There will be a limit on the number of stories accepted on this site based on Emergency’s John Gage.
When it comes to fan fiction there are already thousands of existing Emergency! stories spread out over several existing sites. An overwhelming majority of Emergency! stories tend to focus on the character of John Gage. The focal point of Emergency! wasn’t John Gage. The format of the show weighed its attention between paramedics John Gage and Roy Desoto in balance with the Rampart Staff. The show HAD several lead characters.
Stories featuring other members of the Station 51 crew and Rampart staff will be given preferential treatment when it comes to being posted to this site. Many of the show characters are often ignored in fan fiction stories. The purpose for the Emergency! section of this site is to feature a variety of stories that showcase all of the characters.
There are several great writers out there that have written some amazing John Gage stories and there are other currently active public and private sites to house Emergency! fan fiction, some are accepting submissions and some are not. John Gage stories are abundant and easy to find. We are striving for more of a variety in our stories that feature ALL of the main and semi-regular characters from the show.
Sorry, if this offends some fans, but we REALLYwant to encourage writers who feel squeezed out of the Emergency! realm because they feel readers only want stories about John Gage. In essence, we want to cater to the smaller group of readers who are fans of the other characters. We are not anti-John Gage here and we are more than willing to post links to other fan fiction sites that feature stories on his character on our Links page. For those that have posted their fan fiction stories on their own personal sites we are more than willing to provide a link on our Writers pages for them.
Submission Guidelines
Currently this site is still under construction and there is still much more content to be added. Submissions at this moment will be by invitation only. Once the site is more complete, then we will try and go with open submissions.
Emergency! and Adam-12 fan fiction sites have been around for some time. There hasn’t been much Dragnet fan fiction out there and very few Dragnet stories exist. There are already some good stories out there in these realms, along with plenty of bad ones.
Many writers have good ideas to base stories on, but they fail to polish and fine tune their work. Anything submitted that displays a lack of basic knowledge of spelling and grammar will be rejected. If you don’t know how to spell the character names or can’t be bothered to look them up, then this site doesn’t want to bother posting your story. Formatting is also something several writers have come out and stated is not important which is somewhat false. Formatting can make it easier for others to read. You can either format it as you wish in a Word document or if you're fine with it, we will do some formatting touch ups before converting the file to a PDF document.
If you’re upset that your story was passed over for submission on this site then read further past the NO Marysue section. Chances are it may have been rejected for other reasons listed in the somewhat lengthy Submission Guidelines. You will only be given a very brief explanation on why your story wasn’t accepted. It is not the purpose of this site to discourage people from trying their hand at writing, so please take it as this site is very, very picky.
Content not of the Author's Creation Many writers use famous quotes or other elements in their stories. Please indicate with an author note (and/or disclaimers) the name/source. Songfics will not be accepted on this site because there have been some legal issues with them. If you are using the content of another Fan Fiction writer make sure you have their permission before hand and give them proper credit. Always cite sources and use disclaimers appropriately regarding any content that is not of your own creation. Formatting, Spelling and Grammar Indicate through some type of formatting if a there are segments/scene. Either a border or characters to make it clear to the readers that a new scene has started. Stories should be broken up into proper paragraphs.
It is your responsibility as an author to proof your work and have it beta’d if necessary. A potentially good story will initially rejected because of too many spelling and grammar issues, but will be accepted once it is corrected and resubmitted. Nobody is perfect and a few minor errors here and there happen, but too many mistakes are distracting.
AND NO a story won’t be excluded if it has a few minor typos in it. Corrections will be pointed out just so the content of the story isn’t inadvertently altered with respect to the author’s intent.
Just the Facts Ma’am Most writers are not cops or medical experts. At the very least, please check out the facts. Some of this information you can glean from the shows, but don’t grab a BP reading out of a random episode because they vary from person to person. If you’re not in the medical field, it’s more acceptable to write “Roy gave Dr. Early the victim’s vitals, while Johnny checked her over for other injuries” than to try and fluff it. Any definitions should be included at the end of the story as part of the author notes (suggestion, not mandatory). Police and Fire Department codes can be easily looked up on the Internet. Medical treatments for various injuries and illnesses can also be looked up. You can check out the Writer’s Resource Links here to help assist in any research. We know it is very difficult or impossible to date procedures or protocols in some cases.
Things like cell phones/cordless phones did not exist until after the 70s. When a writer takes the time to ensure there is a certain amount of accuracy and authenticity in their work that effort tends to shine through in their stories. The good writers in any given fan fiction realm often invest the time to research and fact check.
Story Content Stories will be rated accordingly in a similar manner as other sites posting Fan Fiction. We also have to be in compliance to Weebly's Terms of Service and anything violating that agreement cannot be posted here.
Weebly's TOS states that we cannot "upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is adult in nature, such as any nudity in a sexual context, any Content revealing exposed genitalia, or any Content with adult themes." While the term 'adult themes' is open to interpretation, the site administers consider this to reflect stories rated MA, that is stories that contain explicit acts of a sexual nature only suitable for mature audiences. While these stories cannot be hosted on a Weebly site without violating TOS, the site administers will accept links to stories posted on another site (AO3, WWOMB, etc.). We did make an inquiry to Weebly about how this pertained to written content and their response was a written sex scene would be permissible as long as a sex scene doesn't get into what would be considered either too graphic or erotica/porn.
