The Fanfic Board Rules & FAQ - 2005 Edition! Many changes!

[Evil Figment]

This first post is for the rules, the second post will be the FAQ. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask them ,we will add them to the FAQ.

RULES (revised, June 2005)

-All stories (including non-pokémon and NC-17 stories) are welcome in the writer's Café, as are any discussion related to books, reading or writing.

-All threads posted in the writers café must be properly identified as one of the following : ANIME, MANGA, AU (Alternate universe), GAME, ORIGINAL, NC-17, SHIPPING, DISCUSSION, POETRY, CROSSOVER, or NON-POKEMON. Guidelines on what belongs in which category follow. This identification must be presented in the following format : (IDENTIFICATION) Fic Title. For example : (ANIME) The Greater Evil.

-Posters are responsible for any content they chose to view, including NC-17 content (provided it is properly marked as such).

-Plagiarism (claiming another author's work as your own) is STRICTLY forbidden. HOWEVER, as this is the very nature of fanfiction, writing stories based on fanfics by another author is allowed.

-Be respectful of other members. If another member ask you to stop doing something, it is best to stop.

-All chapters of a fic must be posted in the same thread. Thread titles may be edited to reflect the latest chapter posted.

[Evil Figment]

THE FAQ

1-HOW TO CLASSIFY YOUR FANFICS
To determine which classification your thread should use, verify which of the following definitions it match, IN ORDER.
For example, an AAML (Ash and Misty love) fanfic featuring graphic sexual content would be NC-17, not Shipping or Anime. If it was an AAML withotu graphical sexual content, it would be shipping, not anime.

DISCUSSION : Any thread which contains no story, and no poetry.
NC-17 : Any thread which contains graphic sexual content.
POETRY : One or more poems, which are not presented as part of a standard storyline.
NON-POKEMON : Any story featuring no character, location or creatures from the pokémon universe.
SHIPPING : Any story almost exclusively about the romantic involvement between two (or more) characters.
CROSSOVER : Any story featuring characters, locations and so forth from multiple fictional universes, at least one of which is a Pokémon universe (this includes fanfiction featuring multiple fictional pokémon universe, eg the Manga and the Anime)
ORIGINAL : Any story in which the main character(s) are all created by the author.
AU : (alternate universe) Any story featuring the canon characters (such as Ash, Lance or Misty) where major elements of their personal history are deliberately changed (for example, a fiction where Jessie and James never joined Team Rocket, or where Ash and his friends live in a medieval kingdom).
ANIME : A story which is a prequel, sequel or retelling of the events in the pokémon anime, featuring the canon characters.
MANGA : A story which is a prequel, sequel or retelling of the events in one of the pokémon mangas, featuring the canon characters.
GAME : A story which is a prequel, sequel or retelling of the events in one of the pokémon games, featuring the canon characters.

2-Why was the rule on graphic sex removed?
We felt that the vast majority of pokémon fanfiction writer are able to handle such fanfiction, and that there is little risk to it provided it is properly labeled as such. Thus, the mods, in a 5-0 vote, decided to remove the old rule.

[Barb]

If I can make a request concerning ratings: I've read summaries where the author states that there's nothing bad in the fic until chapter 4, 5, or whatever and then the rating changes (from PG to R, for example).

No.

I do not go to a PG-rated movie and expect to see R-level violence or sex. If that is what your fic contains, then it is rated R all the way through, regardless of what is or isn't in certain chapters. R-rated movies don't have sex or violence in every scene, but the rating is given based on content in certain scenes; the same should apply to fanfics.

And another suggestion: in the author's notes section at the beginning of the fic, please specify what the content of the fic is for the benefit of your potential readers. If it's NC-17, maybe a line such as: "Warning: graphic sex and/or violence" could be used.

[Evil Figment]

Editing your rating is understandable if you had NOT originally planned for certain scenes to occur, though.

[Barb]

Well...maybe. But if you're writing what you want to have happen in each chapter, there's no need for a PG-rated fic to suddenly have an R-rated sex scene, is there? Even if there are scenes of sexuality or violence, couldn't the author simply write them in a toned-down version instead of making them graphic, in keeping with his or her original fic rating?

[Evil Figment]

I suppose so.

[Kinglerlord2]

Can i make a suggestion that you post a general idea of what each rating would entail for those users outside North America who have a completely different rating system?

[Another Fan]

Um... excuse me, what if the fanfiction is not completely game canon or anime canon as there are some contradictions but is still a pokemon story that doesn't fit into the other catagories?

[Pokesaur]

Another Fan, you beat me asking that question. My fanfic is in between AU and original. I will keep the gym leaders and junk but mostly invent my own characters. So what's the catergory?

