2008 Survivor Literotica: Planning & Plotting

It's time to start thinking of 2008. The 2007 edition of the Survivor Literotica Contest is nearly over, with more participants than ever before. Laurel has green-lighted the 2008 edition earlier today, so this is when we ask the usual questions:

For those of you who are participating in the 2007 Survivor Literotica Contest, for those who did in previous editions, or are planning to enter in 2008, what do you think was positive and negative about the contest? Any ideas for improving any aspect of it? Any adjustments to the rules that you think ought to be made? Any comments or questions at all?

Lauren Hynde said:

It's time to start thinking of 2008. The 2007 edition of the Survivor Literotica Contest is nearly over, with more participants than ever before. Laurel has green-lighted the 2008 edition earlier today, so this is when we ask the usual questions:

For those of you who are participating in the 2007 Survivor Literotica Contest, for those who did in previous editions, or are planning to enter in 2008, what do you think was positive and negative about the contest? Any ideas for improving any aspect of it? Any adjustments to the rules that you think ought to be made? Any comments or questions at all?

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I will be entering the contest in 2008, out of habit if nothing else. In the past, some have suggested a certain amount of quality requirement, namely requiring that entered stories maintain a certain score. Since the individual author has no control over the score, I would be against that idea. Quality of writing is strictly subjective. I have received emails saying I am a genius, or highly talented or similar praise. I have also received email and PC saying I don't know how to write. In a way, both kinds of feedback are equally correct, because I write stroke, with no concern for plot, etc.

Once again, I will some kind of clarification or splitting of the LW category. This may not be your province, of course.

I do have a question. Do you have anything to say about accepting a story? Or, is anything acceptable by Laurel acceptable for you. You might need to verify that entries in the Novela/Novella category are long enoughl to qualify, especially since they are longer than other entries.

Just a couple, a few, several, a dozen or more suggestions from me

I would like to see the minimum story length for the only Survivor Contest raised from 750 words to 1,500.

Stories not posted to Survivor scorecards within a week of their post date are no longer eligible to post in the Survivor contest.

Points for the novel category should be raised from 2 points to 4 points. 7,500 words is a lot for only 2 points. Someone could write 10, 750 word stories and earn 10 points instead of the 2 points offered for novels.

Of course, I'd like to see the prize amounts raised from $500 to $5,000. How about $1,000? I suppose a new Mini Cooper S convertible with the JCW package, green with brown leather seats is out of the question for the first Survivor contestant who scores more than 1,000 points. Hey, you don't ask, you don't get.

I still think it a good idea to give those top scorers Literotica memorabilia, hats, T-shirts, jackets, keyrings, condoms, blowup dolls, vibrators, pocket tits, etc.

Oh, I know, how about whoever wins the Survivor contest automatically has one of his or her stories published in the next Literotica book?

How about 50 bonus points when a player has 10 stories in every category, excluding categories where an immunity was used?

Bonus points for contest scores higher than 1,000 points.

A special award for the player who wins the Survivor contest two consecutive years.

A meeting with the president of the United States for the winner? A guest appearance on Oprah? Tickets to the Oscars?

Celebrity treatment for the winner? I'm not sure what celebrity treatment would entail on Literotica but whatever it is, it should be given to me, I mean, to the winner.

A 14K gold big L for Literotica or S for Survivor or LS for Literotica Survivor on a 14K gold chain given to the winner.

How about taking the 10 best stories from the Survivor winner and putting them in an E-book with proceeds split between the winner and Literotica.

I know, what about paying the winner of the Survivor contest 1/10 of a penny for every hit that he receives on future stories after winning the contest? Hey, you never know. I'm just throwing ideas out there.

A job offer with Literotica as a contest consultant or some other kind of no show job where you are paid lots of money for doing nothing while working at home. Yeah, that's a good one.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those at Literotica who make this free site possible for this wonderful opportunity to post my amateur stories. I've had more fun writing and posting stories than having sex. Only, don't tell that to my girlfriend.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

BOSTONFICTIONWRITER said:

I would like to see the minimum story length for the only Survivor Contest raised from 750 words to 1,500.

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- I'd like to see this too. I believe 750 is too short for a contest of this magnitude.

