User:Nightfall101/Article Tutorial

Here, I will give the steps necessary to create an article using the proper format :) Remember, some of these things are optional, I will indicate when they are.

Step 1:
Character Template:

First, you must add a character template. Here's the code -

Affie=' Put the place where your character is affiliated. If it is a Clan, put the Clan where your cat lives. Be sure to add a link to it. ex. ThunderClan. If your character is a rogue, loner, or kittypet, simply type "Rogue", "Loner", or "Kittypet" in the affie space, with no link.

Pastaffie= If your character has been affiliated somewhere other than their current location once before, be sure to add that in.

Rank= Put your character's rank. ex. Warrior, Apprentice, Queen, Loner, Kittypet, Leader, Healer, ect.

Family= If your character has known family, then put immediate family here. ex. Mate, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister. Type the list of family like so:


 * Father: NameMother: NameBrother: NameSister: Name

If your character has no known family, then simply type, None Known

Mentor=If your character is a Clan cat, or a Tribe cat, put who mentored them. (With a link) If their mentor is unknown, type Unknown. If your character is not a Clan cat, type None

Apprentice= Same as above, only list any apprentices they trained, or None if they have never mentored an apprentice.

Status= If you character is alive, type: Living. If they are dead, type: Deceased.

Roleplayer= Type your own user name, but be sure to have a link to your user page. ex. Nightfall The text after the vertical line is what will appear, so instead of "User:Nightfall101" being in the box, it will just say "Nightfall".

Example:

Step 2:
Description:

Next, put your character's description underneath the character template. The character's name should be in bold, and the description in normal text. ex. Sparkfire is a lean, glossy black tom with golden eyes. Resulting appearance:
 * Sparkfire is a lean, glossy black tom with golden eyes.

Step 3:
History:

Third, you must have history. Whether it's, Sparkfire is a ShadowClan warrior, or, Forest is a loner, there needs to be history. Create a new section entitled "History", and fill in your cat's history after you role play, it starts to build up if you don't. Always use proper spelling and grammar, and be nice and detailed.

Step 4: (Optional)
Personality:

Right after the history, you can create a new section entitled "Personality". Give a quick summary about what your character is like.

Example:


 * Sparkfire is a gentle, yet strong and smart cat who is very loyal to his Clan.

Step 5: (Optional)
Trivia:

After the personality section, you can create a new section entitled "Trivia". Here, list certain interesting facts about your character. It should look like this -

==Trivia== These trivia facts were revealed by (User name), the role player of this character. * Trivia Fact

You can do as many trivia facts as you wish.

Step 6:
Images:

Now for the images portion of the article. This is the correct format -

==Images== ===Character Pixels=== These images will be provided by Character Art Project ===Real Life Image=== If you have a real life image for your cat, put it here. ===Fan Art=== If you have fan art of your character, then create a gallery like so:

Step 7:
Family:

Here, you list your character's family. Create a new section entitled "Family", and begin. First, you type:

==Family== ===Members===

Now, you list any known family. Note: If they don't have any known family members, then you should not include this section in your article.

Always start with immediate family. The order should be:

Mate: Sons: Daughters: Father: Mother: Brother: Sisters: Grandsons: Granddaughters: Grandfather: Grandmother: Uncles: Aunst: Nephews: Nieces: Cousins:

Always type the list of family like so:

Mate: :Mate's Name - Living

(or)

Mate: :Mate's Name - Deceased, Member of (Place of Residence)

And so on :)

Example:

Mate:
 * Pineshadow - Living

Father:
 * Frostwing - Deceased, Member of StarClan

Mother:
 * Flameshine - Living

Step 8: (Optional)
Quotes:

If you want, you can add quotes to your character's article. The quote must be something that describe's your character's personality, or something that your character strongly feels about. The quote templates can be found here.

Step 9:
References and Citations:

It's always good to cite things on your article, to give some confirmation that it is true. To do this, just type the following after whatever you wish to cite:

This text will not be shown on the actual place you type it.

It's a good idea to cite:

Description

Mentor

Apprentice

Family Members

If you cite something, then you must create a new section at the very bottom of the page entitled, "References and Citations"

Underneath the section title, you put All your reference text will appear underneath the References and Citations section heading if you put this template there.

Step 10:
Categories: The last and final step. When you're editing, click where it says "Add Category". It will give you a small text box to type in, where you will add categories. The way it works is: If you put the category "Tom" on the page, then, you're character will be added to the list. So, if your cat is a she-cat warrior in a ThunderClan, your categories would be: Character, She-Cat, Warrior, ThunderClan Cat. If your character is a rogue who's a tom, his categories would be: Character, Tom, Rogue. There are many categories, but if you misspell a word, or forget a punctuation mark, the link to the category won't work.

Finished

 * Now, sit back, and admire your article :) See Rubystar's article for a complete example. Also, leave a message on my talk page if I was unclear in describing the process, or if you have a question :)  ☻Nightfall☻ Follow the brightest star in the sky!

07:53, January 23, 2011 (UTC)