18 rule and NON EROTIC category.

[MsMertz]

Totally completely sex-less story...

Okay, for the five people who are still with me . . .:

I have no need to mention specific ages, but there is an essential flashback between the FMC and her younger sister, the reason why the FMC was taken by social services (again 110% not sexual -- yeah, I sucked at math) and why over two years later the FMC did as she did.

*Social services, at least in the US would not take custody of someone of age, probably not even someone who is 17, so that makes the sisters at most 14 and 15 when the (again 100% non-sexual) event happened.

Thanks to anyone who responds.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Um… you can have minors of any age in any category. I have stories in which children are characters in both Loving Wives and Lesbian Sex. The issue is that - totally reasonably IMO - they cannot either take part in or witness anything sexual. In my stories, it’s the parents who have sex.

Am I misunderstanding you?

Emily

 

[TarnishedPenny]

What Emily said. I’ve written 12-year-olds into my stories without any issue.

 

[ElectricBlue]

What Emily said. I’ve written 12-year-olds into my stories without any issue.

In my Arthurian yarn I've got a fourteen year old pre-menarche girl, a babe in arms, and a toddler who bites Maerlyn's ankle. Another story has a six month getting breast-fed, and its sequel has two breastfeeding women, thus, bebes.

@MsMertz The trick is to get the children well out of the room, ideally out of the house, or better yet, into the next decade - and at least five hundred words away - before any sex happens. Your scenario sounds fine, but even so, include a Note to the Editor saying ages under eighteen get a mention, because a word bot would still get alarmed.

 

[EmilyMiller]

include a Note to the Editor saying ages under eighteen get a mention, because a word bot would still get alarmed.

Agreed.

Bouncing Back has a six yo boy and eight yo girl in who are kids of the FMC, I always add a note explaining.

Emily

 

[Voboy]

What Emily said. I’ve written 12-year-olds into my stories without any issue.

Same. And younger.

The key is to make sure they're not in any way involved with sexual activity. That's all.

 

[jaykaythree]

I've written underage supporting characters in a few of mine. One of them, in particular fact, told her parents to get a room when she came upon them snuggling up outside on the lawn.

 

[MsMertz]

Um… you can have minors of any age in any category. I have stories in which children are characters in both Loving Wives and Lesbian Sex. The issue is that - totally reasonably IMO - they cannot either take part in or witness anything sexual. In my stories, it’s the parents who have sex.

Am I misunderstanding you?

Emily

No but my concern was -- as Electric Blue stated below you -- "a word bot would still get alarmed."

 

[EmilyMiller]

No but my concern was -- as Electric Blue stated below you -- "a word bot would still get alarmed."

So do as we suggest and add a Dear Laurel note…

 

[MsMertz]

Will do. And thank you.

 

[SimonDoom]

As long as you understand that "sex" is broadly interpreted to mean any sexual activity or description of activity that might be plausibly sexually arousing to the reader, and you avoid "sex" with that understanding in mind, then you should be fine.

For instance, spying on someone in the shower is sexual activity.

 

[EmilyMiller]

One of the times I got pinged for underage was when writing about a girl (called Emily ) who had just turned 18 a few days earlier. In talking about her regular masturbation routine, I implied that she had been doing the same for some time.

Now, IRL, I - like every other woman - obviously only started masturbating after my 18th birthday, but still…. I changed the offending text and it went through fine on resubmission.

Emily

 

[TheRedChamber]

One of the times I got pinged for underage was when writing about a girl (called Emily ) who had just turned 18 a few days earlier. In talking about her regular masturbation routine, I implied that she had been doing the same for some time.

Now, IRL, I - like every other woman - obviously only started masturbating after my 18th birthday, but still…. I changed the offending text and it went through fine on resubmission.

Emily

Yeah, male or female, avoid the temptation to write eighteen and a day characters.

Make them eighteen and three months and imply that they have packed a lot into those three months...

 

[Trionyx]

Now, IRL, I - like every other woman - obviously only started masturbating after my 18th birthday,

 

[EmilyMiller]

It’s true.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

Yeah, male or female, avoid the temptation to write eighteen and a day characters.

Make them eighteen and three months and imply that they have packed a lot into those three months...

In this case, it was vaguely rooted in reality, but yeah, reality doesn’t always fit with Lit requirements.

Emily

 

[RejectReality]

As long as you understand that "sex" is broadly interpreted to mean any sexual activity or description of activity that might be plausibly sexually arousing to the reader, and you avoid "sex" with that understanding in mind, then you should be fine.

For instance, spying on someone in the shower is sexual activity.

