#4: Ratings, Sex, and Violence

WHY RATE YOUR FANFIC?

Not all material is suitable for all readers. Some want sex in graphic detail; others are grossed out. Some feel violence adds a sense of realism; other would rather explore the softer side of the characters. In an effort to be fair, you should set the reader's expectations with a rating and support it with a disclaimer. But we'll cover the "please don't sue me" plea in another tutorial. This one is all about ratings, and what place sex and violence have in your story.

WHAT ARE THE RATINGS?

The majority of rating systems available don't deviate much from the original that Hollywood developed, well, a long time before I was born.

G

General Audience, nothing questionable here.

PG

Parental Guidance, still mild but parents might find something they need to explain.

PG-13/M

Recommended that viewers be over the age of 13 and parents may find stuff they need to explain. Some of the things you might find: mild profanity, brief nudity (butt shot if anything), violence (gunfights, explosions, a whole dead body), and some adult situations.

R

Anyone under 17 needs to be accompanied by an adult. Some of the things you might find: profanity, sexual situations, escalated violence.

NC-17

No viewers under 17. Violence and sexual situations are shown in graphic detail.

So how do you translate those guidelines to what you write? Anything that gives a sexual encounter in full detail is NC-17. Details are left to the imagination, but the reader is present for some of the action is R. The reader doesn't follow them into the bedroom is PG-13. Anything that qualifies as kinky sex (S&M, bondage, multiple partners in the same bed) puts the story back in NC-17.

Violence gets a little murkier. Most fights fall under PG-13. Torture and rape start out at R, if details are left fuzzy. S&M is NC-17. But if the fight gets too vicious that may bump it into the R category. The more graphic the descriptions, the higher the restriction should be.

HOW GRAPHIC DO I NEED TO BE?

To convey the full horror of an event, you don't have to spell out every detail. To give the full passion of an encounter, you don't have to spell out ever detail (unless you're writing erotica, then it is a requirement). What you want is to achieve the right balance so the reader experiences the event with the character, instead of being grossed out or sent into laughter spasms.

I have been writing two different rated versions of the same story with my Biker Mice From Mars fanfics. The higher one is to see just how far I can push my boundaries and still have that balance. But not all my readers want to go there, so the lower rated version is for them. I've been lucky so far, none of my story ideas have been damaged by the changes.

Your first priority is the integrity of the story. Your story calls for violence. There are three techniques to handle violence and keep your reader in suspense. These techniques can also work for sex scenes.

The first is to slow it down to the point of absurdity. (Bill Granger "Depiction of Violence" Writing Mysteries 118) This technique is the one I use the most for fights. I don't recommend it for sex scenes, unless you want a NC-17 rating.

Throttle could hear Charley's screams over the roar of his bike. The guards at the door at then end of the hall started shooting. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that!" His bike's laser canons took out their opposition and opened the door. He sped through.

He skidded to a stop next to the table Charley was strapped down on. Screams erupted from her mouth and her body strained uncontrollably against the straps.
"Hang on, Charley-girl!" He took hold of the straps across her forehead and chest and pulled them free.

"Stop the traitor!" Exhaust screamed.

Two Internal Security officers grabbed Throttle's arms and roughly pulled him off his bike. "Big mistake, pickin on my girl!" He planted his feet on the floor and flung them off.

They flew to both sides of the room, sliding across the floor. The tan mouse sprang forward to the table again. He freed her arms before one of Exhaust's lackeys rushed forward with a growl.

Throttle ducked. The mouse's swing passed completely over his head. Throttle stood back up with an upper cut to his stomach. The officer doubled over his fist. Throttle's left fist hit the officer's jaw and knocked him to the floor.

Charley's screams stopped. Throttle turned in alarm to the table. She had rolled her upper body onto her side. Her damp hair fell over her face but she was still breathing. He grabbed the last two straps holding her down and tore them free.

The other officer rushed to the other side of the table. He roughly grabbed hold of Charley's shoulder and side, and pushed the human woman's back flat against the table again. Her body bucked and she screamed.

(Wars Are Won By Those Who Dare: Reunions)

The second technique is to hide the act of violence in an empty bracket separating the before and after of the violence or sex. (Granger 118)

Charley felt herself falling back as blackness drew up. The blackness slowly faded but left her not wanting to move. Her left cheek throbbed. She was face down, bent at her hips, on top of something soft and a little too tall to let her kneel comfortably.

Hands grappled with the waistband of her skirt. "We're just friends," Jack muttered. The button popped free, the zipper jerked open, and the seam ripped apart. "I don't feel that way about you anymore." Fingers inserted themselves between her skin and the waistband of her pantyhose and panties. "No, not when you have something fuzzy to curl up with." He peeled them down her legs, leaving the material bunched around her ankles. "But you belong to me."

He finally released her. She pushed herself off the bed and landed on her butt on the carpeted floor. She scooted away from Jack, but he paid her no attention. He stepped completely out of his pants and in his boxers walked toward the dresser. While his back was turned, she crawled into the bathroom en suite.

(Biker Mice From Mars: Domestic Bliss R version)

The third technique is to hide the horror of the act of violence by deliberately underplaying the prose. (Granger 118)

Jack reached the bridge's railing and held the little girl over his head. Hannah screamed again. The arms cocked back. Charley's boot heels pounded against the pavement. But there was no way to reach them. His arms shot forward. Charley screamed, watching the small body falling through the air, arms and legs flailing. A tan blur surged past Charley. He leaped on the black iron railing and dived into the water. The orange-red head disappeared under the black water.

"No! No, please God, no!" Charley's waist and knees banged into the black iron railing. She stared down at the water, barely hearing the fading roar of a motorcycle engine through her chant. "No, please no, please." The orange light on the blue water changed its color to a glassy black. The black and chrome bike rolled up to the railing besides Charley, shining more light onto the water from its mousehead-shaped headlight and beeping worriedly. The small waves slapped against the concrete pilings. A breeze flooded her nostrils with a dank, mildewy smell. "Please, no, please."

A head finally broke through the murky surface snout-first and gulped down air. A smaller orange-red head was above his shoulder, held even with his ear. "Hannah!" Charley's knees tried to buckle and she grabbed hold of the railing. "Toss them a line!"

The bike beeped reproachfully at her like it already knew to do that. It whirled around and backed up to the railing. A grappling hook fired from a compartment under the seat. It sailed across the water, and the mouse caught hold of the rope with his gloved, right hand.

(Biker Mice From Mars: Domestic Bliss R version)

Examine your story needs. I'm not censoring anyone's writing--there are days I need to read smut and violence--but every story doesn't need either one to be a well-written story. Rate your story according to the content, and if you have the time--or a really insistent fan--try taking the story to a lower rating with changing a few scenes. Use the techniques explained here to vary the way you portray violence and sex.