BFW said:

Stories not posted to Survivor scorecards within a week of their post date are no longer eligible to post in the Survivor contest.

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I don't agree with this. My understanding is that the Score Cards are optional. A writer doesn't even have to use them. They are nice to have, in my opinion, but not necessary. I for one would also see it difficult for some who may have a real life emergency that keeps them from updating their card. Such as illnesses, loss of internet services for a short period of time, family/friend emergencies, vacations...etc.

BFW said:

Points for the novel category should be raised from 2 points to 4 points. 7,500 words is a lot for only 2 points. Someone could write 10, 750 word stories and earn 10 points instead of the 2 points offered for novels.

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This I would agree to also. This category is a big category that takes a lot of effort and commitment. Writers should be awarded for the willingness and ability to go the distance.

BFW said:

Oh, I know, how about whoever wins the Survivor contest automatically has one of his or her stories published in the next Literotica book?

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I don't agree with this idea, simply because.... quality is not always there and worthy of publication.

BFW said:

How about 50 bonus points when a player has 10 stories in every category, excluding categories where an immunity was used? Bonus points for contest scores higher than 1,000 points

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I don't agree either of these, perhaps if you can explain why you want to see this then I could reflect more on it.

BFW said:

A special award for the player who wins the Survivor contest two consecutive years.

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I don't think the winner can win again next year can they? I thought they could still enter, but not win? I could be wrong. Feel free to correct me if I am. But I thought they were ineligible to win and had to skip a year before they could try and "win" again.

BFW said:

How about taking the 10 best stories from the Survivor winner and putting them in an E-book with proceeds split between the winner and Literotica.

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Again Quality versus Quantity

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My suggestions. . . I don't have any at the moment. I'm recovering from surgery... so I had to work off of Boston's suggestions. I may come up with my own after the drugs wear off.

Oh, and when you do start the "who's joining in 2008"... I'll be back in this year again. I had a blast in 2006 setting my own mini-goals and meeting them.

~ Red

I don't agree with the word limit change suggestion - if 750 words is enough for Lit generally, why change it for this contest? Also, I doubt too many Letters would make it to 1500 words without being tedious. I just wrote one for this category and found it quite hard to get to 750, double that would've been beyond me.

It would be nice if some kind of quality control could be initiated. As it stands, the contest is all about quantity and the quality can go completely out the window. But I don't really know how to go about it without it creating a heck of a lot of work for the organiser/s. Individually checking scores on every story in the contest would be an absolute nightmare, and I don't even know if it's possible to get a snapshot of them all at one time.

I'd like a clarification of the timing. Just somewhere easy to see of what the deadline time for entries is AND WHAT TIMEZONE APPLIES. I'd like this on all contest, not just Survivor, and I doubt I'm the only one not in the US that gets confused.

This is probably ramble - I'm not well today, please excuse me.

I don't agree with the word limit change suggestion - if 750 words is enough for Lit generally, why change it for this contest? Also, I doubt too many Letters would make it to 1500 words without being tedious. I just wrote one for this category and found it quite hard to get to 750, double that would've been beyond me.

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Agreed. While I know that this might have been proposed to deter those who write the bare minimum of words for a submission, I don't think it's in the spirit of survivor to disqualify a perfectly good short story that meets the lit guidelines.

I'd also leave the point for N&N submissions at two. I agree that the length of the submissions for this category makes it worth a bit more, but I think double the points is emphasis enough.

Scorecards should remain optional. While I like updating mine, I'm not comfortable with it being mandatory. The point is to write as much as you can throughout the year, and that objective shouldn't change just because of other people's scores. It can be a motivational factor to look at the scoreboard (and it is for me), but that should be it. The contest should be about personal goals, not just about comparing yourself to everyone else.

I do not believe there is a rule about previous winners' future participation. I think none of the winners from the years before decided to participate again, so it was never an issue. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

I would like to see the minimum story length for the only Survivor Contest raised from 750 words to 1,500.

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I think understand the rationale for this--some people feel that some contestants are "cheating" by slamming out trashy little snippets rather than "quality stories." There is no reason to believe that a 1500 word minimum would correct that problem, if it even is a problem.

