How To Write An SCP

Before You Start

Read The Big List of Overdone SCP Cliches. If your idea falls under one of these, seriously consider not making it. If it's your first article, then DEFINITELY choose a different idea. If you have to justify it by saying, "My <insert cliche here> is different," then no, it is not different, don't do it, choose a different idea, good DAY sir.

Read The Guide to Newbies. This is your "New Hire Handbook", and you should treat it as such. This will teach you all you need to know for your first few weeks at The Foundation. Quick links to help files, a list of well-known staff, and lots of tips, this will make your transition much smoother.

Also, be humble in your first few days. There are a lot of old, entrenched admins here, and when someone splashes in with a introduction post complete with full back story, over-arching plot, and a vote for what SCP-001 should be, it makes us very…jumpy. Say hi, comment on the site, maybe mention a favorite SCP, and integrate slowly. Once you've proven yourself a bit, you'll gain much more freedom and acceptance. However, remember that these things have to be earned. Noting will touch off a shooting rampage quicker then a sense of entitlement…

Templating and Format

Article Template

[[>]]
[[module Rate]]
[[/>]]

[[div style="float:right; margin:0 2em 1em 2em; width:300px; border:0;"]]
|||| [[image COPY-AND-PASTE-IMAGE-URL-HERE width="300px"]] ||
||||~ ^^TEXT-DESCRIBING-THE-PIC^^ ||
[[/div]]

**Item #:** SCP-XXX

**Object Class:** Safe/Euclid/Keter (indicate which class)

**Special Containment Procedures:**

**Description:**

**Addendum:**

Simply copy and paste this into your article. Alternatively, you can also download the RTF file. After uploading your picture, open the pic into a new window so you can copy and paste the url into the re-edit.

What your SCP should look like:

Item #: SCP-XXX

Object Class: Safe/Euclid/Keter (indicate which class)

Special Containment Procedures:

[Paragraphs explaining the Procedures]

Description:

[Paragraphs explaining the Description]

Optional information you can add

You can blank out information by using █████████████████████████ (Copy and Paste)

Addendum: Those with Level 2 Security Clearance should see document #XXX-X

Document #XXX-X: [Document Paragraph]

[Document content]

If you would like to add fluff to your article in the form of a log, incident report, or interview, there are templates for those, too.
Log Template
Incident Report Template
Interview Template

How do I bold?

You can easily format text by highlighting it and clicking one of the buttons at the top of the edit box. This will add the proper syntax that will bold, underline, headline text when the page is saved.

How do I add a picture?

First go the the bottom of the page and click the word 'files.' This will allow you to upload an image to the wiki. (note: you can give the pic any name you want, but make sure there are no spaces and it ends with a file type, such as '.jpg'). Once the file is added, you can view the file by clicking the name of it at the bottom of the page. There you will find the url that hosts the file (you will need this, so save it or just open it in a new window). Next, begin editing the page, you copy and paste this syntax into the first line when editing the page:

[[div style="float:right; margin:0 2em 1em 2em; width:300px; border:0;"]]
|||| [[image COPY-AND-PASTE-IMAGE-URL-HERE width="300px"]] ||
||||~ ^^TEXT-DESCRIBING-THE-PIC^^ ||
[[/div]]

You will replace the words "COPY-AND-PASTE-IMAGE-URL-HERE" with the URL of the pic (make sure there are two SPACES between the URL and the world "width". Add text below the pic by replacing "TEXT-DESCRIBING-THE-PIC" with your own words.

How do I add rating to my page?

You can allow site members to vote on your page by adding the following module to the very top of your article. Please make sure to do this. Copy and paste:

[[>]]
[[module Rate]]
[[/>]]

How do I embed video into my page?

Copy and paste this code into the edit.

[[=]]
[[embedvideo]]
video embedding code goes here (youtube or google video)
[[/embedvideo]]
[[/=]]

and replace "video embedding code goes here (youtube or google video)" with the proper code.

