Content Guidelines

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CONTENT CATEGORIES

Mystery / Suspense - A Mystery is a puzzle or a secret that is solved by characters in the story. Clever plotting, interesting clues, detective reasoning skills - all of these are important elements. Similarly, Suspense stories involve a threat or imminent danger that must be overcome or resolved and often involves mysterious elements. An example of a Mystery / Suspense story is a Sherlock Holmes novel or an Agatha Christie novel.

Horror - This type of works intends to frighten its readers and introduce feelings of horror and terror. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural. Works by Stephen King would be classified in this category.

Thriller - This type of work is intended to keep you on your toes and get your adrenaline pumping! Thrillers are characterized by a fast paced story line, frequent action and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. Examples in this genre include James Bond or The Da Vinci Code.

Paranormal - Designates stories that describe experiences that lie outside the range of normal experience or scientific explanation. Examples include human characters with mind reading abilities or stories involving ghosts (not demons).

Fantasy - Stories in this category are usually inspired by mythology and magic. Typical characters include werewolves, fairies, demons, dragons, witches and wizards. A popular fantasy trilogy is Lord of the Rings.

Science Fiction - Differs from Fantasy and Paranormal in that, within the context of the story, elements are largely possible within the story's scientifically established laws of nature. Story plots often revolve around a futuristic view of humanity, the use of a time machine or some kind of genetic mutation. Examples include The Time Traveler's Wife and Star Trek.

Vampire - If the story involves vampires, it belongs to this category. Examples are the Twilight Saga, Vampire Diaries and the Morganville series.

Teen - The main characters, story lines and plots typically evolve around teenagers. Sometimes, they describe the challenges faced by the young people. Examples in this category include The Princess Diaries and the Gossip Girl series.

Fan Fiction - Stories in this category should have characters and or settings that are based on other works, including novels, anime, movies and TV series. Examples are stories with characters such as Edward and Bella from the Twilight Saga (properties of Ms. Stephenie Meyer), Harry and Hermione from the Harry Potter series (properties of Ms. JK Rowling).

Romance - Romance novels describe the development of a relationship between two people. Often, the story will end with the two characters falling in love or a similarly optimistic conclusion. Harlequin Romance novels are famous for their romantic fiction.

Action - An action story is one where most of the plot developments are delivered at an exciting and fast pace. This category includes stories about Kung Fu, extreme sports such as rock climbing and stories about daring adventures. An example of this genre would be Mission Impossible.

Adventure - Adventure novels involve an exciting and often risky task that the main character must successfully complete. The main character is usually a brave hero who must travel to a lesser known or remote area to conquer an evil villain and complete a challenging mission. Though the hero is often in dangerous situations, the character is more likely to use his/her wits and ingenuity to outsmart an enemy than resort to violence. Most often in Adventure stories good will triumph over evil. An example of this genre is Indiana Jones.

Spiritual - Spiritual Books are fictional stories that revolve around religious or spiritual themes. They can take place in historical or contemporary times.

Historical Fiction - Historical Fiction are novels and stories that revolve around significant events that have occurred in the past. Historical Fiction can also be about the day to day experiences of people who live in the past. As a general rule, Historical Fiction novels take place no later that World War II.

Short Story - A short story is a fictional tale that is shorter than a novel and often deals with fewer themes and a less complicated story line. In the Watty Awards on Wattpad, short stories are entries that are less than 30 pages.

Werewolf - A werewolf story will involve werewolves as the central focus of the plot. Examples include novels like Blood & Chocolate, Destiny Binds, and The Last Werewolf.

Non-Teen Fiction - These stories can be of any genre, but should be geared for more older readers. It can include elements of teen fiction provided the subject matter deals with more mature themes.

Classics - Classical novels are books that have been written over 100 years ago. They include a widespread of genres, including comedies by Shakespeare to Jane Austen novels about young women.

Humor - A humor story is usually a work of fiction that seeks to amuse the reader, sometimes as part of the story, or through comedic story elements. These type of stories do not necessarily need to provoke laughter, as humor can take on many different forms.

Poetry - Poetry, or poems, are written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader. They often use rhythm and rhyme to covey meaning.

Non-Fiction - Non-fiction works are based on known and true facts - nothing can be made up. Non-fiction can be about any subject. Examples of non-fiction include how-to books, science books, history books, biographies, and autobiographies.

CONTENT RATING

G - This story is suitable for readers of all ages. There are no drugs or sexually explicit content mentioned in the story. There is no nudity and body parts are not described in a sexual way. There is minimal swearing and violence is not described in great detail. Language may sometimes be impolite, but does not use expressions that would not be found in common, everyday conversation (ie. "What the Hell" and "Screw off" are okay if used rarely)

PG - A story rated PG might not be appropriate for young children. Romantic situations may be described with some details, though anything explicit is left to the reader's imagination. There may be more violent and scary scenes than would be found in a G story. Wounds and injuries may be described with some graphic explanations. Generally, the story will include some mature themes, characters and actions. Descriptions of drug use, if included, are vague. Occasionally, characters may use light swear words in frustration but not very often.

PG-13 - Includes mature stories that may include occasional scenes of a lightly sexual or violent nature. There might be mention of drug use or abuse and other mature themes that could be inappropriate for younger readers. Characters use more mature language and swear. Sexual scenes are described with some details. Stories rated PG-13 may also contain some graphic descriptions of violence and injury and reveal darker and more mature motives behind characters' actions than is appropriate for younger readers.

R - The story's content is considered "adult". Stories that are rated R cannot qualify for Wattpad's "What's Hot" listing. The violence, sexuality and story lines are not suitable for all readers. Occasional description of sexual scenes are included and characters may act violently and with dark motives. Please note that pornography is not considered adult and will not be permitted on Wattpad. R rated content may include stories that touch upon or refer to, BUT DO NOT DESCRIBE IN DETAIL mature themes, such as: serious drug use, prostitution, suicide, and all types of abuse. Graphic depiction of any of the preceding may result in your story being removed from Wattpad. In an R rated story characters swear and use impolite, derogatory terms. Actions and things can be described using swear words or impolite, derogatory terms.

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RESTRICTED MATERIAL

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