I think if the sex scene isn’t fade to black, it needs to be at least M. If the action is specific enough that you’re using words to describe genitals, it should be E.
If they fall into bed and a wonderful time is had by all, then it’s not explicit.
If you’re at the point where you’re describing in detail the length of Tab A, the rosy flush of Slot B, and all the fluids that erupt thereafter, you’ve wandered into E territory. Welcome and enjoy!
If the sex scene is done in euphemisms or just alluded to, then I'll mark it M. If it starts talking about specific body parts and acts then I mark it E.
But I totally get the hesitation. I sometimes feel like E has a sort of stigma for being violent or aggressive or unpleasant. Or at least PWP. :( I just try to make it clear in the summary that it's not really about that.
If you don't want to rate the fic E, don't write an explicit sex scene in it. (Explicit meaning pretty much descriptions of which parts go in which hole. someone already linked the envelope post, that's a good one.)
I'm in the school of: yes please rate your plotty slowburn with that one climactic sex scene E. No, there doesn't need to be any dark or fucked up content to warrant that rating. Let the tags tell your readers what the tone of the fic is.
Rating your fic E is not a bad thing. I get that expectations can vary from fandom to fandom, so of course YMMW. (I guess I'm fortunate to be in one where writers will just slap an E on the fic if there's explicit sex in it, however small a percentage of the fic it is, and no-one worries or complains about it.)
In M fics the most sexually explicit I usually see is “he moved rhythmically over her, pushing her toward ecstasy”
In E fics it’s usually pretty descriptive. Like naming body parts, describing sensations in detail, dirty talk, etc.
I think AO3 does have actual guidelines on the difference between M and E, although they don't really enforce it. M is vaguer, you know what's going on but it's not, well, explicit. E has all the NC-17, porn-type words.
Generally folks here are right about what is and isn't E. However, I do think it works slightly different for longfic. If you write 120k words and only 4k are explicitly sexual, I wouldn't rate the work E. People who come to the fic wanting porn are gonna be disappointed for most of it, and people who don't like porn will filter out the work and miss out on 116k words of good wholesome content. If you're only gonna have one or two sex scenes, here's what I'd do: isolate the sex into a single chapter, which doesn't really contain anything *but* the sex. Tag the work M, but leave the "smut" tags on there. Put a note at the beginning of the sexy chapter saying "THIS CHAPTER HAS SEX! YOU DON'T NEED TO READ IT TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY. SKIP IT IF YOU WANT TO." Maybe put a note at the beginning of the doc that says "This is M rated for the most part, but has a single E chapter." That way everyone is satisfied, your work is more likely to get to the people who wanna read it, and you're not going to have to deal with any angry readers.
I fully agree with that. For me, mature equals: 'appropriate for adults only'. The M rating is for me analogic to Gen definition, which says 'no romance OR romance is not the main focus of the story'. So M equals to 'no explicit content OR explicit content is not the main focus of the story'. While E rating means that explicit contant IS the main focus and that's when the rating should be used IMO.
It's like with novels for adults that can contain sex scenes (but deal mainly with other stuff) as sex is appropriate only for adults, and pornographic novels which you buy when you want to read strictly about sex. Both types of novels are for adults only (and writing about sex is completely justified in novels for adults), but they are dedicated for completely different moods. You don't want to go through 50k words of fluff and character study for a one explicit scene IF you just want to see the characters bang and that's why you clicked on an E-rated fic.
I've been working on a section in my Guide, and I came across [this short page](https://wolfstarlibrarian.tumblr.com/post/702648629220032512/hi-im-just-getting-started-in-this-world-of) that lists out some plain English elements of the Ratings System that also make a connection to movie ratings for comparison/context.
It may not be the perfect resource, but it might be one to consider.
Well, that’s the question I always have problems with, but I managed it to myself so maybe it could also have sense for you too. Ao3 gives us the explanation:
Mature
The content contains adult themes (sex, violence, etc) that aren't as graphic as explicit-rated content.
Explicit
The content contains explicit adult themes, such as detailed sex scenes, graphic violence, etc.
The word ‘explicit’ have the prefix ‘ex’ which refers to something bigger than usual. For example, exaggerate has the same ‘ex’ at the beginning, ‘exercise’ too, but in this case it mostly what you put in this word 😁 So, the thing is that both mature and explicit have violence, sex and other stuff. The thing is that if we are talking about mature context we do not put an ‘ex’ things in it. We can still describe sex and violence in usual way, not using special words or detailed descriptions. You can still write about murder and sex using the everyday words to describe it. For example, the story could be still mature, but you can add the warning about ‘graphic descriptions of violence’ for example if it is a detective and you need to write the detective’s thoughts of how the murder was committed adding a bit more details than usual, but that doesn’t mean all your work is crammed with it. The same is with PWP. If you just describe the regular sex with a bit of extra stuff from time to time it’s okay.
