Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)

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This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Use common sense in applying it; it will have occasional exceptions. Please ensure that any edits to this page reflect consensus. Shortcuts:
WP:WAF
WP:MOSFICT
This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia articles should describe fiction and fictional elements from the perspective of the real world, not from the perspective of the fiction itself. Jump to conclusions for a more detailed summary of this guideline's contents.

Wikipedia contains numerous articles on fiction-related subjects, fictional worlds, and elements from them.

When an article is created, the subject's real-world notability should be established according to the general notability guideline by including independent reliable secondary sources — this will also ensure that there is enough source material for the article to be comprehensive and factually accurate.

Next, if the subject warrants inclusion in Wikipedia, editors should consider what to write about a subject, and how to best present that information. Because these questions are complementary, they should not be interpreted in isolation from one another, and editors should address both these questions simultaneously in order to create a well-written article.

Please note that this page is a guideline, not policy, and it should be approached with common sense and the occasional exception. However, following the basic notions laid out in this guideline is generally a good way to improve articles on fictional topics.

Real-world perspective

Articles about fiction, like all Wikipedia articles, should adhere to the real world as their primary frame of reference. The approach is to describe the subject matter from the perspective of the real world, in which the work of fiction and its publication are embedded. It necessitates the use of both primary and secondary information.

Exemplary aspects of real-world perspective include:

• Careful differentiation between the work of fiction itself and aspects of its production process and publication, such as the impact a work of fiction has had in the real world (see also below)
• Careful differentiation between narrated time and fictional chronology on the one hand, and narrative time and actual chronology of real-world events on the other (of particular relevance to all film and TV-related topics)
• The presentation of fictional material
  • particularly for film and TV-related topics, this may include cinematographical aspects
  • for literature, this may include writing style and literary technique
• Description of fictional characters, places and devices as objects of the narrative
• Making (referenced!) mention of the author's intention

See below for a list of exemplary articles which employ a consistent real-world perspective. However, please note that real-world perspective is not an "optional" quality criterion but a general, basic requirement for all articles.

The problem with in-universe perspective

Shortcuts:
WP:INUNIVERSE
WP:IN-U

An in-universe perspective describes the narrative from the perspective of characters within the fictional universe, treating it as if it were real and ignoring real-world context and sourced analysis. The threshold of what constitutes in-universe writing is making any effort to re-create or uphold the illusion of the original fiction by omitting real-world info.

Many fan wikis and fan websites (see below) take this approach, but it should not be used for Wikipedia articles. An in-universe perspective is inaccurate and misleading, inviting unverifiable original research by relying on primary source. Most importantly, in-universe perspective defies community consensus as to what we do not want Wikipedia to be or become.

See also the sections on fair use, accuracy and appropriate weight, and templates.

Problems associated with an in-universe perspective include:

• Disregarding all or most aspects of a work of fiction as a creative endeavour.
• A plot synopsis written like a historical account.
• Fictography – a fictional character article or section written as if it were a biography.
• Description of fictional places written like a geographical account.
• Using infoboxes intended for real world topics.
• Discussing a fictional topic's appearances in major works and obscure spin-off material in equal detail.
• Using throwaway comments or jokes as a source of information.
• Trying to reconcile contradictions or fill gaps in a fictional continuity, rather than reporting them as such.
• Placing spiritual successors in the same continuity as the works that inspired them.
• Using image captions for film stills and screenshots asserting that what is depicted is the character, rather than a film scene depicting the character.
• Referring to the fictional events or dates which occur in the story, rather than the fictional works themselves.
• Ordering works by their fictional chronology, rather than the actual order they were published.

For example, if a fictional TV detective loses a partner in the line of duty, taking an in-universe perspective will obscure whether this occurred in the backstory, the pilot or the main series. If the partner died in the pilot, but is the subject of little-known prequel novels, then an in-universe perspective may describe the partner in excessive detail. If later episodes have events which suggest the dead partner never existed, this is impossible to describe from an in-universe perspective, and editors will have to try to explain away such continuity errors themselves, leading to original research and inaccuracy.

Primary and secondary information

Shortcut:
WP:PASI

Where the above section discusses the principal perspective from which an article is written and makes the distinction between real-world perspective versus "in-universe" perspective, this section discusses the incorporation of information. Please see also the related policy on the use of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.