I don't exactly agree with this chapter. I think that slight language and brief violence can be handled by 13 and up. Look at the PG-13 movies that they frequently see. If they can see Transformers, the Dark Knight, or Meet the Parents then they can handle stories with the amount of cursing, violence etc.

This is an awesome guide. Thank you for taking the time to write it. It has definitely help a lot. Best wishes in your writing! :D

thankyou thankyou THANKYOU!!

I was just about to post my first original sotry on here and had some first time author jitters, and so I decided I would read this to make sure I had things right. It definately helped me alot!

I can't express how greatful I am at the moment!!

thanks so much! seriously, this helped :]

Okay. I realize that this is hella old (s'up, 2005?), and for the most part, this is a pretty helpful guide, but I think you're a little closed-minded in some parts. The ratings thing? Is that for real? Someone's already commented on that, so I won't go on, but the chapters on story and characters were the second and third things that irked me, respectively.

1. "If you look at my stories for example, the truth is that you have no idea what you might read in the next chapter. I'm not above killing off a main character or a good friend, even the main villain or villians, just to have a degree of spontaneous momentum for the story." Yeah, sounds like most soap operas and dramas to me. No dice.

2. "You can't just throw someone named Ebin Fink into a situation where he saves the world AND gets the girl. Let's be real here- even if he did manage to save the world, what girl wants a guy named Ebin?" Who says? I'm a chick and I'd be all over that. You tell us that you should strive to be original, but then you scoff at a really interesting, unique name and rail against it? Think of the possibilities that could come out of a name like that. Not everybody wants the perfect dude, honey — we've seen that same superhero mold over and over again, and I, for one, am into Mr. Ebin Fink. Sorry.

I haven't read all the way through, but with flaws like this, I don't think I'll bother. :/

this is such a wonderful guide :) I added it to my C2 if you don't mind.

-Writ

I thouroughly enjoyed this guide; it's one of the better on fcpress. Keep writing yourself. You seem to have a good idea of where you're going. kudos. :P

Very very true. And you are right about the anonymous flamers being cowards. I personally like to stay away from anything 'contraversial' on fcpress for that very reason.

Yes...I always get a little twitchy reviewing these guides because I hope I am doing it to the writer's satisfaction :P I appreciate that you stressed constructive criticism at the same time you stressed having an encouraging tone. That's very important to me as a writer, and I try hard to be the same way. To slam anyone, even the worst writer, is a really horrible thing to do because writing is so mcuh a part of the writer.

Very nice. Of course, expositons on things other than the Book of the Gospels can be placed under 'spiritual,' but I'll let that pass. Categorizing is something I have trouble with in my longer stories. For instance, I'll have one whose primary genre is adventure, but my only choice is action/adventure...and I don't want to promise action when I won't have much! And what happens when there is romance, but only at the very end? These things plague me at night...

Anyway, very nice. Onward!

Yup, proofreading a very good and important step that a lot of people seem to hate. I, however, find it infinately easier to proofread on my word processor BEFORE I download, as Quickedit has no spellcheck (and we all need those!)

dittos, again. It always pains my heart when people refuse to write summaries...it's not a picnic for me either, but I recognize the importance of it!

short and sweet. Very pithy advice. I like that though you are not glazing over some of the bad work on fcpress, you still acknowledged at the start of this the great things about the site.

Very good. I agree that too much randomness is very immature looking, although it is completely up to the individual what to post. Question: why does everyone call it a bio, when fcpress specifically calls it a profile? There is a difference...you might want to make that distinction.

Nice guide here...I've read thousands of these since I joined fcpress, but most focus overly on grammatical issues, and the authors are never fully qualified in that aspect anyway. I like that you dealt with rating, although I think that you take it a smidgeon too far with the 'breif violence' earning an M...if T is an equal rating with PG-13, than breif violence is allowable, depending on how far the violence goes. Think about the kinds of pg-13 movies include more than breif violence...lord of the rings comes to mind at once. also, if the author gives a warning as to the contents of a T piece, that is commendable.

Still in all, I'm in aggreement with you for the most part, and I like your format of 'section overview.'