Hammered – an Ode to Mickey Spillane” - the 2025 Story Event Official Support Thread

ChloeTzang

Literotica Guru
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Posts
16,530
Well guys 'n dames, writers and fans of gritty hard-boiled noir can rejoice! 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024's "Hammered - an Ode to Mickey Spillane" events were popular enough that Laurel's asked me if I'd like to organize another one for 2025.

I came up with this as a one-off for 2021, and honest-to-god, I never thought I'd see it running for a FIFTH year consecutively, but no shit, it is! Much to my amazement! So here we go - I’m posting this thread to officially kick off the 2025 “Hammered – an Ode to Mickey Spillane” Story Event. Laurel will be creating the Event Page shortly, but the “go live” date is Thursday 31st July 2025, so you've got a whole 7 months to think, contemplate, plan and write for this one.

What’s the theme? As if you need to ask? Well, it’s an Ode to Mickey Spillane, so think gritty, dark, and overflowing with violence and sex in the best traditions of Spillane’s Mike Hammer. Spillane knew he was writing pulp, and his guiding principle serves as the theme for this event “violence will outsell sex every time,” but, “combined, they will outsell everything.” Spillane’s books were a huge commercial success, but their plain style and often violent content didn’t tend to sit well with critics. His works were variously referred to as “atrocious” and “nauseating,” while his most famous creation was called a “homicidal paranoiac” by Malcolm Cowley, who called Spillane himself "a dangerous paranoid, sadist, and masochist."

So there you go, and if you’re still not sure, go read a couple of Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels and go for it. Vivid descriptions. Short words. Fast transitions. Violence. Sex. Stereotyping and caricatures. Minimalism. The suggestion that allows your imagination to fill in the blanks. Like Spillane’s writing. Set the scene. Switch to dialogue.

Anyhow, the intent of this event is, well, to write something that reflects Spillane’s stylistic approach to writing as much as anything. Call it noir. Call it hard-boiled. Call it whatever the hell you like, guys 'n dames. I’d say, as much as anything, go for the style, the violence and the sex, but really, interpret it any way you like, just do it! And…

Have fun!

This thread is to SUPPORT and ENCOURAGE authors to enter their stories in this 2025 Story Event. If you have any questions, post them here, and someone will answer. It might be me, it might be someone else, but don’t be shy. Ask. There’s no such thing as a dumb question. And if you’re still shy, PM me. I’ll answer. LOL. I always do.

If you’re a first time writer, or this is the first time you’re thinking about doing a story for an “Event” or a Competition on Literotica, hey, don’t be stressed about it. We’ve all been there, and a “story event” like this is a great way to test the waters without getting into the competitiveness of a writing competition. This ain’t a competition, it’s an exhibition, it's an event, it's open invitation to everyone, from the complete novice to the writers that have been here since the dawn of Literotica and really, if you need any encouragement - you have to start somewhere, so if you're still hesitating, just do it. You'll find plenty of encouragement - we all started somewhere and what better place to get started than a non-competitive writing event with a common theme to inspire you.

Also, there no scores, no placing, no judging, and no prizes. This is just writing for fun with a bunch of other people doing the same thing. If you’re not sure about what to do, how to submit your story, or anything at all, just ask here. We’ve all been there, we’re a bunch of very helpful people, and we like to pass it on.

So without further ado, are you interested in writing for the 2025 “Hammered – an Ode to Mickey Spillane” Story Event? If you are, get started! You've got 7 entire months to get something done! First time writers and veteran Literoticans alike are invited and encouraged to participate. You’ll be in good company

Submission deadline: July 15th-30th (stories submitted & posted)
Event date: final anthology list posted on Thursday July 31st 2025

The rules are really simple
1. Stay more or less with the theme but feel free to interpret it however the heck you like.
2. You can write in any category and any length, as long as you keep in mind Rule #1
.3. Please include “Hammered Story Event 2025” in the notes field. Please use this exact wording so Laurel can identify the entries.
4. Please use “Hammered an Ode to Mickey Spillane” as a story tag
5. You can submit anytime from 15th July 2025 on, but all entries need to be submitted by 11:59pm, Wednesday 30 July, 2025.
6. All stories will Go Live on Literotica on Thursday 31st July 2025 (or maybe sooner if Laurel wants to spread them out....)

So what are you waiting for? Next year? Get started now! Every single one of these events has been a lot of fun for all of us who wrote stories for them, and there's been quite a range of stories!

