Genres:

Adventure/action: 
These stories are focused on action and adventure...go figure.  :grin:  Quests, danger, fights, excitement, all that kind of thing. 

Horror/paranormal/creepy:
Ghost stories, horror stories, stories about UFOs...that kind of thing goes here.

Children:
Is this a story geared towards small children?

Humor/parody: 
These are stories that are funny, wacky, or a parody on the fandoms.  (All parodies, no matter what other genre they might fit, will go under this category.)

Drama/real life:
Drama stories are serious stories usually focusing on real life and human struggles and triumphs.

Angst:
Angst stories focus on sorrows, tragedies, suffering, and how the characters must deal with these.  Sometimes a fine line between angst and drama.

Romance:
Focus on romantic relationships.  (Any kinds of pairings...or more...are allowed.  Same-sex and other pairings are subject to the same rules for ratings as opposite-sex pairings.)

Mystery/whodunit: 
This is for stories that have a mystery to solve, whether a missing paper at school, or the murder of the Prime Minister.

Suspense/thriller:
These stories work mostly on suspense, keeping the reader at the edge of their seat.  Mad stalkers, spy-like stories, or insane murderers are examples of this category.

Poetry/abstract:
All things not in a story format, including poems, Stream of Consciousness, even songs if you make them up.  (Not to be confused with songfics)

Songfic:
Songfics are based off of an already-existing song.  Songifcs must give due credit and disclaimer for the song.

Crossover:
All crossovers belong in this category - use the secondary rating to specify what kind of crossover it is.  (Adventure, comedy, etc.) 

Other:
If your story fits none of these, describe what the genre would be called.

Ratings:

G
No cuss words, only mild violence, and easy on adult-like themes like romance. 

PG
Romance allowed, no sexual themes, only mild innuendoes.  Violence okay, nothing graphic.  Some swearing allowed.  ("Shit" and worse don't belong here.  "Ass" okay.  "Asshole" is not.)  Death allowed, but tastefully handled.

PG-13
No very strong cuss words or racial slurs.  Violence and death allowed, details allowed, but no out and out gore.  Sexual innuendoes and situations handled with care, no graphic descriptions of sex.  (Use your judgment.)

R
All cussing allowed, as are death and graphic violence.  Sex and other such things allowed, but not too graphic with the sex.  Details allowed, porn-worthy descriptions are not.

NC-17
There is a very fine (sometimes non-exsistant) line between R, NC-17, and X rated stories.  Any story that could be labeled as being above "R" will be taken on a case-by-case basis.  Violence or death scenes that are particularly gory or graphic may be considered NC-17, and explicit sex scenes would be NC-17 or X.  Again these will be allowed or not on a case-by-case basis.  Reason for any rejections will be given, and changes in the story may be made for resubmission.  Out-and-out porn (no plot, lots of sex, etc.) will not be allowed.

Here is a good Wikipedia article about the film-rating system that this is based on: Ratings

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