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TV Tropes is primarily about tropes and the works that use them. However, oftentimes information about an author, actor, director, producer, mangaka, composer, animator, developer, or other creator can be relevant to our understanding of the tropes in their works. To that end, we have Creator pages.

Creator pages go in the Creator/ namespace and get the "creator" page type. We have an index for creators; it can be found here.

These pages document information about creators pertaining to their works and the tropes they use. Any creator can have a page if someone is willing to make it.

Note, however, that not all pages about people will fall into this category. Some, such as The Presidents of the United States, are Useful Notes and/or Historical Domain Characters. Others are pages for musicians or professional wrestlers that, while they may look like creator pages, are actually work pages for documenting the tropes used in their performances (and should be in the Music/ and Wrestling/ namespaces, respectively, with the page type "work", not "creator").

Note that although Opera and Musicals go into the Theatre/ namespace, the pages covering their composers still go under Music/, not Creator/.

Creator names

Creator page titles should be the name they are credited by, which often isn't their full or legal name (for example, our page for Will Smith isn't at "Willard Carroll Smith II"). If they are credited multiple ways throughout their career (such as occasionally using a Pen Name or the cases outlined below), the others can be used as redirects where appropriate (for example, J. K. Rowling sometimes writes as Robert Galbraith; the latter page is a redirect to the former).

When handling pages about creators (and their works) who have changed their name (e.g. if they've transitioned after coming out as Transgender or changed their last name after getting married, among other reasons), we should use their current name and preferred pronouns. Here are some guidelines to use:

  1. If a creator only became of interest to us after they started using their new name, then we use their new name exclusively.
  2. If a creator was active under their previous identity, it's appropriate to mention this openly ONCE at the top of the creator page, e.g "Elliot Page (formerly credited as Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987)"
  3. Any instances where we need to acknowledge that the creator was credited under their old name should be done using the [[note]]<information>[[/note]] syntax so the information is there but not blatant. For example, when listing roles on a creator page, use:

Selected filmographynote 

<List of works>

On works pages themselves, we do the same, so an example from a page would be this:

Juno is a 2007 independent Dramedy film. It stars Elliot Pagenote 

What can go on creator pages:

  • An overview of works they've created. A simple bulleted list of works they've been involved with is usually a good place to start.note 
  • An index of their works that have pages. Some creator pages use their bulleted list of works as an index for those works. This is usually reserved for higher-level creators like Video Game Companies. Examples include Valve Software and Dark Horse Comics.
  • A trope list. There is no minimum trope requirement for creators. Trope lists on creator pages can include:
    • Tropes that appear frequently in their works. If a creator has a Signature Style, their creator page is a good place to talk about it. For example, Michael Bay's page lists tropes like Stuff Blowing Up, Summer Blockbuster, and Technology Porn.
    • Tropes applying to any of their works that don't yet have their own pages. We normally list tropes on the relevant works page, but if that doesn't exist then we can sometimes list them on the creator's page instead. However, this is usually only appropriate if the trope is linked to the creator's own contribution to the work (e.g. a playwright's script or an actor's performance).
    • Trivia about them. We have lots of tropes and Trivia that can legitimately apply to creators, like Dyeing for Your Art, Trolling Creator, Pen Name, Creator Breakdown, and Died During Production. Most of these are okay to include on a creator page. Do not create Trivia subpages for creators; just put the examples in the main article. note 
    • Conversational Troping. Normally, we don't trope Real Life people. But creators often give interviews, or tweet, or other such forms of Word of God, and they often talk about tropes. So if they're discussing, conversing, lampshading, or invoking tropes, those tropes are fair game for their page.

What should not go on creator pages:

  • Tropes applied to the creator as if they are a fictional character. Please resist the urge to apply character tropes to Real Life people. We've had a lot of Square Peg, Round Trope issues in the past with this, so as a general guideline, it's best to apply No Real Life Examples, Please! to creators. If it seems harmless it might be overlooked Just for Fun, and there is an exception for Conversational Troping as mentioned above, but on the whole this is something best avoided. The only time such tropes can be added is if the trope in question relates to their works.
  • Tropes applying to an individual work that already has its own page. Any trope specific to that work should go onto its own page. However, even if one of the creator's works does have its own page, it can still be mentioned in examples that are relevant to the creator's work as a whole.
  • Creator Bashing. Creator pages should not be used to complain about how much a person sucks. We're not here to hate on people. Multiple creator pages have been sent to the Permanent Red Link Club because editors just couldn't resist spewing bile. Please keep it neutral.
  • Subjectivity and YMMV. We don't list YMMV items for real-life people. That includes creators. Please don't list Audience Reactions or YMMV for a creator (unless it's for one of their works that doesn't already have a page).
  • Drooling. In the past, we've had pages for actresses that consisted primarily of gushing about how hot they are. This is not okay. It's inappropriate and will not be tolerated. The choice of page image doesn't have to be hyper-prudish, but avoid exaggeratedly sexy pin-up shots. If they did Fanservice at one moment or another, refrain from adding things like "Not that anyone is complaining".
  • Advertising. Don't fill the article with links to their work or to their social media. That's not what TV Tropes is supposed to be used for, and we aren't getting paid for referrals.

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