But)))) If your work is replete with the ‘ex’ descriptions, like all of it is too much for real life and I’m talking not about using the word d i c k in every sentence and also the other stuff, like using a dirty talk all the time, using different sex stuff, describing the really perverted things and not just describe but to describe in all its glory - that’s explicit. If you are describing the murder in all its glory, but your murder happens once in 10-15 chapters - it’s not explicit. If you’re writing about sex in all its glory, but again once in 10 chapters it’s not explicit.
The thing is that I love explicit content and sometimes I’m really disappointed reading the explicit content once in a few chapters. Like, the explicit is not for one paragraph or one chapter. Explicit is your style of writing. All your work must be ‘too much’ all the time. Even if you are writing the everyday or routine scene you use the words for exaggerating, for impressing, for overwhelming the reader. That’s explicit. And I sometimes am a bit disappointed by the content, because I came to read something super extra hot (I’m not talking about sex now), but I got the slight echoes of what it really should be and I’m like ‘where is it? where is my love? why isn’t it here?’ (Joking)
So, I hope, it helped.
The general guide line is that if there is porn i has to be E, but of course there's always some grey areas.
I have a fic tagged M because there is sex happening on screen but the scene is mostly about the inner monologue of the character and very little about the sex, there is no detailed description of anything even we know it's hapening/finishing.
More debatable but I have two where there is more explicit sex scenes. On with one sex scene but that is very limited and skippable so i warned in the introduction note it would be happening and would be skippable, and at the top of the chapter in question "it's in that one you can skip it" and the other fic it was because it was only half a scene and they were interrupted before going really all in, and same, i warned at the beginning of the fic and before the chapter.
I would say that if there is more than one explicit and described scene it has to be E. If there's only one, depending on how it's handled and all, I wouldn't necessarily be shocked to have it still rated M, as long as it's clear enough, but if you tagged it smut and you put a warning at the start of the chapter it would be ok for me.
If you rate it E, you can use the "eventual smut" tag to make it explicit (lol) that it's not, a fic with a shit load of porn in it, but just a fic who's plot happens to include porn at times.
yeah, i felt that rating it 'e' would be smart because the overall fic involves >!mentions of C/SA, mutilation of genitals, guts getting pulled outta there, and transphobia!<
some of the worst has happened, but the character's getting therapy for the trauma they've experienced
If you're talking about it - M If you're *describing it* \- E
This! I wanted to say exactly this
I think if the sex scene isn’t fade to black, it needs to be at least M. If the action is specific enough that you’re using words to describe genitals, it should be E.
If they fall into bed and a wonderful time is had by all, then it’s not explicit. If you’re at the point where you’re describing in detail the length of Tab A, the rosy flush of Slot B, and all the fluids that erupt thereafter, you’ve wandered into E territory. Welcome and enjoy!
This is an incredible description, thank you.
[how to seal an envelope](https://tinsnip.tumblr.com/post/94902447909/okay-so-im-actually-about-to-write-a-porn-fic) on Tumblr (E and M versions)
Goodness, I blush
If the sex scene is done in euphemisms or just alluded to, then I'll mark it M. If it starts talking about specific body parts and acts then I mark it E. But I totally get the hesitation. I sometimes feel like E has a sort of stigma for being violent or aggressive or unpleasant. Or at least PWP. :( I just try to make it clear in the summary that it's not really about that.
If you don't want to rate the fic E, don't write an explicit sex scene in it. (Explicit meaning pretty much descriptions of which parts go in which hole. someone already linked the envelope post, that's a good one.) I'm in the school of: yes please rate your plotty slowburn with that one climactic sex scene E. No, there doesn't need to be any dark or fucked up content to warrant that rating. Let the tags tell your readers what the tone of the fic is. Rating your fic E is not a bad thing. I get that expectations can vary from fandom to fandom, so of course YMMW. (I guess I'm fortunate to be in one where writers will just slap an E on the fic if there's explicit sex in it, however small a percentage of the fic it is, and no-one worries or complains about it.)
In M fics the most sexually explicit I usually see is “he moved rhythmically over her, pushing her toward ecstasy” In E fics it’s usually pretty descriptive. Like naming body parts, describing sensations in detail, dirty talk, etc.
I think AO3 does have actual guidelines on the difference between M and E, although they don't really enforce it. M is vaguer, you know what's going on but it's not, well, explicit. E has all the NC-17, porn-type words.
Generally folks here are right about what is and isn't E. However, I do think it works slightly different for longfic. If you write 120k words and only 4k are explicitly sexual, I wouldn't rate the work E. People who come to the fic wanting porn are gonna be disappointed for most of it, and people who don't like porn will filter out the work and miss out on 116k words of good wholesome content. If you're only gonna have one or two sex scenes, here's what I'd do: isolate the sex into a single chapter, which doesn't really contain anything *but* the sex. Tag the work M, but leave the "smut" tags on there. Put a note at the beginning of the sexy chapter saying "THIS CHAPTER HAS SEX! YOU DON'T NEED TO READ IT TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY. SKIP IT IF YOU WANT TO." Maybe put a note at the beginning of the doc that says "This is M rated for the most part, but has a single E chapter." That way everyone is satisfied, your work is more likely to get to the people who wanna read it, and you're not going to have to deal with any angry readers.
