deathpixie | Wiki: How to Update a Character Page

One of the things I get from people most when talking to them about updating their character pages is that they don't really know what to do or how to start it. I've been thinking about it, and I figured I'd share a couple of my own tricks that I use to make things easier, especially when I'm updating character pages that aren't mine.

Step 1: Work out what needs doing:

As Matt posted earlier, on this page is a linked list of what pages need what done. If you click on the link for your character, it'll tell you what needs doing. For example, for Amanda I need to update from April 2009 onwards.

Step 2: Make a timeline:

The first thing I do, if there's a lot of time to cover on a page, is draw up a month-by-month timeline. It doesn't have to be detailed - a lot of the time it's the name of a plot, or a note on something that happened to the character or a relationship that changed. The easiest way to do this is to use the "What Links Here" button on the toolbox, which is the lower box on the left hand side under the search button. Go to your character page, click "What Links Here" and it'll give you a list of all the pages linked to that character page. From there it's a matter of clicking on the relevant date and plot links and skimming over to refresh your memory of what happened over the past X amount of time.

The timeline itself might look something like this:

October 2008 - Day Zero. Search and rescue. Doubts re Poccy.

November 2008 - Snogged Jay while drunk. Questioning sexuality.

December 2008 - Home for Christmas.

...and so on.

Step 3: Questions to ask:

When writing a summary of your character's doings, it's important to avoid writing down every little thing - that's not a summary. ;) Basically, there's a couple of questions you need to ask yourself as you're doing it:

What changed my character significantly and how?

What relationships were important to my character and how did they impact on him/her?

That will cover plots, powers developments, random events, important journal threads, the works. It's also really important to avoid making your summary a reiteration of each plot your character was in, since it's redundant - that's what the plot write ups are for.

Step 4: Write your summary:

Now you've got an idea of what happened to your character and how it impacted on them, you should be able to write the summary. Style is reasonably flexible - avoid writing the whole thing in lolcat, but you also don't have to make it sound like an official biography. Use a tone that you feel comfortable with. And remember, you - and others - can always edit later, so there's no worries about making it perfect first time. In terms of word count, you're looking at say... no more than 10 short paragraphs per year. Use sections to break up the text, either by year, or by stages of development or events. Use links to plots, other characters, etc, to encourage readers to explore the Wiki and to save your word counts. ;)

Step 5: Update regularly!

The main issue with character updates is that people leave them for too long and then feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of history they have to cover. Avoid that by updating regularly - but not too regularly, or you'll wind up with that detailed history instead of that summary. I personally try to update every six months, or after every major character development (for Yvette, that works out to be one to two times a year!). And about once a year, go back over the latest section and edit it, cutting out the superfulous stuff that's crept in.

And that's it. I have no idea if I'm being helpful or annoying (or a combination of both), but hopefully this'll benefit someone. Even if it gives them something to focus their rage on at the end of a crappy day. ;)