While this site has nothing against slash or pre-slash or the writers who create same-sex pairing stories, the intent of this site is to portray the characters as they were portrayed within the Mark VII shows during the time periods they aired. For those authors who write and for readers who enjoy slash, we would be happy to include links to other sites where slash stories are hosted.
Strong or offensive language is permissible as long as it’s not overdone.
Any background stories that feature any of the characters suffering from extreme child abuse, molestation, rape, or gratuitous violence will not be accepted. Policemen and paramedics certainly would have come across those situations on the job which is an entirely different matter. These are very sensitive topics so please handle them with respect and sensitivity if you have a case involving any of these topics.
Story Length and WIPs There will be no restriction on story length. Very large stories may be broken down into smaller segments or parts in order to post it, more for the convenience of the reader. If storage space ever becomes an issue then a limit on length may be set for that reason only.
No WIPs will be accepted, only completed stories. Many potentially good stories have been started and have remained unfinished.
Stories that are part of a series are fine as long as each story could work as a stand-alone piece. Each story in a series will be posted as they are completed.
NO Marysues If a female OC dominates the story, then the OC is definitely a Marysue. Any stories posted on this site will revolve around the show’s character(s) and not an OC. If you have a OC that is prominent in your story that is a ‘niece’, ‘sister’, ‘long lost daughter’, or something along those lines that’s the first sign it is a Marysue story. Other signs that an OC is a Marysue; she tends to be written as being ‘better’ than the canon characters. Often the canon characters adore her and end up being used to prop her up.
Romance is allowed featuring an OC, but the story has to revolve around the show and its characters. Other supporting OCs in a story are acceptable.
OWIES Yes, there are fans of these stories, but seriously, the only thing that Johnny hasn’t experienced is getting swallowed by a whale. In general, owies need to be realistic. Someone doesn’t get the crap beaten out of them and then the next scene they’re up and chasing the bad guys. As long as a story isn’t one owie after another then owies are fine.
Show Canon Everyone has a difference of opinion on what is show canon. Stories on this site will be within the canon of the show in terms of time-frames and character personalities. Characters should bear a resemblance to how most of us remember them from the show.
Character prequels and after the series stories are acceptable.
Alternate Universe It would be a shame to turn down a good alternate universe story. They will be considered and as long as they only push or bend the other guidelines at little, they probably will be accepted.
Crossovers & Parodies Some crossovers already exist between these three shows and as long as the story meshes nicely, then crossovers will be accepted. NO Dragnet and the Beverly Hillbillies don’t go together.
It can be fun to take a humorous pokes at these shows. Joe Friday having to deal with the Clampetts during an investigation might be amusing as a parody and that would be acceptable, as a serious crossover, it doesn't fly. As long as a parody is well written and funny, we'll probably accept it.
Character’s Established Personal Relationships Stories that kill off a spouse or turn a spouse into a vicious ex-wife won’t be accepted. There are many stories where the writer replaces a spouse with an OC of their own creation. Often, that OC tends to be a Marysue.
Eileen (Bill Gannon), Jean (Jim Reed), and Joanne (Roy DeSoto) all appeared on at least one episode. Joanne appeared in the pilot episode and you hear her voice on the television in “Communication Gaffe.” Jean was featured several times on Adam-12 (played by two different actresses) and Eileen was referred to many times by Bill Gannon and appeared in two Dragnet episodes. Try basing your interpretations of these ladies from those episodes or what their spouses may have said about them during the run of the show. For the most part, they can be molded into your own vision.
Stories involving married characters having affairs won’t be accepted. These stories tend to cause bad feelings among fan bases.
Single Characters/Family Members Many of the singles guys mentioned having girlfriends at some point or dating. Something like a humorous date story is fine. The single characters can have a romantic interest.
You are free to use your own names as far as children and other relatives go for any character.
Writing Characters ‘Out of Character’ Unless there is a valid pretense for writing a character as OOC (injury, emotional, or physical trauma), then stories that depict the characters as OOC most likely won’t be accepted. Definitely, this does cause some bad feelings among fan bases. (OOC can also include writing a character as too over-the-top perfect).
There are many stories that have depicted the characters as so OOC they bear no resemblance to the show. For example, having a character being mean/nasty to another if it was not really their nature won’t be accepted. Every fan has their favorite character, so ask yourself these questions: How would you feel if someone wrote a story that depicted your favorite character in an unsavory light? Does it feel good to read a story that comes off as 'trashing' your favorite character?
Final Word Because of many issues that have been going on in the realm of fan fiction, I am going to request to all writers, whether you are invited or accepted on this site, PLEASE indicate the date (at the very least the month and year) when your stories were first published on the Internet. This is for your protection as well as the protection of others. It is also wise to post a secondary copy on one of the public sites if they are not posted elsewhere.
Not everybody is going to like these submission guidelines and some flack is sure to come our way. However, we won't be strong-armed into accepting stories we feel are not within the intentions of this site or the spirit of these shows.