Tips for writing SCPs

General Writing and Format Tips

  • This shouldn't even need to be said, but please use correct ENGLISH spelling and grammar.
  • Keep your writing clinical, detached and orderly. This is a report, so keep to the format. Avoid writing in the first person.
  • The title of the page (it's that textbox just above all the buttons when you edit the page) should be "SCP-274", "SCP-451" or the like. It should not be "Scp 452" or something like that. And DEFINITELY don't include the name of your SCP in the title, like this: "Scp 4235 - The Very Evil Monster". It's lame.
  • If you need to remove a few words (e.g. names, places, dates), use the Unicode character █ (U+2588, FULL BLOCK). If you need to cut out substantial sections, write [DATA EXPUNGED].
  • Be vague. If you explain something, people will say "Oh, I can handle that" - but if you don't, people will imagine the things they can't handle. And that is true horror. Err on the side of vagueness.
  • Brevity is a virtue. That said, you should explain your SCP well enough that people understand what's going on.
  • Do not write dramatically. These are statements of fact, nothing more.
  • The secret underground shadow government doesn't resort to typing with the caps lock on when they want to emphasize that something must be done "at all costs".
  • Expressions such as "approximately 57.23545445 cm" appear foolish. Also, there's no need to go down to nanometers when you're writing an executive summary.
  • Try, if possible, to find a picture for your SCP. A picture is worth a thousand words, and all that.
  • Use metric. That's what you use in a research report. Miles, pounds, etc. may be included in parentheses, if deemed necessary. Also, Ghost will murder you if you fail to do this.
  • Take a look at the SCP Object Classes and assign an appropriate class to your object. Make sure to tag your article.
  • If you're including scientific information, please fact-check. There's nothing like being completely thrown from immersion due to sloppy science. Granted, due to the nature of the site much will remain unexplained - but write that, instead of trying to make up BS.
  • Avoid directly ripping off things unless it's in a satirical manner. For example, if there's an underwater city populated with mutants, giant diving suits, and creepy little girls, all due to a civil war, everyone's going to think you play a little too much Bioshock.

Creative Writing Tips

  • Don't start sentences with the word "So," as in "So I went down to the Cafe Maduro today and there was a thirty-foot dragon rampaging the downtown area." It's bad form and it makes you sound like you're from South Jersey.
  • Avoid panaceas. This is a particular problem in science fiction, which much of the writing on the SCP Foundation borders or outright plunges headfirst into. Nanotechnology is particularly bad about this. I can't count the number of awful goddamn stories I've read where the answer to the problem at hand is "nanobots", which most people seem to wield as a slang term for molecule-sized leprechauns with fathomless alchemical power over the very atomic structure. This is a literary cop-out. If your solution doesn't have some kind of consequences — preferably horrible trauma-inducing consequences — then it's probably a bad solution.
  • Try not to use the same words over and over, even in adjacent sentences. Redundancy is arguably bad grammar and poor sentence structure. Attempt to use synonyms without being dramatic (for example, my alternate use of 'try' and 'attempt').
  • Avoid giant blocks of text. They're visually unappealing and unstimulating.
  • Watch out for plot holes, because if someone notices one, it can really detract from the SCP. Just read over your SCP a couple times and make sure it makes sense.
  • Descriptive writing should be just long enough to give your reader a taste of what the character looks like, and just short enough to keep from sounding like a weapons system demo brochure. When in doubt, always leave something to the imagination. This applies to any physical object, but it's most important for people, and especially women. Contrary to what Robert Heinlein might have you believe, women are people, not accessories or collections of feminine affectations. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever specify a woman's breast size measurement in a story. Especially if it is the woman herself who is specifying it. Especially if she is your main character.
  • If you can't write intelligently, write comedically. If you can't write comedically, write offensively. These are the three kinds of stories people remember: ones that make them think, ones that make them laugh, and ones that piss them off.
  • And finally: don't be afraid to lose. Tragedy abounds in both the real world and the fictional one, especially the latter.

'Terminate'

  • The word 'terminate' is entirely overused in SCP. Find some new words. Eliminate, eradicate, euthanize, eviscerate, execute, exsanguinate… you get the picture. Go nuts.
  • The word 'terminate' is not totally synonymous with 'kill'. Don't use them interchangeably. 'Terminate' is a specific euphemism for when a member of the Foundation is authorized to purposefully kill someone or something. In most other contexts, 'kill' works fine.
  • Bad example: "Subject D-167 was terminated by SCP-517."
  • Good example: "Subject D-167 was killed during an attempt to terminate SCP-517. Five other class-D personnel survived and were subsequently terminated for their cowardice."
  • You CANNOT terminate an inanimate object, so quit using the word in this context. Use 'destroy' instead.

