PG-13 stories? Yes, Please!

Posted by Susan in Fic Recs | 4 comments

PG-13? Yes, Please!

by SusanAshlea

Ah, the lovely ratings system. Without it, our children might see too much gore, hear too much bad language, or see too much about sex before they are ready. They might also be subjected to lemony fan fiction stories that are geared only towards readers old enough to buy Hustler. But what about those of us who are adults, but still prefer to read less graphic stories? This column is for you: for the teens and young at heart who are looking for some well-written pieces that carry a PG-13 rating or below.

This will be the first in a series of columns in which I go looking for some of the best in PG-13. Now, I’m not bashing the NC-17 writers! I enjoy a little lemon in my tea from time to time, and I’ve even written a lemony outtake to one of my stories (with great help from my beta). However, I am a PG-13 writer, with the exception of one which was rated R (for moderate language and a couple of scenes that contained violence). It is there in the PG-13 world that I have found my writing niche and where I’m truly the most comfortable.

In that spirit, I have decided to feature my favorites in teen-safe fan fiction, starting with this week’s Spotlight: Guarding Edward, by Katmom.

In Guarding Edward, Bella is a 110 year old vampire who is the president of Elite Guardians, a bodyguard business that she runs with the help of her siblings, Emmett and Rosalie. They live in Seattle and cater to the rich and famous. Edward Masen is a world famous concert pianist who has fallen prey to a deranged stalker. Can Bella and Elite Guardians help? Here is a little teaser to whet your appetite:

A gust of air was blown over them from the corridor and back through the auditorium to where I still sat in the back row.

With a gasp, I flew to my feet just as the door quietly closed.

Before I knew what was happening, my mouth flooded with venom. A scent, like nothing I had ever smelled, flowed over and through me. My eyes narrowed, and I found myself in a hunting crouch. The scent… it was everything; it was the center of my universe.

It called to me like nothing ever had before.

Spicy musk…a hint of vanilla…warm linen in the sunshine. Heaven…

With no sense as to how I got there, I was at the door. It took all of my strength to not rip it open and follow those people out. Which one of them was the source of it?

Turning from the closed door with difficulty, I followed the scent back to the stage, which was now emptied of musicians. I moved to follow the aroma. It was barely noticeable at the conductor’s stand. I moved on.

When I reached the piano, I sat down on the bench. The smell was so thick there, weighing me down and filling my senses. I leaned forward and sniffed delicately above the keys. I picked up the music that was sitting there and ran my fingers lightly over the pages. I could nearly feel his fingerprints on the pages.

Edward Masen was the source of this calling. Edward Masen, the man who was looking to hire me to protect him. Edward Masen, the man that I wanted to kill and drink from at this very moment.

Guarding Edward is pretty intense from the get-go, and katmom does a wonderful job of painting a vivid picture. I had the immense pleasure of chatting her up last night, and we had a really nice conversation in which we discussed writing, our ideas, and how it feels to be a PG-13 writer in an NC-17 fandom.

Susan: What was your inspiration for writing Guarding Edward?

Katmom: After reading the [Twilight] Saga over and over again, I found fan fiction. I read it for a month and then, just like SM, while suffering from insomnia I was thinking about what Rob had said about being afraid that some fan would puncture him with a virus infected needle at some meet and greet… And I got to thinking about bodyguards, and it just fell into place. I decided to make Bella the vamp because she would be strong…and as the mother to three girls, I like Girl Power!

Susan: What is your writing process? Do you do anything specific when you sit down to write? Do you have a playlist that you listen to or anything like that?

Katmom: I use the “dot to dot” way of writing. I have certain scenes that I want to happen and I fill in the blanks to make the scenes connect. In this story, I knew what would happen when she smelled him the first time, I knew there would be a scene with Tanya and how that would go. I just keep writing until they get to the next scene that I envision. I write in order, from the beginning to the end. I don’t write a chapter in the middle and then skip back…it has to go in order. I started with an outline. I figured 20 chapters…right! That went out the window after three chapters! I am very impressed with authors who say: “I have 23 chapters, and my outline is encased in concrete…” I’m more a “seat of my pants” sort of writer.
*note: you can check out katmom’s playlist on Youtube. Her name is katmom49.

Susan: I can’t stick to an outline. I have a basic idea where I want each chapter to go. Then I write it and start the next chapter based on how the last chapter ended up.

Katmom: Exactly! And sometimes those characters take over! And I tell them, “But I wanted you to do this,” and they laugh at me.

Susan: I’ve read interviews with various authors that talk about how their characters live in their heads. I never understood that until I started writing Finding Forever. Do you feel the same way? Are you that attached to your characters?.

