Friday, June 24, 2011

What are YOU rated? G? PG? R? OMG, XXX?? (Please, no!!)

I think most days my blog would get a PG-13. My, um, "colorful" language may sometimes put me over into R territory (how many F-bombs do you have to drop to get bumped up to an R these days, anyway?), and I've been known to do a sweetish PG post occasionally (maybe even a G, though offhand I can't recall one--not sure I'm ever that sweet), but mostly PG-13.

Heck, I even censored the Camel Balls pic on Wednesday, and that was bubble gum.

Also, I practically never discuss my sex life. (You're welcome.)

All in all, I think my blog is in keeping with the kind of books I write.Which is, I think, what a writer wants in her blog. I don't think people who visit here regularly will be shocked or appalled when they read my book someday.

(Er, if they read my book. I try not to take anything for granted.)

How about you? Do you censor yourself on your own blogs? If you're a writer, does your blogging style reflect you, The Writer, or is it more you, the person who just happens to write?

To throw in some controversy, do you think YA writers have a moral obligation to keep their blogs from crossing the line into strictly adult territory? (Nope, I'm not even going to attempt to define that line. There's a reason I don't don't write YA. I'm not sure where the damn line is!)

So, basically what I'm asking is, if your blog were a movie, what would it be rated?

If you don't have a blog, you can tell me what your mouth is rated, if you like. ;)

25 comments:

Summer Frey said...

My mouth is definitely rated R. If I'm driving, I might cross into NC-17 territory. ;)

I try to keep the swears on my blog limited, and it certainly doesn't reflect my novel in the slightest. I'd say my blog is pretty PG to PG-13, but my novels are definitely R.

So yeah, my blog is a reflection of Summer the person, not Summer the writer.

Kelly Breakey said...

Linda, I was in the Navy. Of course I sensor my blog. I have to, I still cuss like a sailor on occasion.

All that being said, I think it is important to think about the audience you are writing to while you are writing. I don't write YA so for me dropping and F-bomb is not out of the question. Especially if my hero is south Boston bad ass. Wait, can I say that here? Oops.

I did mention I used to be a sailor right?

Jennifer Shirk said...

My blog is G rated as am I. Works really well as a romance author.
NOT!
LOL!

Unknown said...

I'd say that my blog is a solid PG-13...but, I write YA, so even though I'm not scared of a little F-bomb now and then, I try not to get too racy :)

my mouth? definitely R...unless I'm not too thrilled with someone. then, you'd better hide your young'uns

Linda G. said...

Summer -- Driving will do that to you. ;) And R-rated novels, huh? Sounds intriguing.

Kelly -- Navy people get special dispensation in the cursing department. ;)

Jennifer -- Sure it works! For you, because you're so sweet. :)

Karla -- I think your blog works great for the YA crowd -- it's smart. It reads like you know your audience. :)

Patty Blount said...

Hmm. I wonder about that, too. But writing YA is only PART of who I am. Patty is a lot more. I like the blog to be about me - all of me - including the part that cuckoo for cocoa, mad about my sons and whatever else is happening.

abby mumford said...

my blog is rated G, for sure. what can i say? i'm kid friendly. as for the content? since i have such a large fan base (ha), i try to vary the topics so everyone doesn't get bored and as such, it's all about me the person and only sometimes about me the writer.

Anonymous said...
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Steph Schmidt said...

Blog may be PG-13 but my mouth is certainly R. For some reason I just don't cuss all that often in writing, but get something to break or my toe to find a piece of furniture and it just slips out.

Trisha Leigh said...

I guess I'm like you, and would rate my blog PG to PG-13 on most days. I've occasionally forayed into R territory, but mostly i blame Tawna.

Since I write YA, I try to keep it fairly clean.

Teri Anne Stanley said...

Wow, I guess I'm going to go with PG-13, too.

And I have to say: If your blog has one of those "Yes I am over 18" buttons, you darned well better have some nekkid pictures as a reward for the extra click to get to you...

Steve Clayworth said...

I'm pretty much a PG-13 or PG, but sometimes I'd love to have a blog that cuts loose.

Speaking of f-bombs, has anyone else bought the not-for-children picture book, GO THE F*CK TO SLEEP? I love it.

And Samuel Jackson does a reading of it on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKxIaG_f_c

Jen Stayrook said...

