Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction

This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

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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 subjects related to fiction, including fictional worlds and elements therein. When creating these articles, editors should establish the subject's real-world notability by including several reliable, independent secondary sources. This approach will also ensure enough source material is available for the article to be comprehensive and factually accurate. If notability is established, the topic will generally be suitable for inclusion on Wikipedia.

Once an article about fiction is created, editors should consider: (a) what to write about the subject, and (b) how to best present that information. These questions are complementary and should be addressed simultaneously to create a well-written article or improve a preexisting one. Although this page is not a policy, following the basic notions laid out in this guideline is generally considered good practice.