The few stories I have written have been very short only because I said what I wanted to say and stopped writing. While it may not be obvious, I worked quite hard to write a good story--they just turned out to not need too many words.

On the other hand, if I was only interested in slamming out something regardless of quality, I could probably write a 1500 word piece that would be acceptable to Literotica in perhaps two hours.

Whatever the rules are, there will be ways to game the system and there will be some people who feel that other contestants are "cheating" or getting ahead by writing "trash." I like that the contest rules are very clear: whoever has the most stories and poems accepted across the widest range of categories wins.

Simple is good.

Stories not posted to Survivor scorecards within a week of their post date are no longer eligible to post in the Survivor contest.

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I do not understand the rationale for this suggestion, which seems silly to me. I suppose it is intended to guard against someone sandbagging their scorecard and leapfrogging other contestants at the last minute.

Updating a scorecard is kind of a pain in the rear, and if one has only sporadic access to Literotica, he or she would be at a disadvantage to someone with daily access.

As I said, I think this is a silly suggestion.

Points for the novel category should be raised from 2 points to 4 points. 7,500 words is a lot for only 2 points. Someone could write 10, 750 word stories and earn 10 points instead of the 2 points offered for novels.

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I have no objection to this suggestion. There is some sense behind it.

How about 50 bonus points when a player has 10 stories in every category, excluding categories where an immunity was used?

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I fail to see the point of this one. Why penalize someone who writes a zillion stories in fewer categories?

Bonus points for contest scores higher than 1,000 points.

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Silly.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those at Literotica who make this free site possible for this wonderful opportunity to post my amateur stories. I've had more fun writing and posting stories than having sex. Only, don't tell that to my girlfriend.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

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I have had a good time with this contest, although I am nowhere near the top. I am, at least right now, in the top 25 which I am pleased with for a first attempt.

Just to be clear, I do not have more fun writing and posting stories than having sex.

starrkers said:

It would be nice if some kind of quality control could be initiated. As it stands, the contest is all about quantity and the quality can go completely out the window. But I don't really know how to go about it without it creating a heck of a lot of work for the organiser/s. Individually checking scores on every story in the contest would be an absolute nightmare, and I don't even know if it's possible to get a snapshot of them all at one time.

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Quality is, as Boxlicker101 says, subjective. Basing some kind of QC on a story's score also opens the system to a different form of gaming your score--tempting contestants to go trash other people's votes. Based on all the angst over voting already, I don't think we want to open that as a possibility. Besides, there is some level of QC in place already--that the story is accepted by Literotica. Yes, there are bad stories accepted, but at least the criteria are the same for all parties.

Remember that unlike all the other contests at Literotica, Survivor is organized only by us authors. Literotica only sponsors it, i.e., they offer the prizes at end of the year. Everything else, it's our responsibility. That means that if it's something that you yourself can't do personally - like keeping daily track of the individual scores of every single submission made by every single potential contestant throughout the year - odds are it cannot be done.

Boxlicker101 said:

Do you have anything to say about accepting a story? Or, is anything acceptable by Laurel acceptable for you. You might need to verify that entries in the Novela/Novella category are long enoughl to qualify, especially since they are longer than other entries.

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Usually, anything accepted by Literotica is acceptable to the contest. The exceptions are the ones defined in the rules:

- All submissions made to the Novels and Novellas category must be 7500 words or more to be eligible for the contest.

- All audio stories must be 750 words or more to be eligible for the contest. (...) The accompanying text must be an accurate transcript of the submitted audio

- All illustrated stories must be 750 words or more to be eligible for the contest. (...) illustrations, must be original work of the entrant, i.e. photographs taken, or drawings or paintings created by the entrant.

- Each story or poem must be original work from the entrant for points to be awarded. Stories and poems that had already been posted at Literotica.com, as well as translated, illustrated, narrated, transcribed or templated versions of submissions already entered in the contest are not eligible for points.

All this will be verified as thoroughly as possible when the final scores are tallied.

BOSTONFICTIONWRITER said:

I would like to see the minimum story length for the only Survivor Contest raised from 750 words to 1,500.

