The Official Author's Hangout 2014 Earth Day Contest Support Thread

a.i.r. cums to the rescue again!

BuckyDuckman said:

Well, the thread needs a bump. So, I'll give it one. I've never done this before, but I actually checked the scores of all the posted stories to check something and YEP! I'm in LAST PLACE! So much for writing about unlikable characters!

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How do you check the scores? I don't even know how to check my own, much less everyone elses

For the newbies:

The so called award above is fake. As is the so called association of one. No one would give an association of one the power to pick anything. It's a load of bullshit as is everything put out by this propaganda alt.

Now, back to the one and only real contest thread in the AH.

jonthechaosman said:

How do you check the scores? I don't even know how to check my own, much less everyone elses

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You can click on the author's name, then click on the list of their stories, then see the score for the story(ies) you're interested in.

jonthechaosman said:

How do you check the scores? I don't even know how to check my own, much less everyone elses

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If you're serious about not knowing how to check your own scores, click your name on the front page which takes you to your control panel, and then click Submissions and then View Current Submissions. You can see your rating, votes and views here for all your stories. Click Recent Activity and you can also see who favorited/commented on your stories. Good luck in the contest!

Tried to highlight the Earth Day theme by framing one of my entries as a debate between two generations on the positives and negatives of using coal for power. Appear to have hit a nerve as I've got a lot of feedback from readers on how they don't like global warming mixed with their bed warming.

Just curious if any other writers here have received negative feedback for trying to mix political themes (i.e. environmentalism) with erotica in their stories?

Seanathon said:

Tried to highlight the Earth Day theme by framing one of my entries as a debate between two generations on the positives and negatives of using coal for power. Appear to have hit a nerve as I've got a lot of feedback from readers on how they don't like global warming mixed with their bed warming.

Just curious if any other writers here have received negative feedback for trying to mix political themes (i.e. environmentalism) with erotica in their stories?

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Mine isn't so controversial. It's the twist at the end of mine that isn't so popular, but I get that a lot.

Seanathon said:

Tried to highlight the Earth Day theme by framing one of my entries as a debate between two generations on the positives and negatives of using coal for power. Appear to have hit a nerve as I've got a lot of feedback from readers on how they don't like global warming mixed with their bed warming.

Just curious if any other writers here have received negative feedback for trying to mix political themes (i.e. environmentalism) with erotica in their stories?

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I haven't written one yet, but I'm not surprised.

Religion, politics, etc. are polarizing. I'm beginning to understand that discussing such topics with someone at the opposite end of the spectrum is pointless. No one is going to change the mind of another person, so arguing about it is pointless.

Adding it to a story, no matter which side you take, is going to garner criticism from someone.

patientlee said:

Mine isn't so controversial. It's the twist at the end of mine that isn't so popular, but I get that a lot.

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I had a feeling about Carlos, but not the others. That being said, It certainly didn't upset me as it may have done to others. It's one of the best I've read so far.

patientlee said:

Mine isn't so controversial. It's the twist at the end of mine that isn't so popular, but I get that a lot.

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I loved the twist at the end of your story, and it seemed to me that Josh didn't have any reason to be complaining. And your 'twist' ending felt far more believable than some other first time stories I've read. My guess is that most people lost their virginity to a more experienced partner. I know I did.

Sticking to this theme and not riling up the natives is one of the more difficult parts of this contest.

What I've found works best is to focus in on something specific - a single mission that's directed at a single place. Clean up a woods. Protest a polluting factory. Roadblock a logging company. Start a green cemetery.

If you take the focal issue outside of the GW umbrella and stick to something specific, it doesn't offend the natives as much. Your characters can be vegan, drive hybrids, etc. and you don't seem to get knocked for it.

It's the mention of Global Warming, Climate Change, or anything too broad to do with air pollution in general that can get you in trouble.

If you don't want to "water it down" ( without getting too deep into it, this isn't so to me. It's close to my own real views, so it comes naturally ) then you have to be prepared for a small group of very loud protesters to trash you with low scores and snide commentary.

Seanathon said:

Tried to highlight the Earth Day theme by framing one of my entries as a debate between two generations on the positives and negatives of using coal for power. Appear to have hit a nerve as I've got a lot of feedback from readers on how they don't like global warming mixed with their bed warming.

Just curious if any other writers here have received negative feedback for trying to mix political themes (i.e. environmentalism) with erotica in their stories?

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My story did mention global warming, and a couple of other environmental policy issues, but apparently it was hidden well enough that noone has noticed. Or maybe it's because I didn't have climate change as a major problem

from Clueless Camping
"You know how people worry about global warming and the consequences like more hurricanes or higher sea levels? Well, the real threats to nature and biodiversity aren't climate changes, but global trade, travel, and too many humans."

