Is this okay to talk about in a story?

im 13, and if i read this story personally i wouldn’t go and just cut myself since i saw someone do it in an episode story, butttttt i think that if i was 9 (which is when i started reading episode stories) i still don’t think that i would go and cut myself back then. just because i wasn’t a dumb kid, and i was happy, and i still am to this day :woman_shrugging:t4:

but thats not everyone’s case, i know that there are a lot of kids my age that seeing a scene like that might influence them to go and cut themselves, but it also might help them overcome their depression :woman_shrugging:t4:

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honestly, I think the most powerful thing - which wouldnt get you in trouble with guidelines - and has been done in countless incredible short stories and novels, would be to use a symbol (such as a butterfly, dandelion, etc.) and write metaphorically.

TW in my example: domestic violence

example

the most obvious example to me is the yellow wallpaper - a short story about an abusive, gaslighting husband which is symbolized by hazy, yellow wallpaper that makes her fall ill and slowly lose her mind.

obviously you should write what you want, but I think this might be an interesting way to talk about a heavy topic. best of luck with your story!

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I think it’s important to talk about this. These are topics I feel like people should be able to discuss to help. Not speaking on it is what makes it worse

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Mhm, good luck on the story!

9? :kissing: I wasn’t allowed to have any sort of technology :sneezing_face:

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I think you can as long as you include a trigger warning and don’t go into immense detail about it (nothing graphic or visual)

I can check the guidelines on this real quick and I’ll let you know

I’ll see about doing that. But I’m not sure if it’ll have the right affect. I’ll have to see

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Thank you

ok here is what I found directly from the guidelines

What violates episode guidelines:

  • “promotes suicide, self-harm, abuse, or bullying;”
  • “promotes excessive alcohol, tobacco or drug use;”

“If your story contains a scene that could be a trigger for some viewers, you should use a content warning. A content warning is a written notice that precedes potentially sensitive content.”

So basically as long as you include a content warning and don’t glamorize/promote self harm or drug use you should be good.

But try to keep it PG-13 and don’t make it too descriptive or visual

if you need any help with this or want me to look over the scene PM me and I’d be glad to help :heart:

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That’s what I saw as well. I found it weird people can have graphic sex but not a scene about suicide which needs 2 b talked about more

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I mean authors aren’t supposed to include any graphic content or descriptions of sex/nudity but unfortunately some of them get away with that (to an extent)

I don’t necessarily think that this is the place to talk about this kind of stuff with all of the younger viewers on the app but as long as you don’t glorify drug use or self harm you’ll be ok

Some more in depth details of drug and alcohol use from the guidelines

No description or depiction of active, ongoing drug, alcohol or tobacco use by characters who are under the age of 16
No graphic/explicit/detailed descriptions or glorification of the use or effects of drugs, alcohol or tobacco
No glorification of an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
No characters may use hard drugs or associated paraphernalia, including but not limited to: cocaine, heroin or other injectables, non-prescription pills e.g. LSD, prescription brand or non-brand medication outside of prescribed use e.g. Xanax, unidentified powders or pills

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My goal isn’t to glorify anything. It’s to talk about it so it can help others who have had to go through the same stuff as me

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U can write about it, the guidelines say u can’t “glorify it”

haha, yea i got my first tablet when i was 8 i think, but before that i always used to use my great grandma’s tablet, because i went over her house almost every day after school. i started playing episode on that ! & i got my first phone when i was 9 too :joy:

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I started reading episode stories when I was younger than the recommended age, so probably don’t do anything too graphic because there are kids on here! :blob_hearts: :blob_sun:

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Honey, app is 13+ so you can’t make a story what’s 17+ :))

I will say, stories technically cannot have graphic sex—many stories with that kind of content get taken down, the only ones that stay up are the ones with heaps of read that Episode keeps up for monetary purposes.

If you include these topics in your story/graphic depictions and your story gets reviewed, there’s a decent chance they may ask you to change certain aspects, so you have to be ready for that.

There are also many platforms that aren’t 13+ where you can publish this kind of content! Writing can be a great therapeutic outlet, and if you don’t want to censor your writing, you could consider a different publishing platform.

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Don’t Say That, That’s Not Nice, People Have Their Own Problems And It Hurts Me, Someone Who Has Had Depression And Has Done Self Harm, That You Say Such Things Without Understanding Their Situation.

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i get this i dont think she ment to be offensive i mean obviously in general its a fact ppl have become more sensitive but when it comes to a topic like this i agree with u

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