Katmom: Yes, ‘tis true! My girls say, “Mom, are they talking to you again?” Yes, I am terribly attached to them. In my NC-17 rated story, Immersion, I have had three other writers write side shots and they are great! But, I asked them to not write Edward and Bella…they are mine. So we have side shots with the POV of Lauren, Alice and Sandi.

Susan: I’m glad I’m not the only one whose characters talk to them.

Katmom: Nope. There are lots of us with characters chatting us up!

Susan: So, PG-13 writing. Do you set out to write certain ratings? Did you specifically intend Guarding Edward to be PG-13?

Katmom: With the ages of my girls, I wanted to write something they could read, and they have. There are some hot kisses and a bit of sex education talk at one point, and they said, “Ugh.” But it was okay for them to read. Another story, Dragon Stones, is okay for them to read too. Kris, kejce, and I wrote for a contest; I wrote the PG-13 and she wrote the NC-17, and then I decided to TRY to write a lemon. I went to her begging for “lemon bones”. And then did it on my own with Immersion. I wanted to see if I could do it. LJ Summers, a wonderful writer, told me to write around the lemon, and it worked well, I think. But, I’m happy to write stuff that my girls can read now, and Dragon Stones will stay that way, which doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun times, but one must be discreet.

Susan: I am unable to write lemons. I just can’t do it. I wrote one with the help of my beta, who is amazing, but in the end, I just wasn’t comfortable with it. I like things wrapped up in a tidy PG-13 package.

Katmom: Another writer, AMayes, writes the lemon but can’t read it back over! She sends it to me to beta. I don’t want my limes or lemons to be porn for smut’s sake, if that makes sense.

Susan: I know exactly what you mean. That is why I like the idea of outtakes for a particular story. Keep the story PG-13, but add a little saucy something on the side with the same characters.

Katmom: Writing PG-13 work is wonderful! There is a definite place and need for quality works of that rating, more so than those written by 14 year olds who can’t spell and don’t know where commas go.

Susan: I’m so excited to hear that. I am not bashing lemons by any means. I have a fair share of them on my favorites list. I just feeling like there are probably a lot of younger people reading fan fiction who shouldn’t be reading NC-17 stories.

Katmom: That is so true! And if they have wonderful stuff to read, then they don’t need to read the others.

Susan: Where do you think the line for PG-13 should be drawn before it turns into R?

Katmom: That’s hard. My girls say “no tongue,” but I think that is keeping the bar way too low. One story I saw the summary for was about suicide and it was rated PG-13. I thought that was too low of a rating. I just don’t know, what do you think?

Susan: When I write, I am describing things I see in my head. Usually, I think to myself, “If this were a movie, what would it be rated?”

Katmom: In GE I think I said damn once, maybe hell, but that was it. In Immersion, I used a word that one can call a male rooster, and everyone was shocked. I don’t think that one needs to use the f-word. One story that I read has huge chapters (12,000+ words per chapter) but if she cut the f-word out, it would only be about 10,000.
Edward gets badly hurt in GE, but there is retribution for the one that did it. I can’t use violence for violence sake. I don’t write angst either.

Susan: I can write angst, but everything I write has to be tied up in a nice bow of happy.

Katmom: Oh me too. I totally believe in the HEA mindset! That’s why I wrote Immersion. It was happy; no running off to Alaska, just acceptance and joy and love and, well, some limes with a bit of lemon.

Susan: Do you ever feel that people might pass up your story because it’s rated PG-13, which is obviously a no-lemon rating?

Katmom: Yes. I know people pass it up because of that. I’ve had readers tell me they were dragged kicking and screaming to read it, and then they loved it!

Susan: Do you ever get review that say something like, “I didn’t think I’d like this because it’s only PG-13, but I was pleasantly surprised. You are a good writer!” ?

Katmom: Oh yes, quite often. And then there’s the ones that want an NC-17 rated wedding night outtake. I tell them to use their imaginations.

Susan: If you could chose any vampire (excluding Edward) to have a special PG-13 special moment with, who would it be, and why?

Katmom: Carlisle, but with darker hair, because I’m fifty and he’s the right age. The stitching scene in New Moon- totally swoon worthy!

Guarding Edward was the FanFiction of the Month for August at Twilighter’s Anonymous, has won Best Supernatural Award at the Silent Tear Awards, 1st runner up for the Cute Category at the Mystic Awards.
Indie TwiFic Awards, GUARDING EDWARD was nominated for: Best Alternate Universe WIP and Most Original Story Line WIP

Make sure to check out Guarding Edward, by clicking here: http://myvampfiction.com/dungeon/viewstory.php?sid=100

If you have any PG-13, PG, or G rated fan fics to suggest, make sure to leave a comment. I would love to read them!