Is sex or profanity required in books for grownups?

Explicit content isn't what distinguishes adult from MG/YA/NA. You're fine.

I have to admit, I got a giggle out of the thread title, simply because "PG" stands for "parental guidance." So... no. As an adult, I'd rather not have my choice of reading materials dictated by my mother.

But seriously, +1 to exactly what Lizmonster said.

Absolutely. There are even smaller presses that publish exclusively "PG" books; though many are Christian-based, not all of them are.

The Second Moon said:

I figured it's a book for adults, but am I allowed to write a clean adult book? Clean meaning no swearing, no drugs or drinking, and no gross adult stuff. Basically, it would have the maturity of a PG movie, but 2/3 of the MCs would be adults. Is this allowed? Could it even be classified as an adult book?

EDIT: The adults would deal with adult problems on top of the adventures like work and being a parent.

Thanks!

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Of course it's 'allowed'. 'Not interesting' is what's hard to sell. If you tell your story well, no one will be thumbing through, looking for the sexy bits, or the drinkin' and cursin'.

The difference between an adult book and a children's or YA book is how the story is told, the perspective, etc. Not the sex, swearing and non-sobriety.

Old-fashioned sci-fi used to be perfectly safe for children to read: very little drinking, mild swearing and absolutely no sex because the men were solely interested in the mysteries of space and the women were non-existent.

There are a lot of mysteries that are not explicit - not just the 'cozies', but the 'classics' (and Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers are still selling) and a lot of other sub-sets.

Don't worry, keep writing.

As others have said, it's not only allowed, but relatively common.

I strongly suggest reading more widely, if the only "grown-up" books you've ever read are "R"-rated.

The Second Moon said:

...am I allowed to write a clean adult book? Clean meaning no swearing, no drugs or drinking, and no gross adult stuff. Basically, it would have the maturity of a PG movie, but 2/3 of the MCs would be adults. Is this allowed? Could it even be classified as an adult book?

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Of course it can. There's no rule that says books for adults must necessarily contain sex, swearing, etc. You can write any sort of book you want.

Tazlima said:

I have to admit, I got a giggle out of the thread title, simply because "PG" stands for "parental guidance."

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When my mother was growing up, they said it stood for "pregnant girls". Which is why the movie was rated PG, because it was a subject they couldn't cover in movies rated G.

I've re-titled this thread, partially because the original title was a little confusing, but mostly, because Google (via one of the human checkers or an algorithm I do not know) seemed to think we were serving naughty content.

To answer the OP: no, you don't have to have any kind of potentially objectionable content in a book written for grownups.

As frimble3 put it:

frimble3 said:

The difference between an adult book and a children's or YA book is how the story is told, the perspective, etc. Not the sex, swearing and non-sobriety.

Old-fashioned sci-fi used to be perfectly safe for children to read: very little drinking, mild swearing and absolutely no sex because the men were solely interested in the mysteries of space and the women were non-existent.

There are a lot of mysteries that are not explicit - not just the 'cozies', but the 'classics' (and Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers are still selling) and a lot of other sub-sets.

Don't worry, keep writing.

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The Second Moon said:

I am so sorry. I am crying as I write this. I never meant to hurt this website. I'v never actually read an adult book before. I won't write that book anymore. It was just a promise to people who don't exist anyways. I am so sorry.

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Breathe. Nothing's wrong. You just asked a question. You're not in trouble.

The Second Moon said:

I still don't know if I have it in me to write that story.

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That's an entirely different question, and it's completely up to you. We're not meant to write every idea we get, and even if we do write them, we don't have to write them right now. Do what's best for you.

But the answer to your initial question is that you may write what you wish, however you wish, and it's perfectly acceptable for adult fiction to be G-rated. Many, many great books are.

The Second Moon said:

I am so sorry. I am crying as I write this. I never meant to hurt this website. I'v never actually read an adult book before. I won't write that book anymore. It was just a promise to people who don't exist anyways. I am so sorry.

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First off, take a breath.

We all have ideas that seem too big/strange/out-of-our-wheelhouse for us to write. Sometimes, pushing ourselves to write them anyway helps us grow - sometimes it's just too big a bite for us to swallow (at least, at the time) and we must set it aside.

My first suggestion would be to read more "adult" books. They don't bite*, really. If you could give us an idea of your interests, we might help steer you to some good starter books to dip your toes in the water. You'll probably notice some difference in writing style and pacing and focus from YA or MG books, but you'll also notice that it's probably not as huge a leap as you're imagining, unless you're diving into the deep literary end of the pool (which, TBH, is too deep even for some of us experienced grown-ups.)

