The Kirby Encyclopedia:Writing tips

The goal of The Kirby Encyclopedia is to provide a complete, comprehensive, and well-written account of the Kirby franchise. Users are expected to use proper grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation, but there are some more things that one should consider when doing articles. The content itself also has to be good, which is accomplished for the most part. However, there are a few issues that frequently come up with the writing. This is a guide to help users try to avoid these pitfalls.

Summary
The following list provides a summary of what users should avoid doing while they're writing.


 * Summaries that aren't – "Story" sections on game pages should only cover the main details of what occur.
 * Kirby mania – Kirby is the main and titular character, but he's not the center of the universe. Don't make other characters' pages all about Kirby, keep the focus on them.
 * Everything but the kitchen sink – Don't fill articles with descriptions of things that are only superficially similar to what the page is about. It's just more padding. Short articles and short sections aren't bad if there's not much to write about.
 * Obvious information – Don't open up an article with information stated in the article's title.
 * Flowery writing – Overly fancy writing, such as the overuse of adjectives and words typically found in a thesaurus, can be distracting to the reader.
 * Epic writing – Grandiose, over-the-top dramatic prose should also be avoided.
 * Grimdark – There may be a few interesting instances in which Kirby gets serious, but don't fixate on them.
 * Reading between the lines – The articles are for facts, not speculation. Keep original interpretations and personal biases out of the writing.
 * Unsupported analysis – Some things in the Kirby franchise are left ambiguous and making a few straightforward inferences is better than nothing, as long as it's supported by quotes and references, and is presented as being "implied" (etc.) and not fact.
 * Judgement calls – There is also a lot of contradictory material in the Kirby franchise, but don't make assertions about which story is true or false. Just present them both and note which one is more recent or more widely adhered to in the games (if applicable).
 * Knitting everything together – By nature, most Kirby games do not fit together into a cohesive timeline. Trying to link them together is speculation and should not be done.
 * Fan worship – Character pages should not be bogged down by rambling essays and excessive details.
 * Fusing gameplay and story elements – Don't treat the mechanics of gameplay as if they were part of a flowing narrative. While it is true that gameplay often affects how the story unfolds, and can sometimes result in one of multiple different endings, gameplay is, at its core, based on how one plays the game whereas story is for events that occur within the game.
 * Partial walkthroughs – If a game does not have a very hefty plot, its "Story" section should be short, meaning that one should avoid adding a level-by-level overview.

Summaries that aren't
Having the maximum amount of relevant information is good. Some users tend to go overboard and try to cram every last detail of a game's plot into its summary. Story-related sections for plot-heavy games, such as RPGs, are the most prone to the "everything but the kitchen sink" writing.

Ideally, a summary details only the "meat" of the plot. For instance, in a main series Kirby title, it would detail how the conflict starts, what the characters (both protagonists and antagonists) do to try to end the conflict, major events that move the story along, and the eventual conclusion. Every last detail of the journey should not be included in a single section, as the point of summaries is to allow readers to follow the plots of the games, and many sidetracks and mini-bosses are only there to lengthen the game and have no major impact on the story itself. Similarly, the events that are included should not be given exhaustive coverage. Most plot points can be adequately described by a few sentences.

Padding and partial walkthroughs
Several wiki editors make the mistake of thinking that short sections or articles automatically constitute as "stubs." In reality, there's a difference between stubs (short articles that are missing information and could be expanded) and sections/articles that are short because the subject itself is short, simplistic, or otherwise. If there is not much to write about, by all means, that section or article should be short, rather than filled with off-topic or unnecessarily verbose padding.

Due to the often simplistic nature of Kirby games (particularly platformers), editors tend to supplement these articles' short Story sections with world-by-world (or even level-by-level), boss-by-boss descriptions of the games. Story sections are not walkthroughs, and while it's well-meaning, this approach to writing summaries should be avoided at all costs.

Similarly, character articles could make the mistake of describing the entire plot of a game instead of that particular character's role in it. It is okay to provide context for what the character's doing, and obviously how other characters interact with them is also relevant, but it should be kept to a minimum. For example, adding "King Dedede steals the Star Rod from the Fountain of Dreams." on Kirby's article has the sentence focus on King Dedede, and would be appropriate for the History section on King Dedede's article. Likewise, "Kirby sets off on a journey to reconstruct the Star Rod that King Dedede had broken." changes the focus to Kirby's actions and would not be as ideal for King Dedede's article.

Everything but the kitchen sink
One common form of padding is when users try to make articles a bit too thorough and end up describing things or events that are only superficially similar to what the page is about. For example, Mike is a specific Copy Ability in the Kirby games, but its article should no mix in information with the Microphone, which is the object that Kirby uses in Mike and an item used in Kirby's Dream Land prior to the introduction of Copy Abilities. The article should not go into detail about the microphone or any depiction where Kirby is seen signing on a microphone, although it would be acceptable for the opening section to briefly detail other instances of Kirby using a microphone.

This issue tends to overlap with the generic subjects policy, which addresses how editors should not write about every appearance of a regular subject from the real world. Instead, they should limit the details to the subject's role and/or purpose within the Kirby franchise. A generic subject should not receive its own article if it is only a background element that is not interacted with or acknowledged by any of the characters (e.g. the ground or the sky) or if it is used but is neither acknowledged nor shown to have a specific purpose (e.g. the use of regular words).