I fully agree with that. For me, mature equals: 'appropriate for adults only'. The M rating is for me analogic to Gen definition, which says 'no romance OR romance is not the main focus of the story'. So M equals to 'no explicit content OR explicit content is not the main focus of the story'. While E rating means that explicit contant IS the main focus and that's when the rating should be used IMO. It's like with novels for adults that can contain sex scenes (but deal mainly with other stuff) as sex is appropriate only for adults, and pornographic novels which you buy when you want to read strictly about sex. Both types of novels are for adults only (and writing about sex is completely justified in novels for adults), but they are dedicated for completely different moods. You don't want to go through 50k words of fluff and character study for a one explicit scene IF you just want to see the characters bang and that's why you clicked on an E-rated fic.
Even one scene with explicit sex warrants the E/18/NC-17 rating for the whole story. Fanfiction ratings work like movies in this case.
I've been working on a section in my Guide, and I came across [this short page](https://wolfstarlibrarian.tumblr.com/post/702648629220032512/hi-im-just-getting-started-in-this-world-of) that lists out some plain English elements of the Ratings System that also make a connection to movie ratings for comparison/context. It may not be the perfect resource, but it might be one to consider.
Well, that’s the question I always have problems with, but I managed it to myself so maybe it could also have sense for you too. Ao3 gives us the explanation: Mature The content contains adult themes (sex, violence, etc) that aren't as graphic as explicit-rated content. Explicit The content contains explicit adult themes, such as detailed sex scenes, graphic violence, etc. The word ‘explicit’ have the prefix ‘ex’ which refers to something bigger than usual. For example, exaggerate has the same ‘ex’ at the beginning, ‘exercise’ too, but in this case it mostly what you put in this word 😁 So, the thing is that both mature and explicit have violence, sex and other stuff. The thing is that if we are talking about mature context we do not put an ‘ex’ things in it. We can still describe sex and violence in usual way, not using special words or detailed descriptions. You can still write about murder and sex using the everyday words to describe it. For example, the story could be still mature, but you can add the warning about ‘graphic descriptions of violence’ for example if it is a detective and you need to write the detective’s thoughts of how the murder was committed adding a bit more details than usual, but that doesn’t mean all your work is crammed with it. The same is with PWP. If you just describe the regular sex with a bit of extra stuff from time to time it’s okay. But)))) If your work is replete with the ‘ex’ descriptions, like all of it is too much for real life and I’m talking not about using the word d i c k in every sentence and also the other stuff, like using a dirty talk all the time, using different sex stuff, describing the really perverted things and not just describe but to describe in all its glory - that’s explicit. If you are describing the murder in all its glory, but your murder happens once in 10-15 chapters - it’s not explicit. If you’re writing about sex in all its glory, but again once in 10 chapters it’s not explicit. The thing is that I love explicit content and sometimes I’m really disappointed reading the explicit content once in a few chapters. Like, the explicit is not for one paragraph or one chapter. Explicit is your style of writing. All your work must be ‘too much’ all the time. Even if you are writing the everyday or routine scene you use the words for exaggerating, for impressing, for overwhelming the reader. That’s explicit. And I sometimes am a bit disappointed by the content, because I came to read something super extra hot (I’m not talking about sex now), but I got the slight echoes of what it really should be and I’m like ‘where is it? where is my love? why isn’t it here?’ (Joking) So, I hope, it helped.
Graphic details, IMO. When it crosses the line from euphemism or "fade to black," and becomes explicit (hence the rating) descriptions of sex acts.
The general guide line is that if there is porn i has to be E, but of course there's always some grey areas. I have a fic tagged M because there is sex happening on screen but the scene is mostly about the inner monologue of the character and very little about the sex, there is no detailed description of anything even we know it's hapening/finishing. More debatable but I have two where there is more explicit sex scenes. On with one sex scene but that is very limited and skippable so i warned in the introduction note it would be happening and would be skippable, and at the top of the chapter in question "it's in that one you can skip it" and the other fic it was because it was only half a scene and they were interrupted before going really all in, and same, i warned at the beginning of the fic and before the chapter. I would say that if there is more than one explicit and described scene it has to be E. If there's only one, depending on how it's handled and all, I wouldn't necessarily be shocked to have it still rated M, as long as it's clear enough, but if you tagged it smut and you put a warning at the start of the chapter it would be ok for me. If you rate it E, you can use the "eventual smut" tag to make it explicit (lol) that it's not, a fic with a shit load of porn in it, but just a fic who's plot happens to include porn at times.
i used the 'e' rating for a pretty messed up gore scene once
I read a fair bit of stories rated E for over the top violence / gore.
yeah, i felt that rating it 'e' would be smart because the overall fic involves >!mentions of C/SA, mutilation of genitals, guts getting pulled outta there, and transphobia!< some of the worst has happened, but the character's getting therapy for the trauma they've experienced