Help:Editor's Guide

This is an editing guide that should be followed by all editors on this wiki. This guide exists so that the information presented to viewers is clear, factual, and easy on the eyes.

Common Sense
All edits on this wiki should use common sense and good faith. This means that you have good intentions when editing, even when you make a mistake. If you aren't sure if what you put on a page is good, ask others, or look at other articles for examples. If you make a mistake, this is understood.

Structure
Every article on this wiki follows a structure to keep information categorized. These vary based on types.

Types of Articles: Keep in mind there are also miscellaneous article types that vary based upon what they are, such as the Timeline and the list of Mistakes.
 * Books
 * Characters
 * Locations
 * Organizations/Societies
 * Real People
 * Species

Books Structure Character Structure Locations Structure Organizations Structure Real People Structure Species
 * Infobox
 * Introduction
 * Cover
 * Plot
 * Trivia
 * Sources
 * Infobox
 * Introduction
 * Appearance
 * Personality
 * Skills
 * Biography
 * Relationships
 * Trivia
 * Gallery
 * Sources
 * Introduction
 * History
 * Known People
 * Trivia
 * Sources
 * Introduction
 * History
 * Known Members
 * Trivia
 * Sources
 * Introduction
 * Works
 * Trivia
 * Sources
 * Introduction
 * Description
 * History
 * Known (Species)
 * Trivia
 * Sources

Information Types
Introduction

The introduction includes very basic information including age, species, gender, occupations/associations, relations, and first appearance. Do not add other descriptions, like physical appearance and their role in the plot, unless it is protagonist, antagonist, deuteragonist, etc.

If the character has died, you may put their status and cause of death.

Appearance

The appearance is what the character looks like. This includes what clothing the character typically wears, if applicable. If the character has multiple outfits, list each one and its use if applicable. Include the five senses relating to the character, such as what they smell like, what their voice sounds like, and their typical expression (stressed, happy, calm, frustrated, etc.).

Descriptions in the books are prioritized over appearances on covers or in Camp Underpaw's Guide to Mythical Creatures. You should cite each group of descriptors using book and page number < /ref > in the source code, and putting < references/ > in Sources. (Delete the spaces between the <>'s in order for it to work.) If you need more information on citing, go to FANDOM's official page on citing. If you see something that needs to be cited, cite it yourself if you can, or leave (Delete the spaces between the  – 's) so that other members can cite it. You should cite: a) Words taken directly from the text, or are paraphrased. b) Information that is questionable.

Personality

The personality is how a character typically acts without the judgement of others. You may list traits that have been repeated in the text (such as Blue Merevy being calm) as long as you cite them, or large traits that have been implied (such as how Jasmin Sterling is extroverted). This one is tricky, so use your best judgement.

Skills

Things that a character is able to do. If the character in question is a mythical creature, list the abilities that they have because of it (such as griffins being able to fly). Cite where the skill is seen to be used or mentioned.

Biography/History

The biography is what a character did in each book, or before the timeline of the series. This includes appearances, mentions, and indirect actions caused by them at an earlier date. To make sure these are accurate, please have the respective book or canon source near you. These should be short and not represent the book at large. Try to keep these within one to two paragraphs if they are minor characters, but these can be bigger for main characters.

History is for other things besides characters, and lists things the group, location, etc, has done, including it individual members.

Relationships

If the character is close to another character, either by occupation, relations, or a love interest, list these characters here and describe the chemistry of their relationship.

Trivia

Trivia is tid-bits of information that can be implied or noted towards a certain thing, such as namesake or inspiration from other sources. Do not put trivial information that is only barely related to the topic, such as "Toothless from the How to Train Your Dragon movies is similar to Firebella, who is a dragon with black scales." Due to the nature of trivia, you should cite the source of the trivia with the correct source to prove that the trivia is correct.

Gallery

Images from the books themselves, including the American, French, and German versions can be put here, but since this is the American wiki, photos from the American version are at utmost importance. Fanart is also allowed here, but must be labelled as such. All photos must have the credit to the creator in their captions, and the file should have the correct tag for what it will be used for (such as fair use, or if it is your own work).

Sources

The sources are the places all information on the page is taken from. Typically, you can put the bibliographies for the books in the sources for what is applicable:

Sutherland, Tui T, and Kari Sutherland. The Menagerie. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2013

Sutherland, Tui T, and Kari Sutherland. Dragon on Trial. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2014

Sutherland, Tui T, and Kari Sutherland. Krakens and Lies. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2015

If you get information from another source, like Wikipedia or an interview, place the link (or bibliography if it can be cited that way) to that page there. If there is questionable information on an article, cite it like you cite appearance.

Cover

What is depicted on the cover of a book. (Note that all of these have been completed.)

Known People

All people who are related to a certain species, organization, or location. These can be listed in bullets in alphabetical order. Note if the person is deceased or not part of a certain group or living in a certain place in parentheses, like (deceased) or (formerly).

Works

Works are a list of all things that a real person has done. If it is an illustrator, list the images. If it is an author, list the books.

Plot

A brief description of what happens in the book. These should be as short and broad as possible, as the specific details of scenes should be shown on articles involving a specific character. Do not include quotes or minor happenings (ex. Cleopatra tossed her head and snorted). However, due to the mystery nature of these books, it is understood that details within the mystery, no matter how minor (ex. Dragon toothbrushes, Mrs. Sterling's pearl necklace), should be added, as they become more important later.

Images
If there are canon images or fanart, please add these to the galleries of their respective pages. The official art should be put into infoboxes when applicable. It is preferred that you get the canon images from the online version of the books, since the image will be much cleaner. Give credit to the creator in the caption, and if the work is copyrighted, label it for fair use under US copyright law in the image file's description with the Fairuse tag.