tags · 6:54pm Oct 10th, 2019
look at twilight sparkle hugging her first child
I've been thinking a lot about tags, because I'm going to be publishing a story soon, and tags are an important part of any story published on this website.
We can all agree that the basic function of a tag is to tell the reader what the story is about, yes? So tagging should be easy: just choose which tags fit your story the best.
But a story can be about a lot of things. Which elements of your story do you choose? Well, that's kind of where it gets tricky for me.
It's an adventure. I know that for sure. There are mysteries in it as well. Some wisps of horror. Thriller as well, while we're at it. Some slice of life bits...romance...drama...
Oh. You can only choose three. Right.
Well, that's tough. My story really is about all of those things, and I'm sure that I could choose three, grit my teeth, and stick with it, but are tags really meant to tell your reader what your story's about?
I mean, I know plenty of people who use certain tags as basis to stay away from a story, because they know that the presence of a certain tag will mean a certain likelihood of them not enjoying that story. People who stay away from porn, for instance.
Are tags, then, supposed to be more of a warning? Like, apart from the mature content warnings. Should I put up a romance tag so that someone who isn't interested in shipping stays away, even though they might like the adventure? Or a dark tag so that someone only interested in a lighthearted romp can steer clear?
Does none of this matter? Probably. But I talk to myself and fuss over a lot of easily solvable problems, so this is pretty on par for the course with me.
now look at twilight sparkle being swarmed by her other children
You just had to use a pun for occelus didn’t you XD
I, too, struggle with this problem. Is it a Slice of Life fic if it includes a few scenes of characters relaxing, living their day-to-day life, even if it's sandwiched by adventure? Should I include the OC tag if there's an original character *anywhere* in the story? What if they're an important antagonist? Only if they're a protagonist?
I feel like a lot of well-developed stories will have more than 3 elements to them, like you're saying.
I like the idea of hugging but my a bit sinful and lewd mind wouldn't tell me otherwise.
Any recommendations m8?
Two words. TOO CUTE.