The Official Authors' Hangout April Fool's 2018 Support Thread

oggbashan

Dying Truth seeker
Joined
Jul 3, 2002
Posts
56,017
I am starting this thread now so that writers have no excuse for not starting a story in plenty of time. The Valentine's Day contest is still running but the April Fool's contest follows a short time afterwards - about three weeks from this post.

April Fool's (April 01)
themes: Stories (humorous or otherwise) of surprise meetings, humor, tricks, trick endings, and other themes of deception, chance, and/or misunderstandings (happy or otherwise)
starts: March 01
closes: March 20
winners announced: March 27


This thread is to SUPPORT and ENCOURAGE authors to enter stories in the April Fool's Contest. Get your characters tricked, confused, embarrassed and fooled.

There is an advantage to entering stories in one of Literotica's themed contests, apart from the possibility of winning, and that is that your story gets far more exposure and attention than it would normally do.

Some of that attention might be unwelcome, some abusive, but some could be appreciative and helpful.
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Extract from Welcome Authors! Please Read:

PLEASE NOTE: DO read ALL contest rules. We had many cases of authors not putting the proper phrase in the NOTES field, which meant that we couldn't find their submission and thus they were not entered in contests. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do read the special contest announcements when they are posted (usually around two weeks before the contest start).
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Oh, thank God. I nearly broke myself writing that last one for VD. I could definitely use something lighthearted (and for fuck's sake SHORT). Already got one I'm strategizing (for all the good THAT ever does me once I set words on the screen).
 
Oh, thank God. I nearly broke myself writing that last one for VD. I could definitely use something lighthearted (and for fuck's sake SHORT). Already got one I'm strategizing (for all the good THAT ever does me once I set words on the screen).

I'm with you. I have only the inkling of a seed of an idea at this point, but I'm hoping to keep it short[er] for once, if it kills me. Also, it's inspired by a thread on the LE forums, so that's fun.
 
Is this a popular contest? I think I read that the Valentine's Day contest is the most popular one, but I don't recall about this one. I'm going to try to do it. I submitted one story for Valentine's Day but it wasn't the one I really wanted to submit, so I'm going to shoot for getting the one I want in for April Fool's Day.
 
Is this a popular contest? I think I read that the Valentine's Day contest is the most popular one, but I don't recall about this one. I'm going to try to do it. I submitted one story for Valentine's Day but it wasn't the one I really wanted to submit, so I'm going to shoot for getting the one I want in for April Fool's Day.

It was quite popular last year. I always find it harder to come up with an idea for April Fools though.
 
It was quite popular last year. I always find it harder to come up with an idea for April Fools though.

I've got an idea and I've got time to write it, I think -- a rare combo. I also seem to be in one of my "fast" writing pace phases (not Chloe Tzang fast, but it will do), so I want to take advantage of that while it lasts. They fade quickly.
 
I've got an idea and I've got time to write it, I think -- a rare combo. I also seem to be in one of my "fast" writing pace phases (not Chloe Tzang fast, but it will do), so I want to take advantage of that while it lasts. They fade quickly.

Who is?
 
Is this a popular contest? I think I read that the Valentine's Day contest is the most popular one, but I don't recall about this one. I'm going to try to do it. I submitted one story for Valentine's Day but it wasn't the one I really wanted to submit, so I'm going to shoot for getting the one I want in for April Fool's Day.

All the contests seem to get similar entry numbers, from what I've seen over the last 3-4 years. Somebody will have a more accurate assessment than my gut feel, I'm sure.
 
I'm with you. I have only the inkling of a seed of an idea at this point, but I'm hoping to keep it short[er] for once, if it kills me. Also, it's inspired by a thread on the LE forums, so that's fun.

Right?

I looked up last night/this morning and realized my "simple idea" had already generated about ten pages worth of notes on the character backstory. But, I'm bound and determined that this one will be five screens max if I have to pull a Weird_Harold and drop an asteroid on the house mid-coitus. (Hey, at least they'll come and go at the same time.)
 
Well. Inspiration struck this afternoon. We’ll see what develops.

This is always the hardest contest for me.
 
Well. Inspiration struck this afternoon. We’ll see what develops.

