BSV Forum - Writing - Resources

Warnings ?

Jan 12 2008 08:37 pm   #1Izzy
I am trying to post my first ever fanfic but I get to the submissions page and back off. I'm just not certain of the warnings and things and I'm sure veterans here understand it so I thought I could ask.

I'm not yet certain how my story is going to play out, so I don't know how to rate it or what warnings to give. Do I give a NC-17 warning just because it might become NC-17 much later on? For warnings for torture do I put that up with the entire story or just with the chapter with that scene? I don't know how extreme Extreme Language refers to or how explicit a warning of Sexual Situations warrants. Also, a vampire and a Slayer on the Hellmouth- I don't know why every single story doesn't have a Violence rating. Is it only really gory stuff? Also, for Character Death, is that every character that isn't a guest actor on the show?
I don't think I'll be good at writing a summary so I worry that if I put up Torture or whatever with it, some people are just going to pass my story by instead of reading it. I would be grateful if anyone can help me understand the particulars.

Jan 12 2008 09:16 pm   #2Diabola
Do we have an NC17 warning? (I should probably know that, huh? Oh well.) Anyway, if we do have it, I should probably get rid of it.

If the story is going to be NC17 at some point, that's the rating you should use (for the whole story). Anyone who's not comfortable with NC17 fics is going to be very unhappy if they start reading your fic only to realize chapter 22 and 34 have a higher rating than the rest.

Extreme Language is something you warn for if you feel it is appropriate. Personally I wouldn't ever use it, since the rating should cover it. Same for most other things listed in the warnings.

Warnings are there so people who have problems with certain situations can avoid the fics in question.

Let's take Character Death, a reader may have a problem with seeing a character die if the story caused them to be very emotionally invested in that character - regardless of whether it was a major character on the show or not.

A story with rape scenes should always come with a warning since it can be a potential trigger. Same for graphic torture scenes that may actually make some readers sick. Violence, when not related to torture, depends on the situation; is it the kind of violence that may disturb some people, or are we just talking about Buffy beating up and staking some vamps.

You see, many of those warnings are just there because that's what you'll find on other archives as well. Somehow the BSV had to come up with a list of warnings, so using the same ones writers are used to seeing everywhere seemed like a good idea.

Some people prefer not to warn at all since they believe it to spoil the story, but I don't really agree with them either. I think you should ask yourself: "What are the things that I wouldn't want to come across unawares in a story? What scenes may trigger, squick out or disturb a person (maybe due to personal experiences)?" That's what you warn for. (Unless the rating covers it already. Warnings for sex in a NC17 story is pretty superfluous.)
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Jan 12 2008 10:49 pm   #3slaymesoftly
Hee! What Dia said.  The bottom line is, anything that some readers may find really upsetting, you probably ought to warn about. I agree, if you say it's an NC17 fic, I think the sexual situations and language are to be expected.  I don't even like warning about character death - knowing someone is going to die can spoil the ending sometimes.  Rape and graphic torture I think always requires a warning.  You don't know who might be reading who might have some unpleasant memories triggered by scenes like that.  Or, who just doesn't like reading about things like that and would prefer to know when/if to skip a story.

PS if you want to run a detailed summary of the direction the fic is going past one of us mods, we can probably help you know what warnings you need to worry about checking. :)
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jan 13 2008 11:30 am   #4smlcspike
Especially make sure you have a Buffy/Other and Spike/Other, I don't read them unless I am really siked to do it.

Also I have come across a bunch of NC-17 fics on sites and they have not nudity or sex in them at all, I was quite disappointed so please make sure you pic the right label.

smlcspike
Jan 13 2008 04:37 pm   #5Diabola
make sure you have a Buffy/Other and Spike/Other
smlcspike is right, considering we're a shipping site, warnings about other than B/S pairings are important.

bunch of NC-17 fics on sites and they have not nudity or sex in them at all
Uhm, no! Fics with extremely graphic torture for example, need to be rated NC17 as well. Ratings are not just about sex, there are other things that are considered too much for kids below a certain age.

I was quite disappointed so please make sure you pic the right label
That's your problem though, not that of the author. A rating is not a label, it's the author telling you for which age onward you are considered mature enough to read their fic. If you want to read smut fic, I suggest going for the ones labeled PWP, or the ones posted on aff.net. Why read 20 chapters for a half page of sex if the lack of that little scene means you're disappointed? -- Stopping now, I'm starting to get incoherent. Let's just say I don't agree...

