The beauty of fiction is the liberty that it affords. Within fiction you can choose to work within the bounds of reality, even up to the present cultural and political climate, or you can break free of any semblance of reality and create your own universes with your own laws that govern and guide your creation.

deviantArt strives to provide a category for every type of prose, however sometimes the definition of a particular piece might be difficult. So to aid your submission we're going to spend some time going over some of the most misunderstood fiction categories deviantArt provides.

Children's

The number one mistake deviants make with this category is assuming that the children's category must have a child as the center regardless of the level of maturity of the piece itself. On the contrary, children's literature should be something that you would read to a child. Short stories and prose that speak to a young audience's level, which means control of your vocabulary and structure, as well as your content, belong here. This can be expanded to young teen fiction as well. The key here is, however, the content. A piece in the children's category should never, ever need to be flagged as mature. If you feel that the content of it would be inappropriate to read to a ten year old, chances are it doesn't belong in this category.

Want to get in on some good children's lit? Check out Tots and Teens: A lit Contest and get involved today!
When Annie Came to Stay by *ThornyEnglishRose

Erotic

One of the most problematic categories we have is Erotic, and yes I realize how odd it looks next to children's but hey, that's the alphabet for you. Here is where we often have to make judgment calls as to what is acceptable and what is not in terms of policy. This call is made by the author and the policy violation team and not Gallery Directors, however we are here to help guide you, the author, in terms of what is and isn't acceptable so we don't violate policy in the first place.

Erotica is about sensuality, it's about sensory images and creating an atmosphere that is intoxicating and arousing. It is not about injecting vulgar slang for genitalia in every sentence.

It is not about pure sex between anybody or anything. It is not pornography. However, it must ALWAYS be flagged mature, and having an actual plot helps as well. /understatement

Before submitting to this category ask yourself if reading it aloud to a group of strangers, at random, would make them flush or make them grab their torches and pitchforks, if the latter please stop! And rethink posting it to dA.

A list of things that should be avoided (most at all costs, and most are common sense)

First and foremost: If it's illegal to do in real life, it's probably not kosher to post here. We are not the chans, folks
Underage participants (See rule 1)
Incest (I mean, c'mon guys.)
Overly graphic description of sex (any kind, Mr. Clinton) itself. We all know how it works guys what with the in and out, there's no need to make us gag
…Bestiality... Again with the rule one.
FAQ #565: You prohibit the submission of 'pornographic material'; what do you consider this to be?
some helpful links!
Preventing Miscats, Romantic & Erotic by *WordCount
FAQ #565: You prohibit the submission of 'pornographic material'; what do you consider this to be? yes. AGAIN. READ IT

Today's Lesson is Topography by ~Aishuu

Life Stories and Perspectives

What's the difference?

Life stories constitute a fictional biography of a character whereas perspective pieces recall events that may be semi or entirely fictional from a fixed point of view in the form of a story. The difference seems small, but it can make a very large difference in terms of approach. Perspectives should almost always be written in the first person whereas Life Stories are more likely to be written in the third. Life Stories also tend to be longer as they deal with the development of a character and perspectives confine themselves to a single happening or event.

Neither of these categories are the proper place for OC profiles! However, fleshed out stories of these character is appropriate.

Life Story: Ndinonzi by ~Kuchema
Perspective: Just Life by ~BrandiDear

Occult

Here is where we get into a bit of a bind. Occult should always deal with some paranormal activity or hidden and secret societies. We often mistake Occult for where 'Gothic' or Pagan pieces belong, but this is not the case. Occult should focus on the mystery of an organization or sense such as ESP. It should be paranormal but not quite science fiction or fantasy. Stories of haunting that are not necessarily horror would belong here, as would a person's initiation or exploration of a secret society or religious order. We should be discovering things that the general population is not privy to.

If your piece is exploring a religious belief or a search for God or a metaphysical answer, it belongs in Spiritual.

Incubus by *ThornyEnglishRose

Philosophical

In fiction, a Philosophical piece is one that takes a stance and tests it through the prose. Philosophy is the love of knowledge and pursuit of wisdom and thus many times takes on political, social, and ethical issues. More than preaching preset notions philosophical pieces strive to pose and answer questions to better understand the universe. Seldom should a philosophical piece blatantly advocate a stance, it should weave the theory through the prose and test it and demonstrate it to the reader.

The philosophical category is NOT for rants, fictional or not, but well constructed arguments and explorations.

The Parable of the Writer

Sociopolitical

This category is not, by any means, for political rants without plot. Remember, this is fiction, and in fiction, we are creating a reality. Sociopolitical pieces should take a stance on an issue or present a perspective from a section of society or population. This can include perspectives from the homeless, to immigrants, to gay and lesbian, to alternative political parties and everything in-between. The most important aspect, however, is that their view creates a resonating statement in the reader. It should show the consequences of a societal norm or political action on a group or the individual. Sociopolitical pieces are often calls for change.

The Littlest President ~festivemanb

And last, but by no means least (so I'm biased):

Transgressive

Ah the beautiful taboo, and possible the most misunderstood cat of them all (smidge biased I know)!

What is transgressive? It's all about the character vs society. You start with someone who is so uncomfortable in the skin society has put him that he either finds mental torment in trying to reconcile his dark or taboo desires or acts out against society based on those characteristics that make him an outcast.

Transgressive is not about sex, drugs, and violence and taboo for the sake of being taboo! Rather it uses these things as tools to illustrate a character's journey to inner peace and comfort within himself. It does this with these extreme measures in order to shock the audience out of complacency and to starkly contrast the character against what is deemed acceptable.

As with Erotic, Transgressive almost always needs to be flagged mature due to the tools employed. It must also follow the policies of this website. If you feel that your work may be in violation please do not hesitate to ask one of your GD's (I will never turn you away in this regard).

Onus by ~insaneotaku

Remember, you have THREE lit GD's, myself, ^lovetodeviate and ^GeneratingHype. You should never ever hesitate to come to us and ask us where we think your piece belongs or if it's even right for dA at all.

We would rather you come to us first than have to deal with it after the fact, and contrary to popular myth-- ^GeneratingHype does not bite! He just gnaws a little...it sort of tickles.