And lastly, this Event is dedicated to the memory of two of our long time authors who passed away this year. KeithD (sr71plt, aka Pilot) and TxRad, who both wrote stories for a lot of these events. Their presence and their contributions are missed. RIP Pilot and Tex. Miss you guys, but you live on in your stories and in our memories.

The genesis for this event was a prompt from a fellow-writer on Literotica and a good friend, Maonaigh, who passed away back in 2023. Maonaigh and I joined Literotica and started writing here around the same time, shared a love of writing, and read and enjoyed each other's stories. It was Maonaigh who made a comment on one of my other stories (Halloween in Roanapur) that gave me the idea that sparked off this "Hammered" story event, and I think it's fitting to make a mention of this in his memory. Thanks for the inspiration, Maonaigh. See you in the next incarnation, and in the meantime, I'll raise a glass in your memory, for after we're gone, memories are all that remain. Sláinte.

1703383809591.png
 
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Yup - and I have a story for this one too - "The Great-Granddaughter of Fu Manchu" - I better finish it this year!!!!! Another Roanapur story....half started....and the events are merciless I tell you. Merciless.....

Dude on the floor was dead. Dead as one of those chickens you saw, plucked and hanging in rows in a food market stall down on Soi Kraisi. Bullet to the head does that, every time. That’s not something you see in a food market stall on Soi Kraisi. You do see it in Roanapur though. See it a lot if you’re in my new line of business, which was pretty similar in a lot of ways to what I’d done in New York for Mr. Ho and the Flying Dragon Syndicate. Roanapur wasn’t much different, just, business was a bit more cut-throat here than in New York, and the denizens of Roanapur were the dregs of the world.

Roanapur: A city of prostitutes, drug-addicts, mercenaries, killers, and psychopaths of any and every nationality. The Triads. The Mafia. The Colombian and Mexican cartels. The Filipino gangs. The Yakuza. Hotel Moscow. The international biker gangs, the criminal ones. The Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Australian Comancheros. The worst of the criminal underworld. Islamofascists. Mercenaries. Neo-Nazis. The CIA, Mossad, the North Korean RGB, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, and every other Intelligence agency and criminal organization needing a base outside the law. They were all there, in Roanapur, coming from across the world to butt heads, and jostle for power, in a city outside the control of any government. A city outside any laws.

Roanapur: The edge of the world, the crucible of hypocrisy, a place where those whose souls have been destroyed in the relentless search for money and power resided. Many who came here to make a name for themselves were swallowed by the darkness, never to return. A cruel fate awaited any half-assed small-time crook who accidentally stumbled into Roanapur, for Roanapur was merciless to the weak. Roanapur’s merciless to everyone, but if you owed Hotel Moscow, or Mr. Chang’s Triad, or one of the other bigger criminal gangs, well, you were in a whole other league of mercilessness. Around the periphery of those larger gangs, there were the smaller organizations with their own specialities. Black Lagoon, with their transport business. Sawyer, and her cleaning service. The Church of Violence, selling weapons. You name it, they were there, peddling their services to all-comers, no questions asked.

Me, I was in debt recovery. Something I was good at. Very very good. Debt recovery in Roanapur gets pretty competitive, when you’re recovering the kinda debts I specialized in recovering, and I guess the dude on the floor musta been competition.

Used to be competition. He wasn’t anymore. Not with his brains dripping onto the tiles.

Now he was just another body on the floor......
 
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This sounds difficult... yes it would be exciting to try something different. I have so many reasons why I should not do this and that is exactly why it is worth an attempt.

Got to read some of his books to get a sense of what this challenge is all about.
 
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This sounds difficult... yes it would be exciting to try something different. I have so many reasons why I should not do this and that is exactly why it is worth an attempt.

Got read some of his books to get a sense of what this challenge is all about.
It's a fun theme, and we've seen some excellent stories over the years. I entered the first one, but left it far too late each year to submit a follow up.

I've got several thousand words written from last year, and a loose premise for a plot. And a woman with more curves than Topanga Canyon...
 
This sounds difficult... yes it would be exciting to try something different. I have so many reasons why I should not do this and that is exactly why it is worth an attempt.

Got to read some of his books to get a sense of what this challenge is all about.

It's worth the effort, believe me. Read Mickey Spillane's "I, The Jury," or some Raymond Chandler just to get the idea, but you don't need to be religious about it. There's some very good Noir anthologies out there too. When I started this, I picked up a few from Abe Books, used and cheap, as well as a lot of Mickey Spillane (I already had lots of Raymond Chandler) and just skimmed through it to get a feel for the genre.

