Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction

This is a draft of a Wikipedia policy proposal. It has not yet been submitted to the Wikipedia:Policy thinktank, and it does not represent Wikipedia official or semi-official policy.

Interest in fictional worlds and elements from them is a major impetus for many contributors to write articles for Wikipedia. Simply put, people write about what interests them. Wikipedia already has guidelines for determining when such subjects are notable enough for inclusion in a general-interest encyclopedia. However, some editors argue that even more stringent rules should be imposed. They point to a large number of articles written about what they describe as "fancruft", defined as "content [that] is of importance only to a small population of enthusiastic fans of the subject in question."

This essay takes a different approach. It makes no value judgments on what works of fiction or elements from them are inherently worthy or unworthy topics for an encyclopedia. So long as articles about these subjects meet the notability guidelines mentioned above, there should be no problem. Instead, these guidelines show that the approach to writing about these subjects is the most important consideration to make.

In short, Wikipedia articles should describe fiction and fictional elements^[1] from the perspective of the real world, not from the perspective of the fiction itself.

Articles on fiction can approach their subject from two angles. The first treats the fiction as if it were real and describes it from the perspective of the people and characters of the fictional universe. Topics covered may include:

• Birth and death dates of fictional characters;
• Plot synopses framed as biography;
• Performance statistics or characteristics for fictional vehicles or devices;
• Exposition framed as the history of fictional locations or organizations;
• Fictional background information on alien creatures presented as real-world science or anthropology.

This is often referred to as an in-universe perspective.

In contrast, other articles about fiction describe the subject matter from the perspective of the real world. This may include:

• Its author or creator;
• Its design;
• Its development both before its first appearance and over the course of the narrative;
• For fictional characters in dramatic productions, the actor or actress who portrayed the role and his or her approach to playing that character;
• Its popularity among the general public;
• For commercial offerings, its sales figures;
• Its reception by critics;
• Critical analysis of the subject;
• Its influence on later creators and their projects.

This is often called an out-of-universe perspective.

Wikipedia is an out-of-universe source, and all articles about fiction and elements of fiction should take an out-of-universe perspective.

The following does not discuss this universe at all, even tangentially, and is a made-up example of the type of writing that should thus be avoided for Wikipedia:

In Star Year 8891 the Spudheads of Volgon were infected with the Kroxyldyph virus by a bio-warfare special operations unit on a clandestine mission. The unit, acting under the leadership of Commander Sam Kink and without the approval of Star Command, rewrote the Spudheads' DNA and caused their chests to become all knobbly.

The following is a made-up example of the type of treatment of a subject that is suitable for Wikipedia, because it discusses the fictional universe in respect of events, people, and things in this universe:

In the later series, a larger budget allowed for a greater number of actors to wear more extensive special effects makeup. The facial design of the Spudheads was thus altered from that of the earlier series. This presented a problem for the writers in episode 9.1, wherein some characters travel back in time to episode 2.6, and footage with the original episode and original makeup design is interwoven with new footage with the new makeup design. The writers retconned this by writing a genetic misfortune into the in-universe history of the Spudheads. According to the current series bible, this occurred between episodes 5.14 and 6.0. This was later expanded into the novel The Trouble with Kroxyldyph: What Commander Sim Kink Really Did on His Holiday by Honda MacHinery.

Likewise, an article on a character and written from an in-universe perspective might read like this:

His Royal Highness King Ludgar Wolventongue of Tympania (820 Age of the Mystic River–872 Age of the Mystic River) is a fictional character in the universe of RPGCo's Lands of Luster series. Wolventongue was born into a powerful Tympanian family, the son of King Rodgast Horseheel and Queen Gebellynde of Hyrax. He ascended to the throne in 838 Age of the Mystic River and ruled as a caring and magnanimous king. He died in battle with Grufius the Gargler in the Battle of Ganzon Gulch.