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750 words is the minimum defined by Literotica for story submissions. Raising the limit for Survivor purposes to 1,500 words would be impossible to verify (refer back to the first paragraph of this post: if you cannot personally run a word count on 2500 stories, neither will any author acting as moderator). Besides, let's face it: there is no correlation between word-count and quality. Anyone who can spew out 750 words of crap, will spew 1500 words of crap just as easily. A quality short story with 750 words is as hard to write as one with 1500 words, or harder.

BOSTONFICTIONWRITER said:

Points for the novel category should be raised from 2 points to 4 points. 7,500 words is a lot for only 2 points. Someone could write 10, 750 word stories and earn 10 points instead of the 2 points offered for novels.

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Submissions in the Novel and Novellas category already earn twice as many points as those in any other category, regardless of their length. Personally, I think that is enough reward. Having the minimum word count set at 7500 words is a way of guaranteeing that submissions posted to Novels and Novellas have at least the length of a novelette, but there are 10,000-word stories posted to other categories that are only getting 1 point.

RedHairedandFriendly said:

I don't think the winner can win again next year can they? I thought they could still enter, but not win? I could be wrong. Feel free to correct me if I am. But I thought they were ineligible to win and had to skip a year before they could try and "win" again.

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There's nothing in the rules stopping a previous winner from entering and winning again. The contest is open to all members of Literotica.

RedHairedandFriendly said:

Oh, and when you do start the "who's joining in 2008"... I'll be back in this year again. I had a blast in 2006 setting my own mini-goals and meeting them.

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In another 10 days or so. As close to the end of this year's edition as possible, to minimize the unavoidable confusion.

starrkers said:

I'd like a clarification of the timing. Just somewhere easy to see of what the deadline time for entries is AND WHAT TIMEZONE APPLIES. I'd like this on all contest, not just Survivor, and I doubt I'm the only one not in the US that gets confused.

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You may enter the contest any time before midnight, Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8), on December 29, 2007.

Entrants have until midnight, Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8), on January 4, 2008 to make any changes to their ScoreCards.

As for the approval of the stories, I believe that Literotica servers are located on the East Coast of the US, which means that any submissions made before midnight, Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5), on December 31, 2007, provided they are clearly marked SURVIVOR CONTEST in the notes field, should be OK.

RedHairedandFriendly said:

Oh, and when you do start the "who's joining in 2008"... I'll be back in this year again. I had a blast in 2006 setting my own mini-goals and meeting them.

~ Red

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That is the best part, isn't it? I've exceeded my own expectations for this year, which feels great.

I'm still contemplating whether to enter again next year though - I think I might need an off-year creatively. Hmmm...

BOSTONFICTIONWRITER said:

I would like to see the minimum story length for the only Survivor Contest raised from 750 words to 1,500.

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I disagree with this. Word count has nothing to do with quality. You can have a quailty short story written just as easily as a quality 2,000 word story. The same goes with writing crap.

Stories not posted to Survivor scorecards within a week of their post date are no longer eligible to post in the Survivor contest.

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Not everyone has time to update cards regularly. Some people barely have time to write their stories.

Points for the novel category should be raised from 2 points to 4 points. 7,500 words is a lot for only 2 points. Someone could write 10, 750 word stories and earn 10 points instead of the 2 points offered for novels.

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I think the current points and requirements for this category are sufficient.

Lauren Hynde said:

You may enter the contest any time before midnight, Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8), on December 29, 2007.

Entrants have until midnight, Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8), on January 4, 2008 to make any changes to their ScoreCards.

As for the approval of the stories, I believe that Literotica servers are located on the East Coast of the US, which means that any submissions made before midnight, Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5), on December 31, 2007, provided they are clearly marked SURVIVOR CONTEST in the notes field, should be OK.

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Thank you
I shall print this, frame it and stick on the wall beside my computer.

fieryjen said:

That is the best part, isn't it? I've exceeded my own expectations for this year, which feels great.

I'm still contemplating whether to enter again next year though - I think I might need an off-year creatively. Hmmm...