[Barb]

Another Fan, you beat me asking that question. My fanfic is in between AU and original. I will keep the gym leaders and junk but mostly invent my own characters. So what's the catergory?
You could classify it as both if you want, although if you're using Pokémon characters and having them interact with your original characters, I'd say that this is an AU story. An original story, by definition, doesn't have to be fanfiction.

[~Locust~]

What if my fic will use original characters apart form some game ones? What if it has Animé but game like battles? What category would that be. Oh and what rating would it be if it had some violence, some of which has "almost deaths", which are people about to die but don't. Thanks for reading this and thanks for answering if you do.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Label it as you see fit. No one's going to take you to court over it.

And about the rating, if you're not sure, go one higher. Better safe than sorry, right?

[Dash456]

Excuse me, the threads I try to create allow anyone to create their own fanfic work. What are some rules for creating such threads???

I'm also wanting to write fics but don't wanna be banned for such things. Please tell me what to do so that my fics are presentable, and that I can read it without thinking, "Gee, this is stupid." Also, I like to plan contest threads and stuff. How do I go about that?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Finding a beta reader would probably help with the writing quality.

[Barb]

If you want to do a contest, at least PM a mod and get permission first. Be prepared to explain the contest rules and who'll do the judging.

[Dash456]

OK, thank you BG, and thank you Barb. I'm pretty sure a beta reader would suit me just fine, and Barb, if I send you a private message I'm pretty sure you won't be able to reply, so I'll change my settings and then PM you.

[~Locust~]

Can you bump your fic's thread if it's a new chapter?

[Astinus]

I believe that fanfiction is the one of the few sections that allow bumping. They do take into account the fact that it might take more than a month to write and polish a chapter. So you can bump your thread with a new chapter.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

That's right, it doesn't matter how old the fic is, if you have a new chapter or something new to say, by all means bump!

[Barb]

Bumping is encouraged in fanfiction, whether it's posting a new chapter or reviewing an old fic.

[Ash's Pika Pal]

What if it's Pokemon from my game, but it doesn't have to do with the rest of the game?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

That would probably count as an OC fic. Perfectly allowed.

[Ash's Pika Pal]

Thanks. Since, I don't see it directly I want to ask something else (it's better to be safe the sorry).

"OC" Stands for original crossover, is that correct?

[Luna Tiger]

"OC" Stands for original crossover, is that correct?

'Original character' actually, which is more common than the clearer acronyms: OFC or FMC (original fan character/fan-made character).

OC is not to be confused with OOC, which means out-of-character.

[Swampert_Drifblim_Chatot]

would a fic about original made-up pokemon in original made-up regions featuring old copyrighted pokemon and trainers be considered a crossover?
(also the main character is a character from my original series)

[Barb]

No, because you're still in the Pokémon universe, albeit while using your own Poké-creatures. What you're describing is basically a Pokémon fanfic with OCs (original characters/creatures).

[Lamia]

why not have NC-17, be LEMON? kind of wierd to have ONE tag be different then the others

[Barb]

Because a fic labeled NC-17 can have graphic violence but no sexuality.

[Lamia]

it seems to me that is something you suggested, but wasnt actualy added to the rules

[The Pig King]

By bumping, do you mean double posting to add a new chapter or keep your fic towards the top?

[Aki-chan]

I want to post a comedy fic called "The Evil Bidoof". It uses copyright pokemon (the main characters are a Riolu, Ralts, Aron, Skitty, Psyduck, and a Vulpix) but not related to the manga, anime, or games other than the fact that its pokemon. Plus it contains randomness, some foul language, and at one point Aron mistakes Skitty's hyperactivity for being "high" (as in on drugs). How would I classify it?

[The Pig King]

I'd call it OC, as it's still Pokemon, but not game, manga, or anime. I'd rate it PG-13 just to be safe.

[~Aurora~]

I"m sorry to pull up such an old thread, but I'd like a general idea... what exactly counts as "graphic" in terms of sex and violence?

If my story were to include rape (yet no real mechanics, if you know what I mean), prostitution (again, no mechanics), and then discussion of maybe torture and a few people murdered here and there, what would I rate that? It's not exactly PG, but then it's not exactly R... I'd probably rate it R just to be safe, but I'm curious.

Also, swearing? Are we allowed, and if so to what extent? I never have more than one or two really bad words (f*ck or sh*t), and never ever racial terms or anything.

Thanks!

[DreamOutLoud]

It depends on what rating system you're used too. Just go with your best judgement. R and NC-17 are both generally reserved for really explicit material from my experience (whether it's sexual or violence). I'd say a 14-A or T rating would probably be okay for your story, but double-check with one of the mods first!

BMGF is (generally) one of the more mature forums out there. I don't think that you need to worry that much about swearing, especially if it's in context. Graphic is probably dependent on the explicitness of the situation; just use your best judgement and I really doubt there would be any problems at all.

By the way, welcome to Bulbagarden! It's always great to see a fresh face, and especially a new author!