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I didn't elaborate on the 'too many humans' part, but I guess with a story in GM readers wouldn't worry about birth control matters

Seanathon said:

Tried to highlight the Earth Day theme by framing one of my entries as a debate between two generations on the positives and negatives of using coal for power. Appear to have hit a nerve as I've got a lot of feedback from readers on how they don't like global warming mixed with their bed warming.

Just curious if any other writers here have received negative feedback for trying to mix political themes (i.e. environmentalism) with erotica in their stories?

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Sorry to hear that. Taking the issues of Earth Day seriously is a chore, which adds to this contest topic being problematic. I did one on uranium strip mining last year and no one commented negatively on the angle--and a tongue-in-cheek one on water pollution the year before without backlash. That there will be backlash and low scores is not, in my view, a reason not to take the challenge the contest provides to try to write something meaty like you seem to have done. If you found it a challenge and liked the results, that should be award enough.

I'll probably go to it an give you a 5 just for taking the risk and for taking the contest theme seriously. I didn't take the theme too seriously this year because I'm tired of this contest theme but am not tired of the readers a contest entry brings. My submissions page has been lit up like a Christmas tree since the contest began on author favorites and favoriting of my backlog stories enough to make joining in the contest worthwhile even if my entries get savaged in the ratings.

Later: An ahem after going to the story. It's rating hot and only one of eight comments objects to the political bent of the story. And it has 10 favorites. Methinks you protest too much. I've lost sympathy.

sr71plt said:

Later: An ahem after going to the story. It's rating hot and only one of eight comments objects to the political bent of the story. And it has 10 favorites. Methinks you protest too much. I've lost sympathy.

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He does say 'feedback' and not comments, so that may mean the negative stuff is sent via mail and not written where we can see it.

But it would be interesting to see some examples of how readers have reacted.

I'll go back to square one and read it without the sympathy leaning. I'll likely find it more interesting than yet another wood nymph entry (like the one that just posted from me this morning).

On my posting this morning, hint to competitors: If you don't try to post on the first day (winners in the past have included those who didn't post until the last week) but hold off a few days, you are pretty much guaranteed lead-off posting on the New list, which gives you an edge in readership.

sr71plt said:

I'll go back to square one and read it without the sympathy leaning. I'll likely find it more interesting than yet another wood nymph entry (like the one that just posted from me this morning).

On my posting this morning, hint to competitors: If you don't try to post on the first day (winners in the past have included those who didn't post until the last week) but hold off a few days, you are pretty much guaranteed lead-off posting on the New list, which gives you an edge in readership.

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I'm almost positive they show up in a different order on my phone than my computer.

Stupid question... Why do some people post more than one story in a contest? Mean...why is it permitted?

Swilly said:

I'm almost positive they show up in a different order on my phone than my computer.

Stupid question... Why do some people post more than one story in a contest? Mean...why is it permitted?

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In recent years, the web site has gone to rotating the contest stories at the top of the New list (as they do on the separate listing of them). The contest stories remain at the top of that day's New list, though, and if you time it right (a couple of days after the start of the contest when others have busted a gut to make the first listing), you stand a good chance of being the only contest posting that day--ergo sticking on the top of that day's list. It worked for me today.

As to the second question, the contest permits multiple story entries, so the question of why it's permitted being asked of the authors here is moot. (The web site's interest is in having as much participation as possible, I would think.)

I think it's a good idea. It's a chance for an author to show readers that she/he isn't a one-trick category writer.

I enter more than one often--and entered twelve in one contest in response to our resident super troll slamming those who entered more than one--to show variety and to garner new readers in multiple readership pools. When I entered those twelve, they were in radically different categories and I swept in a multitude of new readers in all of those categories.

I have entered both a GM one and a straight one this year in the Earth Day contest. I'll get double the attention from two distinctly different sets of readers.

With me, the contest isn't about winning, because my stories get savaged no matter what--and with little concern for the story content or quality, I believe. It's about adding readers and story and author favoriting.

As best I've been able to observe, the new story list updates a few times a day. Whenever it does, the order seems to change - at least a little. I rarely see a move of more than two or three places.

No clue whether it's a function of the query that generates the list or directly moving stories.

Multiple entries have always been allowed. It doesn't really affect anything as far as the contest goes. It might technically increase your statistical probability of placing, but history doesn't demonstrate that happening.

It's about an even split between single and multi-entry winners ( If I'm remembering all this correctly from when I looked into it ) Then, when you remove the final chapter winners from when every chapter of a multi-chapter story was allowed to be an entry in the contest, the single entry winners come out on top.

Even looking at winning pen names only, there are times where the name didn't place with 2 or 3 entries, only to place in a later contest where they only entered one.

Everything I looked at boiled down to six of one, half a dozen of another. Entering multiple stories didn't help or hurt your chances of placing.

Laurel has said that if anyone can give a good reason to disallow multiple entries, she'll do it. That's what prompted me to dig into the statistics. Nobody's managed to come up with one yet.

