RTFRP (Read The Rules Please)

[Astinus]

Fanfiction and Writing Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines
Your friendly guide to posting in PFF&P

Welcome to Fanfiction and Writing, otherwise known as the section without another name. So you want to post and read fanfics? That's awesome! But first, it helps to have a working knowledge of what is allowed in this section. That's what this handy topic is for.

For now, use the Prefix selection when making a new thread, so that readers can know if your thread is a Pokémon story or an original story.

The PokéCommunity Community Rules are in effect here. The rules that are followed without exception are as the ones listed below:

General Community Rules Followed in F&W

SPAM is not allowed.
Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages are posts with little relevance to a thread. Members are not allowed to create posts that are devoid of content or invaluable text.

Posts must have at least 25 characters and 4 words.
All posts are required to have 4 words. The community has a physical 25-character limit to each post. No exceptions are given to this rule, and no one is allowed to override the limit (no "*stupid character limit*", filler text or anything like that), except for in forums which have a description saying you can. The Diamond and Pearl Battling and Trade forums, for example, permit it.

Everybody is to respect other people on the board.
Do not flame, bash or insult other people. If someone acts uncivil, or harasses/intimidates you, you are not given the excuse to act the same in retaliation. Language in the forum must not be offensive to others - words such as "gay" when used in a derogatory manner must not be used. Do not press upon other members' religious beliefs.

F&W rules

All stories must be readable.
Stories are best shared in a readable manner. This means that proper English grammar rules should be followed as best as possible. When you finish writing your chapter, take a day to let it rest before reading it over for typos and other mistakes. If you believe that you are not good at catching your own mistake, ask for a beta reader in the Beta Place.

Your first post of your thread must contain a part of your story.
Do not use your first post for author notes only. Include either the first chapter or your prologue in your first post.

Do not post unfinished work.
If your chapter is not finished, then there is no need to post it. Use a word processing program to type your fic in so you can have all the time to work on it. An unfinished chapter/story will result in a closed thread.

Rate your story properly, with proper warnings.
Rating your story protects your readers. Your readers rely on warnings in your story to make sure that they do not read anything they would not want to read. Two rating systems can apply here. Either the film ratings, or the literature ratings.

Only the author may bump their thread when posting a new chapter.
If you are not the author, you may not bump the thread in question. For the author, it might take longer than a month to write a chapter. They are allowed to bump threads to only post their new chapter. Any other reason to bump their thread or anyone else bumping the thread will result in the thread being closed.

Plagiarizing is not allowed.
Do not steal another person's work and claim it as your own. If you are found to have done this, then a permanent four-point infraction is given to you.

Only well-written script fics are allowed.
Scripts are used sometimes by inexperienced writers because they see it as an easier way of writing. Unless your script fic is more than just dialogue, it will be closed. You may use script for your dialogue, but also include narration and description.

All reviews must be constructive.
When reviewing another person's stories, it must be constructive. When you read someone's story, you should say something specific that you liked about it if there is something that you like. If you didn't like something about the story, mention it specifically. Reviews that are not constructive will be deleted, and warnings/infractions will be handed out.

Post your story on the forum.
When you wish to post your work on PC, it is better to post your chapters here than to link to another site. Reasons for this include the previous rule of "Your first post must contain part of your story", and the fact that some reviewers prefer reviewing stories on the forum. Also, this could technically count as advertising another site for unnecessary reasons.

Other Important Information

Various Guides to Writing and Reviewing
Writing Resources
The Beta Place

Casual Threads
Fanfiction Announcement Thread

Feel free to PM/VM the current moderator with any questions, concerns, or comments. These rules are subject to change at any time to meet the needs of the section and its members. All updates will be announced in the title of the thread.

Current moderators:
Astinus [PM]

[Lilly2]

I may have missed it while reading through this, but is it okay to double-post when posting new chapters/added ideas, or is that not allowed?

[Eliminator Jr.]

Originally Posted by Lilly2

I may have missed it while reading through this, but is it okay to double-post when posting new chapters/added ideas, or is that not allowed?

The author is exempt from the double-posting rule, so in other words yes you can double-post. As long as you're the author it's cool (providing you're not spamming, like the double-post has to be a new chapter or a response to someone's reply or something).

[bobandbill]

Already took care of it, but you can delete it via the edit button. (You may have to go to the 'advanced' mode, doubt it but maybe it is required to access the delete message part of the editing).

[dragonite149]

Are you allowed to double post to finish a chapter? For example, Author E posts half a chapter because he wants it rated before he continues with it. However, no-one reads Author E's half-chapter. Is Author E allowed to double post to continue the chapter?

[Astinus]

The only time an author is allowed to double-post to finish a chapter is if the chapter goes over the character limit. Otherwise, it falls under the "Don't post unfinished work" rule. You'll be better off posting the complete chapter, rather than the first half.

[Astinus]

I know this is quite the dumb question, but does it have to be a certain length or longer to be considered a story/chapter?

Actually, you can post in threads that are over a month old if they're stickied. You won't get in trouble.

To answer your question, the only requirement for any sort of "length" to your story or chapter is just that it's complete. If you have chapters or stories on the short side, you can still post them. If they're finished. So if you told all that you needed to tell in that story or chapter, then you can post them.

-

Just as an explanation from the mod team about swearing:

If you have swearing in your story, you have two options:

1.) Keep everything uncensored, but have a warning beforehand that your story contains swearing.