Even looking at girls in bikinis at the beach will get you popped. No detail about them being wet, or clingy, our outlines of anything beneath. No mention of physical reaction to them. Just your typical noticing girls for the first time type of thing. I've had to tell two different people to remove almost identical lines like that over the years. Any form of even the most innocent sexual thoughts will get you zapped. Nudity isn't even required.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

From one of my stories with high school students still under age at the time:

To make sure she got his message, he whispered, “I Love you PattyKat”, and then he kissed her. He kissed her the way he had wanted to kiss her for months, with his lips, his tongue, his hands, arms, and whole body, and she met him point for point.
and...

They both loved to tease the other, especially physically. Neither had any experience with sex, and they seemed to instinctively know that they were exploring limits and physical stimulations that they didn’t want to ignore in order to rush things too fast.

The gloves come off once they reached 18.

 

[MsMertz]

Yeah, male or female, avoid the temptation to write eighteen and a day characters.

Make them eighteen and three months and imply that they have packed a lot into those three months...

My just submitted story is 100% non-erotic.

On a totally different theme, there used to be a story here, I don't know if I am misremembering the title or if it has been taken down. But the plot is that at midnight on people's 18th birthday, Aphrodite, her brother Dionysus, and her son Eros show up and get the birthday boy or girl totally shitfaced and introduce them to all manners of sexuality.

Except for when they show up a day or two late because they are too hungover and exhausted from having so much "initiation" sex.

You know, a cute "prequel" would be for Apollo to show up with his four horse chariot in the wee-hours of every kid's 16th birthday and impart all of his knowledge on them so that they ace the driving test during the upcoming week.

 

[Helgamite]

one of my stories, i'm gonna need some advice on.

my main character, Korgan, goes into a village and after a while the village is attacked by bandits. however there is a young girl about 12 who befriends him when the town ignores or snubs Korgan and his friend.

however during the fight, Korgan's friend is herding the villagers to safe haven when Korgan see's the girl in trouble. he tries to help her but yells for her to run towards him when an archer comes around the corner and aims at her. he fires a bolt of energy at the archer but misses and the archer shoots his arrow at the girl and kills her.

because of that, Korgan goes catatonic and cradles her head in his lap crying over her death. a few minutes later the villagers and his friend feels the wind get heavier and faster, korgans magic goes out of control from his emotions.

my question would be, would the girls death, be a violation of the under 18 rule? no sex or adult activity.

this girls death is the catalyst not only for him losing control, but also his growth as a mage\ruler and gaining the villagers as subjects. I'm not going graphic, just like this.

Korgan yells at the girl to run towards him as the archer fires his arrow, he watches as the girls head jerks up and the arrowhead shows through her neck, killing her instantly.

 

[mildlyaroused]

one of my stories, i'm gonna need some advice on.

my main character, Korgan, goes into a village and after a while the village is attacked by bandits. however there is a young girl about 12 who befriends him when the town ignores or snubs Korgan and his friend.

however during the fight, Korgan's friend is herding the villagers to safe haven when Korgan see's the girl in trouble. he tries to help her but yells for her to run towards him when an archer comes around the corner and aims at her. he fires a bolt of energy at the archer but misses and the archer shoots his arrow at the girl and kills her.

because of that, Korgan goes catatonic and cradles her head in his lap crying over her death. a few minutes later the villagers and his friend feels the wind get heavier and faster, korgans magic goes out of control from his emotions.

my question would be, would the girls death, be a violation of the under 18 rule? no sex or adult activity.

The content guidelines don't specifically mention restrictions around violence, except that which is "Sexualized." That is, no snuff and no violent sexual "maiming."

There's no mention of violence in relation to under-18s, so if it's not gratuitous I think you can get away with it.

 

[Helgamite]

The content guidelines don't specifically mention restrictions around violence, except that which is "Sexualized." That is, no snuff and no violent sexual "maiming."

There's no mention of violence in relation to under-18s, so if it's not gratuitous I think you can get away with it.

I kinda thought that, just wanted to get verification so i'm not getting flagged or rejected.

better to ask than suffer.

 

[mildlyaroused]

I kinda thought that, just wanted to get verification so i'm not getting flagged or rejected.

better to ask than suffer.

A good policy. I'm no expert, though; I think there's been some threads on this forum about what degree of violence passes in fantasy that might serve you better than me.

 

[EmilyMiller]

one of my stories, i'm gonna need some advice on.

It’s fine. If a little sad.

If she was tortured to death in a way that some sicko could get off on, then no. But you’re OK with that.

Emily

 

[MyBareTorso]

A good policy. I'm no expert, though; I think there's been some threads on this forum about what degree of violence passes in fantasy that might serve you better than me.

I think your violence can be pretty extreme, as long as it's not sexualised. A fantasy story I wrote had plenty of sword play and no-holds-barred violence, and it went through fine. I even had a male and female warrior (non-sexually) fighting each other naked, and that didn't prompt any issues...