RejectReality said:

As best I've been able to observe, the new story list updates a few times a day. Whenever it does, the order seems to change - at least a little. I rarely see a move of more than two or three places.

No clue whether it's a function of the query that generates the list or directly moving stories.

Multiple entries have always been allowed. It doesn't really affect anything as far as the contest goes. It might technically increase your statistical probability of placing, but history doesn't demonstrate that happening.

It's about an even split between single and multi-entry winners ( If I'm remembering all this correctly from when I looked into it ) Then, when you remove the final chapter winners from when every chapter of a multi-chapter story was allowed to be an entry in the contest, the single entry winners come out on top.

Even looking at winning pen names only, there are times where the name didn't place with 2 or 3 entries, only to place in a later contest where they only entered one.

Everything I looked at boiled down to six of one, half a dozen of another. Entering multiple stories didn't help or hurt your chances of placing.

Laurel has said that if anyone can give a good reason to disallow multiple entries, she'll do it. That's what prompted me to dig into the statistics. Nobody's managed to come up with one yet.

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I was more just curious. It struck me as odd on a themed contest like this. The way the monthly contests worked, multiple entries made sense to me. I honestly don't care one way or another.

RejectReality said:

As best I've been able to observe, the new story list updates a few times a day. Whenever it does, the order seems to change - at least a little. I rarely see a move of more than two or three places.

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It's not clear to me what you mean by "updating." Yes, in the morning hours (and, on rare occasions, into the afternoon on the U.S. East Coast), stories get added into an already building list. (This is what leads me to think there's some determination on the editor's part what should be listed on top--because I've seen instances where a story of mine has appeared first deep in the list and then wound up on top when the list solidified--my recent "Flowing Blonde Scalp" was lifted way up from where it first appeared on the building list to the top spot of the day). After the list solidifies for the day (no new ones added), I think it's only the contest portion where you will find story titles rotating thereafter.

RejectReality said:

Everything I looked at boiled down to six of one, half a dozen of another. Entering multiple stories didn't help or hurt your chances of placing.

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That may be so, but, as I noted, placing in a specific contest (a contest that functions as a "so many ways to screw it up" sieve as far as contests go) is a very short-sighted consideration for authors regularly posting stories to Literotica. It's a showcase to enhance their long-term readership. When looked at that way, there's every reason to enter multiple stories in multiple categories--and there's every reason for the web site to permit it (unless they are fooled into thinking that their contests do much in helping the cream rise to the top).

Regarding order of stories: I have no hard evidence for this, but because I've kept the list up since it opened so that I can read all the stories when I get a chance it seems as if the story list on the Contest page (not on the New Stories page) is reassorted randomly almost every time I refresh my browser window. However, I haven't taken screen shots to follow it "scientifically". On the other hand, it may be wishful thinking on my part, as I think that would be the right way to do it.

Yep, but it's the New list I'm addressing, not the separate contest story-only list (which I wish would identify the story categories).

Question for the experts re. being "favored"

I am curious what your "policy" is regarding folks who favor you and/your stories - do you respond to thank them or not? Did you do it at first but no longer (now that some of you have lots of such "hits") ? As a newbie, being "favored" is a very nice compliment (and infrequent), and I feel like I should respond in some way, but maybe some would consider spamming. Just wonderin'...

Haven't really dug into that much. It's entirely possible that it only changes when new stories are added. I may have missed new stories that were added deeper in the list where your eyes start to glaze over from the wall-o-text.

( which is why getting placed down there is a bad thing )

Never saw a large jump like that, but then again, that could be a product of the wall-o-text as well. May have missed a story that was there, which then jumped in an update and I assumed it was an added story.

No way of really knowing. I've only looked at it on occasion, and always as a peripheral observation while doing something else.

sr71plt said:

It's not clear to me what you mean by "updating." Yes, in the morning hours (and, on rare occasions, into the afternoon on the U.S. East Coast), stories get added into an already building list. (This is what leads me to think there's some determination on the editor's part what should be listed on top--because I've seen instances where a story of mine has appeared first deep in the list and then wound up on top when the list solidified--my recent "Flowing Blonde Scalp" was lifted way up from where it first appeared on the building list to the top spot of the day). After the list solidifies for the day (no new ones added), I think it's only the contest portion where you will find story titles rotating thereafter.

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Mara12 said:

I am curious what your "policy" is regarding folks who favor you and/your stories - do you respond to thank them or not? Did you do it at first but no longer (now that some of you have lots of such "hits") ? As a newbie, being "favored" is a very nice compliment (and infrequent), and I feel like I should respond in some way, but maybe some would consider spamming. Just wonderin'...

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I've never directly responded to someone favoriting me or a story unless there's an email or public comment as well.

I look at a favorite as a passive form of feedback, not really expecting a response. Just my opinion, though.