work. In such cases, it is legitimate to use reliable sources to examine the fictional elements and the design of the storyline when such sources attempt to decipher the author's original intent. The same exemptions might apply to other special forms of literature where the fiction/non-fiction categorization is disputed, such as the possibly historical elements of religious scripture. | | These restrictions should and do hold for serious [[Wikipedia:Satire|satire]] such as ''[[Wikipedia:Gulliver's Travels|Gulliver's Travels]]'' or ''[[Wikipedia:Candide|Candide]]'' (and many works for the stage) where the fictional elements are designed to camouflage the serious political or social criticism within the work. In such cases, it is legitimate to use reliable sources to examine the fictional elements and the design of the storyline when such sources attempt to decipher the author's original intent. The same exemptions might apply to other special forms of literature where the fiction/non-fiction categorization is disputed, such as the possibly historical elements of religious scripture. |
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| See also the sections on [[#Fair use|fair use]], [[#Accuracy and appropriate weight|accuracy and appropriate weight]], and [[#Templates|templates]]. | | See also the section on [[#Accuracy and appropriate weight|accuracy and appropriate weight]]. |
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| == Primary and secondary information == | | == Primary and secondary information == |
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| {{hatnote|For a partial list of articles about fiction or elements from fiction that follow [[#Real-world perspective|real-world perspective]], see [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction#List of exemplary articles|Wikipedia:Fiction#List of exemplary articles]].}} | | {{hatnote|For a partial list of articles about fiction or elements from fiction that follow [[#Real-world perspective|real-world perspective]], see [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction#List of exemplary articles|Wikipedia:Fiction#List of exemplary articles]].}} |
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| == Alternative outlets for fictional universe articles == | | == Infoboxes == |
| | [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:List of infoboxes|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 might 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. Where facts change at different points in a story or series, there may be no appropriate in-universe information at all to add. By contrast, an infobox on a character in a [[Wikipedia:Fantasy|fantasy]] work with multiple warring factions may warrant data such as allegiance. |
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| Some other Wikipedia-like projects prefer the in-universe perspective. These provide a good alternative for editors interested in writing as fans, for fans. The following is a partial list:
| | As with all infoboxes, trivial details should be avoided. An infobox for a real-life actor would not contain items such as ''favorite food'' and ''hobbies''; these details do not aid the reader in understanding the ''important'' characteristics of the subject. In the same way, infoboxes about fictional entities should avoid delving into minutiae, such as information only mentioned in supplementary backstory. For this reason, infoboxes meant for real-world entities should not be applied to their fictional counterparts, since, for example, information important to a description of a real-world company may be tangential to a fictional one. It is important to identify the revenue of [[Wikipedia:Microsoft|Microsoft]], whereas the fact that fictional MegaAcmeCorp makes 300 billion GalactiBucks in 2463 is probably unimportant. |
| <!-- please use EXTERNAL LINKS ONLY in this list please -->
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| * [http://24.wikia.com 24 Wikia]—Describes the universe of the ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' television show.
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| * [http://alphanex.alphaflight.net/index.php/Main_Page Alphanex]—A wiki concerning the Marvel Comics team Alpha Flight
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| * [http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_Wiki James Cameron's ''Avatar'']—at [[Wikia]]
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| * [http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page Battlestar Wiki]—A ''Battlestar Galactica''-related encyclopedia.
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| * [http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Buffyverse_Wiki Buffyverse Wiki]—A wiki dedicated to the [[Buffyverse|fictional universe]] of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and its spin-offs.
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| * [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page Bulbapedia]—Describes the ''Pokémon'' universe.
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| * [http://www.comixpedia.org/index.php/Main_Page Comixpedia's Webcomic Encyclopedia]—A wiki about webcomics.
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| * [http://www.dcdatabaseproject.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page DC Database]—An unofficial DC Comics wiki.
