Wowpedia:Fan fiction guidelines

This article describes how to add your fan fiction in Wowpedia. Fan fiction are stories made up by players (fans) of Warcraft. Wowpedia also recognizes two subtypes of fan fiction: observations and player character background, biographical or historical info.

Content guidelines
''Fan fiction is a very open field. The only thing we require is that fan fiction on Wowpedia be about WarCraft, and be clearly marked as fanfic (see fanfic policy). Think of the below guidelines as a smorgasbord that you can pick and choose from depending on what you want to do.''

Fan fiction that works with official lore
Some readers prefer to read fanfic which does not conflict with the world as they already know it.

To write fan fiction that integrates seamlessly with official lore, try to keep the below points in mind:


 * Try to avoid events which would alter the past in such a way that the event would have been recorded throughout history and be widely known outside of your fanfic unless a feasible plot device would allow it.
 * Example: don't have Grom Hellscream survive his final battle, because this would have been widely recorded.
 * However, Grom Hellscream could have talked to a character or have gone on an unrecorded quest before his death! This would not directly conflict with official lore. Time travel is the exception to this rule because time travel has been done in official lore.


 * Avoid introducing objects or characters which would have been widely known or otherwise already mentioned into the story unless a feasible plot device would allow it. This would include gods who would have been affecting the Universe and widely known to Azerothians, but not gods who have been asleep, imprisoned, etc.  The same goes for races which would have been known if suddenly present.
 * Example: a demonic race cannot have been both the most powerful race (making them the most useful) in the Burning Legion and never have been mentioned.
 * However: a secluded, very powerful demon, that for some reason did not take part in the invasion, would have escaped notice up until your story.


 * Attempt to keep up to date with official lore in the case that future lore and retcons make the events in your story contradictory with official lore.
 * Example: if one of your characters kills someone who is later discovered to be integral to the plot in official lore, consider rewriting. At least swap the person for someone else.

"What If?" fan fiction
One fascinating side to fanfic are the "what if?" scenarios that play out very differently from what we know. If you plan on writing this, do feel free to disregard everything in the previous section.

Do however consider pointing out in the introduction to your story that it is a "what if" story, or is otherwise incompatible with official lore. It saves readers that prefer or expect fanfic compatible with official lore a nasty surprise, and, who knows, this way they might even come to like your story when prepared for it!

WoWRP
Wowpedia has a sister site called WoWRP intended to support roleplaying in the Warcraft-universe with an emphasis on the time-frame of World of Warcraft. They do allow fan fiction in their main namespace and are less restrictive about naming (their policies and guidelines in development, however, and are subject to change).

You should consider creating pages at WoWRP which will also help it grow.