Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)

For information about writing articles on fiction, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction).

For specific examples of where you may be able to help, see Wikipedia:Fiction/Noticeboard.

Wikipedia:Notability (fiction) is a proposed guideline that defines the inclusion criteria for topics about fiction, such as works of fiction, including serialised works that are comprised of episodes or installements, and elements of fiction, including but not limited to characters, events or locations that are fictional creations.

This proposed guideline may be considered a specialized version of Wikipedia:Notability, which refers to whether or not a topic should be the subject of a standalone article. The term "notability" is not a reflection of a topic's importance or merit; rather it used in the sense that the topic has been noted in published commentary from reliable sources independent of the topic itself.

Claims of notability must adhere to Wikipedia's policy on Verifiability; it is not enough to simply assert that an element meets a criterion without substantiating that claim with reliable sources.

"Notability" as used herein is not a reflection of an element's appeal. An element may be brilliantly created, envisioned and visualized, fascinating and identifiable, while still not being notable enough to ensure sufficient verifiable source material exists. Notability is not a measure of how important an element is to the work itself; rather it serves as a guide on whether to create an article in an encyclopedia.

General principles

As with all subjects, an element should satisfy the general notability guideline.

The general guideline for notability shared by most of the subject-specific notability guidelines and Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not, is that:

A topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.

This guideline includes published works such as books, television documentaries, full-length featured newspaper articles from large circulation newspapers, full-length magazine reviews and criticism excluding the following:

• Media reprints of press releases, trailers, and advertising for the work in which the element features.
• Trivial coverage, such as newspaper listings of screening times, "capsule reviews", plot summaries without critical commentary or analysis, or listings in comprehensive guides such as "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide", TV.com or Gamespot.

Real-world notability

Coverage of fiction on Wikipedia needs to be more than a plot summary of the work. Notability of fictional elements should be based on their impact in the real world as opposed to what occurs with them within the work(s) of fiction. Even if a character plays a highly significant and "notable" role within the work, this does not make them notable for the purposes of Wikipedia.

Most commonly, a notable element's impact is shown through commentary, criticism, and reception specific to that element within the context of the work(s) they appear. Because this is a part of the impact of the work or series the element appears in, the advice at Wikipedia:Summary style applies. Less commonly, elements may be more notable for their real-world impact than the work itself, such as the character of Superman.

Derivative articles

Wikipedia articles tend to grow in a way which lends itself to the natural creation of new articles. However, the consensus at Wikipedia is that articles about fictional works should not be split and split again into ever more minutiae of detail treatment, with each split resulting in undue weight being given to insignificant details or trivial coverage. This means that while a book or television series may be the subject of non-trivial real-world coverage, care should be taken when creating separate articles about individual characters or episodes by providing evidence that the subject matter is notable in its own right, and that the new article does not comprise nothing more than a plot summary.

For this reason, it is not normally advisable to set out from the start with the intention of creating derivative articles for every fictional character, episode, scene or chapter derived from it. Rather, avoid splitting articles if the new article cannot meet inclusion criteria for topics about fiction. Such splits may give rise to the creation of an unintentional content forks whose subject matter is already be featured in a related article that does provide evidence of notability.

Articles that don't meet the inclusion criteria

Articles that do not meet the inclusion guidelines above may be redirected and/or merged with a related article that does provide evidence of notability. Whilst this guideline is intended to be used by Wikipedia editors to decide whether a fictional topic should or should not have an article on Wikipedia, it should not be used as a set of deletion criteria. Although satisfying these notability guidelines generally indicates a fictional topic warrants an article, failing to satisfy them is not a criterion for speedy deletion.

Before proposing that an article is to be deleted, it is important to not just consider whether an article meets these inclusion criteria, but whether it has the potential to do so. Remember that all Wikipedia articles are not a final draft, and an article can be notable if such sources exist even if they have not been added at present.

In addition, no part of this guideline is meant to preempt the editorial decision of content selection and presentation; for example, a topic may meet all the criteria, but may be decided by consensus to merge the article with an article on the work of fiction itself instead of a separate article if there is limited information available.

Articles covering fictional elements that are deletion candidates are generally merged or retained temporarily if their coverage can meet some of these criteria:

1. Real-world coverage: To establish real-world importance, or to provide appropriate context for understanding real-world importance, rather than detail the fictional adventures of imaginary characters. Articles written in the appropriate style, which expand upon relevant points of a main topic to further the reader's understanding, are more likely to find acceptance among the Wikipedia community;
2. Importance of the fictional work: To justify articles on individual elements, the fictional work from which they come must have produced non-trivial artistic impact, cultural impact, or general popularity described in a secondary source. Creator commentary on specific elements may still hint at the likelyhood of the element being notable;
3. Role within the fictional work: The element must be an important element, and its importance must be verifiable. The importance of characters can be demonstrated when a character or other element in a book/film is referred to in a reliable source review of the book/film, or there is a reference to the casting of the character in a reliable source.

These criteria are not exhaustive, nor agreed by all, but can help to concentrate editorial discussion regarding the merger or deletion of specific articles and help editors reach conclusions as to how to best organise content.

Further guidance

Wikiprojects

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/Style guidelines
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/Style guidelines
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Television/Style guidelines
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Soap Operas#Style_guidelines
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Article guidelines

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Other policies and guidelines, examples and how-tos not mentioned above

• Wikipedia:Television episodes
• Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Check your fiction