The Official Author's Hangout Earth Day 2013 Contest Support Thread

Happy Saturday

Who's writing?

My mind's working on a second, and maybe even a third, Earth Day contest story today, but I have a couple of mainstream contest stories to polish up and get out today--and some for-fee editing to do, so I may not get to Earth Day. I do have an entry off at the editor, though.
 
My mind's working on a second, and maybe even a third, Earth Day contest story today, but I have a couple of mainstream contest stories to polish up and get out today--and some for-fee editing to do, so I may not get to Earth Day. I do have an entry off at the editor, though.

I'm working on three but it looks like maybe one might get finished. Work keeps interfering. :rolleyes:
 
I'm working on three but it looks like maybe one might get finished. Work keeps interfering. :rolleyes:

Yeah me too. I have a book festival coming up and a Bahamas cruise right after that. I'm not sure even when I'll be able to submit stories for the contest. (Maybe I'll just submit on the last day and run on the first 25 votes of very few views. *wink*)
 
I've had my two main characters nailed down for a while, ideas for the overall flow of the story, the conflicts, and the ending is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but getting all the pieces together and actually getting it on "paper" is going to be the problem.

Still at 50-60 hours a week, and having to use most of my spare time car-hunting because mine is dead, and since nobody's been able to afford new cars for a few years, the used market is rather sparse around here.

As a matter of fact, I'm off again right now on the hunt.
 
I've had my two main characters nailed down for a while, ideas for the overall flow of the story, the conflicts, and the ending is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but getting all the pieces together and actually getting it on "paper" is going to be the problem.

Still at 50-60 hours a week, and having to use most of my spare time car-hunting because mine is dead, and since nobody's been able to afford new cars for a few years, the used market is rather sparse around here.

As a matter of fact, I'm off again right now on the hunt.

I hear ya. I just bought a '95 Miata for tooling around in. It needs a little work, but she's a hot little firecracker. :D
 
Happy Saturday

Who's writing?

I more or less finished a story last night, only . . . it'd be hard to justify it as an Earth Day entry. But I think I have an idea that will fit right in with the contest. Although, I won't be able to get to it until later. Got family things to do today.
 
I've had my two main characters nailed down for a while, ideas for the overall flow of the story, the conflicts, and the ending is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but getting all the pieces together and actually getting it on "paper" is going to be the problem.

Still at 50-60 hours a week, and having to use most of my spare time car-hunting because mine is dead, and since nobody's been able to afford new cars for a few years, the used market is rather sparse around here.

As a matter of fact, I'm off again right now on the hunt.

Try 84 hour a week for three weeks more or less and then 5 to 9 days off. I've been doing that for the last 40 years. :D

I'm not paying more for a car than I paid for my house. Not unless it comes with a maid and hot sex.
 
Try 84 hour a week for three weeks more or less and then 5 to 9 days off. I've been doing that for the last 40 years. :D

I'm not paying more for a car than I paid for my house. Not unless it comes with a maid and hot sex.

You're a wise man. Although I loved driving the Miata back in the day.
 
Well, one problem solved. The place I went today had what I was looking for and within my budget. Newest car I've ever owned - 2012. Of course, it's only the third. Drove this one for 10 years and it was five years old with 75k miles when I bought it. Ended up over 300k.

Insurance taken care of, so just the plates and registration to deal with ( plus getting my old car picked up by the junkyard from where it died in the parking lot at work :p )

Starting to get to a point where I'm not in a constant zombie state from all the hours at work. Hated missing Earth Day last year, and I'm not going to be any more happy with myself if I miss this year. Need to be awake enough for these two to talk to me so I can get their story rolling.

Try 84 hour a week for three weeks more or less and then 5 to 9 days off. I've been doing that for the last 40 years. :D

I'm not paying more for a car than I paid for my house. Not unless it comes with a maid and hot sex.

With the crap economy, my hours have been down averaging below 40 for the last 5-6 years. A 33% increase pretty much overnight is a bit tough to get adjusted to. Picked up two huge customers, and they just expanded the categories we're sending them exponentially.
 
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Well, one problem solved. The place I went today had what I was looking for and within my budget. Newest car I've ever owned - 2012. Of course, it's only the third. Drove this one for 10 years and it was five years old with 75k miles when I bought it. Ended up over 300k.

Insurance taken care of, so just the plates and registration to deal with ( plus getting my old car picked up by the junkyard from where it died in the parking lot at work :p )

Starting to get to a point where I'm not in a constant zombie state from all the hours at work. Hated missing Earth Day last year, and I'm not going to be any more happy with myself if I miss this year. Need to be awake enough for these two to talk to me so I can get their story rolling.



