Guide:How to bring your fanon to life

Hi everyone ^_^ If you are reading this then you are interested in making an dynamic artical that is both interesting to read and nice to look at. This 'how to' will show you the proper use of page layout and content, and how to make a richly involved background for the denizens of your fanon.

Artical appearance
Ok, lets start will appearance.

Headings
Probably one of the most important part of making a dynamic artical, a heading gives the reader both a simple description of what they are about to read, as well as a helpful link in the content box up the top of the page (Scrolling is not fun). A Heading is used when a writer wants to cover a specific subject in the artical; history, characteristics, organisation - these are separate topics and should be given their own Heading to match, as it is much easier to read (and find) a topic if it is clearly marked with a name.

A Topics should have a name that is easy to recognize, so that there is no trouble and confusion about what is in the section. History, Background, Story, Annuals of 'X' - All these are acceptable and easy titles for a section regarding your fanon groups past and present achievements and/or blunders.

Subheadings
A subheading should be used when you are writing a section that is part of a greater topic, but is important enough to necessitate it's own heading. Say, if you are writing a section about your armies mighty tank battalions, you may wish to give it it's own subheading in the 'Armoury' section - the greater section describing not only the tanks your army contains, but the weapons, armour, and other assorted wargear that they use in battle; each which should have a separate heading (You don't want to make you factions special type of rifle feel left out now do you?)

Grammar and Spelling
For the love of the Omnissiah, use proper language when writing your fanon! I know there are those of us who are poor spellers (Me included), but that is no excuse. The God-Emperor has gifted us with the holy spell checker for this exact reason. Spell checks can be found almost everywhere, even facebook has one (Though I will not vouch for its accuracy). So please, please, please check your spelling and grammar. Microsoft word (or something like it) is perfect, if you see any red or green squiggles then you have some work to do.

Punctuation
Remember, punctuation is just as important as spelling. By this I am not only referring to full-stops and commas, but also bullet point, indents, spacing, and line numbers. When used properly these wonderful little dots and dashes can increase an articals look and ease of use ten-fold.

Using a bullet point line for a list not only makes it easier to see and read, but also give the over all impression that it is actually a list, rather than just a mess of seemingly unconnected lines, while the use of a paragraph indentation is the perfect way to show a reader that the section is to be read separately to the non indented section - another form of subheading, though only to be used with small sections of lists unless accompanied by a title.

Spacing is very important also. Having great chunks of empty space were content could be is just bad space managment.

Images
'An image can tell a thousand words', as the ancient Terran saying goes - this is no truer that when one is making a fanon artical. An picture can show a proud warriors uniform, a brutal struggle against all odds, a seeming peaceful planet on the cusp of war, and an infinite other things beside. Showing such images can show a first hand visual account of what your fanon people (or otherwise) have been through, and why it is that they do what they do and act how they act - involving the reader and bringing them into the fanon events as they unfold.

Colour
If used properly colour can enrichen your artical, and increase it's visual appeal. Bright (or dull) heading and borders, and colourful images is the perfect way to set the mood of the artical before the reader has read even a single word.

Colour choice is imperative, and I find that matching the overall scheme of the page is an incredibly easy way of bringing the artical together as one unified fanon. Choosing page colours can be difficult, making the page TO COLOURFUL may ruin the pages visual appeal and hinder someone from reading your fanon. I find it easiest to choose a colour that matches the uniform or mood of the artical - If your make a green-clad Eldar army choosing green page scheme seems sensible.

Article Content
Now we have covered the visual aspects, let's talk about the text content of your fanon.

The Reality of Fanon
The first thing you have to remember when writing a fanon artical, is that the 40K galaxy is a REAL place (at least in our minds) full of REAL people and REAL events, and when you write you are adding your faction to an extremely rich and colourful preexisting canon-world. You may wish to write about a might Space Marine Chapter or a sinister Dark Eldar Kable, but no matter what you write about you have to remember that the people in you faction have lives of their own - They think (Even Necrons apparently), they dream (Hmm, maybe not Necrons with this one), they feel, they have hopes for the future and carry the weight of the past on their shoulders - and when you write you need to remember this. You characters are not one dimensional drones and should never be treated as such. The same principle applies to the world (or star ship) your people dwell upon. Hundreds, or even thousands of years of history has gone into the creation of your peoples home, and the culture that goes along with it. The place where your 'Fanonites' come from will have a significant effect on the outlook, appearance, and culture that these people display, and it is a VERY IMPORTANT part of creating a rich atmosphere surrounding your fanon.

History, Outlook, Appearance, Culture - All these collectively contribute to the overall theme of the people you are writing about. Why do they act the way they do, is it because of an event in their distant past? or cultural influence from one or more source? - Space Marine Chapters are a perfect example or cultural modification - Do your people dress the way they do because of an environmental factor, or because of their culture? You need to think about all these things when creating a fanon.

Quotes
Just as a single picture may tell a thousand words, a single quote can express an entire gallery of pictures. First hand information is the most pure form of historical retelling, and may be used to drastic effect if used in conjunction with a paragraph of text of an image linked to the quote.

As I stated before, your fanon contains REAL people, and hearing these people talk about their experiences and feeling can truly bring you fanon to life in a way that no other media can do. A block of text dictating an event from a non-biased view point is fine, but adding a quote from someone who was actually there and showing their personal view on the subject will turn your good artical into a GREAT artical.

It's about Love
For lots of us writing a fanon is a labour of love, and making a brilliant artical that takes a weeks to make is always more fulfilling than a bland artical that was pieced together in a few minutes. Take your time and make your fanon as full and rich as you can, and you will be rewarded with an amazing well thought out artical which not only you love, but other may as well.

Thankyou for reading. I hope this helps you in creating a wonderfully bold artical.

AmyTheStray (talk) 01:26, June 15, 2014 (UTC)