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I took 2008 off and thank goodness I did, because I think my muse went on vacation too. I like the mini-goals so very much, it's more fun to add to my scorecard when I focus on my personal objective than the entire contest.

redhaired, that ticker thing in your signature is amazing! i had to go make one myself, that's just the coolest thing to motivate a girl that i've ever heard of. i'm glad i read your post and got to see that. thank you!

i have enjoyed this contest and disliked it. this is my first time participating in it, in 2007. i want to say what i felt about entering and participating in it.

i think a word limit on stories would be great. some people can pull off a story very quickly. they have good reasons for doing that, it's what they do. does that mean they're competition though? i don't think so. for me, i want to compete against people who really push themselves, who are trying to use this contest to be challenged. i bet people were writing stories just fine before this contest came along. i see things like contests as an opportunity to go to the next level, to compete. and i want to compete against people who really take their writing seriously. i'd like to be challenged that way myself, i'd be okay with an increase in words required.

i'd like to point out that scorecards are mandatory and a part of the judging for the contest. they have to be used, according to the rules. it makes sense because we can't expect the contest moderator to check each of our profiles individually for stories that fit into certain categories and keep track of our scores for us. we're supposed to use them and be responsible for tracking our own scores. i would love to see more thought put into the concept, and a discussion on why they were included in the first place, in the original contests. it would be nice to see the people in charge of this contest revisiting why they brought in or use the scorecards and check and see if they have been successful. if they have, then don't change it and continue as is! if they haven't served their purpose, then i hope people are open minded to seeing what's wrong with them or to just...i don't know, looking for some similar but useful way to track scores without undue pressure and work on the mods.

i think it would be catty of me to point out the definition of competition as it stands in any dictionary. when i think about this contest, though, that's exactly what i want to do. i didn't really enter to win the money. i didn't think i stood much chance of that. i really entered because i spend six out of seven days doing adult erotic artwork, and i'm a writer - and this contest "made" me write. i didn't write for my own happy pervy pleasures, though they were quite satisfied with my results. i entered because i needed a catalyst to write, and i thought there were all these great writers at literotica that i could compete with. i was really excited to be able to spend a year gaging my own abilities against the abilities of others. i met people through the contest i wouldn't have met before. i didn't want to participate in community life in the forums but i did want to be a contender. i wanted to hold my scorecard up against someone else's, to see how well i was doing in this contest, and so i could go read their stories and say, "man, that was just the most amazing story, how can i take this to the next level? how can i do better than them? oh okay, let's get at it, girl!" that's what i came into it expecting, that we'd have some sort of happy camaraderie and well, competition. to me, competition isn't against a clock or against my self. i know i can write, i love my style of writing. if i just wanted to do that, well, i wouldn't do a contest. i wanted to check out other people's stories, and not just anyone's but the people in the contest. i didn't get that opportunity really. when i found out people didn't have to add to their cards, i really felt a genuine jilted feeling. i don't know that i handled it very well, i had some little birdies in my ear goading me to be my worst self and act out. it could have been worse. but i was, in my most integral self, disappointed in the rules and their application. when people don't use their scorecard, they aren't competing against me, against boston, against boxlicker or anyone else on the scoreboard. they're silent, not a part of it til the end. they aren't "in" the competition, in a logical and practical sense of the word. imagine running a race, a nice one on a track, and you can see people to your left and right. and you're racing because you love to run, for the sheer sake of running - but also to win and be the best at racing, at running. so you're chugging along, making good time, seeing the people ahead of you as they get closer to you - because you're starting to make some time and pull ahead! and just when you think you're doing alright, that you might get second or third, out of the blue and shadows come strangers that you've had no idea were even in the race, or who were in the race but were somehow out of sight. you couldn't look over your shoulder and see them and be motivated to try harder. you couldn't gage yourself against their abilities. they were just there, all along, or maybe they even dropped in late in the race. now you probably won't win, and that's alright - but you'll also never have the time to go over the race and see how you could have done better. you won't know where you could have improved your skill, how you could win the next race.

