Non-erotic category

[thomas1965]

I wonder what people expects in this category.
Of course no sex, but what about holding hands, kissing?

I would like to write a romantic story where there is no sex in the 1. chapter and thought this would be the right category.
Your opinions please.

 

[PennameWombat]

This is the best description of the Categories here I know of (Love Your Readers: Categories). It has some key factors for Non-Erotic:
- “PG-13” - I know that only means something only to Americans as a movie rating, apparently it meshes (mostly) with 12A or 15 in the UK. But, in essence, no explicit sex. But, there can be some erotic content.
- Matches to ‘mainstream’ fiction. So, holding hands, kissing, will likely be ok. But when they head to the bedroom, that’s completely off-screen.

I wonder what people expects in this category.
Of course no sex, but what about holding hands, kissing?

I would like to write a romantic story where there is no sex in the 1. chapter and thought this would be the right category.
Your opinions please.

- Last ’rule’ - if your entry is a chapter in a longer story, it should not go in Non-Erotic even if that chapter has no sex unless all chapters go in Non-Erotic. (This is quoting directly from the linked information… but I don’t know if it’s enforced or not.)

You can read the full entry yourself via that link.

I only have a single story in that category, it’s a standalone, and the character (Patricia) is rifling through photos from her childhood (her with the couple who raised her with their two boys.) Then she gets to one with her mother and father when they were at university, and describes but only in passing about her mother being (unsurprisingly) braless in a sheer shirt. But it doesn’t linger on the description. She has rather mixed feelings about her parents because, well, they kinda had roles, unintentional but still played a part, in a global disaster… (Its rating is quite low because one, it’s a 750 word story (the minimum word count, part of an Event), and two, I originally posted it in E&V. The Rating isn’t a reflection on Non-Erotic, I asked to move it there and Laurel moved it, so she didn’t see anything wrong.)

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Don't discount the "Romance" category. There are several very successful non-erotic stories posted within this category. The readers do expect there to be characters in a romantic relationship and will tolerate chapters without sex as much as those with sex, as long as the romance is there in both cases.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Don't discount the "Romance" category. There are several very successful non-erotic stories posted within this category. The readers do expect there to be characters in a romantic relationship and will tolerate chapters without sex as much as those with sex, as long as the romance is there in both cases.

There are perhaps two categories within non-erotic that I have used. One involves break-ups, because romance readers generally don't like such stories and have told me to put those in Non-erotic. Actually, I don't seem to have done that yet, but I might in the future based on the reactions I have gotten.

I have one story in there that has nothing to do with sex at all.

Bridge at Newark Bay

Real-life but non-erotic events probably do best in Reviews and Essays.

Movies and Memory

Hope that helps.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Essentially, without trying to argue with any of the good advice above, you can put it just about anywhere you wish.

Especially if you intend to move on with further chapters which include explicit sex, then Romance is however IMHO a good choice for the reasons already noted.

Good luck.

 

[thomas1965]

Thanks for the replies.
I think I will keep the whole story as a clean romance, and stick the whole story in Non-erotic.