I'm guilty of writing lemons too
But I do intend to tone it down for my next fic.
For rating, I usually go by the guidelines, which is:
T - Suitable for teens,
13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
M - Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.
Excluding the violence side, personally I take a kiss as the boundary between the T rating and the M rating. Anything explicit progressing beyond at least a kiss goes to M rating.
Not guilty of anything! I feel pretty comfortable reading anything from members of this site, lemons included!
The difference between a good lemon and a bad one is whether the character and story calls for it. A tastefully written encounter that doesn't break the flow of the story (you know, random ooc-ness, or going from holding hands to jumping in the sack) is perfectly fine. But as a reader, you can always tell when the writer has left the tracks and is writing about their own particular fantasies, just played on in Naruto land. (I'm looking at you harem!) Of course, to each his own. This is fan fic after all, and everyone is entitled to their own fantasies. But as a reader, I'm much more likely to stick with a story that has a realistic storyline (tasteful lemon included), than I am with a story that's just a vehicle for some skin.
@madz, I totally agree with your thoughts that kissing is the line between T and M. Anything more than a chaste kiss in the last paragraphs should definitely push the story into an M.
Honestly, I'm more troubled by the sexual doublestandards than anything else. You know, where the male lead gets lots of no-strings-attached experience while the main girl has to remain pure. It's a fairytale model that's wrong on a lot of different levels. But for me, as a chica, it's hard to like a main male who has sowed his wild oats yet doesn't care enough about himself to hold himself to the same standards as the girl is tied to. And for the girl, to settle for that kind of guy, is a real step down. For me, those stories can sometimes be just as hard to read as the over-the-top lemon ones.
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