General SCP Tips

  • You should always aim to create something that scares the living lights of you, not something cool. If you think "Huh, I'd like to have this SCP", you're doing it wrong. If knowing this object is in your house doesn't make you jump out the window into the garden a story below, you're probably doing it wrong.
  • Act as if every SCP will be the first that someone will read. That means do not put too much in there that requires knowledge of ANYTHING ELSE. While I, as much as anyone, enjoy linking things together into a larger story, it really improves the quality of the work when each SCP can be enjoyed in full as a stand-alone.
  • For the same reason governments around the world keep samples of deadly, highly communicable viruses in quarantined labs, the SCP Foundation contains SCP threats without outright destroying them. One day you might come up against a similar threat and need the experience/ advantage of experimentation on previous threats to contain it. There's also the possibility of using one SCP threat to fight another.
  • That said, remember, the SCP Foundation wants some use out of these things. If it's just some ZOMG U SEE IT U DIE device, they don't want it. (Seriously, I've seen TWO different SCPs where they require blind security personel. Blind people. WITH GUNS.) If there is no obvious and worthwhile benefit, be it economic, scientific, military, or cultural, there is no reason that the Foundation would not have it destroyed at their earliest opportunity. So either list some attempts at destruction that haven't worked. Or simply announce that the object is slated for destruction.
  • Don't go overboard on the containment procedures. Hideous drains on resources without a corresponding threat is poor, so don't overdo it. Every part of the procedure MUST have a reason behind it (see SCP-017, SCP-091 and SCP-847 for good examples of this). The Foundation is not going to use a nuke to open a pickle jar.
  • If you're dealing with a humanoid, or sentient SCP, try to avoid overusing the words he/she. It's fine to use them infrequently; it's ridiculous when you have to use SCP-XXX two or three times in the same sentence. But when every sentence begins with "He is" "She likes" "He did this", it just doesn't read well. These articles are supposed to be clinical and detached, remember that.
  • Always try to be objective. I know it's more fun to write more interestingly, but this is a scientific report. "Subject's eyes are devoid of pigmentation" is perfectly fine. "His eyes are a pale wintry white, that drive deep into your soul due to the longing for mortal finality" is right out.
  • Don't be afraid to ask for help. There's a bunch of us usually in the chat room, and on the forums, more than happy to give a hand, or a read through.
  • Also of note: Do not muck about with an established SCP without getting some feedback first. There's been a rash of people changing, or even destroying other people's SCPs lately, and it's just not kosher. If you offer up an interesting idea for destroying an SCP, the original author may very well be good with it, but please, ask first.

Humanoid SCPs

Humanoid SCPs tend to suffer from some common weaknesses: the "X-Men Syndrome". Basically, it means that there is a fine line between a humanoid SCP and a comic-book superhero.

Take the example of Wolverine: he's indestructible, he's got razor-edged CLAWS in his hands, and he has the senses of an animal. The Foundation would have a hell of a time containing him. Would he make a good SCP? NO. Because all those things that could be creepy are played for camp. His mutant healing factor gets used more to explain how he gets out of situations than for real horror effect. His claws are played more for coolness factor than creepy. His mutant senses are mostly used to let him do things like outwit shapeshifters.

Okay, now take Wolverine and make a simple change: turn him from a wisecracking, teeth-gritting superhero into a seven-foot long hard to destroy reptile that hates humanity. Notice how some of the same powers have a much different effect.

The thing is, there is no set way to determine whether your humanoid SCP really fits the bill, or whether you've created an X-Man. But over time, I've come to notice a bunch of signs that point towards the latter. As you write up an SCP, before you post it, look down the list below: if you answer "yes" to a large number of these questions, you may be writing an X-Man, and not a humanoid SCP. Ask yourself whether you really need to do that, and make changes if necessary.

  • Is it a human? (duh)
  • Is it attractive and young? (there is a dearth of ugly, middle-aged humanoid SCPs)
  • Have you described, in inordinate detail, its tastes in music, food, fashion, and/or TV?
  • Is it one of the nice guys?
  • Does it work for the Foundation in one of the Mobile Task Forces?
  • Have you gone into inordinate detail talking about how much people like it?
  • Have you spent an inordinate amount of time talking about its relationships with other SCPs?
  • Would you want to be this SCP? Or does the thought of being it fill you with dread?

Next, here are a few points that, if they come up, you should immediately expunge, unless you are an experienced SCP writer.

  • It can "bend reality to fit its will" (One of these triggered Clef's original rampage).
  • It has a bunch of powers that don't really fit together except to be really awesome (The original SCP-351, "Coldplay", was one of these.)
  • Everyone is compelled to like it (Another SCP who died in the rampage, SCP-122, was one of these).
  • Special Containment Procedures come down to "Give it What It Wants." (The Foundation contains SCPs. They are not held hostage by them. Most requests made by SCPs should be denied.)
  • Any SCP not based on sex whose containment procedures include sexual favors.

Finally, here is a hard-and-fast rule.

  • If it's more of a superhero than SCP-076, start over.

I call this the "Able" Line.

A few examples from the archives.