Oh, and Izzy: When in doubt, always pick the higher rating.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Jan 13 2008 05:30 pm   #6Eowyn315
Especially make sure you have a Buffy/Other and Spike/Other

Just so you know, Dia, there isn't a "Buffy/Other" warning label, just a "Spike/Other" and a "B/S/A," in terms of pairing warnings. When I had Buffy/Other, I just put an AN at the beginning of the fic, but if you're fiddling with the settings, it might be something to consider adding.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jan 13 2008 05:42 pm   #7Diabola
*blinks* Err, OK, didn't realize that. Have to admit I didn't mess around with those parts of the verse all that much after I got it. I changed some stuff concerning the categories, but mostly I just left it alone - there is enough in the script that can be improved, and I'm much more interested in that aspect :lol:. A Buffy/Other warning would make sense though, if only for continuity's sake, what with there being one for Spike and all. I'll go add it, thanks for letting me know.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Jan 13 2008 06:39 pm   #8Diabola
OK, Buffy/Other warning has been added.

While I was at it, I decided to get rid off/add some other warnings as well, and I modified the gernres a bit too. Let me know if you have a problem with any of the changes, or if you have any other suggestions of what I should add/remove.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Jan 14 2008 01:59 am   #9slaymesoftly
ROFL at Dia and picturing her foaming at the mouth. :)
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jan 14 2008 08:08 pm   #10jess2357
Slaymesoftly, I know what you mean by the character death warning thing. I know it matters to lots of people, but there's nothing that ruins a story to me more than being told in advance such a major piece of plot. In fact, I now ignore all warnings just so that I don't accidentally find out!
Jan 14 2008 10:33 pm   #11Caro Mio
I like being prepared for a rape or torture scene, but telling me there's a character death in advance is also a big spoiler for me, too, especially when it's a small piece that basically says only Buffy and Spike are in it? Unhappy ending!! If it's a big ensemble piece, then I'll probably forget about the warning by the time I get to whomever dies, as long as they don't warn me *again*.
What If I'm Not the Slayer? now updated with chapters 22 and 23.
Jan 14 2008 10:55 pm   #12Diabola
Yeah, Character Death is a slippery one. You see, I want need to be warned about that, especially in a situation like CM described. I don't read stories without happy endings; I so very much don't read them, that I check out the ending of a story if I worry it might turn out unhappy. Sad endings depress me for days on end, and I really don't need that. So while I completely understand why lots of people don't want to be warned about CD (it is spoilery), there are also those of us who value the warning. I think every author has to decide for him/herself how bad the death in question is going to hit the reader, and if softening the blow is worse than spoiling - or the other way around.

In a funny little turnaround: rape, torture and violence (no matter the degree) in a story don't bother me at all. To each their own I guess. (And no, that doesn't mean I think warning for those is optional.)
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits." - Albert Einstein
Jan 16 2008 06:33 pm   #13Izzy
It's not a warning exactly, but a label on a new story that I have a question about now. Canon shows us the great flashbacks in "Fool for Love" about Spike's past. In my story I'm following canon of the episodes and what went on before, but I rewrote Spike's history, though I didn't turn him into a harmless White Hat. I changed his human history and some of the vamp history. Does this count as being AU? After all, it's not following canon, but it does follow the show and everything since Spike arrived at Sunnydale. 
I don't want any readers thinking that Spike is lying about his past in my story or that I changed that so much I must have changed other thigns and not told them. When is something Alternate Universe or only slightly non-canon?

Jan 16 2008 07:03 pm   #14TammyDevil666
I always try to avoid stories with character deaths if I can help it, so that warning is important to me.  I also always like to know when a story has a lot of angst or deals with rape and torture, others that I try to avoid.  Basically, I'm a huge wuss when it comes to reading about any of that.
When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.
Jan 16 2008 07:14 pm   #15Eowyn315
This is just my opinion, and maybe others will tell you differently, but unless the changes in Spike's history are significant to the story, I wouldn't consider it AU. I'd probably just put an author's note on that chapter or chapters, to clarify that this is an intentional break from canon. After all, there are plenty of stories out there that were written before "Fool For Love" aired that offer their own versions of Spike's history, and I don't think they're considered AU.

If we're speaking technically, pretty much all fanfic, except for "fill in the blank" fics, could be considered AU, since you are breaking with canon at some point and going off in your own direction. But for simplicity's sake, I tend to think of AU as being a story set in a universe where changes in basic principles of canon are a premise for the story. For example, a story where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and is a Slayer in L.A. would be AU. Or a story that's set in season 6, except Joyce is still alive. All-human fics (which aren't allowed on this site) would also definitely be AU. On the other hand, a story that rewrites the ending of "Something Blue" so that Buffy and Spike are still in love when the spell wears off doesn't necessarily need to be labeled as AU (I'd call that an "episode stealer" instead).

The other time when a story would be considered an AU is when an author writes a series of fics within the same 'verse, creating his/her own canon. For example, I have an alternate season six, which now has events and characters that are canon within my 'verse, but are not aligned with the show.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.

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