I feel like this is a trick question...My mouth rarely has a filter, so if you were around me, it's NC-17 all the way. EEP. I TRY, I mean, I really TRY to not be as crass on the internet, be it Twitter, blog, facebook, etc. But sometimes....you know.

Anonymous said...

You forgot the rating that's off the chart. Pure porn. You know? Erotica writers. Not that, that's what I write! lol

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Both in my blog and in real life, I'm pretty much PG-rated, with an occasional PG-13 or R thrown in for the (ahem) heck of it.

Kimberly Sabatini said...

Great blog and I'm going to throw in my two cents before I read what everyone else has added. *shivers* I run a pretty clean blog as a YA writer, despite that fact that I sort of have a potty mouth and find my Wolf Pack Rom/Com Sistahs and their blogs way too amusing.I RT you guys all the time. :o) Despite that fact that my blog is "clean" I personally believe in speaking honestly and frankly with young adult and any children for that matter. Mine included. I always try to keep my thoughts developmentally appropriate for my audience, but that doesn't mean I dumb it down. My own kids prove time and time again that they have way more to offer than most people give them credit for. Plus I always tell them they can't swear like me until they have kids of their own LOL!

Linda G. said...

Patty -- Mmmm...cuckoo for cocoa. Me too!

Abby -- Hey, I'm a fan! I love your blog. :)

Steph -- Broken toes justify many bad words, in my humble opinion. Ye-owch!

Trisha -- I blame Tawna for everything. Doesn't everyone? ;)

Teri -- I know! I mean, what's the point of clicking through if you don't get to see...um, educational pics?

Steve -- I LOVE that book! Can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at something.

Jen -- LOL! I know. It's hard. (Heh-heh. I said "hard.")

Suz -- Hey, I mentioned XXX in the title of the post. ;)

Susan -- What better reason can there be than "the heck of it"? I love that reason. ;)

K-pop -- I totally agree about being frank with kiddos. We tried never to talk down to our children, and I think they turned out great. Love that you told your kids they couldn't swear until they have kids of their own! Really, why would anyone need to before then? ;)

Geoffrey Cubbage said...

I had no idea how to answer this question, so I just searched my own blog for the F-word to see what happened. Apparently I'm only mildly naughty except when I talk about paying income taxes as a freelancer. Fancy that!

Tax season aside I'm going to call it PG-13. You can't get an R rating just for talking about alcohol abuse anymore I don't think.

Michele Shaw said...

People who know me say my blog is just like talking to me in person. I'd say it goes from G to PG13, and I DO write YA! That line is hard to define, and it's stretched to extremes in some cases. There is no one "way" to write YA, as far as I can tell. Just each author's approach. Then, we wait to see if it works...and pray it does...a lot;)PS: I can't wait to read your book!

Jason said...

I actually asked someone not too long ago about the number of f-bombs that get you an R - apparently it's something like three or four. Was asking in reference to my manuscript, which means I get an R rating by page 5.

As for my blog, I don't censor, normally. I swear a decent amount, but when I do it's with an intense emotion, not casual. In my writing I save the swearing, for the most part, for speaking parts, not the rest of it.

Unless the situation calls for it. I'm flexible.

Patsy said...

My blog is probably PG. I don't censor myself on the blog any more than I would when talking in a public place.

Elizabeth Barry said...

Hmmm... I'd say my blog is G. I'm not really one to write cuss words, but watching my mouth around my little one is definitely a daily struggle.

Al said...

Just to confuse you I'll say the heaviest my blog would rate is "M". We have a whole different rating system down here. While some of our letters are the same the meanings are somewhat different.

Anonymous said...

Neither my novels nor my blog include any words that kids don't hear at school on a daily basis.

So, yeah, I'm rated NC-17. In person (unless I'm really behaving myself), in my books, and on my blog.

I used to be able to make people run screaming from the room with just a few words, but I'm getting old and mellow. Now it usually takes me a couple of whole sentences before their ears start to bleed.

But I do post an F-bomb alert if I'm going for it in a blog post, just in case some poor, unsuspecting schmuck mixes me up with my sister (who writes a Christian faith-based blog). We may not really be related. :-)

Sierra Godfrey said...

I'm too big of a chicken to use bad language in my blog posts, but in my head I swear like a truck driver.

Also, when I'm up at 3 am with a baby who thinks it's funny to be awake for two hours, I tend to swear a lot and say very bad things.