Heck, read the story in my sig, that was my own first attempt and my entry from 2023 and I had a ball writing it. I think I can do better this year tho but in the end, it's just trying it and then working to improve the technique and story and do something you feel satisfied with.

It really is fun if you enjoy Noir.
 
It's a fun theme, and we've seen some excellent stories over the years. I entered the first one, but left it far too late each year to submit a follow up.

I've got several thousand words written from last year, and a loose premise for a plot. And a woman with more curves than Topanga Canyon...

LOL. I started this after a prompt from Maonaigh, I think it was a comment he made on my "Halloween in Roanapur" story that kicked me off with the idea. But 2023 was the only year I actually managed to get a story in myself. This year tho, for sure!!!!!
 
NOTE: Chloe, there is one date that needs correcting: Event date: final anthology list posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2025

I'm on it, doll face! 4,900 words started.

“Robert’s always been reckless,” she muttered, almost to herself. “It’s only a matter of time before it all catches up to him.” Her voice was low, almost conspiratorial, before she looked up at me, all sweetness and sorrow again. “I just want the truth, Jack. Get me that in black and white… and I’ll make it worth your while.”
 
NOTE: Chloe, there is one date that needs correcting: Event date: final anthology list posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2025

I'm on it, doll face! 4,900 words started.

“Robert’s always been reckless,” she muttered, almost to herself. “It’s only a matter of time before it all catches up to him.” Her voice was low, almost conspiratorial, before she looked up at me, all sweetness and sorrow again. “I just want the truth, Jack. Get me that in black and white… and I’ll make it worth your while.”

Ohhhhh, drat. And thx. Corrected. Great to see you doing an entry!
 
I don't know if this affects anyone participating, but The Maltese Falcon is now public domain (in the US, other locations may vary).
 
Well guys 'n dames, writers and fans of gritty hard-boiled noir can rejoice! 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024's "Hammered - an Ode to Mickey Spillane" events were popular enough that Laurel's asked me if I'd like to organize another one for 2025.

I came up with this as a one-off for 2021, and honest-to-god, I never thought I'd see it running for a FIFTH year consecutively, but no shit, it is! Much to my amazement! So here we go - I’m posting this thread to officially kick off the 2025 “Hammered – an Ode to Mickey Spillane” Story Event. Laurel will be creating the Event Page shortly, but the “go live” date is Thursday 31st July 2025, so you've got a whole 7 months to think, contemplate, plan and write for this one.

What’s the theme? As if you need to ask? Well, it’s an Ode to Mickey Spillane, so think gritty, dark, and overflowing with violence and sex in the best traditions of Spillane’s Mike Hammer. Spillane knew he was writing pulp, and his guiding principle serves as the theme for this event “violence will outsell sex every time,” but, “combined, they will outsell everything.” Spillane’s books were a huge commercial success, but their plain style and often violent content didn’t tend to sit well with critics. His works were variously referred to as “atrocious” and “nauseating,” while his most famous creation was called a “homicidal paranoiac” by Malcolm Cowley, who called Spillane himself "a dangerous paranoid, sadist, and masochist."

So there you go, and if you’re still not sure, go read a couple of Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels and go for it. Vivid descriptions. Short words. Fast transitions. Violence. Sex. Stereotyping and caricatures. Minimalism. The suggestion that allows your imagination to fill in the blanks. Like Spillane’s writing. Set the scene. Switch to dialogue.

Anyhow, the intent of this event is, well, to write something that reflects Spillane’s stylistic approach to writing as much as anything. Call it noir. Call it hard-boiled. Call it whatever the hell you like, guys 'n dames. I’d say, as much as anything, go for the style, the violence and the sex, but really, interpret it any way you like, just do it! And…

Have fun!

This thread is to SUPPORT and ENCOURAGE authors to enter their stories in this 2025 Story Event. If you have any questions, post them here, and someone will answer. It might be me, it might be someone else, but don’t be shy. Ask. There’s no such thing as a dumb question. And if you’re still shy, PM me. I’ll answer. LOL. I always do.

