The Journey to Writing a Successful Story: a tip book

Ratings

What are ratings? They aren't what you would rate a story from 1-10. Some people would get confused over that. But they are what you would rate a story from G-R.

But what do they mean? You probably aren't aware of how deep you can go with each rating.

G = "General." Anything with G means that it's okay for children. So yes, this has no sex, no cuss words, no drugs, no alcohol, nothing bad shown. It's basically a kid movie. However, you can show a few violent areas. For an idea, you can think of Pocahontas, Mulan, and Aladdin.

PG = "Parental Guidance." Anything that's PG is also for kids, but shows crude humor, and maybe uses one or a few cuss words. The cuss words that would be heard, would be between "shit," "damn," "crap," and "hell." But you won't use it a lot. Like in Night at the Museum, Ben Stiller said "shit" twice during his first night as a night guard. Or in Madagascar, where Alex was trying to find help to get off the island, he had a "help" sign, and the "P" fell from it, making it "hell."

PG-13 = "Parental Guidance; 13 years old and older." Basically saying how you can go to the movies if you're thirteen and go see this movie without parents, but it is required. This is where you get deeper into the rating. Sex, some nude scenes (mainly just butts; there can be side-boobs, but not showing the entire thing). You can go all out with cuss words - however, you can only use two "F" bombs in the entire story. Three or more would be too much and heading for R. PG-13 stories should be appropriate for the younger crowd - not like G and PG, but where it's not appropriate for children. You can think of Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (there are a few movies of the series that are rated PG-13, whilst the rest are PG). You can also think of Stay Alive, or Warm Bodies.

R = "Restricted." Here in America, you have to be 17 years or older to buy a ticket to see an R-rated movie. And you have to be 21 years old to buy more than one ticket. This is where you can go all out with whatever you want. Sex scenes - though you can't be so detailed (describing every single thing; that would turn into porn), however, you can just describe it. In R rated films, they usually have the bed squeaking, moaning, and the movement, but all is underneath a blanket. But there is nudity. You can use the "F" bomb whenever you want. It doesn't matter. Some movies would be The Raven, 2 Guns, and Magic Mike.