Guide For Writing

Basic Guides

Guide for Newcomers
Guide for Reading
Guide for Writing
Frequently Asked Questions
Joining the Site

Introduction

Writing for a website as large as the SCP Wiki is often very challenging. For many, there's a lot of hesitation when posting your first article, and for some, it can be daunting just to get words out, but this guide will hopefully ease you into the writing process.

If you haven't already done so, check out the Joining the Site page and carefully read the instructions on it. You need to be a member of this site to post contributions. Also, this is an introduction to writing specifically, so if you're more interested in sharing art, see How to Post Your Art to the SCP Wiki.

What Can I Write Here?

Stories posted to the Wiki fall under four major categories:

• SCP articles: Fictional documents from the Foundation, detailing anomalous phenomena and procedures for containing them. SCP articles have a very clinical and neutral tone, and generally have a standard layout, plus additional information towards the end of the article in the form of addenda.¹
• Tales: Stories set in the Foundationverse. Tales are very flexible as you can write them however you desire without the restrictions of the standard SCP format, whether that be a document, recording, narrative story or even poetry! Tales encompass pretty much any kind of writing you can think of.
• GoI Formats²: These are documents, usually about an anomaly, from the perspective of a Group of Interest. Like SCPs, GoI formats are documents with their own structure, tone and style that varies from GoI to GoI. The format structure of each GoI can usually be found on its hub page.
• Miscellaneous Pages: Any page which doesn't fit into the above three categories. Includes site dossiers and collaborative logs.

The core of the SCP Wiki is, as the name suggests, SCPs. However, you are also given the freedom to write about anything in any genre you wish, so long as it is tied to the Foundationverse³ in some way.

Before Beginning Your Journey

The Wiki is for summary judgment of final work, not feedback and critique on unfinished drafts. Quality control is left in the hands of the userbase at large, who vote on individual pages based on whether they enjoyed the article or not (after all, this is a fiction site where people come to read, so entries should be entertaining). Any page which reaches or goes below -10 net votes is deleted. Of course, many pages (even those written by experienced authors) fail from time to time, but that doesn't mark the end of an author's writing career. It is better to fail than to have never tried at all - if it happens to you, try to learn from the experience!

Knowing that, ensure you put effort into your work to make it as great as it can be, and don't let any worries of failure stop you from trying your best.

Most importantly, you should also have fun while writing! There's no requirement for site members to post anything, so don't feel like you have to write anything to be part of the community.

Where Do I Start?

If you're writing an article for the first time, you'll want to get your idea greenlit, meaning that experienced reviewers look over your idea before you even put a word on the page (see our Greenlight Policy for more info). This is recommended for first time authors as it will help you improve your idea creating process, and without two greenlights you can't use the Draft Forum.

Additionally, you'll need to join the SCP Sandbox site (currently SCP Sandbox III). This is where you can write your drafts. Read the instructions on the front page carefully to find out how to create your own sandbox page.

Once you've made a sandbox page and possibly gotten greenlighted, you're good to start writing your article.

Writing

When creating a page, you may have noticed a text editor open. This is where you write your draft. Once you save a page and wish to edit it again, go to the bottom of the page and click "Edit" to reopen the text editor.

You'll need to get accustomed to Wikidot's syntax. You can read through Wiki Syntax for basic formatting help, but we also have an SCP Style Resource and a handy Advanced Formatting page. Assuming you're trying your hand at an SCP, you should also consult the How to Write an SCP guide, which gives several important pointers and a basic format to follow.

A Resources section has been included at the end of this guide to point you towards more detailed advice.

Critique

No matter how much of an amazing writer you may be, nobody is perfect. It's therefore always a good idea to get critique (preferably from experienced site authors and/or Critique staff) before posting, or even while you're still writing. It's never a crime to ask for help, and most people will appreciate the effort you're putting into your work.

The best place to ask is the official drafts critique forum, but if you want a quick response try our official IRC critique channel, #thecritters, or our work-in progress discord server. The official chats are also ideal if you are having trouble with coding or syntax, or if you have quick and specific questions in regards to the writing process.