If you’re a first time writer, or this is the first time you’re thinking about doing a story for an “Event” or a Competition on Literotica, hey, don’t be stressed about it. We’ve all been there, and a “story event” like this is a great way to test the waters without getting into the competitiveness of a writing competition. This ain’t a competition, it’s an exhibition, it's an event, it's open invitation to everyone, from the complete novice to the writers that have been here since the dawn of Literotica and really, if you need any encouragement - you have to start somewhere, so if you're still hesitating, just do it. You'll find plenty of encouragement - we all started somewhere and what better place to get started than a non-competitive writing event with a common theme to inspire you.

Also, there no scores, no placing, no judging, and no prizes. This is just writing for fun with a bunch of other people doing the same thing. If you’re not sure about what to do, how to submit your story, or anything at all, just ask here. We’ve all been there, we’re a bunch of very helpful people, and we like to pass it on.

So without further ado, are you interested in writing for the 2025 “Hammered – an Ode to Mickey Spillane” Story Event? If you are, get started! You've got 7 entire months to get something done! First time writers and veteran Literoticans alike are invited and encouraged to participate. You’ll be in good company

Submission deadline: July 15th-30th (stories submitted & posted)
Event date: final anthology list posted on Thursday July 31st 2025

The rules are really simple
1. Stay more or less with the theme but feel free to interpret it however the heck you like.
2. You can write in any category and any length, as long as you keep in mind Rule #1
.3. Please include “Hammered Story Event 2025” in the notes field. Please use this exact wording so Laurel can identify the entries.
4. Please use “Hammered an Ode to Mickey Spillane” as a story tag
5. You can submit anytime from 15th July 2025 on, but all entries need to be submitted by 11:59pm, Wednesday 30 July, 2025.
6. All stories will Go Live on Literotica on Thursday 31st July 2025 (or maybe sooner if Laurel wants to spread them out....)

So what are you waiting for? Next year? Get started now! Every single one of these events has been a lot of fun for all of us who wrote stories for them, and there's been quite a range of stories!

And lastly, this Event is dedicated to the memory of two of our long time authors who passed away this year. KeithD (sr71plt, aka Pilot) and TxRad, who both wrote stories for a lot of these events. Their presence and their contributions are missed. RIP Pilot and Tex. Miss you guys, but you live on in your stories and in our memories.

The genesis for this event was a prompt from a fellow-writer on Literotica and a good friend, Maonaigh, who passed away back in 2023. Maonaigh and I joined Literotica and started writing here around the same time, shared a love of writing, and read and enjoyed each other's stories. It was Maonaigh who made a comment on one of my other stories (Halloween in Roanapur) that gave me the idea that sparked off this "Hammered" story event, and I think it's fitting to make a mention of this in his memory. Thanks for the inspiration, Maonaigh. See you in the next incarnation, and in the meantime, I'll raise a glass in your memory, for after we're gone, memories are all that remain. Sláinte.

1703383809591.png
Chloe when will you or someone else do an audio of one of your stories???
 
Woohoo 🥳!!! I grew up sneaking Spillane and Chandler novels off my dad’s classics bookshelves, and I have made what I hope is a promising start by 1) writing like I usually do and then 2) cutting out most of it - especially the descriptive words! - and replacing long words with short wherever possible.

Somehow it’s a different kind of satisfying than when I let myself go wild with torrential flowery verbiage worthy of a repressed Victorian governess 😊
 
Thanks for hosting again this year, Chloe!

I submitted my Geek Pride story today so I'm back on this one as my next target. I'm about 3,500 words into the story, the concluding arc in the "Dyno-Mite" trilogy that started in 2022 and continued in 2023. Unfortunately, it hasn't progressed much since missing last year's deadline and I'm swamped with work, so we'll see if I can pull this off in time.
 
To be announced soon by Laurel on Literotica and a month and a bit to go - so happy writing for this one.
 
All writing challenges have been fun this year. This is another one which needs more reading and writing something way beyond what I think possible. This would be loads of fun.
 
Probably won't be publishing in this one, and not sure I'll be doing the Crime and Punishment one either. Now, I'm so sad!
 
I’ve got an idea I’m not sure I can pull off, trying to put my PI character into an Erotic Horror tale. I’ve enjoyed this event twice before. Third times the charm?
 
Vivid descriptions. Short words. Fast transitions. Violence. Sex. Stereotyping and caricatures. Minimalism. The suggestion that allows your imagination to fill in the blanks. Like Spillane’s writing. Set the scene. Switch to dialogue.
I can do all of that except the violence. ☹️ I haven't been as active on Literotica lately and thought this could be something I could use to jump back in. Oh well...
 
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