Clarification on violence in critique samples

[DAgent]

So I was about to post a sample of my WIP's first chapter when I decided to double check the rules since there is some violence included, and sure enough there was a recommendation about running it past a mod first, which I want to do. But I am at a loss who I should PM first. Is there a list of which mods are more willing to read that?
I'm also wondering if the definitions could be a little more defined. I don't think I've gone into graphic detail, but it is describing a physical assault that results in the victim being pushed in front of a car after the attack and the text more reflects how the victim reacts to the assault and injuries as he suffers them. To some that will be graphic, others, not so much.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

@Ursa major @The Judge @HareBrain all deal with critiques

 

[Swank]

@DAgent
I like the idea of being careful and rule abiding, but unless you really think something you're about to post is way out of line, why not just post it and see how it goes? The worst thing that will happen is that a mod will delete the post and inform you what was wrong with it. No one here is looking to ban people for honest posting mistakes.

 

[The Judge]

I am at a loss who I should PM first. Is there a list of which mods are more willing to read that?

On all but the most obvious matters we make decisions on a collective basis, so whoever you contacted would put up the extract in the Staff Room for everyone else to read.

I'm also wondering if the definitions could be a little more defined.

Not really. Legalistic lists of what is and isn't acceptable would be time-consuming to draw up and just leave holes for barrackroom lawyers to get argumentative about. It's quicker and easier for us to make a decison on individual pieces after seeing the possibly-contentious paragraphs in context -- something unsavoury which is gratuitous to a scene and handled in a poor manner may well be treated more harshly than something more graphic which is integral to the scene and handled sensitively.


But if someone is worried as to whether his/her work crosses a line, then unless there is a good reason for choosing that particular extract for critique -- for instance it's the very opening of the novel, or it's the piece itself which is worrying him/her -- it might well be best to choose another excerpt entirely.

 

[Astro Pen]

If you could highlight (or use a bold font) on the specific passages when submitting to a mod it could be quite a rapid process. The passage doesn't sound too far out of norm for adult writing.
I recently read Erik Axl Sund's The Crow Girl and that is the kind ot material that I would be hesitant to post (you can look it up), had I written it, but yours doesn't seem, from your description, to contain such dark elements.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Generally we're pretty liberal with what's allowed in Critiques because violence is pretty common in fiction - I think any caution about it was originally done with sexual violence, hate violence, and torture in mind, as these are at the extreme end. If your piece doesn't go as far as these examples then you're probably pretty safe to put something up.

EDIT: I've updated the original guide with this specifically mentioned.