Once you get some feedback, you can go back and review your draft again and make changes. You aren't obligated to accept and use critique if you don't think it helps your article, but the polite thing to do is to acknowledge and thank reviewers regardless of whether you will use their advice or not.

Posting

Once you feel your draft is at its best, you may post it to the mainsite.

Go to to your sandbox page, open the text editor, and then copy the raw text of your entire draft⁴. Afterwards, you need to head back to the SCP Wiki and follow either of these steps:

• If you're posting an SCP: Find an empty slot in the current SCP Series⁵. All empty pages show up as an orange hypertext link with a label [ACCESS DENIED]. Click on your desired number.

• For all other pages: Click the "Contribute" button under the "Resources" tab of the top bar, then type in the page name (i.e. the page's address)⁶ in the textbox that appears in the Tales section and click "Create". Avoid colons (:) in the initial page name - if you want them in your title, add them in while editing.

Upon completing either of the above, you'll be greeted by a page which says "This page doesn't exist yet". Read everything on this page carefully, and only then create it. Paste your source text into the editor and click save. SCP authors should go back to the SCP Series page and edit the title of their SCP number from [ACCESS DENIED] to their desired title⁷.

That's it! Optionally, you can click "Discussion" at the bottom of your new page and create an author post⁸ under your page's discussion thread.

Pointers and General Tips

• When writing for the first time, don't be afraid to go over some of the guides and essays. Read them, reread them, then reread them again if you have to. They're there to help you.
• Don't feel too pressured to post. If you're getting stressed out while writing it may be a good idea to take a break. Writing for the Wiki isn't all that important and shouldn't affect your wellbeing.
• A blank page can be intimidating and many authors struggle when looking at a brand new draft page because they're unsure where to start. For some, writing without worrying about quality works. This helps to get out core ideas and a basic outline of the story, and you can go back later on to improve the initial draft.
• If you're having trouble thinking of where to go with your story, you can look at stories which are similar in genre or style to your idea, and use those articles for inspiration. Another possible idea is to write about something you are familiar with or something you are currently experiencing, as you don't need to think of new ideas; the ideas are already there.
• It's okay to stop writing a draft, even if you already got greenlights for your first concept. Sometimes, as a writer, you feel when something is not working and is not salvageable. If you think it is the right call, take a break or move on to another draft. You can always keep your current draft in case you want to use ideas or even finish it later on.
• Never be anxious to ask for critique; it shows you are putting in the effort to improve your work. Sometimes it is difficult to find someone to critique your draft - in such cases, you can PM a member of the Butterfly Squad⁹. If you think you can do well in critique, you can ask to do a draft exchange, where you and another user swap drafts and critique each other's work. You don't need to be an experienced author to give critique. Sometimes helping with just grammar, tone, and pacing goes a long way.
• As mentioned above, don't get worked up if your first contribution fails. Most articles which have a lot of effort put in end up doing well, but sometimes a piece of writing may not work out with the community. That's okay and expected, even for the most experienced authors on site. Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat - you can always bounce back stronger than before.
• Again, have fun while writing!

Resources

Below are resources which you may find useful:

• How To Write An SCP
• Greenlight Policy
• Guide Hub (Writing Section) - a collection of official guides
• Essay and Resource Hub - a collection of essays and writing resources, with general advice on topics such as writing and critique

Best of luck!

Footnotes

1. An addendum consists of additional information which may be added after the initial SCP document, such as new discoveries, incident reports, testing logs and so on.

2. Group of Interest - groups besides the Foundation which deal with or handle the anomalous.

3. A common term used to refer to the SCP Universe.

4. Remember to copy your rating module as well. If you've used things like CSS components, don't forget to copy that too!

5. Currently Series VIII, unless an article was deleted in one of the previous Series.

6. For instance, if you name your page "my first tale", the URL will become https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/my-first-tale. For all non-SCP pages, the page name does not need to be the same as the page title.

7. These titles are not in-universe.

8. A short post which thanks whoever critiqued your article or helped it come to life, and sometimes some extra context or information about the contents of the article.

9. A team of experienced reviewers who specialize in critiquing drafts and ideas.