  • SCP-076 is the very upper limit of what should be done with a humanoid SCP. Indestructible, regenerating, strong, can pull swords out of nothing, this guy SHOULD be a vote for immediate decommissioning. But the weird thing is… he WORKS. A few reasons: first of all, he's not NICE. Secondly, he's not the SCP: the coffin is the actual SCP, he's just linked to it. Thirdly, his reasons for turning around make sense for his character: he lost interest in fighting the Foundation and would prefer to fight SCPs instead. That and a thousand other small things make him work: if he were any more borderline, he'd cross over into suck territory.
  • SCP-808 and SCP-105 are both attractive, nice females who work for the Foundation and have a lot of their personal tastes described. However, their abilities are limited, and more importantly, all is not bubbles and champagne. 808 might be the machine messiah who destroys the fleshlings and brings forth a new machine world, and 105 is growing more and more depressed due to her confinement. They work.
  • SCP-132 works for a different reason: this is an SCP who is contained not for the safety of others, but for its own safety. The horror comes from wondering what it is like to BE it, not fight it.

Site Tips

First of all: Read the How to Write an SCP page (this one) and the Big List of Overdone SCP Cliches. Now, in order to prove that you've read these two pages, post a reply on this article's discussion page with your name. That'll let us know who's taken the time out to learn the culture of the site and who hasn't. If you don't reply to that thread, you are very liable to just have any articles you write deleted, especially if they suck.

  • Log in, submit feedback, take credit and take responsibility. In reality, the only reason you'd need to be anonymous around here is to vandalize other people's work, which is ridiculously immature. If you're going to give kudos, people want to know who is admiring us, and when we enjoy a particularly good SCP, we want to know who to thank for it.
  • Don't forget your SCPs! Once you post your SCP, follow up on it, watch for comments. If you get negative comments, don't be afraid to delete it or edit it. Not everyone is a wunderkind.
  • Don't be offended if people offer hints for edits or rewrites. If they care enough to offer you help, consider it carefully. It's better than getting a terse "suggested for deletion" a few months down the line.
  • Nobody likes the Guitar Guy. You know the guy I'm talking about: he shows up at a party with his guitar and starts playing without being prompted, thinking that this will make him appear deep and talented and probably get him laid. He's wrong. Everyone hates that fucking guy and they all wish he'd just shut the fuck up and go home because Jesus H Christ, dude, are you completely oblivious to the fact that a bootleg of the new album by the Faint, which won't be released for six months, is on the stereo, and also that the redhead you've been hitting on all night came with Frank, who makes way more money than you and is an accomplished marine biologist? I kind of went off on a tangent there, but the point is that you don't need to be the most awesome thing in the room, and trying to be will generally result in the opposite reaction. Just be what you are and let the flow of the environment guide your decisions.

Getting Ideas

The basic idea has always been the hardest part for me, thinking up an interesting effect or object to write about. Here are my tips for getting ideas:

  • Think of what scares you. Footsteps following you down a hall, swarms of spiders, being totally alone, needles, the dark, anything. These things are great ways to come up with some sort of effect for your SCP entry.
  • Find a good picture. I try and get pictures for all the things I write, or at least something close to it. If you can find a really odd picture, you can get inspired very quickly.
  • Think odd, not dangerous. Yes, a thing that will liquefy bone in a quarter-mile radius is very dangerous, and would need special containment, but it’s not interesting. The best SCP gets your brain working, makes you wonder how it came to be, how it could be used. You want to make people interested, so they keep thinking about it long after they read it.
  • Visualize. The most important, and most useful. Play these things out in your head, build a back-story, and see what it does to people and things. The SCP document is a tiny window into that world. Snip out details, and leave just hints of something more going on. You want people to ask questions, to dig at it.

Once you make one, be sure to listen to your comments. Not everyone will like your entry, but see if people turn up ideas you like. Don’t feel bad if an entry flops, you just know what not to try now! Feedback is the quickest and best way to go from so-so entries to really legendary ones.

  • I want to emphasize how important it is that you avoid overused and clichéd topics like vampires and other well known mythos. It's fun to parody, it's eye-rolling to read a completely unoriginal rip-off. Minotaurs, harpies, werewolves, all the like - please avoid. That said, if you can pull it off in a creative and unexpected manner, you might not be maimed.
  • Also, try and avoid the cliché of having an SCP that'll maim/kill/insanify personnel on sight. It's just a little common. Not all the SCP have to be these hideously destructive things. The organization takes up items that are extraordinary, not just destructive, so they can be something quirky, like a children's ball pit that leads to a parallel dimension, or maybe a hospital bed that resurrects the dead, or even an average rock that when dropped or thrown, propels itself faster than the speed of sound and causes a sonic boom.

This is SCP-10101. It is a joke SCP. Your SCP should look nothing like 10101. If it starts feeling the same? You need to rethink your SCP. On that same note, any SCP that refers to being better than more than 1 other SCP? Is likely going down the bad road. It's fine to include references to other SCPs, but the new one shouldn't have this list about how and why he's better then old ones.

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