I usually write Teen content, so even if I'm writing for pokemon (which at it's worst would rate E 10 +) just for the breathing room and ability to have older characters swear once in a while. (when it makes sense) I rarely go out of my way to write M rated content because I feel the M rating is OVER rated. You can sometimes accomplish just as much with a Teen rating if you do it right. (of course the trick is TO do it right, but still...) Even when I'm writing 'love' scenes, I tend to write them in such a way that most of it is left to the imagination of the reader. (which honestly I think is a better approach because different readers can imagine different things based on what they know of the characters at that point) Same way with something like a murder scene. I just avoid going super explicit about this kind of content. Closest thing to M rated content that I've written is one of my antagonists getting all flirty and sexy (she can shapeshift) to please her victim as a 'last request' kind of thing. I don't actually show the murder itself happening (Narration briefly describes it but it's not explicit) The very first scene of the next chapter shows the scene of the crime but describes the body as 'unrecognizable' rather than going into too much detail.
That's an interesting question I never thought about. All the stories and books I currently wrote and I am planning to write are contemporary New Adult genre. So my audience would be around ages 18-30 as my protagonists are. The problems and challenges the protagonists face are in sync with the psychological development of the audience that age. As for things that need to be rated, the people in my books rarely swear and there are two semi graphic described foreplay scenes (teasing each other with touch etc.). Till now I never described the act itself and I leave that to the imagination of the readers. I come from Europe here it would be age 18+. Then I have some stories were physical violence takes place and psychological violence such as gaslighting. I don't know how these get rated but I would recommend to read them at the age of 18+. For teens these stories aren't on the usual developmental stage of their age. Older folks could read them too.
I agree you can accomplish a lot without blood and titties everywhere (looking at YOU NETFLIX and HBO!). There are a lot of shows that would be better if they didn't decide to lean on that so heavily. My muse is largely my younger self though, and I'm driven by what he would have bought/enjoyed. Little Territory was definitely not interested in YA or anything of the sorts; it seemed like a waste of time, where the interesting things didn't lurk. I wanted to be amazed, challenged, disturbed. Edit: I distinctly recall not knowing what a... something job was as a ten yr old reading King. I think I thought it was a food. I know better now (there's lots of interesting things rated YA), but I also am aware that there is more of an unspoken expectation of simpler plots and themes with YA and the like. I don't want to simplify things, nor for my potential audience to expect simple concepts.
Taking subject matter and language into consideration, I would say my stuff is meant for a mature audience. To be clear, I do not write erotica. Not even close, but I'm very aware that I write for the adult reader. I'm not interested in writing for children, teens, or young adults. Sure, there's a market for that, but it's just never been what I'm aiming for. I think it's a little weird to try to give books ratings like movies. But in terms of thinking about your target audience I guess it might be useful. Or maybe this thread is just for fun.
The stories I've been wanting to write for the last few years are about teenagers, at the high end of the scale, like 17 and 18. What I would consider adolescents, but the industry calls young adults. Ok, I guess either works at that age. But these stories definitely aren't for kids. They're coming-of-age stories, but they're harsh awakenings to some of the grim realities of life. I've been trying for some time to understand why I'm drawn to writing about teens, and then recently I was watching an interview with Chris Claremont, one of the best writers to ever work in comics. What he said pretty much nailed my own feelings. He said at that age people haven't made all the big decisions in life yet, they still have some ahead. By the time they're adults those decisions are already nailed down for the most part. But as teens on the verge of adulthood they're teetering on the edge of having to make them real quick, which makes things exciting. This is definitely a big part of it for me. Also the fact that they're in that twilight zone midway between adolescence and adulthood, and veering wildly at times one way and then the other. Life hasn't beat all the gumption out of them yet, but it's about to try. These are young adult stories in the same way Lord of the Flies or Rumblefish are. I think if I had to rate them in movie terminology I'd go with R.
Honestly I try not to make my characters swear that much unless it's either A: meaningful or B: they're particularly loose lipped. Sometimes I have characters swear a few times at the top of the first chapter to let the audience know there's swearing in it, but it tapers off as the chapter progresses usually. I write all kinds of characters with very different personalities, so I find it a bit strange to imagine that absolutely none of them would swear.
Cool question! For fanfics, between T & E depending on the contract. It really depends on the fandom and the content of the story. All my original work is a solid M. Difficult topic are normal in these stories, and I don't sugar coat anything. The novels that take place in the aftermath of WWI can get incredibly dark and my high fantasy covers a lot of reworld topics. I think I've used every content warring at one time or another, and that's not likely to change.
My fanfics are usually rated mature to explicit (R+) due to the dark subjects and language. I have tried to write stuff that is light and fluffy, even funny, they all turned disturbing.
Most of my work fits under M or R, being heroic fantasy, superhero fiction, and military sci-fi. My philosophy is that if you’re going to write in genres or subgenres driven by action and violence, you have a responsibility not to shy away from the reality of those elements. Some of my other stories would be AO or NC-17 for explicit sexual content. If my work is going to show the nastier realities of life, it should also show the more pleasurable parts. Since I plan on branching into speculative romance/romantic suspense soon, those novels will probably fall in this range. I definitely have work that falls in the T/PG-13 range, though. My first published story was a Weird Western very light on gore, sexuality, or profanity. Most of the tension and horror came from the looming implied threat of violence and loss of self rather than anything overt. My poetry is by far my lightest stuff. Just about every poem I’ve ever written is E/G.
I rate my fanfics on Fanfiction net at M, and for AO3 I rate them at E I only do this because I’m kinda forcing the reader’s imagination to take over so they see a porno in their head, haven’t gotten any complaints though, especially since I can see just how messed up other ppl are compared to me