[~Aurora~]

Thanks, Matkin! It's nice to see fellow "mature" fans who have followed the show for 10 years or so, too! :) I'll try to check out your fanfiction next time I have the chance (read: I'm not obsessing over my own work).

[Blackjack Palazzo]

On the rest of the board, you can say what you want as long as it's not an insult. In here, your *characters* can say whatever the hell you think they should say.

And for those, I'd go R just to be on the safe side.

[pokeplayer984]

Okay, I fully understand that it basically doesn't matter too much what kind of story we post, as long as it is well-written, but I do have one question as I have run into this problem before.

I plan on posting an R-rated fic here, (Rated for graphic violence, gore, death, overly abusive language and nudity scenes.) but the main thing is that EVERY chapter I've written for it thus far (5 so far, but I'm aiming for about 15.) is quite long in terms of length. (Longest thus far is 30 pages. Seriously, I did NOT expect it to get THAT long when I made it.) So my only question is that if there is a length limit here and if so, how long?

Like I said, I have run into this problem before and I'd like to know if I have any limitaions here and so that I can get a basic idea of how many postings I'll need per chapter. This will be quite the big help to me. :)

[Barb]

I don't know if there is a character limit per post, but I'd imagine so. Thirty pages per chapter? That's insanely long. Time to start editing.

[pokeplayer984]

I don't know if there is a character limit per post, but I'd imagine so. Thirty pages per chapter? That's insanely long. Time to start editing.

Okay, first off let me clear up that 30 pages is only the LONGEST chapter for that story. The rest of the chapters are shorter. (In order of chapters, the length is, 16, 20, 30, 25, 18.) Each of them still contains enough dialouge to surpass 50,000 charcters. (As proven when I first put this on Serebiiforums.com.)

Well, looks like we'll all find out the hard way now. Thanks anyways. :)

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Damn, I don't think all of Obsession is 30 pages, and that's got SEVENTEEN chapters!

But yes, those are quite long chapters.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, I have posted the first chapter, and, including the intorduction dialouge, DISCLAIMER note, LEGAL RIGHT of OWNERSHIP by AUTHOR note, WARNING note and SPECIAL note, I estimate the post itself to be about 80,000 charcters long, and it STILL didn't reach the limit, if there is one.

It's true test will come when I post the 3rd chapter, which holds over 100,000 charcters.

Until then, looks like it doesn't have a limit. Just gives us writers another thing to advance in. :)

[monkeyjb1988]

I didn't want to make a new thread for this, but I was curious. I wanted to write a fanfic where Chimchar meets Charizard. Is it okay to use the characters' Japanese names if I post a list showing both the English and Japanese names at the beginning of each chapter?

[DreamOutLoud]

I'd imagine it would be fine. Many fics use Japanese names, including Satoshi, Haruka, Takeshi, Hikari, Bashou, and Buson. Most people are probably intelligent enough to know who Hikozaru and Lizardon are, or to use Bulbapedia if they still can't figure it out.

In any case, I doubt you'd have any problems with it. You shouldn't have to post it before each chapter, if you want to amke a list. Just once at the beginning of the story would be fine.

[monkeyjb1988]

Thank you very much. I wasn't sure and I didn't want to cause problems.

[ferrariguy1000©]

QUESTION! If there is a story already made, and you make that story (Not exactly the way they wrote)without knowing, is that ok? can they just be reminded?

[DreamOutLoud]

Sounds an awful lot like plagiarism to me. Having been involved in a plagiarism dispute several months ago, I can safely say that it is extremely hurtful to the original author. I don't recommend it at all.

[ferrariguy1000©]

No, im talking about if someone didn't know a person already made the story with the same title.

[☆欠番☆]

Titles can't be copyrighted. If no two stories could have the same title we'd have run out of titles a long time ago.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

QUESTION! If there is a story already made, and you make that story (Not exactly the way they wrote)without knowing, is that ok? can they just be reminded?

What exactly do you mean "and you make that story without knowing" and "can they just be reminded"? You're going to have to be more specific than that.

[Missingno. Master]

OK, not sure at all if this is the right place to ask this, but what happened to Bulbagarden Library? It doesn't seem to be working. Is it down or something? It's been like this for days, and I wanted to post the next chapter of my fic.

[iPoké]

They shut it down for "securiy reasons" when the server was moved

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showpost.php?p=574204&postcount=18

[Missingno. Master]

So it's shut down. What, but, that's temporary, right? It's not permanent?!

[Jnoo]

So it's shut down. What, but, that's temporary, right? It's not permanent?!

Archaic said that it's temporary. If they can't fix the security issues, they'll integrate it into VB.

More here (http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showpost.php?p=576118&postcount=21)

[Ascaris]

My fic is Pokemon, but in the future. It's not related to the game, manga or anime. It strictly NOT canon-related. Which category does it belong to?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Just say "original Pokemon". Although no one really follows that, so that's optional.

