Wikipedia:Notability (fiction) (:WP:FICT)

There is no special guideline for the notability of fictional elements (such as characters and episodes) on Wikipedia. See other relevant policies and guidelines in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Wikipedia. In particular, editors should review:  The general notability guideline The policy on what Wikipedia is not The manual of style for writing about fictionFor starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.   Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Wikipedia. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.  A quick rule-of-thumb test on whether the article about a fictional topic is likely to be notable is to see whether it has a section on reception or significance. Note that sometimes relevant information may be contained in the lead. Barring that, a section on development history (creation) can occasionally contain useful content as well. Bear in mind that content in such sections should be referenced to reliable, independent sources. If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to WP:BEFORE and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of WP:PRESERVE can also take the form of redirecting the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.   === Notability guidelines ===  The Wikipedia's general notability guideline is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.  There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:  Wikipedia:Notability (books) Wikipedia:Notability (films) Wikipedia:Notability (video games)   === What Wikipedia is not ===  Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly Wikipedia is not simply plot summaries. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.   === Manual of style ===  Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review Writing About Fiction and Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Check your fiction to understand the general approach and content of these articles.  Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) may be grouped into an appropriate list article.  Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at the general notability guideline and at Stand-alone Lists and Topics.  Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:  Wikipedia:WikiProject Television Wikipedia:WikiProject Soap Operas Wikipedia:WikiProject Film Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels Wikipedia:WikiProject Anime and manga Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games Wikipedia:WikiProject Fictional charactersA Wikipedia:Fiction/Noticeboard was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.  User:Deckiller/Notability (fiction), the original attempted rewrite from c. 2007-2009 Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)/proposed-12-9-07, a previous failed proposal from 2007 User:Phil Sandifer/Fiction proposal, a previous proposal abandoned in 2008 Wikipedia:Plot-only description of fictional works, a previous failed proposal, in 2011 recategorized as an essay Wikipedia:Fancruft Wikipedia:"In popular culture" content Wikipedia:Pokémon test