Gore Tag? · 9:10pm Jan 20th, 2015
I'm so, so happy with the way all you readers have embraced Besides the Will of Evil. It's really become very enjoyable for me to write. It will especially become enjoyable over the next few weeks and months, because in the aftermath of the Battle of Manehattan, the story starts to build tremendously. We're about to delve into some of the most amazing scenes and chapters in the entire fic. I hope you're ready.
However, there is one thing that keeps nagging at me. When I began this story, I of course put several tags on it, one of which was the 'Gore' tag. I did this as something of a precaution, since, in the beginning, I wasn't completely sure how violent the story was going to get. Reiziger, after all, is cruel and brutal, and takes delight in causing pain.
At the same time, however, I've always maintained that extreme blood and guts really can't work in the FiM setting, even if the story is of the high adventure, dark fantasy type, which BTWOE most certainly is. There's only so much gore you can describe cute, colorful ponies getting into before you utterly lose credibility. To that end, I like to think that, while there has been some blood and death in the story, it has not been excessive. Chrysalis burning alive is about as bad as it gets. I don't like to dwell on such details, preferring to keep the pace of combat or plot going. If the reader wants to imagine such things for themselves, they're welcome to do it in their own minds.
I have to ask you readers, then: is the 'Gore' tag really necessary for the story? For that matter, is it necessary for It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door? As with BTWOE, I put the tag on Dangerous Business as a precaution, but other than some blood shed during the komaga battle in Gildedale, there really isn't anything gruesome in it. So should I take the tag off both stories? I hate to think it's dissuading people from reading them, which it may be.
My take on the Gore tag has always been this. Saying that someone got ripped apart by shrapnel does not warrant the tag. What does in when you describe in detail the violence.
I think that IaDB,GOYD does not need a gore tag. As for BtWoE, I will admit to being a little behind on reading (I want to read it all in one go, same as I did Dangerous Business when I first discovered it on EQD). I did read the first few chapters. Loved them.
I personally would leave the tag. Yes, you do scare some readers off with said tag, but it reminds readers that the rest of your world isn't light and fluffy.
EDIT: leave the "dark" remove the "gore" because someone who isn't in the know might read the tags +description and they might be either put off because gore is usually applied to awful splatterfics and you don't need that type of reader trolling through the comment section. That's just my two cents and you can do what you want to your stories
I admit, I haven't read the last like two chapters of "Besides the Will of Evil".
But well, according to this site's FAQ, "... use 'gore' when there is explicit description of violence/grotesque imagery in your story..." And yes, what I have read so far in both "Dangerous Business" and this story hasn't been that explicit in my opinion. I don't "Dangerous Business" necessitates it, but if you do plan on getting a bit more graphic when it comes to violence in "Besides the Will of Evil", then it might be best to leave it on.
I tend to assume that a Gore tagged story is going to be pretty detailed about the gore in question. Based on the content so far I'd remove it from both stories.
I agree with Cowbrony93's edited response. Leave BTWOE Dark, but remove Gore, and IADB doesn't need gore at all. The best thing to do if you think it might get gory is to wait until it does before adding the tag and then putting up a small blog post saying that you did. That way, you don't scare anyone off, the Dark tag tells them that it's not all sunshine and rainbows (well, rainbows that aren't drained of all life energy), and you have the same amount of literary flexibility since you can always re-add the gore tag if it really becomes necessary.
Loved the story since IADB (it's in my personal top 5), and I can't wait for more of it to come out!
According to one definition I just read:
I don't think either story has quite gone into that territory, so you might be safe in removing the [gore] tag if you choose to do so.
Official stance: Unless it depicts explicit details of gore-y stuff—such as delving into what would a pony look like if it was half-crushed by a rock and then someone tried to drag them out by pulling them by the forelegs in all it's squishy glory, for example—you can do without the gore tag. I don't think you need them in your story, as long as it's rated teen, acceptable levels of violence are fine, and you should also bear in mind that the gore tag has a lot of detractors.
You should definitely take it off of Dangerous Business. As for Beyond the Will of Evil I'm conflicted. While it's true that you don't go into much detail Reiziger has done some pretty horrific things and will most likely do more. I'd say to leave it up to your own judgement.
Dangerous Business doesn't need it. This one? It's right on the cusp of it. I'd -personally- say keep it, because I do think it delves close enough into squicky territory in places, and it's kind of 'For Teen Rating, this is gore; for mature rating, it is not'
hi hi
This is something I worry about myself, and if there are clear and concise rules for tags, I have no idea where to find them. I've looked in the FAQs, but those are hardly helpful. Where is the line drawn? I honestly have no idea. My stance tends to be "better safe than sorry," but I guess both ways can end up being a mistake.
It looks like you already found your answer, but I just felt like adding my two bits.
With so little blood in either story, especially the first one, I think you can safely remove "gore" from the tags. You neither dwell on it nor puff it up. Some things die, and their blood is a frightful thing, but that's as far as I've seen you go.
It's generally understood that there will be some degree of violence and maybe even blood in a large-scale adventure fantasy. Your stories fall well within that range. "Gore" is reserved for when there's a lot of it, and things are described vividly (even when few words are used). Like "purple entrails slithered out" or "the smell of burst bowels wrinkled their noses." Nastier stuff than you write, for sure.