Choosing a subject for one pagers

[Eden]

So you've decided to do a one-page tribute, but you don't know what subject to make a tribute to.

I'm having these issues right now. I haven't build a tribute/shrine yet, and I'm hoping that a one page tribute will be the baby step to filling big shoes for multi-paged sites in the future. I don't know what to do for a one page or what I feel is appropriate for a one page.

Those of you that have done one-page tributes or those of you who plan to, how do you decide on a subject and what kinds of subjects do you find fit best for one pagers?

Any advice for first-time shrine builders? Do you feel making a one-page shrine is a baby step towards multi-pages? Do you look at one page shrines as a lesser effort or crutch than multi-page shrines?

[anon]

Whoa, slow down. Usually I wouldn't even make a site unless I have a subject ready. I personally find nothing of value if I make a site just for the sake of making a site. It probably wouldn't have the same feeling of effort and wholeheartedness on a topic I'm truly passionate about.

You can go through a list of your favorite characters and pick out one that really stands out for you. I've seen some people make one-page fan sites to songs, and other people as a starting point to create a multi-page site. Compared to a multi-page site, people find one-page dedications a lot less stressful to compile info on their favorite topics. Whatever process you go through is up to you, but I feel like if you don't even have a subject, you shouldn't feel pressured to participate and make a site. That defeats the whole purpose of a marathon.

[dubiousdisc]

I just come from doing something like that and I noticed how much it helped getting the gears in motion, so I second Joe re: putting down a list of favorite subjects. Then, as you'll be writing it, you'll maybe stop on something and think, ah, this is a very dear topic to me, I'd like to elaborate more on that. It should be a rather instinctual process; after all, you'll want to be very invested in your subject, and you can't just summon interest at random.

As for what concerns the choice of subjects, I don't think there is a better or worse way to go with it. It doesn't have to be a character fansite! I remember that some time ago there was a discussion on the community in which someone was even talking about making a fansite for something unusual like a country. Why not?

I don't consider single-page shrines as any less of an effort than a large fansite in the same way as I wouldn't consider a poem to be the lesser effort to a novel. They are structured in different ways and are different ways to tackle a subject. Sure, you might write a poem and use that to open the way to a novel on the same subject, but that's not necessarily true.

Generally, I would just suggest to make the site in the format that you feel like it resonates the most with your personality. If you feel like you need more room to talk about your subject, your one page can be the start to a bigger project. If you are satisfied with the one page and you feel like there is nothing to add, keep it as such.

[Todd]

I like to have different types of sites with different sizes and formats. I think it makes a collective interesting. I have one one pager to Magus from Chrono Trigger, but no less effort went into it than one of my regular sites. It's obviously not one of my biggest sites, but I treated it the same way, analyzing the character like I would a character in a multi-page fansite. Everyone does them differently though.

I think they can be great stepping stones for getting into sites, and I've seen many webmasters use them for that successfully. I've also seen many webmasters like me who have made a few sites before make one because they are fun and different.

I agree with Josephine that you shouldn't make a site for the sake of making a site, though.

[Crystal]

When it comes to making a one page shrine I find the subject I want to do and how much info I want to write for said subject can play a huge part in it. For example, my Song of Storms shrine works perfectly well for a one page shrine because of the obscurity of it and the fact that there isn't really a lot of info for it. On the other hand, my Caskett shrine (that is still in the works), which I had originally planned on making into a one page shrine, ended up turning out to be several pages because I wanted to write so much about their relationship.

So yeah, I'd find a subject that you'd want to make a shrine for (probably something simple to get you started) and decide just how much info you want or are willing to write about it and go from there.

Whoa, slow down. Usually I wouldn't even make a site unless I have a subject ready. I personally find nothing of value if I make a site just for the sake of making a site. It probably wouldn't have the same feeling of effort and wholeheartedness on a topic I'm truly passionate about.

Also this as well.

[Eden]

I want to make this clear to everyone: I absolutely am NOT making a site just for the sake of making a site. That wasn't how I wanted you all to see my question. I already know I want to make a one page website to get myself started, but I'm unsure of what I want to do it on. All the things I want to make sites on are subjects that will require multiple pages but I don't want to start on one of those after I make a one-page site to start with.

I'm taking things slow and doing my way of organizing: Come up with idea (one page site), decide on what to do it on (subject), go from there.

I'm not making these just to have things under my belt. It's sort of like "I want to make dinner, but I'm not sure what I should make!"

The question I was asking everyone else is what kind of subjects do you pick for one page sites? Small characters? Minor subjects like songs, etc? Regardless of how I feel about the subject, I feel that the majority of the ones I have up for consideration are too big to make a one page for. I wanted to know if others break down subjects by how big or small they are to determine if a one-page tribute is appropriate or not.

