The Write Practice Content Policy

The Write Practice is a diverse community of authors. The goal of The Write Practice's leadership is to encourage nearly limitless creative freedom; however, since our membership includes minors, we must impose a series of reasonable restrictions in order to not require a person to be over 18 in order to join our community.

By making small sacrifices, we can all make it safe for younger people to write, read, and critique here.

Following the Law

We realize that other cultures and countries might consider different things to be suitable for minors, but since this is a US-based company, we have to abide by US laws. The specific law we’re worried about is this:

Federal law U.S.C. § 1470- prohibits “Transfer of obscene material to minors.” Of course, the definition of “obscene material” is vague:
The standard of what is harmful to minors may differ from the standard applied to adults. Harmful materials for minors include any communication consisting of nudity, sex or excretion that (i) appeals to the prurient interest of minors, (ii) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable material for minors, (iii) and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

The official policy of The Write Practice is that no post, critique, or Cafe comment shall contain pornographic material, hate speech (other than historic depictions), and excessive depictions of violent acts.

As with all art, this is somewhat vague, and requires individual discretion. However, TWP's team of Moderator/Mentors will police this policy for the good of the community.

As a guiding principle, keep these two ideas in mind:

1. Don't post inappropriate content; this way we can keep the community in good legal standing
2. Post a Content Advisory for appropriate mature content in order to keep the community in good emotional standing

Child Safety

We have a zero tolerance policy towards content that exploits children.

• Child sexual abuse imagery: We will terminate the accounts of any user we find publishing or distributing child sexual abuse imagery. We will also report that user to law enforcement.
• Pedophilia: We do not allow content that encourages or promotes sexual attraction towards children. 

Referencing sexual abuse in your story or memoir does not fall under this policy. If your story must reference sexual abuse, make it as brief as possible, do not go into graphic detail, and include a content warning at the top of the piece. 

Sexual Content

We fully support every author's right to write the material he or she chooses. However, due to our no-age limit policy for users, we cannot allow graphic sexual content to be distributed on any of our platforms. We encourage writers who wish to publish in these genres to share their work privately by soliciting beta readers in The Cafe. 

• Definition: "Sexual Content" is defined as any writing that describes physical intimacy with reproductive and/or sexual organs; this includes thoughts and actions by narrators, characters, and any other element in a post, and does not require nudity to qualify as graphic sexual content. Acts that do not qualify as sexual content include hand-holding, hugging, kissing, and simple acts of affection like touching a character's arm or leg.
• Content Policy: If your scene contains sexual content, it must be brief and worded in such as way as to avoid numerous references to specific body parts and/or using pervasive sexual language.
• Graphic Sexual Content: Sexual situations in mainstream genres tend to focus on the characters' emotions and inner goals; sexual situations in erotica/pornography focus on the physical sensations and the explicit details of the act, and are much more graphic. Know which type of scene you are writing, and whether it belongs on The Write Practice or not.
• Sexual Assault (Rape): If your story must describe or show a scene of sexual assault, it must be done in such a way that follows the guidelines above. It should be as brief as possible and must be accompanied by a content warning that specifically advises the reader about the description of sexual assault.
• Requirement: All posts with sexual content of any kind must include a content warning, otherwise they may be removed by Admin.

Sample Content Warnings: 

• Content Advisory: Sexual Content (Sex Scene with Brief Nudity)
• Content Advisory: Sexual Content (Description of an Assault)

Graphic Violence

Great stories often include scenes of violence, include horrifying elements like blood and gore. Authors should be aware of the following guidelines about what kind of graphic violence is permitted with a warning, and what kind is not permitted whatsoever.

• Definition: "Graphic Violence" is defined as any scene that describes a severe bodily injury in which there is gratuitous blood and/or sufficient damage to the body that bones are broken or body parts are removed. This includes sports injuries, car accidents, animal attacks, etc.
• Content Policy: If your scene includes graphic violence, it must be brief and worded in such a way as to avoid numerous descriptions of excessive blood, bodily fluids, and grotesque disfiguring injuries.
• Torture: If your scene must include graphic violence in the form of torture, it must be brief and worded in such a way as to avoid numerous descriptions of blood, bodily fluids, and grotesque disfiguring injuries. (Note: Sometimes a character will be captured and endure a chapter of torture or interrogation; this is fine, so long as restraint is used and a content warning is posted that specifically labels torture as an element.)
• Requirement: All posts with graphic violence of any kind must include a content warning, otherwise they may be removed by Admin.