Obvious information
A standard construction for opening sentences is "[Name of the page] is a [thing]", but if the name itself clearly describes what the subject is, this is not unnecessary. For example, the sentence "Parasol Waddle Dee is a Waddle Dee who carries a parasol" is self-explanatory, and should instead include additional information, such as "Parasol Waddle Dee is a variant of Waddle Dee which is very similar but is mainly different in that it floats using a parasol."

Epic, flowery, and grimdark writing
Obviously we don't want our articles to be bland and repetitive, but users should also avoid attempts to spice up the content. Overly fancy language is unnecessary, and one should try to use words that most readers would understand. You are still allowed to add in lesser-used dictionary words on occasion but only if it matches the definition of the more commonly used word. If you are looking for a more specific word within a thesaurus, remember that it provides words that are either identical or similar in meaning. As for grimdark writing, one should avoid fixating on the more serious, darker, or inappropriate moments within the Kirby franchise (for example, do not fixate or obsesses over how the Kirby's Dream Land 3 boss Zero spurts blood from his eyes and how its reissuing on Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition earned the game an E10+ rating).

Reading between the lines
Editors should avoid reading too much into the games and coming up with original interpretations of characters and events. Articles must be based on facts, not speculation, and personal biases must be set aside when writing. For example, preferring a certain character over another (e.g. Bandana Waddle Dee over Kirby) is fine, but such material, including implications of it, should be kept out of the article.

Analysis and dissection are not inherently bad if they're kept to a minimum. There are admittedly some things included in the Kirby franchise that are left somewhat ambiguous, and it is better to have something rather than nothing about these aspects. Keep in mind that the interpretations must be straightforward and logical, backed up with solid references (e.g. the original quotes from the games or related material), and explicitly stated to be "implied" or "hinted at" rather than be passed off as solid fact.

This does not mean that users should go out of their way to resolve contradicting information or try to link unrelated events and games together into one cohesive narrative. If there is a contradiction, simply provide both stories and comment on how they conflict without giving more credence to one version over the other, unless one is clearly anomalous when compared to all other relevant info (e.g. a single game guide mislabeling one enemy as another, etc.), although references should still be provided. Straightforward resolutions are not always easy to come by, however, since in most cases, Kirby games do not link together (except in the recycling of main characters, generic enemies, items and locations; occasionally, cameos and other nods and references to early games may also be included). Therefore, users should not try to string things together into solid timelines. For example, do not write a History section to try make a plot as if the events of games such as Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Adventure, and Kirby Super Star are connected, as this is just as speculative as choosing a side when it comes to contradictions. While there is no official Kirby timeline, it is possible to create overviews of characters that are coherent and logically arranged without getting ambitious and speculative about it.

Trying to fuse game mechanics and story elements
Gameplay is getting from A to B, and story is what happens at A and B. They are both important aspects of the game, although to what extent varies from game to game and is largely dependent on genre. However they are not one in the same. Kirby inhaling Waddle Dees on his way to Castle Dedede is not part of the storyline, and as mentioned before, this sort of thing should not be included in plot summaries. Similarly, treating technical aspects of gameplay such as item-collecting and power-up mechanics as part of the story should also be avoided. It is best to talk about the two aspects separately when writing History sections, typically for major recurring subjects.

Frequently misused terms

 * Acronym: "Acronym" refers to abbreviations that are intended to be pronounced as words. However, it is commonly misused to refer to abbreviations in general.
 * Beta: "Beta" refers to the period in software development where a product is feature-complete, but has yet to be extensively bug-tested or optimized. This usually happens long after things like concepts being rejected, characters being cut from the game, etc. "Beta" should not be used as a shorthand for "things that changed during development". More precise terms such as "cut," "unused," "concept art", or simply "early" should be used instead. Of course, this does not apply if the information is confirmed to be from an actual beta build.
 * Outer space: "Outer space" generally refers to the open, near-empty space outside the gravitational sphere of any celestial body. However, not every location with the comical black "starry sky" background is in outer space, as it may also be used as a backdrop of some sorts. On the other hand, "cosmic" refers to something pertaining to outer space, and should be used instead in most cases.
 * Prequel: A "prequel" is a work released as part of an established series whose narrative is chronologically set before another, previously released work. When talking about game releases, one should instead use the word "predecessor" (e.g. Kirby's Dream Land 2 is a predecessor to Kirby's Dream Land 3).
 * Remix: "Remix" is frequently used to refer to a new recording of a music track, when the proper term for that would be "arrangement." A remix uses the original recording and modifies it (such as by altering the pitch, adding new percussions and beats, etc.) while a rearrangement is a new recording of an existing composition.
 * Sprites: "Sprite" refers to pre-rendered graphics, but it is often used to refer to any graphical assets in games with a 2D playing field, including ones such as Kirby's Epic Yarn, where almost all graphics are live-rendered 3D models. Keep in mind that pre-rendered 3D graphics also constitute as sprites.
 * Subspecies: In science, "subspecies" (or "sub-species") denotes different populations of a species that are genetically, geographically, and/or physically distinct to an extent, yet still similar enough for interbreeding to occur freely when possible. However, it is often misused to label different species that are merely similar and/or based on one another, such as calling Waddle Doos a subspecies of Waddle Dees. In reality, there are very few cases in the Kirby franchise in which enemies are similar enough to potentially be subspecies. Even then, since their evolutionary history, genetics and breeding biology are unknown, it would still be speculation to definitively label anything as "subspecies." Instead, "species" should be used for everything, and similarities should simply be discussed in terms of "related," "derived," or "parent species."