2.) Censor part of the word, because a line of asterisks looks rather tacky

If you swear in your story, you won't get in trouble.

[Otherworld9)]

Well, I got another question then. I know that if someone posts twice, then the whole thread is closed. If it's closed, do you make a new thread for the story? Or is there another alternative?

[bobandbill]

That probably depends on the nature of the close - and we don't often close if someone double posts... If someone double posts to bump their thread without a chapter for instance than the posts would be deleted instead (and possible verbal warning/warning/infraction with it). Same if someone besides the author dos it - we might merge their posts or delete one - it really depends.

If your thread is closed though you can either PM a mod to open it up if you have a full chapter to post, or make a new thread going by situation.

[mew_nani]

I have a question.
I have a fanfic. However, it's been WAY over a month since I posted in it. It's not closed, so am I allowed to post the next chapter?

[Astinus]

To answer your question:

Only the author may bump their thread when posting a new chapter.
If you are not the author, you may not bump the thread in question. For the author, it might take longer than a month to write a chapter. They are allowed to bump threads to only post their new chapter. Any other reason to bump their thread or anyone else bumping the thread will result in the thread being closed.

Yes you may.

[mew_nani]

Alright then. Thank you very much.

[Baby Naruto]

I have a question, where would be the best place for me to post a story request?

(a.k.a. I want someone on here to write a story for me)

[JX Valentine]

Originally Posted by Baby Naruto

I have a question, where would be the best place for me to post a story request?

(a.k.a. I want someone on here to write a story for me)

We used to have a plot bunny adoption thread in Writer's Lounge, but unfortunately, this died. Your best bet is just to put up a thread in Writer's Lounge and make it clear that you want us to write it/why you can't write it yourself/why this isn't something that would go in the Plot Bunny Thread.

[Baby Naruto]

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

We used to have a plot bunny adoption thread in Writer's Lounge, but unfortunately, this died. Your best bet is just to put up a thread in Writer's Lounge and make it clear that you want us to write it/why you can't write it yourself/why this isn't something that would go in the Plot Bunny Thread.

So I should be posting my request thread in the Writer's lounge, correct?

[JX Valentine]

Originally Posted by Baby Naruto

So I should be posting my request thread in the Writer's lounge, correct?

In short, yes. The main forum is for fics only, the archive is for completed stories, and poetry is self-explanatory. So, yeah, it's pretty much the only place where it'd be appropriate.

How appropriate is a completely different matter, however, but as I've said, so long as you make it clear that it's not a plot bunny you're writing yourself and that you can't write it yourself for whatever reason, I'm sure no one would really argue about it. I mention the latter note because some people will simply ask you why you can't write the story yourself, especially if you get particularly detailed with your request prompt. So, it's just something you'll probably want to answer in the thread as you're requesting.

[Baby Naruto]

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

In short, yes. The main forum is for fics only, the archive is for completed stories, and poetry is self-explanatory. So, yeah, it's pretty much the only place where it'd be appropriate.

Thanks, i just posted the thread.

[JX Valentine]

Originally Posted by Baby Naruto

Thanks, i just posted the thread.

I'm not sure if you got to see the edit I made to that other post, but you'll probably want to make a note as to why you can't write the fic yourself in the post because that's probably going to be the first thing people will ask you.

Otherwise, you're welcome.

[Baby Naruto]

I noticed the edit, thanks.

[Markus1992]

Hello.

Before I start writing the story, I was curious as to whether death is considered higher than the literature rating of M??? I wouldn't consider the death to be anything too severe, possibly appropriate for teenagers. Thanks you.

[Astinus]

Death in general isn't considered a reason to have a high rating. For instance, there's death in G-rated Disney movies. (One of my favorite Disney movies has two deaths in it and it's rated G.) The difference is how the death happens. Like with the Disney movies, the death happens off-screen. No one really sees how it happens. The viewers just know it happens in some way. If the death is completely described, with blood flying everywhere and pure violence, then it would get a higher rating.

Besides, if you see the death as appropriate for teenagers, then that doesn't reach the M rating.

[NTA]

Do the stories have to be Pokemon related? I had a sample of a story that I had in mind but isn't in any way related to Pokemon lol...

If so then what other thread should I post it in?

[Mizan de la Plume Kuro]

Originally Posted by NTA

Do the stories have to be Pokemon related? I had a sample of a story that I had in mind but isn't in any way related to Pokemon lol...

No, stories don't neccesarily have to be Pokemon related. When posting a thread, you can add on the [Other] prefix to your thread title to tell people it's not a Pokemon story.

However, seeing as it's just a sample, you may be better off posting it in the Writer's Lounge for feedback, as opposed to posting it as a complete story.

[Bay Alexison]

Originally Posted by NTA

Do the stories have to be Pokemon related? I had a sample of a story that I had in mind but isn't in any way related to Pokemon lol...

If so then what other thread should I post it in?

Stories don't have to be Pokemon related and you can still post the story in this section. When you make a new thread, there's going to be a prefix section and there are two choices: "Other" and "Pokemon". You would choose "Other" if the story is a fanfic of another fandom besides Pokemon or original. Hope this helps.

EDIT: Mizan, you beat me to answering his question! XD;

[NTA]

Thanks for the suggestion
I'm on it :D