Help:Editing
This page explains the technical part of entering chapters. We have a separate page with some guidelines such as chapter length.
If you want to practise your formatting skills, you can use the sandbox.
Headers
Headers are completely optional - there is nothing you have to include. Also the format you want to use is up to you. Some people like to put their name on the top of the chapter, others prefer to sign at the bottom. Some like to give their chapter a subtitle, some like include their email address, some add the date and time - whatever you want, it's up to you.
Title
The chapter's title is always the text of the option that you followed from the previous chapter - you don't have to do anything for that.
You will notice that some older chapters start with a chapter number and subtitle; these are chapters moved over from the old system. If you want, you can give your chapter a subtitle, but you do not have to. Chapter numbers have completely lost their function.
Warnings
We only ask you to include warnings at the top of your chapter if you are introducing a new squick to the thread, but there are general warnings at the start of the story, and our readers are used to a little something, so in most cases those are not necessary either.
Author
As with all changes, the author is listed on the history tab. If you're logged in, this will be your username, if you're not logged in or not registered at all, this will be your current IP. So strictly speaking, as long as you're logged in, you do not have to put your name on your chapter. Still, most people like to mark their chapters as theirs, and thereby make it easy for readers to recognize their work. You can do so in different ways:
If you are a registered user and signed in, clicking the User button (http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_user.png) will enter your login name as a link to your userpage. At your userpage, you may want to write a little about yourself, or a link to your site / LJ. People can also leave messages to you there, and see what else you've written here. The signature button (http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_sig.png) does the same, with the addition of the current time and date.
If you're not a registered user, you can simply type your name and put it in double brackets, like so: "By [[Liz]]". This will link to your makeshift userpage, where again, people can leave messages to you and see what else you've written.
Of course you are also free to post your chapters anonymously, but note that your IP will always be logged.
Chapter Text
Aim for something between 500 to 1500 words; see the guidelines for details.
You can use bold and italic text by selecting text and then clicking the buttons (http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_bold.png / http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_italic.png). Note that these buttons do not work as on/off switches - you have to select the text first, then hit the button!
You can also type ''' (three single straight quotes) before and after bold text, and '' (two single straight quotes) before and after anything that should be in italic. It might be helpful to preview before you save to check you've got it all right.
Avoid using asterisks (*) at the start of a line. In wiki markup an asterisk is used to create an unordered list, so it will show up as a little green triangle or blue square (depending on the skin you use to view these pages). If you want to use an asterisk at the start of a line, you'll have to turn off wiki markup for a bit: use the 'Ignore wiki formatting' button for this (http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_nowiki.png), or the <nowiki> command.
Also avoid starting a line with a space. This is the wiki command for monospace fonts, which shows up in a code box. This font is used mostly for displaying programming code. An example is the options code below, and we also use it for the Overview page.
If you need anything else, see the table of the most commonly used formatting below - but please: less is more!
Options
New Method:
To get automatically formatted options, please hit the options button ( http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_option.png ) to produce this line:
{{options|Your first option goes here|Your second option goes here}}
Then replace the text 'Your first option goes here' with your first option, and 'Your second option goes here' with your second option. Be sure to leave the vertical bar (|) separating the two options in place, without adding spaces.
Make sure your options are unique, otherwise you'll just be linking to another chapter.
And last but not least:
Overview Page
Then when you've saved your chapter, it would be helpful if you could also enter it in the Chapter list. Read the talk page to learn how.
Admin will add your chapter if you don't, but as it's not an automatic system, it may take a day or two.
Wiki Markup
This is a list of the most commonly used wiki codes. For a comprehensive list, see wiki markup - but please: less is more!
| What it looks like | What you type | Button* |
|---|---|---|
|
Bold text |
'''Bold''' text |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_bold.png |
|
Italic text |
''Italic'' text |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_italic.png |
|
Underlined text |
<u>Underlined</u> text |
n/a |
|
Horizontal line: |
---- |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_hr.png |
Level 2 Header |
==Level 2 Header== |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_headline.png |
Level 3 Header |
===Level 3 Header=== |
n/a |
Level 4 Header |
====Level 4 Header==== |
n/a |
|
A single new line has no effect on the layout; Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 |
Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 |
n/a |
|
You can break lines |
You can break lines<br> without<br> starting a new paragraph |
n/a |
|
Mostly used for quoting other users on Talk pages:
|
:A colon indents a line or paragraph. |
n/a |
|
Basis internal link: |
[[Interactive Home]] |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_link.png |
|
Internal link with alternative text: |
[[Interactive Home|Click here for the homepage]] |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_link.png |
|
Basic external link: |
[http://www.faramirfiction.com] |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_extlink.png |
|
External link with alternative text: |
[http://www.faramirfiction.com The Faramir FanFiction Archive] |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_extlink.png |
|
Email link: |
[mailto:faramirfiction@gmail.com Email us!] |
n/a |
|
Signature:** |
--~~~~ |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_sig.png |
|
Link to your userpage:** |
~~~ |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_user.png |
|
Current date&time: |
~~~~~ |
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_time.png |
|
Ordered list:
|
# one # two ## two.one ## two.two # tree |
n/a |
|
Unordered list:
|
* one * two ** two.one ** two.two * tree |
n/a |
|
Chapter options:
What happens next?
See What links here to go to the previous chapter |
{{options|Your first option goes
here|Your second option goes here}}
|
http://wiki.faramirfiction.com/skins/common/images/button_option.png |
* For all buttons goes: select the text you want to apply the function to, then hit the button. They do not work as on/off switches.
** If you're not logged in, your IP will be shown instead of your username.