* - Well, some of them do "bite" in the slang "this is really lousy" sense. And some "bite" in the "wow - this is really intense" sense. But, speaking as a part-time bookslinger who handles many, many books in the course of a workday, I can say with confidence that no book has ever opened up its jaws and sunk teeth into my skin.

The Second Moon said:

I am so sorry. I am crying as I write this. I never meant to hurt this website. I'v never actually read an adult book before. I won't write that book anymore. It was just a promise to people who don't exist anyways. I am so sorry.

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It's absolutely fine, you haven't done anything wrong. As Mccardey said, breathe. <3

I think you might have misread AW Admin's post. They're not saying you did anything wrong. Google just scanned the site (likely an automated process or a bot) and flagged the page--it's no big deal, it happens a lot to all website owners over a lot of innocent content.

Google's scanning technology is very cautious, and it often can't tell the difference between actual adult content and people talking about adult content or using adult words in an educational discussion. That's not your fault.

The website isn't hurt. The website (and AW Admin, who looks after the website and looks after us all here) is super tough. You're not in any kind of trouble and there's nothing that you need to say sorry for.

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Jumping back to your question: there's a big market out there for clean adult fiction! You should definitely write it, I'm sure those characters will be mega happy to be out of your head and on paper after five year of growing up alongside you.

You might find that when the story is on paper, it doesn't quite match up with what's in your head. Don't be discouraged! Writing takes practice and learning, and you'll find the more you write, the more the words match what you're imagining. I hope that you have a brilliant time bringing this story to life.

The Second Moon said:

I am so sorry. I am crying as I write this. I never meant to hurt this website. I'v never actually read an adult book before. I won't write that book anymore. It was just a promise to people who don't exist anyways. I am so sorry.

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As I said in the PM, you're absolutely fine, and you've done nothing wrong.

I suspect Google has a particularly stupid algorithm, and/or is using non-native English speakers who aren't actually checking the URLs they flag.

You asked a good question, and you're neither the first person nor the last to ask it.

No worries, honest!

lizmonster said:

That's an entirely different question, and it's completely up to you. We're not meant to write every idea we get, and even if we do write them, we don't have to write them right now. Do what's best for you.

But the answer to your initial question is that you may write what you wish, however you wish, and it's perfectly acceptable for adult fiction to be G-rated. Many, many great books are.

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Most of the "famous" novels in the canon, the Austen, Dickens, Elliot, etc. novels are all very Disney in terms of modern film ratings.

The Second Moon said:

I am so sorry. I am crying as I write this. I never meant to hurt this website. I'v never actually read an adult book before. I won't write that book anymore. It was just a promise to people who don't exist anyways. I am so sorry.

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Don't cry!You haven't done anything to hurt this website. You haven't even hurt anyone's feelings. AW Admin was just explaining why they changed the title, so you wouldn't think it was directed at you. It's just one of those Google things, like 'personalized' ads. This website is good and sturdy.

And, by never read an 'adult book', do you mean you've never read anything that wasn't a children's book, or you've never read a book with drinking and swearing and sex and stuff? In either case, you don't really know what's out there, and what's possible.

As Brightdreamer says, if we have some idea of what you're interested in, perhaps we can give you suggestions.

And if this is a book you want to write, and a story you want to tell, don't give up before you've tried everything. Including reading other stuff.
Just tell the imaginary people you've made promises to that it may take a little longer.

Have a look in your local library and you will see.

The Second Moon said:

Thank you. Everyone. It's such a relief to hear that I can write it.

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You don't need anyone's permission to write, and you don't need anyone's permission to write whatever you want.

If you want to do it, you get to do it.

What else is there other than sex, drugs and rock'n roll?
Quite a lot. Some of the greatest stories have none of them. Robinson Crusoe, The Man in the Iron mask, all the Azomov stories, the list is endless.
For me it is the story that is all important.

Hi, OP. If you're just writing for you right now, discovering yourself as a writer, you can write whatever it is you want. In fact, you SHOULD. Write widely, read widely, enjoy! Right now one of my students (elementary school) is painstakingly working on a manga. There are no pictures. No plot. Just color-coded lines of dialogue that make no sense. She's happy and inspired and growing in confidence. I'm trying to take a page from her book (not literally!). Good luck!

I don't see why not, as long as there is a good story, you shouldn't need to involve swearing, sex or drugs if you don't wish to.