Notice how the prose is careful to label the subject as fictional, only to proceed to describe the character as if he were real for the remainder of the paragraph. Instead, the article should persist with its out-of-universe look at the character:

Ludgar Wolventongue is a fictional character in the universe of RPGCo's Lands of Luster series. The character was introduced in Amanda Hobnobb's novel Mysteries of Tympania. The book tells of Wolventongue's birth into a powerful Tympanian family, the son of King Rodgast Horseheel and Queen Gebellynde of Hyrax. Return to Tympania, a later novel by Bertrand Flintofski, tells of Wolventongue's ascent to the Tympanian throne 18 years after the events of the previous novel. Wolventongue dies in the Battle of Gazon Gulch at the hands of Grufius the Gargler, which is depicted in the Hobnobb novel Death in Tympania. The fact that Hobnobb killed off a popular character of her own creation shocked fans and prompted many negative reviews in science fiction magazines.

Articles written from an in-universe perspective are overly reliant on primary sources. That is, they often simply summarize plot elements of a fictional work or body of works and thus offer very little that could not be found by simply going straight to the source material. Another problem is that these articles, lacking as they are in any critical analysis of the subject, invite original research. In other words, lacking actual critical analysis from secondary sources, Wikipedia editors and fans of the subject often feel compelled to provide such analysis themselves. Per Wikipedia policy, this is strictly forbidden.

It is worth noting that many resources that might seem to be good secondary sources are, in fact, primary sources themselves. For example, many science fiction franchises publish detailed guidebooks about the aliens, spacecraft, and weapons depicted in the series. However, these works generally do little more than reframe the source material in a pseudo-encyclopedic manner; many such works even add new information and extrapolations of things only hinted at in the series itself. A good rule of thumb is that if a potential source treats a fictional subject from a mostly out-of-universe perspective, it is a more likely to be a good secondary source.

Certainly, there are times when limited, in-universe perspective is permissible. For example, articles on works of fiction often benefit from a plot summary. Such synopses should be kept as brief as possible and should be written in the present tense, as they describe a piece of fiction that does not change when it is read, watched, or played from one instance to the next. Also note that using the fictional work itself to write these descriptions is perfectly fine provided the work of fiction is cited as a source.

However, even these sorts of summaries can often be written from an out-of-universe perspective, and when this is possible, this approach should be preferred. For example, the following is a largely in-universe plot synopsis that might draw from several different episodes of a television show or several different video games in a series:

Hirokazu Exocool catches Gogosaurus outside Cephalopod City. He brings it to his master, YuYu Yamauchi, who transforms it into a much more fearsome Synthosaurus Rex. The creature then escapes YuYu's hideout and terrorizes Cephalopod City. Exocool is forced to sacrifice a Level 3 Waste Card to prevent the beast from destroying the castle of Princess Apricot.

However, by simply adding a few notations about where various pieces of information come from, the paragraph takes on a more grounded tone and does not seem as confusing to non-fans of the series:

Gogosaurus's first appearance is in Monstrous Minions, released in 2003. The plot involves Hirokazu Exocool's efforts to capture the beast outside Cephalopod City. Monstrous Minions 2: Minions Morph! (2004) involves Exocool's quest to return to his master, YuYu Yamauchi. Once the two have been reunited, YuYu transforms the Gogosaurus into a much more fearsome Synthosaurus Rex. Monstrous Minions 3: More Money from Minions (2005) completes Gogosaurus's backstory. This time, the creature escapes YuYu's hideout and terrorizes Cephalopod City. Exocool must sacrifice a Level 3 Waste Card to prevent the beast from destroying the castle of Princess Apricot.

Note that this latter form of article serves the fans better. Fans can, after all, find the fictional universe's account of events by the simple expedient of reading the books and watching the films and television programs.

The following is a partial list of articles about fiction or elements from fiction that follow an out-of-universe perspective. These are good examples to follow for editors seeking to cover fictional subjects on Wikipedia.

• Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
• Doctor Who
• Donkey Kong (arcade game)
• Felix the Cat
• Red vs Blue

This essay concerns only the English-language Wikipedia. There are certainly places for articles about fictional subjects written from an in-universe perspective. The following is a partial list of such outlets:

• Bulbapedia — Describes the Pokémon universe
• Memory Alpha — Describes the Star Trek universe
• Wookieepedia — Describes the Star Wars universe