Level 1

• Holding hands/Affectionate touching
• Compliments/confessing love
• Low-description kissing
• Tender embraces/cuddling
• Blushing and sighing
• Non-descriptive discussions of sex
• Established relationships
• Fade to black if married
• Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen
  
  Level 2
• Touch that signals attraction
• No touching in underwear zone
• Long kisses, lightly descriptive
• Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
• Feel warm/flushed
• Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
• Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
• Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

• Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
• French kiss with tongue described
• Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
• Feel hot, sweating
• Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
• More frantic and lose some control
• Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
• Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
• If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
• May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
• Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.
  
  *Guide Created by Michelle Pennington of The Writing Gals

Zero: No Swearing within the Book

Mild: Up to 10 uses of Hel* or Dam*

Moderate: 10+ uses of Hel* or Dam* and/or uses of bodily swear words (Shi*, As*, etc)

Severe: 30+ Swear words and/or any time the Fword is used once or more