Sample Content Warnings: 

• Content Advisory: Graphic Violence (Descriptions of Torture)
• Content Advisory: Graphic Violence (Blood and Bodily Injuries in a car crash)

Graphic Language

Writers are free to use practically any type of language for their stories and posts on The Write Practice. However, there are several types of language that must be accompanied by a content policy, and a few that are not permissible whatsoever.

• Definition: Graphic Language is defined as any words or phrases that are considered cursing, swearing, or ethnic slurs in a generally known context. These include well-known curse words (damn, shit, etc), the 'F-word,' crass language that is insulting in most contexts (p-ssy, f-ggot), and words that are designed to stereotype and insult various ethnicities. Whether the author is offended does not change the status of the language, and whether it is graphic and must be accompanied by a content warning.
• Content Policy: If your scene includes graphic language, it cannot include ethnic slurs that are not contextualized in a historical basis. 
• Historical Hate Speech: If your scene must include ethnic slurs based in history (American slavery, Nazi Germany, etc), it must be brief and worded and such as way that the reader knows for certain that the ethnic slurs are the opinion of the character, not the author.
• Requirement: If your post includes common curse words not including the 'F-word,' and the number of curse words is fewer than 10, you do not need to post a content warning. If your post includes any uses of the 'F-word,' you must include a content warning. If your post includes more than 10 curse words, any uses of crass language, and/or any uses of historically accurate ethnic slurs, it must include a content warning.

Sample Content Warnings: 

• Content Advisory: Graphic Language (Historical Hate Speech)
• Content Advisory: Graphic Language (Cursing and Crass Language)
  

Abuse and Self Harm

Many of our members have a history with two very delicate subjects: Abuse and Self-Harm. That's why we want to make sure readers are informed before they read a story with this content, as encountering these scenes could be psychologically damaging to others. Remember: This isn't about being politically correct or shielding people from being challenged. This is about loving our neighbor and giving him/her the benefit of the doubt. A brief content advisory is a small favor to ask for the good of our members.

• "Abuse" Definition: "Abuse" is defined as any scene or description of physical or sexual harm by an authority figure, and/or neglect. This includes withholding basic resources like food, clothing, or shelter by an authority figure.
• "Self Harm" Definition: "Self Harm" is defined as any scene or description of a character (including the narrator) harming him or herself by inflicting physical wounds on the body (including the ingestion of pills or toxins), by refusing to eat food, by repetitively regurgitating food (bulimia), or by attempting suicide.
• Content Policy and Requirement: If your scene includes Abuse or Self-Harm, it must be accompanied by a specific content advisory. Make sure your content advisory includes specific references to the type of Abuse or Self Harm depicted in the post; this allows the reader to make an informed choice about reading, or abstaining from your post.

Sample Content Warnings: 

• • Content Advisory: Depiction of Abuse (beating a child)
  • Content Advisory: Self-Harm (cutting and excessive drinking)

Drug Use

While there are varying opinions on the use of drugs and alcohol, these behaviors generally do not warrant a content advisory. The only major exception is the use of "hard" drugs, which must include an appropriate warning.

• Definition: "Drug Use" is defined as any scene or description of the use of "hard" drugs, including cocaine, crack, heroine, methamphetamine, acid, or other broadly illegal drugs. Due to its legality in many places, marijuana does not fall under this definition, though you may provide an advisory for it if you wish.
• Content Policy and Requirement: If your scene includes Drug Use, it must be accompanied by a specific content advisory.

Sample Content Warnings: 

• • Content Advisory: Drug Use (cocaine)
    

What to Do With Your Inappropriate Content

Even if you want to write content that doesn't fall within our guidelines here at The Write Practice, we still want you to be able to get the feedback you need.

That's why we urge you to solicit private beta readers in The Cafe. By informing readers up front about the nature of your story, they are opting in to the content you've created. This also keeps the material off our platforms and away from the eyes of underage users who shouldn't be reading and critiquing it.

Keep TWP Appropriate and Advised

We are all eager to explore creative frontiers. That will often have us exploring topics that aren't appropriate or acceptable to everyone, and that's perfectly fine.

The important thing is to know if your most daring creative explorations are a good fit for this community. Many of them are, so long as you post a helpful advisory to keep your neighbors in the know. If you ever have a question about the appropriateness of a piece of content, just reach out to David Safford ([e-mail]) to get a clear answer.

Thank you for your creativity and kindness to others as we enjoy this journey together!

Happy writing, and happy advising!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us. 

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