A Handy Resource Guide
Narrative Guide
First Person Narrative: This is when the reader experiences the entire story through the eyes of a the narrator who calls himself (or herself) “I” or “me.” Nothing is revealed that the narrator doesn’t know/hear/experience, and the reader is intimately connected with the narrator’s thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. The narrator, however, does not have to be the protagonist (think of The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, or Sherlock Holmes), but can be an outsider looking in. As a writer on either team, you may write First Person Narrative from anyone’s point-of-view as long as the focus is on your Team Character. Perhaps James is telling the story of Sirius’ discovery of his sexuality and eventual love for Remus. That would be fine for Team Sirius.
Second Person Narrative: This is the rarest and perhaps the most difficult narrative form to accomplish. In it, “you” are the narrator, and the reader experiences everything as if she/he were part of the action. Tim Robbins Half-Asleep in Frog Pajamas and Stewart O’Nan’s A Prayer for the Dying are examples of this narrative form, as are those Choose Your Own Adventure books many kids were obsessed with in elementary school. In the Games, you are free to write in Second Person Narrative if you dare, but, again, the emphasis needs to be on your Team Character.
There are essentially two kinds of Third Person Narrative: Limited and Omniscient.
Third Person Limited Narrative: In Third Person Limited, the reader sees only what the main character sees and knows only what he/she knows. For the most part (or up until the opening chapter of Goblet of Fire in which we see Frank Bryce die at the “hands” of Voldemort), the Harry Potter series was written in Third Person Limited. We only know what Harry knows and see what Harry sees.
Here are two examples of Third Person Limited in the same story written from Sirius’ point of view and Remus’ point of view. Please note, when writing Third Person Limited, you are not “limited” (ha ha) to writing from your Team Character’s point of view. It’s probably the easiest option, but you may get creative, too. If you’re Team Remus and you write an entire story in which Sirius narrates every little thing he sees Remus do, that could totally work. Just be creative.
Third Person Omniscient Narrative: This is one of the most common forms of POV in literature. It’s a story told from the point of view of a storyteller who plays no part in the story but knows all the facts, including all the characters' thoughts, feelings, and actions. The reader is able to know what is going on in multiple places and with multiple characters at the same time. In the Games you may choose to write in Third Person Omniscient, but (at the risk of being redundantly repetitive), you must somehow focus on your Team Character.
Ratings Guide:
All fics and art must be rated. This rating need not be announced when you choose your prompt/genre, but must be included in the description of the work when you post. Ratings in the community will go from “G” (or “all ages") to "NC-17” or (“18+".) Obviously, this community contains fictional works involving same-sex relationships between fictional characters, but please keep in mind that these posts will be read by people of varying ages and sensibilities.
It is also essential that we remain within LJ guidelines. Adult rated art/fan fiction must be F-LOCKED and flagged as “Adult Content”. You will need to join the community as well as watch it in order to see it. Even team community NC-17 posts (should there be any) must also be flagged “Adult Content.”
These are just simple guidelines and we have made attempts to combine American and UK-type guidelines. Nothing is set is stone, but please keep in mind that the idea behind this is to be safe and follow LJ standards. Therefore, when in doubt, please choose the higher category. If you have any questions, please ask one of your friendly, helpful Mods!
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G (All ages) - This is the most tame category. Think of it as something that you might let a ten-year-old see. Fics from childhood/early years (without abuse) might fall into this category, and art in which (fully clothed) characters are not touching in any sexual manner would also be “G”.
PG (acceptable for 11 and up) - This can be slightly racier or more violent than G. Think of it as kissing (probably no tongue), pulling a simple prank against another person, mild angst, possibly a slightly scary situation, etc. All characters would be fully clothed here, and nobody would die. Visually, there may be very little difference between “PG” and “G.”
PG-13 (acceptable for 13 and up) - This is one notch up from PG and can include kissing, making out (without genital touching), implied sex, implied abuse, non-graphic violence (dueling without Unforgivable curses, tons of blood/pain, etc.), drinking, mild swearing, character death due to natural causes or “off screen” character death, and general angst, etc. This category can also include partial nudity (chests, back, nothing below the waist, etc.)
R (acceptable for 18 and up) - As far as fics, this category includes sexual acts (oral sex, frottage, masturbation, descriptions of nudity, etc), heavy drinking, drug use, excessive language, violence (blood, pain, Unforgivable Curses, etc.), thoughts of suicide, self-harm, murder, character death due to violent causes, etc. Visually, this would include implied sex (hands under clothing), butt shots, etc.
Note: it has been suggested that any sexual activity involving characters under the age of consent, should fall into this category at the very least.
NC-17 (hardcore) - Think graphic here! This includes graphic sexual acts (anal penetration, bondage, S&M, etc.), graphic violence (blood, gore, etc.) This would also be the category for anything that clearly shows/describes genitals. Just to be safe, any visual representation of acts from the “R” category should probably be NC-17.
Archive Of Our Own Tags:
If you are unfamiliar with Ao3, the following will give you an idea about the tags we will be using for all art and fic, as well as tags you may wish to add.
1* The Rating on Ao3 include:
- Not Rated
- General Audiences
-Teen and Up Audiences
- Mature
-Explicit
For the purposes of Livejournal, we prefer the use of the Ratings Guide (above), and Mods can choose an equivalent rating here, or you may choose.
2* For Archive Warnings, the mods have chosen not to use these.
3* All works will be marked Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling. If your work involves a crossover (or crossovers) please include the tags for these.
4* All works will be marked M/M. If your work involves pairings other than the aforementioned (such as F/M or F/F for example) please include them.
5* All works will be marked Sirius Black/Remus Lupin. If your work involves any other pairings/relationships, please include them. Examples include James/Lily, Arthur/Molly, Peter/Voldemort, etc.
6* All works will include Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. If you wish other characters in your work to be listed, please include them here.
7* The Additional Tags space can be used for genres and is optional. If you wish to have things such as AU, Angst, Fluff, etc tagged please list them.
HP Resources
• The Harry Potter Lexicon - a good resource for all things Harry Potter.
• Here is a useful time line - includes the Marauder years.
• HP Wiki for Sirius Black
• HP Wiki for Remus Lupin
Writing Resources
Strunk & White's The Elements of Style - Online - a classic writer's reference book
Grammar Girl - a blog about grammar. To quote the blog itself, it's "Your friendly guide to the world of grammar, punctuation, usage, and fun developments in the English language." Great for when you're trying to figure out things like whether to use a semi-colon, or not.