With the crap economy, my hours have been down averaging below 40 for the last 5-6 years. A 33% increase pretty much overnight is a bit tough to get adjusted to. Picked up two huge customers, and they just expanded the categories we're sending them exponentially.

Hang in there and make it while you can.

I might just get some writing done today. :)
 
Finished two older short stories today, and another chapter in one of my ongoing ones. Outlined two Earth day stories yesterday. Great weekend for writing, finally.

I may actually squeeze out some time for this contest.
 
Finished two older short stories today, and another chapter in one of my ongoing ones. Outlined two Earth day stories yesterday. Great weekend for writing, finally.

I may actually squeeze out some time for this contest.

Here's hoping.
 
Halfway through an Earth Day story. Lots of public nudity in this one. No "action" just yet, but I'll work some in. I'm having more fun describing the actions and reactions surrounding a group of college students who solicit signatures for an Earth Day awareness petition in the buff. Should make for a fun read :D
 
I'm getting worried my Earth Day story isn't Earth-y enough. I had started with a typical "Earth Mother" kind of thing but threw that in the trash. It wasn't doing anything for me. When you don't care if your main characters have sex (ever), you know the story is D.O.A.

The story I am working on takes place on Earth Day, both the present day Earth Day and three years in the future. It centers on a character who has a fetish about Earth Day that drives the plot, but the action takes place in a house, another house, various hotels, a restaurant, a hospital, and a police station. Only one scene out in "nature."

I was just reading the rules and I'm wondering if I'm too far off the theme and will be viewed as "throwing in a hippie backpacker."

Thoughts?
 
I don't think anyone cares anymore about adherence to the theme (regardless of the contest guidance says). Does anyone who has entered a contest have experience recently of a commenter saying "I downrated your story because it don't adher to the theme enough"? (I think they should; I just don't think they do anymore--if they ever did.)
 
Sounds to me like Earth Day is central to the plot, so the places where things are happening is irrelevant.

I've written Earth Day stories where the sex ( and sometimes nothing ) happens outside, and they weren't dinged by readers, because they were on theme. Earth Day and other things such as recycling/green energy were central to the plot.

http://www.literotica.com/s/going-green-2 for one. Almost the whole story takes place in front of a computer, and the only time any character is outside is to walk to his or her car.

SR: Yes, I've seen comments on contest stories concerning theme. Several I didn't agree with after reading the story, but the comments were there. I think the last one I remember was during Summer Lovin' last year.

The number of such comments has seemed to sharply decline over the last couple of years, though.
 
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The number of such comments has seemed to sharply decline over the last couple of years, though.

Disappointedly, I think that's the case. You might remember that I did running reviews of two of the contest a few years back, assigning point values to various aspects of the stores. One was adherence to theme. I hadn't given the highest marks to the winning entries, and the reason for that came down to they paid very little attention to theme while there were nonwinners that did clever things with theme. So, despite what Laurel puts in the story guidance, I don't think that, overall, the readers/voters pay much attention to theme.
 
To me, it's less about what the readers think is on theme and what I believe meets the bar -- which is usually a higher standard.

That's why I struggle so much with Nude Day. Coming up with something plausible that fits the bill on that one is just a nightmare for me. I'm extremely happy with the last couple ( Double Dip and Beauty of the Wood ) but the previous two attempts just feel flat and forced to me when I read back through them.

When someone asks, I usually answer with what I consider the "reader bar", which is still based on the way things were a few years back, when you saw a lot of comments about theme on stories.

SR's more or less right that the current reader standards on theme are all but non-existent. At the very least, they're irrelevant to the outcome of the contest. Author and category are the biggest determining factors. Theme is probably a distant last on the factors readers vote on.

In the end, it's probably more important whether you believe the story fits the bill than what the readers think. You're the one who has to look back on that story for years to come and decide whether you're satisfied with it as a proper entry in the contest. Once the contest is over, nobody else ( not that there are many nowadays anyway ) is going to care whether it's on theme but you.
 
In the end, it's probably more important whether you believe the story fits the bill than what the readers think. You're the one who has to look back on that story for years to come and decide whether you're satisfied with it as a proper entry in the contest. Once the contest is over, nobody else ( not that there are many nowadays anyway ) is going to care whether it's on theme but you.

This is why I have often skipped over various contests in the past. Whether or not I thought I could slip a story in under the radar was not a question for me. If I submit during a contest, I feel an obligation to stay on theme. If I just pick up an old story and have a character mention in a blurt that "Oh, look! Today's Earth Day!" then I consider that to be almost like cheating. The entire story has to revolve around the theme; the theme can't just be coincidental to the story.
 
I think I've got a lock on theme this year. Uranium strip mining. :D
 
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