i know some will say i personalize it, heh. hey, i'm a personal kind of girl! i "feel" and i'm pretty glad i do! i don't write just for a living, i write because it moves me to write. and i wanted to compete against my betters, i wanted to find the best writer in this competition and really watch them from start to finish, to "see how it's done", to see how i fared against them. everyone has their own style, right? and sure, we all create our own bliss or joy. we're all responsible for our own success, and for loving ourselves as who we are, etc. we don't judge ourselves against another person's standards - ...unless we enter a competition at that point, we're agreeing to be paced against others. i was completely ready for that. then i heard talk about some people just going to show up in december and drop tonnes of stories in. now i don't know for sure if that's the case, if that's what's going to happen. december isn't over yet! who knows what will happen? but boy was i disappointed in the attitude about the scorecards. no, i don't hold literotica or lauren responsible for the cards or how they are used. if this is an author-run contest, someone thought these things up and thought they'd help. just, i guess i wish i could have raced against everyone, from the minute they intended to enter the contest.

i'll enter into the next one. i don't know if i'll do half as well as this time, but i sure will try! i've really enjoyed racing against the people in the top ten. it was fun to check back throughout the months and see who was rising up, to check where they put the most of their stories and where they used their immunities. i had fun! please don't take this as offensive, if you can avoid that. i was glad, very grateful, to have found this contest. i hope it keeps going! i hope that the mod for the contest sees she's doing a great job! i just wanted to share my feelings on the next competition. i kinda dumped them in, didn't i... sometimes i have a lot of words and i like how they come out, even knowing that others will be wishing i'd have stopped halfway through

The problem with putting a time limit on how long an author has to enter the contest is that new people come to Literotica all the time. If you say, for example, that everyone that's going to compete has to declare their intentions by June 1st, then anyone who joins Lit after that date does not have the opportunity to join in.

As far as people not adding to their scorecards... you always have the option of checking a member's story list. The link is given on the scoreboard. I did this several times to check and see if there were authors who had not been putting things on their scorecards. Sure, it's time consuming, but it's a way to see what others are writing.

i think a word limit on stories would be great. some people can pull off a story very quickly. they have good reasons for doing that, it's what they do. does that mean they're competition though? i don't think so. for me, i want to compete against people who really push themselves, who are trying to use this contest to be challenged. i bet people were writing stories just fine before this contest came along. i see things like contests as an opportunity to go to the next level, to compete. and i want to compete against people who really take their writing seriously. i'd like to be challenged that way myself, i'd be okay with an increase in words required.

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And who is going to check and see that each and every story entered into the contest would meet this limit? Do you have any idea how many new stories are generated each year by this contest and the massive undertaking it would be to do this? Somebody gripes about this every year. The entire purpose of this contest is to add as many new stories to Lit during the year as possible. The more stories you write, the better you do in the contest. Writing stories that just meet the Lit word limit NOT competition? I beg to differ. Knowing you need a certain number of points to catch up to the person ahead of you can definitely add motivation. Also, writing 750 word stories does NOT mean a person doesn't take their writing seriously. As has been stated on this thread already, it's just as easy to write a 2,000 word story that's crap as it is a 750 one. Word quantity does not = quality.

DireLilith said:

i'd like to point out that scorecards are mandatory and a part of the judging for the contest. they have to be used, according to the rules. it makes sense because we can't expect the contest moderator to check each of our profiles individually for stories that fit into certain categories and keep track of our scores for us. we're supposed to use them and be responsible for tracking our own scores. i would love to see more thought put into the concept, and a discussion on why they were included in the first place, in the original contests. it would be nice to see the people in charge of this contest revisiting why they brought in or use the scorecards and check and see if they have been successful. if they have, then don't change it and continue as is! if they haven't served their purpose, then i hope people are open minded to seeing what's wrong with them or to just...i don't know, looking for some similar but useful way to track scores without undue pressure and work on the mods.

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You are the people in charge of this contest. What do you think? The scorecard is a single post where all the submissions that a contestant wishes to enter in the contest are neatly listed and organized by category, along with any immunities and bonuses, so that they're easy to check against the contestant's member's page and the points total is easy to calculate. In my opinion, they serve their purpose very well.

There was once a time when they were all in the same thread, a post made by each contestant, instead of in individual threads. That made it more confusing, I think - although less work for the moderators.

DireLilith said:

redhaired, that ticker thing in your signature is amazing! i had to go make one myself, that's just the coolest thing to motivate a girl that i've ever heard of. i'm glad i read your post and got to see that. thank you!

