Confused

[missmiah]

I just got a review for the recently posted chapter of Walls of Jericho. I think it was negative review, but I'm not sure. It didn't mention my writing, good or bad. Nothing about the plot being cliched or anything.

Simply - "This chapter is not NC17."

Does that mean that even though I plan to take the story into very smut filled waters (Come on, what's the point of writing about the horribly cliched lab accident that tethers two people together if there isn't going to be nekkidness?) I should be rating the early chapters - with no sex - as G? Or even PG when someone says a naughty word?

I would think that if I was happily reading a fic rated PG and then suddenly discovered that an integral chapter mid-way through the story had *Gasp and ohnoes* wanking and cunnilingus, especially if that was something that offended me (and I am totally not offended by that, FYI), wouldn't that be worse than being forced to read OMG-Is-this-plot? crap?

It's not like the story is in the PWP category. I very deliberatly did not put it there because I wanted to at least make an effort to tell a story that contained sex, not write smut for the sake of smut.

So, am I just very confused?

Comments

[scatteredlogic.livejournal.com]

So, am I just very confused?

Not as far as I'm concerned, you're not. Your reviewer is.

I'd rather that a story that contains R or NC-17 rated material was rated that way from the start. It steers underage readers away (well, it's supposed to, at any rate) and I'd think it would help protect the site owner.

I know that some people have said that an under-aged reader can just skip those chapters, but how are they supposed to know that the next chapter is NC-17 if they're clicking the "next" link instead of going through the main story menu? Realistically, they won't. Even if the reader is an adult who wants to avoid graphic violence or sexual description, they're not going to know that's what the next chapter is rated.

[rewil.livejournal.com]

I'd chalk it up to "Internets people are weird a lot" and leave it at that.

Oh, and also start adding lots and lots more smut.

icon

[grandpoohbah.livejournal.com]

You need to let her know that this icon is just WRONG!!!! :)

Re: icon

[rewil.livejournal.com]

No no no!

It's absolutely, completely RIGHT.

I mean, look how happy he is.

It's definitely not YOU that's confused

[mmyrtle.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, I got a flame after posting a few chapters of one of my stories -- I rated the entire story (and all its chapters) NC-17, but I didn't categorized it PWP because there was a plot (and it was over 5 chapters). According to the reviewer, I had spent too many chapters with no explicit sex, so I didn't "earn" the rating. They knew this because they had searched only for NC-17 stories, and read 6 chapters of mine that didn't ... um ... pay off for them.

Obviously, both of our reviewers were trolling for masturbatory assistance and were taking their frustration out on the authors who failed to meet their salacious needs.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

No, as the others have said, you're right and the reviewer is wrong.

I find that happens a lot.

I give all my stories the same rating throughout so that no one has a surprise half way through when the sex turns up. If it's PWP then they could complain if you take a long time to get there, but otherwise all NC 17 says to me is 'here is a story in which, at some point, there will be shagging'.

It doesn't amount to a commitment to have shagging from the outset.

People are daft.