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WiKirby:Writing style

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Revision as of 13:32, 23 September 2019 by Samwell (talk | contribs) (→‎References)
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Now that all the basics are out of the way, an aspiring young editor may now want to begin doing the things that all this technology has been developed to do: write about Kirby stuff. That, presumably is why most editors sign up to WiKirby in the first place, unless they really like categorizing images or correcting typos in general, which is also fine.

Here at WiKirby, the rules for article prose are not as strict as they would be in a wiki about international law or even tomato agriculture. However, there are still a few important customs to remember when writing articles on this wiki. The following is a basic overview of preferred writing style on WiKirby.

Tense and perspective

In an article, written prose should always take a third-person perspective. At no point should the editor use first or second pronouns (such as "I", "me", "you", "your", etc.) unless dealing with direct quotes. Even when talking about player actions, the editor should use terms such as "the player" instead of directly talking to the reader. Put simply, the article prose should be generalized, without referring to a specific author or specific reader.

Additionally, unless specifically talking about past events, all prose should be written in present tense format. A basic example is the difference between saying
"Kirby's Dream Land was the first game released in the Kirby series."
and
"Kirby's Dream Land is the first game released in the Kirby series."
To use past tense in this case would imply that Kirby's Dream Land is dead or something, when in reality, it is a finished game that can still be accessed and played today.

Universe

When describing events and objects in the Kirby series, editors should use an in-universe style at all times. For instance, when describing actions taking place during gameplay, editors should specify what the character is doing, rather than what the player is making the character do (or worse yet, inserting the player directly into the game). While the latter format can be technically more accurate, it is not helpful for illustrating the series in a concise manner, and will only lead to annoyance from the reader. If an editor spots such mistakes in an article, he/she should tag the offending parts with the template {{YouKirby}} or just fix it.

Opinions

WiKirby serves to display a certain sense of whimsy and humTemplate:Or when describing subjects. However, WiKirby does not intend to have subjective opinions on these subjects which may colTemplate:Or the reader's judgments, especially if those opinions are comparison-based. For example, it is perfectly fine to talk about positive or negative qualities relating to King Dedede in isolation (even though he's already perfect[1]), but it is not okay to make an argument about whether or not he's better than Meta Knight unless criteria are narrowed down to provable points such as "damage per second" or "movement speed".

Put simply, article text should remain objective at all times, even when it wants to be funny or cute.

Brevity

WiKirby strives to be a full repository of Kirby information, containing every important piece of information regarding the franchise. However, editors should keep their writing as concise as possible to avoid making pages longer than they need to be.

The following is a real example of a paragraph from an article that could be shortened:

The level begins on a cloud platform, with a bottomless pit to the left, and a continuing path to the right. A number of enemies come to meet Kirby as he jumps from cloud to cloud, being careful to avoid the additional bottomless pits along the way. There are also a number of invulnerable enemies to contend with here, who need to be avoided. The path zigs and zags across several clouds, which will really test Kirby's maneuvering skills up to this point. Inside a small cloud cave, a horde of Scarfies appear. While cute at first, if Kirby tries to inhale them, they will transform into terrible monsters and chase him down, then explode. It is best to either avoid them, or hit them with a star or air pellet projectile. The path eventually makes way to a solid stone walkway, where a Parasol-wielding Waddle Dee will float down to 'greet' our hero. He is followed by an entire battalion of Parasol-wielding enemies further down the path, including a suspended Shotzo. The door to the next section lies beyond them, in a gatehouse guarded by several flying foes. 

Note that this paragraph describes only one room in Bubbly Clouds, yet is several sentences long, and contains lots of unnecessary detail about enemies that could be saved for their own articles instead. A suitable shortened version could look like the following:

The level begins with a long path made of isolated cloud platforms and littered with various enemies, including Shotzos, Scarfies, and parasol-wielding Waddle Dees. Kirby will have to travel to the right by jumping over gaps and dealing with any enemies that get in his way in order to reach the door at the end of a long stone walkway.

Details

Those are the basics of how to write properly in WiKirby's articles. There are a few cases where different writing styles can be used, such as in talk pages, and a few more specific rules exist for some material. For more information, please see the following pages:

References

  1. Dedede is already perfect, so his Inhale won't copy abilities. Instead, it has a longer range than Kirby's.
    — Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tips caption for King Dedede's "Inhale (Neutral Special)"

KSA Parasol Waddle Dee Pause Screen Artwork.png