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Thanks DireLilith. It's been an amazing life-changing experience.

I didn't quote all of your post, as you can see. But you make a lot of good points. The only thing about the scorecards is the fact that not everyone can use them all the time. Meaning... they can't have a set amount of days to enter the information, simply because real life as some folks call it, interferes and they can't access the internet as freely or as often as others.


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I would be all for a deadline for a person to enter the contest... say June 1st. Why? Because I think it does make sense. Yes, there are newcomers that may show up after that and want to enter but they find out they missed the deadline. They can come back next year if they truly want to. We don't let newcomers enter the "special" contests after the deadlines just because they are new. They deadline is set and it is held and it is either met or not met. Why should Survivor be different in that regard?

I came to Lit in May 2005. I read about the Survivor Contest sometime much later than that, probably in Sept. 2005. I knew there was no way I would be able to score high or meet my own personal goals, so I waited until Jan. 1, 2006 and entered the new one. Did I hoard stories I wrote in 2005 to slap them all onto 2006? Nope... You can check my submissions and see I still wrote a hell of a lot in 2005 way before I started in 2006. Could people do this? Hoard stories? Yep, they sure can and some will and some do. But there is no rule that says you can't, nor could anyone realistically check up on someone doing that, so it's not something that one can even call an issue. A deadline for entering however I believe is fair.

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Word Count

Lit's rules are 750 for a story. So someone is supposedly checking that when a story is submitted. If a story is to be submitted to the Survivor Contest, it is to state that fact in the Notes section... right? Those stories could be filtered to another program or another administrator/moderator (or whatever name they have) and that person could easily hit Word Count and see if they are more than (let's say) 1500.

Some categories would be hard to write 750. Letters/Transcripts would be tough, not impossible but yes, harder.

I don't like the idea of an entry deadline, but if one were put in place, it should only apply to an author who is present at the first of the year and would have a deadline of say, June 30 to enter. On the other hand, a new author could enter any time. The idea is to prevent sandbagging. An author who is not entered can write zillions of stories, and lie doggo, entering on Christmas Day, and posting all those stories in the scorecard at once.

An author who is already entered can sandbag, but if another contestant wants, he or she can check on the index of contestants to spot the sandbagging. Personally, I would never do that, considering it to be legal but unethical. I don't believe there should be any time limit to post new stories or poems either. Sometimes they can't be posted for a while.

I like the rule, new this year, of doubling the score for stories in the Novels and Novellas category. However, double score is enough. I post few stories to that category because those I have posted there get few views and/or votes. Even a story that is long enough will usually go to some other category where it will get more views, because I prefer them. It would be nice to win money in the contest but that's not what I write stories here for.

As far as I am concerned, if a story or poem or essay is accepted by Lit., it should be accepted in this contest. That means that 750 words should remain the minimum for stories or essays. It also means no quality requirement. That is too subjective to be a requirement. To judge by some PC's and emails that I get, many of my stories are crappy, because they are strictly stroke. (According to other PC's and emails, I am a genius who writes incredible stories.)

ETA: I intend to enter next year's contest also. Will I hoard stories to get a running start next year? No, except up to a point. I am in fourth place right now, and am not going to overtake the third place contestant. I should have enough of a lead over the fifth place contestant. Even so, I recently submitted three new stories, worth five points, and I might submit more by the end of the month. At the same time, if I write an erotic poem, I will keep it until next year, because that category is at its max. Furthermore, I am not going to bust my ass finishing and submitting stories this year, rather than waiting until next year and submitting it then. If I finish anything in the next week, I will submit it, but I do have a life besides writing smut.

RedHairedandFriendly said:

The only thing about the scorecards is the fact that not everyone can use them all the time. Meaning... they can't have a set amount of days to enter the information, simply because real life as some folks call it, interferes and they can't access the internet as freely or as often as others.

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Not only that, but how do you check it? If you're the moderator, how do you know if a story posted on January 14th was added to the scorecard before or after January 21st, if the only thing you see if you go there now and check the scorecard is that it was last edited on December 23rd?