This is always the hardest contest for me.

All it takes is one hot idea to get the juices flowing... Good luck!
 
Bump...

I'm beginning to think that April Fool's stories might just be a premise and a final twist and very short. Once the punchline has been delivered? That's it.

Do you think the April Fool contest stories should be longer?

My drafts so far are getting too long for the simple twist ending. I think I need to reconsider.
 
Bump...

I'm beginning to think that April Fool's stories might just be a premise and a final twist and very short. Once the punchline has been delivered? That's it.

Do you think the April Fool contest stories should be longer?

My drafts so far are getting too long for the simple twist ending. I think I need to reconsider.

I'm still a little unsure about the April Fool's thing myself. I spent some time thinking about the stated theme ("Stories (humorous or otherwise) of surprise meetings, humor, tricks, trick endings, and other themes of deception, chance, and/or misunderstandings (happy or otherwise)") to wrap my head around it, and I've concluded that I'm close enough. Aside from a couple literal mentions of the holiday, I have a surprise meeting, humor, deception (in the form of voyeuristic spying).

I think your formula sounds solid. I'm not planning on ending it after a final twist though. My twist is a turning point after which it proceeds to the payoff and a happily-ever-after. (Which is partly why I'm having a really hard time trying to decide if this belongs in Exhibitionist & Voyeur, or Romance.) So I don't necessarily think they should be longer. In fact, I'm trying to keep mine shorter than they've been as of late. But I hope this will work well enough in this particular theme, not being crafted as a premise and punchline.

Ah well, I'm sure it will work itself out. I'm especially curious to hear how others are approaching this one though...
 
Bump...

I'm beginning to think that April Fool's stories might just be a premise and a final twist and very short. Once the punchline has been delivered? That's it.

Do you think the April Fool contest stories should be longer?

My drafts so far are getting too long for the simple twist ending. I think I need to reconsider.

I don't think there's a single, simple answer to the question. It depends on the story.

With my story, which I've only just started, I figure getting through the setup, the reminiscing, the tricks, the meal, and the sex will take me to three Lit pages, at the least. But I never quite know until I'm about half-way through.
 
Now there's a good story idea right there. The author then enters an April Fools story competition thinking its real and the discovers .....:eek:

I can't even imagine what an April Fools Erotic story would be like, prank gone wrong/right? A march break contest would be better.
 
I can't even imagine what an April Fools Erotic story would be like, prank gone wrong/right? A march break contest would be better.

Hah. Not necessarily a prank. Last years winner of the April Fool's story competition. Just for you. I shall feign modesty of course and not mention the name of the author. :cool:

Fingerprints on my Heart.
 
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Now there's a good story idea right there. The author then enters an April Fools story competition thinking its real and the discovers .....:eek:

How about the prank is that any star vote gets uniformly applied to all stories in the contest. The happy, twist ending is that we all suddenly start cheering each other on and editing each other's stories with the understanding that the better anyone does, the better we all do. And it goes down in LE history as the best set of contest submissions ever.
 
im not funny so...

This is the most challenging one...

I agree, I simply try to have a plot twist ending... although one of my mine is currently at 36000 words and still has two major sex scenes to be written.
 
Oh, man. I went looking on youtube for "sexy pranks" hoping to spark an idea.

Now I need a brain enema. Most of that shit just wasn't funny to me. Or particularly sexy.
 
I have a blow job scene, a wife sharing scene, a plot twist, and a final big bang left to write. Could happen in a month if I'm lucky.

I agree that pranks aren't very sexy, but surprise endings and twists can be. In this one, I'm trying to explore placebo effect as driving force.
 
Oh, man. I went looking on youtube for "sexy pranks" hoping to spark an idea.

Now I need a brain enema. Most of that shit just wasn't funny to me. Or particularly sexy.

Lol. I agree on that one, they're mostly pathetic. I'm more for the twist at the end if I can come up with something. If I do, this story's going to have to be short and cute coz I haven't even started thinking about it. Although I have time right now coz I'm sitting in the car with the heat on full waiting for the ice to melt. Freezing rain last night and it's too hard to chip off. So I'm sitting here for the next 15 minutes trying to round up one of Tex's plot bunnies.
 
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