[ShinyAeon]

Hypothetical question: as it seems that not too many people comply with identifying their story [(ANIME), (SHIPPING), etc.] the way the FAQ says to, how bad would it be if I wanted to have the title first, and THEN the identifying tag? And if I wanted to write it "Anime" instead of "ANIME" ...? I don't have anything to post (yet) but I know I'll feel a lot more comfortable with the title first (to hopefully grab peoples' attention) and THEN the tag (to clarify).

Not trying to be difficult, but since the thread title is essentially the only way you have to "grab" people and reel them into your story, I feel as though putting (SHIPPING) or (CROSSOVER) first, in big, obnoxious capitals and everything, is like saying, "Hey, here's a reason to dismiss my story before you even read its name! And let me just SHOUT it at you so you'll be sure to be as put off as possible! Have a nice day!" I want to do the right thing, but I don't want to drive off potential readers (after all, one person driven off would probably cut my audience down by a third, lol)


Also is the Line Inspiration thread dead? Can it be revived, or should a new one be started? It was the first thing I read on this forum a few months ago, and I was kind of looking forward to participating....

[Blackjack Palazzo]

It doesn't really matter how you tag it. I'm working (in theory) on new rules anyway.

And I'm thinking of making a new LI thread, but I need to think if it should go here or in the Games forum...

[ShinyAeon]

Thanks!

(For what it's worth, I think the LI thread should stay in the writer's forum, as it was about sparking creativity...)

[ThatKidWithNo Originality]

Anything that isn't canon-related is AU (Alternate Universe).

[Blackjack Palazzo]

No, AU is when you take canon stuff and set it somewhere else or deviate the timeline. Otherwise it would be an original universe.

[Cloud354]

I have a question about mild violence, would mild violence be NC-17, pG, or PG-13 when writing a fanfic?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

That entirely depends. What do you mean by "mild"?

[Cloud354]

Like not entirely graphic only very little graphic violence, and what about fictonal talk radio?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

You're going to have to be a LOT more elaborative than that.

[VelvetEspeon]

I was thinking of writing a story that is about a made-up version of myself, in the real world, but there is also the Pokemon universe and Pokemon, most notably Mewtwo. What would that go under? Anime? Cross-over? Original? Sorry, I'm just confused. And I'm talking about the Anime Mewtwo. And alternate timelines are involved, but the Mewtwo is from the Anime's universe. Also, I consider universes and alternate timelines to be two different things. I also think of the Anime and games taking place in the same world.

When I am finished and post it, I think I'll just say crossover.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

That's pretty much optional by this point anyway. No one ever enforced it because it'd be too confusing, pretty much for the reasons you're stating.

[Cloud354]

Mild violence, i.e. magic obliterating an opponent, basically no blood, and what would fictional talk radio classify?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Dude, I can't know that from what you're describing. Certainly wouldn't be NC-17 though.

And there's a LOT of types of talk radio, so that doesn't narrow it down at all.

[Poke_Gal]

This is probably so stupid, but I'll ask anyway.

When writing any type of story, are we allowed to show a picture somehow?

Example #1: The little girl stopped in her tracks, and looked at the teen in front of her. (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u343/AnimalCityFol/POKEMON5THGENGIRLPIC2.png?t=1227821386)

Example #2:The woman had a particular sense of style. She had dull brown hair, all down and smooth as silk; her eyes matched. She wore a pink, plastic head band, accompanied by her matching undershirt. She also wore a knee- length green skirt, partially covered by her zippered denim jacket. On her feet resided green-and-pink-and-blue shoes, covering her blue socks. She was nicknamed Terra, given to match her personality, contrary to the look of innocence. (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u343/AnimalCityFol/POKEMON5THGENGIRLPIC1.png?t=1227821423)

(Example #2 is way better)

Both drawing crudely drawn by yours truly.

My question will most likely get a "no", but I am just to curious...

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Put them in the notes rather then embedded in the story itself.

[Jayc]

Are character bios allowed to be posted?

I am planning to post it first before the story if this is allowed. My fic is sequel, it's just that I've haven't done the prequel yet.

The reason I'm doing this is because all the action and story is in the sequel. The prequel is basically the backstory of all the main characters' past and explains their personality, how they got their Pokémon and any important events that happened before the sequel.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Hmm. I say sure, but put them behind a cut when you post the first chapter.

[Jayc]

What do you mean by "a cut"?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Spoiler tags.

[Jayc]

Okay, thanks.

[ShinjiLover]

Are previews of upcoming fics allowed? Like say if I wanted to post up a few excerpts to see if people would actually enjoy my story. If so, would I have to post the fanfic in that same thread, or a different one?

[Blackjack Palazzo]

I'd post it in your blog and link to the entry in your signature.