RedHairedandFriendly said:

Word Count

Lit's rules are 750 for a story. So someone is supposedly checking that when a story is submitted. If a story is to be submitted to the Survivor Contest, it is to state that fact in the Notes section... right? Those stories could be filtered to another program or another administrator/moderator (or whatever name they have) and that person could easily hit Word Count and see if they are more than (let's say) 1500.

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The only reason for SURVIVOR CONTEST to be added to the notes section is, after December 20th, to get priority checking for approval. That's it. The back-end of Literotica doesn't have anything to do with Survivor, and getting a separate word-count for Survivor-stories, even if there were such a thing, would add way too much work to the editors.

Personally, I would have no problem with a deadline for joining the contest. I'd be comfortable with setting that deadline at the end of October. It would be close enough to the end of the year to minimize the effects of real newcomers arriving late and starting to write stories for the following year, but long enough for everyone to know where they stand and make those last two months of all-in-the-open competition very interesting. Participants in NaNoWriMo can attest on how much a little motivation can make a difference even over a relatively short period of time.

Lauren Hynde said:

Personally, I would have no problem with a deadline for joining the contest. I'd be comfortable with setting that deadline at the end of October. It would be close enough to the end of the year to minimize the effects of real newcomers arriving late and starting to write stories for the following year, but long enough for everyone to know where they stand and make those last two months of all-in-the-open competition very interesting. Participants in NaNoWriMo can attest on how much a little motivation can make a difference even over a relatively short period of time.

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That sounds like a good compromise.

CrimsonMaiden said:

That sounds like a good compromise.

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I agree.

Lauren Hynde said:

Personally, I would have no problem with a deadline for joining the contest. I'd be comfortable with setting that deadline at the end of October. It would be close enough to the end of the year to minimize the effects of real newcomers arriving late and starting to write stories for the following year, but long enough for everyone to know where they stand and make those last two months of all-in-the-open competition very interesting. Participants in NaNoWriMo can attest on how much a little motivation can make a difference even over a relatively short period of time.

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I think that, if that becomes a rule, it should only apply to long-term members. A person who signs on to Lit., and reads about the contest should not have that restriction in being allowed to enter. Such persons would probably not have much chance of winning, but they should be allowed to give it a shot.

I don't get it.

I don't know, maybe 'cause I'm from Boston and we people from Massachusetts are always out of step with the rest of the country, but I don't get the logic.

When someone wants to participate and compete in the Survivor Contest, why can't they fillout their scorecards as their stories post? Why the need for the secrecy and deception. This isn't a story that we are writing, but a contest that should have nothing to do with a surprise ending. I still agree with Direlilith and would like to know who my competition is during the year without having to look over my shoulder and wonder if there is someone out their with a score higher than mine or have to go through the sheets of others to get a feel for their score should they join the contest on 12/31.

Hey, this is your contest. I'm only offering my suggests as requested, but every time I post here, I get attacked. Even when I fall all over myself with apologies, they are not accepted. I guess because I am not one of the "in crowd" (thank Christ). I'm only here to write stories. If I make a friend, then I am a happy man. I'm a nice guy. Just ask my kids, my dog, my wife, my girlfriend, and my mistress. Hey, where'd everyone go?

Nonetheless, I'd like the see the Survivor Contest handled on a level playing field with all participants knowing who they are competing against and what is the score? What is so wrong with knowing that information as the game is played? Why is that so hard to understand?

Fine you don't want a 750 word limit and would rather have some unethical writer write a few hundred stories of absolute shit, so long as it is 750 words, and post it all at year end, than that is okay with me because I can play that game, too (not that I would). I have a fan base to consider. Autographs in the lobby after I post this.

I read that not everyone has the time to fill out their score card. That's crap. If they have time to write a story, how long does it take to post it to your score card. Give me a break.

Okay, okay, before I get another lambasting, I'm leaving. Bye.

Boxlicker101 said:

I think that, if that becomes a rule, it should only apply to long-term members. A person who signs on to Lit., and reads about the contest should not have that restriction in being allowed to enter. Such persons would probably not have much chance of winning, but they should be allowed to give it a shot.

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But that would mean that a person could spend the first 10 months of the year writing but not submitting, stacking up stories and poems, and then, come November, they could register a new ID, start submitting massively, and sign on to the contest on December 29th.