Okay, so for anyone who's a little confused and are not in the Honeyfeed discord, this is my understanding on some of them:
For example, if you want to write a rom-com in a cyberpunk world, DO NOT tick/checkmark cyberpunk! Your main focus is rom-com so cyberpunk in this case is just the setting- also as a DO NOT; if the main is rom-com but you add too much focus on the cyberpunk aspect, then that probably will lower your chances.
For the school life prompt, it's fine if there is some romance but DO NOT make it the main point. No one goes to school thinking they're in The Bachelor/Bachelorette, lol.
For the "English Only" rule, you can use honorifics like -san -kun, -chan, sensei, etc, or if a character shortly speaks in, let's say, French. It just means your WHOLE story cannot be written in another language.
Again, this is only from what I gathered, so I might be wrong on some parts (and my brain never works 100%, lol) and I'm not a mod or staff for MAL/HF. I'm just someone who's thinking about joining the contest~
And there is also this that I think will be helpful (I will just copy-paste it).
The information below is not an official rule. Rather, it serves as an explanation for what constitutes 'gore, heavy ecchi and soft porn.'
Gore: The principal factors to consider are level of detail and amount. On its own, no element of gore would be disallowed, as long as you understand the appropriate way of including it in a story. When writing gory scenes that would be risky, try your best to keep them 'out of shot'. You can do that by minimising the level of detail, or trying to divert the attention away from the gore as it happens.
Good example:
I opened the door to find layer upon layer of innards strewn on the tiles, mudding the carpet, hanging off the mirror and filling up the bath tub. I counted seventeen pieces of flesh in total. Seventeen of my beloved I'll never see whole again.
Bad example:
I opened the door to find layer upon layer of innards strewn on the tiles, mudding the carpet, hanging off the mirror and filling up the bath tub. The horrible, putrid stench assaulted my nostrils in ways that made my stomach churn out. I couldn't help puking, our fluids mixing together in one last horrid kiss on the floor. Half of her face swam in a sea of gore, her smile petrified, sullied, desecrated.
(too detailed, over the top, too long)
Heavy ecchi: The rule on soft ecchi is simple. Excessive use of soft ecchi is disallowed, whereas the odd (tasteful) panty shot or the 'softer' ecchi (peeping, imagining, accidental peeks, 'simping' in descriptions, etc.) is allowed with measure. Fetishism is frowned upon and should be refrained from for the most part. Obsessive behaviour, stalking or other unsettling 'romantic' behaviours could very easily constitute the disallowed soft ecchi.
Good example:
Kazuya's heart throbbed in his chest. He looked below at his friend's emboldening smiles and, somehow, he felt justified in his endeavour. But when he made it across the wall dividing the two hot spring pools... and peeked at the first bit of exposed porcelain skin...
His nose spat out blood, his knees wobbled and down came crashing the entire pubescent pyramid that hoped to glimpse heaven.
Bad example
Kazuya had trailed Ai all week. When she ran the mile, he was there, peeking at her bloomers. When she practised for the dance, he was there, roaming under the stage and hoping for the inevitable. When she climbed the stairs, he hung behind her just enough to see under her skirt's seam (and cursed that she wore it an inch OVER the limit).
His comeuppance came when he found her alone in the store room. Sneaking had become second nature to him and his catlike gait did little to inform Ai of his presence in the room. Unawares, she stretched on her tiptoes, hoping to reach the top shelf. And, in doing so, her skirt lifted just enough for a crouched Kazuya to slide on the ground, unlock his phone and take a perfect picture for his collection.
(excessive, obsessive voyeurism, illegal activity -- child pornography -- fetishism)
Soft porn: Soft porn is the graphic depiction of pornographic content in a non-explicit way. A lot of romance novels do this by means of using euphemisms for genitals, relying on sensations as opposed to actual motions/actions and, in general, beating around the bush as opposed to stating things outright.
To combat this, we ask that the pornographic material be implied rather than shown in any way.
Good example:
He led me towards the bedroom, a sure grip on my wrist and a giggle playing in his throat. We were both excited, more than we were scared of the implication of what crossing that threshold with our clothes off would do. It would be official, something serious, a note in the notebook of our love.
But it was one we'd both have a hand in writing.
Bad example:
His hands explored my body, from top to bottom, never shying away from allowing my deepest buried sensations to surface. It was a simple movement, routine, but everyone of them felt special: one time he cupped my waist, the other he held me in place, afraid he'd break me.
And when it stopped, it felt like fireworks, inside and out.
(while not explicit, it constitutes much more severe implications and goes through the motions of intercourse)
Mod Edit: Merged duplicated posts; please use the edit button. |