That's what I wanted to know. Again, sorry for the misunderstanding!

[anon]

To get an idea of what other people have made one-pagers of, I'd suggest you go on to the events section on the directory (since that place is the only place with a detailed record), and check out what people made in the past. Most of them are characters, but some people broke the mold like Crystal's "Song of Storms" tribute, which is actually dedicated to a song.

People have different ways of maintaining websites, so you'll see people tackle on subjects in different ways. I find a lot of people like to tackle an objective view in the manner of:

• What the series is about (a brief gloss over the plot)
• Who the character is (basic descriptions and official stats)

Then people start branching off into a variety of stuff, like their backstory, discussions of any particular symbols (imagery, weapons, colors, religious marks) that defines the character, relations to other characters... not necessarily in that order. It's just a process of revealing an individual and going through a journey to connect the individual to the world in order to establish some sort of sense of relevancy. You don't have to follow their format, or write crazy eloquent essays. Just do what works for you, there's no textbook definition on what makes a site a good site.

What ideas/subjects did you have in mind? I'm kind of curious, but if it's meant to be a secret, that's fine. I just want to get a feeling of if you did have a subject in mind and not just blindly searching for one to justify anything.

Edit: Okay, I just want to add something super quick: a lot of people don't have an exact criteria when it comes to picking subjects. Crystal mentioned that she picked "Song of Storms" because it's what she could write about without making the website so humongous because there's only so much you can write about a particular short song. Other people have made short websites to huge characters, sometimes from shows with ongoing plots, but how they tackle it is normally in the fashion I just mentioned above. They don't detail too much and most of it is just in brief summary.

tl;dr huge things = often comes with succinct summaries, obscure topics = scalping with as much resource as possible. Huge generalization but is meant to help you get the idea of depth.

Edit 2:

I'm taking things slow and doing my way of organizing: Come up with idea (one page site), decide on what to do it on (subject), go from there.

I'm not making these just to have things under my belt. It's sort of like "I want to make dinner, but I'm not sure what I should make!"

I dunno if it's your analogy or whatever but uh... isn't this still making a site for the sake of making a site?

[Puppeteer]

Regardless of how I feel about the subject, I feel that the majority of the ones I have up for consideration are too big to make a one page for. I wanted to know if others break down subjects by how big or small they are to determine if a one-page tribute is appropriate or not.

This one-pager I made is intended to be a precursor to a larger site, and I wrote it up in the heat of my...interest, I guess, to make sure I wouldn't lose my favorite ideas.

As a visitor (I'm not sure how others look at this), I expect a one-page shrine to be a little more focused on certain topics than a multi-page site would be. Using my own work as an example, I skipped over discussing the character's appearance and relationships because either a) I didn't feel it was significant enough to discuss, or b) the topic is so big that I'd rather wait until I expand to write about it. It could go the other way too; maybe you want to generally touch on all sorts of topics, then expand on your analysis later.

Smaller subjects are probably easier fundamentally, but for me it's a matter of perspective. Since you're just starting I wouldn't worry about trying to cover every little detail about a large subject if you choose one, instead focusing on the things you really like or have the most to say about.

[Todd]

Smaller subjects are probably easier fundamentally, but for me it's a matter of perspective. Since you're just starting I wouldn't worry about trying to cover every little detail about a large subject if you choose one, instead focusing on the things you really like or have the most to say about.

That's my advice too. Provide a basic introduction to the character series/game/whatever, and then choose topics you like or have the most to write about to delve into.

[Ava]

Your enthusiasm for trying something new is great, Eden! I understand that it's hard to decide on a topic when you have so many genuine interests to choose from, and it's the first time you're making this type of website.

I go through two elements of consideration for choosing a one page shrine subject:

1) What's on my upcoming/ideas list?
I keep an ongoing list, both public and non-public, of subjects I'm interested in shrining. I usually add them while I'm in my honeymoon phase of infatuation, and it helps me remember which subjects I can be passionate for when I look at my list long after the initial obsession has died down. Another option, if you don't keep a list like I do, is to look at your fanlistings (owned, joined, and wishlist) for a reminder of what you like.

2) What subject can be narrowed for space constraints?
With my first one pager, Aquarelle, I focused my attention on the character's action/personality only in one season of a long running series. With my second one pager, Galactic Fairy, I focused on the character only in one medium (movies) of the franchise. This focus helped me de-clutter my thoughts and it guided my shrine organization.

Are you comfortable sharing your ideas for the marathon? If so, you're always welcome to email me some things you're considering. I'm sure there are many others here would be happy to let you bounce ideas off of them as well.