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| * [http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page DC Animated Universe Wiki]—An unofficial [[DC animated universe]] wiki.
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| * [http://www.dragonballencyclopedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Encyclopedia Dragon Ball Encyclopedia]—A wiki about the ''Dragon Ball'' multiverse.
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| * [http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons Dungeons & Dragons] and [http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page Dungeons & Dragons]—wikis devoted to the [[Dungeons & Dragons]] game.
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| * [http://egamia.com/wiki/Main_Page Encyclopedia Gamia]—A wiki about computer and video games, board, card and pen and paper games.
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| * [http://inheritance.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Eragon]—Eragon
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| * [[wikiasite:familyguy|Family Guy wiki]]—''Family Guy''
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| * [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Final Fantasy]—A wiki dedicated to the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise.
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| * [http://foreverknight.wikia.com/wiki/Forever_Knight_Wiki Forever Knight wiki] - A wiki concerning ''[[Forever Knight]]'' and its [[fandom]].
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| * [http://www.gamewikis.org/ GameWikis]—Community fansite/wiki for several computer games such as: ''Guild Wars'' and ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' and ''Warhammer Online''.
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| * [http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/ Greyhawk wiki]—a wiki devoted to the world of [[Greyhawk]].
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| * [http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Harry Potter wiki]—a wiki devoted to the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' universe
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| * [http://heroeswiki.com/Main_Page Heroes Wiki]—a wiki devoted to ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' universe
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| * [http://theinfosphere.org/Main_Page The Infosphere]—A ''[[Futurama]]'' wiki.
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| * [http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page Lostpedia]—A wiki dedicated to the ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]'' universe.
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| * [http://www.marveldatabase.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Marvel Database]—An unofficial Marvel Comics wiki.
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| * [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Main_Page Marvel Universe]—The official Marvel Comics wiki.
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| * [http://www.maxpayne.wikia.com/wiki/Max_Payne_Wiki Max Payne Wiki]—An unofficial ''Max Payne'' Wiki.
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| * [http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page Memory Alpha]—Describes the ''Star Trek'' universe.
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| * [http://phineasandferb.wikia.com/wiki/Phineas_and_Ferb_Wiki Phineas and Ferb]-A ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' wiki
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| * [http://prowrestling.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Pro Wrestling Wikia]—[[Professional wrestling]] wiki
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| * [http://runescape.wikia.com RuneScape Wiki]—A wiki devoted to the MMORPG RuneScape.
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| * [http://www.simpsonswiki.com/index.php/Main_Page SimpsonsWiki]—A ''Simpsons''-related wiki.
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| * [http://www.ssbwiki.com/ SmashWiki]—A [[Super Smash Bros.]] wiki
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| * [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Wiki Tardis Data Core] - a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' wiki.
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| * [http://www.tfwiki.net/ Transformers Wiki]—A wiki dedicated to the ''Transformers'' toylines, cartoon series, comics and movies.
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| * [http://www.tenchiintokyo.org/ Tenchi in Tokyo]—A wiki dedicated to the ''Tenchi'' anime series.
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| * [http://tolkiengateway.net Tolkien Gateway]—A wiki dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien and his works.
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| * [http://tviv.org/ The TV IV]—A user-edited compedium of television knowledge.
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| * [http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages]—A wiki dedicated to ''The Elder Scrolls'' series.
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| * [http://info.sonicretro.org/ Sonic Retro]—A wiki dedicated to the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (series)|Sonic the Hedgehog]] '' franchise.
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| * [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Wookieepedia]—Describes the ''Star Wars'' universe.
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| * [http://www.wowpedia.org/Portal:Main Wowpedia]—A wiki for the ''World of Warcraft'' videogame.
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| {{see also|List of wikis}}
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| == Infoboxes and succession boxes ==
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| {{shortcut|MOS:WAF-INFO}}{{anchor|Infoboxes}}
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| [[Wikipedia:List of infoboxes|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 might 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. Where facts change at different points in a story or series, there may be no appropriate in-universe information at all to add. By contrast, an infobox on a character in a [[fantasy]] work with multiple warring factions may warrant data such as allegiance.
