Sacred Universe Wiki:Manual of Style

How articles on this wiki are written. These are conventions, not laws, but following them is what makes two hundred pages read like one book rather than two hundred.

Voice

Articles are written from inside the world, in the present tense, as though Eslura were a real place and this were its encyclopaedia.

Yes. Beatrice Tidal is the current Sacred Head of Eslura.

No. Bea is the main character of the Sacred series.

The exception is the Behind the scenes section at the foot of an article, which is the one place for anything about the writing rather than the world. Real-world articles (the novels, the author) are of course written normally.

Do not address the reader. No "as we saw in Book 1", no "you will remember".

Structure

Every article opens the same way: an infobox, then a lead paragraph of one to three sentences that bolds the subject's name and says plainly what it is. A reader who stops after the lead should still have learned something useful.

Then sections, in a consistent order. For characters: Appearance, Personality, Background, Story, Relationships, Quotes, Behind the scenes, See also.

Close with a navbox and at least two categories: one structural, one specific.

Tense

Present tense for description that is true across the series. Past tense for things that happened before the books open.

Alistair Archibald is the Sacred Ruler of the Book of Land. He dismissed Amelia's warning until Bea arrived.

Linking

Link the first mention of any person, place, or thing that has its own page. Do not link the same thing again three paragraphs later.

Prefer piped links that read naturally: [[Tabitha Glowdish|Tab]] inside a sentence about Tab.

Red links stay. They are the wiki's own to-do list.

Citations

Any specific claim should carry a chapter reference.

Her eyes shift from green to gold.<ref>Book 2, Ch. 14.</ref>

Use the short form (Book 1, Book 2, Collection) and a chapter number where one exists.

Spoilers

This wiki covers published work in full, and does not hide plot. Articles heavy with late-book revelations carry {{Spoiler}} at the top as a courtesy, but nothing is omitted for being a twist.

Unpublished material is a different matter entirely. See Project:Canon and spoiler policy.

Things to avoid

• Speculation. If the books do not say it, the wiki does not either.
• Fan theory, however good.
• Praise. "Beautifully written" belongs in a review, not an encyclopaedia.
• Second person.