Question about the future of Consequences of Unoriginality · 7:36pm Dec 19th, 2012
While I'd originally intended for the story to include clop, the further I get through its writing and its planning, the less the story feels like a Mature one, and more like a Teen. While it could, in theory, fall under either, the fact that it seems like the only things that would definitively make it Mature would be the originally intended clop scenes... it makes me wonder if I should make a separate story for those and downgrade the story itself to Teen (without the sex tag obviously) unless I come across a situation in which the story otherwise would be Mature.
I am considering this because the story currently doesn't feel like it deserves the Mature tag, and while there will be fights later on in the series that may push it upwards into Mature once again, those depend on how they write out. If I were to remove the Sex and Mature tags from the story, it would be open to a wider audience, and if someone wished to see the clop-tastic scenes, they would only have to follow a link to the corresponding chapter of the Clop story.
So I ask you, my readers of the story, what do you think?
Should I:
A): Leave CoU as is and write it out with sex-scenes included?
B): Take out my intended sex scenes and set them aside for a separate holding story, while downgrading CoU to a Teen?
C): Some other, third thing which I haven't covered?
If well written, sex can be an incredible boon to a story. It can also ruin a story if it is poorly done, and even if it's well done but simply doesn't fit.
My advice is to not make this decision yet. Write what feels natural and discuss the result with your pre readers, that's what we are there for!
i agree with aburi
my advice is not to downgrade it, while you dont have any clop scenes currently, as you said you may eventually and you also have several scenes that touch upon mature issues such as the close encounter between the SI and twiligt that was interupted by pinkie. it's better to lean on the side of caution and keep the mature tag instead of finding your story removed
It's very hard to comment without having seen where the story goes, and your ability to write such things. If it suits the story and is well written then as Aburi says it can add a lot. If it doesn't feel natural then it can take a lot away.
Some authors prefer to remove such scenes and include them as optional extras in their own 'story' but I've never agreed with this approach, because it suggests that it doesn't belong there in the first place. If it's well-written and flows properly then removing it would be removing a key piece of the puzzle.
So what I'd personally do:
A) Keep them in the story if you can pull them off well and stay true to your vision, rather than self-censoring to try and gain more views (note that Xenophilia is one of the most popular stories on the site despite its various tags).
B) If they don't fit the story and/or you can't write them to a good enough standard, drop them and downgrade the rating.
I'd say keep it as mature. While Teen would open it up to a wider audience, it would also open the gates for less mature people as well. You know the ones.
On a different note, congrats on getting a TV Tropes page!
628484>>628502>>628598
And this is why you ask before doing these things
628559
If by SI you mean Self-Insert then... ummm... Emeris isn't a self-insert, he's similar to other characters I've made for completely different stories, and far enough back down the line there's a character based off of me, but Emeris himself is his own, distinct character built for this story. So I don't think he qualifies as a Self-Insert.
That said, thank you for the comment, that's a good point
628624
Eh, what will less mature people do? Make mean comments? I have a thick skin, and regardless, I doubt all of the people that view "Mature" fics are themselves mature
That said, the story doesn't have it's own page yet, just a recommendation. I'm gunning for the page next
I think you should write the clops in a separate story with link, but keep the story mature.
628639
Not like that, I mean do things like bugging the Mods over some detail or something and force it up to Mature again. Seen it happen before.
Having a Rec on TV Tropes is still better than nothing, some really good stories I've read don't even have that yet.
I suspect the Twisted Reflections will get one at some point as well.
>it makes me wonder if I should make a separate story for those
I think the rules say to not do that, although I am too lazy to check
I know that this comment is super late considering the blog's post date, but I still want to write this comment.
The problem with seperating the main story from any sex scenes is that it detracts from the storyline for one audience or the other.
If you try to keep all of the main plot-driven aspects of the story in the main publication, the mature one will become simply empty sex scenes built off of a scene from the original storyline, without any new material in them at all.
If you do include important plot points in the clop fic, than you are detracting from the experience of those who don't want to read the clop, by making it impossible for them to read those same points.
All in all, separation would be terrible... Either choose to put in clop, or don't, but not both. I'm leaning toward choice A, though.