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| As with all infoboxes, trivial details should be avoided. An infobox for a real-life actor would not contain items such as ''favorite food'' and ''hobbies''; these details do not aid the reader in understanding the ''important'' characteristics of the subject. In the same way, infoboxes about fictional entities should avoid delving into minutiae, such as information only mentioned in supplementary backstory. For this reason, infoboxes meant for real-world entities should not be applied to their fictional counterparts, since, for example, information important to a description of a real-world company may be tangential to a fictional one. It is important to identify the revenue of [[Microsoft]], whereas the fact that fictional MegaAcmeCorp makes {{Nowrap|300 billion}} GalactiBucks in 2463 is probably unimportant. | |
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| Another common type of template, [[Template:S-start|succession boxes]], should not be used to describe in-universe relationships in articles about fictional entities. Succession boxes assume continuity, which may not exist. Furthermore, they may invite the creation of non-notable articles that fall under the fictional succession. For articles about works of fiction themselves, the story that each work of fiction depicts does not change despite the continuation of stories across serial works or sequels, and as a consequence, the events within one work of fiction are always in the present whenever it is read, watched, or listened to. In-universe temporal designations such as "current" or "previous" are therefore inappropriate. For character articles (which cannot be bound temporally), it may be acceptable to use customized templates to summarize information from the perspective of the real world, such as connections between articles describing the same fictional world. Such templates should not invite the creation of articles about non-notable subjects.
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| ==Categories==
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| A number of [[:Category:Fiction by topic|categories]] exist to sort works of fiction by their major themes and narrative elements which can help readers find related works. For example, works on ''Harry Potter'' should be categorized in [[:Category:Fictional characters who use magic|Fictional characters who use magic]]. However, editors should be careful to use an excessive number of categories, and should only use the categories that primarily cover the work, where it would be nearly impossible to concisely describe the work or topic of fiction without broadly mentioning the category. While [[:Category:Blood in fiction]] may readily apply to stories where blood is a major element such as works about vampires, the work should not be categorized into this category just based on the appearance of blood in the work. Overzealous sorting can diffuse the usefulness of these categories, as well as over-categorize certain works.
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| == See also == | | == See also == |
| * [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#PLOT|Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information]], see Summary-only descriptions of works | | * [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction|Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction]] |
| * [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]] sub-guidelines:
| | * [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:How to write a plot summary|Wikipedia:How to write a plot summary]] |
| ** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Anime- and manga-related articles|Anime/Manga]]
| | * [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Naming character articles|Wikipedia:Naming character articles]] |
| ** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Comics|Comics]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Film|Films]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Novels|Novels]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Television|Television]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:Article titles|Article titles]] for:
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| **[[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (books)|Books]]
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| **[[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics)|Comics]]
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| **[[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films)|Films]]
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| **[[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (television)|TV]]
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| **[[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (video games)|Video games]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:Essays|Wikipedia Essays]] on:
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Fancruft]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Check your fiction]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:How to write a plot summary]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Naming character articles]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)]]
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| === Related wikiprojects ===
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| These are some of the larger [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|wikiprojects]] that deal with fiction material. They may have additional [[WP:PROJPAGE|suggestions]], article templates and styles with which you might wish to make yourself familiar.
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| * [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Anime and manga|WikiProject Anime and manga]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books|WikiProject Books]] | |
| ** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Children's literature|WikiProject Children's literature]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics|WikiProject Comics]]
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| ** [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels|WikiProject Novels]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Films|WikiProject Films]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Television|WikiProject Television]]
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| * [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games|WikiProject Video games]]
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| There are also numerous genre-specific and even franchise-specific wikiprojects; see [[WP:WikiProject Council]] for listings.
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