When setting a violence score for a book, I use this scale:
- 0 – No notable physical violence. May have mild verbal conflict.
- 1 – Very light violence. May have a slap, or physical shoving, or similar. No violent deaths on page. May have some lightly intense verbal conflict. Characters may have guns or other weapons, but they do not cause death on page. May have nonviolent death without notable detail.
- 2 – Some milder violence. May have a fistfight, or a simple fight with guns or other weapons. No graphic death on page. May have more intense verbal conflict. May have death with some non-graphic detail.
- 3 – Has notable violence. May have on page violent death without significant graphic detail. May have some mild graphic detail in fistfights or in violence with weapons. May have multiple instances of intense verbal conflict.
- 4 – Has graphic violence. On page deaths with some graphic detail. Fights are described with some graphic detail. Has multiple instances of described violence. May be notably unsettling.
- 5 – Violence is an integral part of the plot and is described in graphic detail. Characters may be subjected to intense violence, possibly including torture and/or uncontrolled sadistic elements. Possibly unsettling to most readers. May not be suitable for many readers.