User blog:GreekTelepath/Writing Style Guidelines

The following is a guide to the wiki's current writing style. It is meant to serve as a guide for wiki users to follow the new writing standard, as well as to explain the mechanics and rationale behind it.

Guideline 1
Summarize whenever possible. This means including only the relevant details of a character's actions and dialogue. For example, here is an excerpt of an older version of Gallerian's History section:
 * "Once he finished the book, he stretched his limbs and noticed it was sunset. As he gazed at the novel and its author's signature, he heard two knocks at the door and intuited it was Rennert. Permitting him to enter, the butler came in and stated that Ma had come to visit. After telling Rennert to send her in, the judge waited until Ma entered and asked if he had read the book; the judge immediately confirmed he had just finished. When asked about his impression of the tale, Gallerian admitted the novel was very different from the Freezis Fairy Tale he was familiar with."

Now, here is an excerpt from the updated version of Gallerian's History section:
 * "Upon finishing the book he was visited by Ma, who asked his opinion on it. Gallerian admitted the novel was very different from the Freezis Fairy Tale he was familiar with."

The second version follows the new writing standard. Notice how, in the example above, Gallerian looking at the author's signature and hearing Rennert knock are cut in the second version; this is because they are not relevant to the scene or the overall plot - what's important is that Ma visits Gallerian, period.

Entries like the first version are usually a result of quoting the info-mines verbatim, and this can result in a lot of unnecessary fluff clogging up articles. Meanwhile, the second version is more concise, since it is written with the idea of including only the pertinent information. In cases where summarizing is difficult or impossible, please simply paraphrase instead.

Guideline 2
Do not be afraid of pronouns. In the past sentences have repeatedly referred to characters as "the judge said this," "the red cat mage decided that," "the assassin attacked," "the tailor did this," etc. Just use the character's pronouns or name as appropriate to be certain that the reader knows who the subject is. Introducing their titles or professions as pronouns has the opposite confusing effect for newcomers.

Guideline 3
Ensure the sentences make sense. This means looking over the sentence and testing it in your head if it makes sense to the average reader. Not only should the information be accurate and concise, it should also be coherent.

Guideline 4
Use compound or complex sentences as a rule of thumb. This means you combine small, simple sentences into bigger ones. This allows for a smoother flow for the reader, as well as a faster comprehension of ideas. For example, we have the following sentences:
 * Kayo then asked if she was Mei's daughter. The girl confirmed the fact. She explained she came instead of her mother.

Now, these are the same sentences combined into one: However, please do not use multiple semicolons on one sentence, as this allows for its abuse. Two to three clauses is a good number for a typical sentence.
 * Kayo then asked if she was Mei's daughter, and the girl confirmed the fact, explaining she came instead of her mother.

Conclusion
We hope the above guide was of help to you; by now, you should be able to take on the task of adding basic content to pages. Happy editing!