The now fully official Author’s Hangout Halloween 2025 competition support thread

[EmilyMiller]

Not wishing to boast, but I'm almost finished with my story. My question is this. Is it too early to submit, or should I wait? Thanks

I have submitted mine, but only as I wanted there to be enough time for it to be rejected and resubmitted. There are [indirect] references to a 12 yo beginning to menstruate. While this is entirely natural at this age, and l’d also run it past Laurel in advance, getting her blessing, I wanted to be 100% sure.

It’s less work for Laurel if you can wait.

 

[alohadave]

Do the masks and costumes have to be real and can we go metaphorical? I’m thinking about doing a story where someone removes a mask they wear in public and give themselves permission to be who they want to be.

Hell yeah, go for it.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Do the masks and costumes have to be real and can we go metaphorical? I’m thinking about doing a story where someone removes a mask they wear in public and give themselves permission to be who they want to be.

To add to @alohadave, I think it’s more about tone. I think you need something vaguely spooky going on - if not supernatural, then outré or out of the ordinary. Only you will know if you meet this criteria.

 

[Unblemished]

Edit: Somehow missed the word 'Halloween' in there, better fix that in the master copy...

So I suppose I should dust off The Graveyard Shift and see if I can get the damn thing finished. Somewhat tongue in cheek story about a spooky girl getting laid in a graveyard, as narrated by a voyeuristic succubus.

Of course, in an ideal world the girl would have done this later in the year, on a night in the lonesome October when the moon shone full on Halloween. But you couldn't really trust the autumn weather, even in these days of global warming, and besides there wasn't going to be another Halloween full moon until 2039 and she wasn't gonna wait that long.

Quite sensible, really. Human civilisation is scheduled to have started collapsing by then, so if she's still around in '39 she'll probably be busy.

 

[Tiredofit]

September is here and that means it's Fall here in the northern hemisphere.

That can mean only one thing - it's time to start cranking out that Halloween story that you've been dying to tell! Let's kick off Autumn 2025 in the northern climes with a new support thread -

Halloween (Oct 31)

View attachment 2564679

Themes: scary stuff, costumes, Halloween traditions (trick-or-treating, etc.), etc.

You can begin submitting on (or before):October 2

The last day to submit is October 23

Winners Will Be Announced: October 30

The author must copy and paste the phrase "HALLOWEEN 2025" to the "Notes to Admin" field of the submission (without the quotation marks).

And please add the tag "HALLOWEEN 2025" (without the quotation marks)

Read Laurel's notice of the start of the contest sticky at the top of the Authors' Hangout (when it magically appears), before submitting and follow the instructions in that thread. I will keep an eye out for that information and update this page as soon as I see it (or as soon as someone points it out to me).

This thread is to SUPPORT and ENCOURAGE authors to enter stories in the 2025 Halloween Contest. For you new writers, this thread is a great place to meet your fellow authors and share ideas, tips, and tricks of the trade.

As Ogg always told us, there is an advantage to entering stories in one of Literotica's themed contests. Apart from the possibility of winning, your story gets far more exposure and attention than it would normally do.

Some of that attention might be unwelcome, some abusive, but this thread is a good place to vent after getting that kind of attention. Some of that attention could be appreciative and helpful and this thread is a great place to come and share those accolades.

It's that time! Bring out your masks, candies, and creepy accessories, and prepare to put a spell on your readership.

[plagiarized with prejudice from @Rustyoznail’s announcement from 2024]

I just have a quick question. With the Halloween contest. Can you submit more than one story?

 

[EmilyMiller]

I just have a quick question. With the Halloween contest. Can you submit more than one story?

Yes. But only one can place. I.e. you can’t be first and third. #4 will be promoted to #3 instead of you.

 

[Actingup]

I just have a quick question. With the Halloween contest. Can you submit more than one story?

Should you is another question. You can look at past years to see lots of examples of multiple entries. For some authors, quality and quantity go together, and others less so. Make sure that you don’t dilute one effort for the sake of getting another done.

 

[FrancesScott]

Should you is another question. You can look at past years to see lots of examples of multiple entries. For some authors, quality and quantity go together, and others less so. Make sure that you don’t dilute one effort for the sake of getting another done.

I found this out the hard way.

I had a top five story in the recent Summer Lovin’ competition and also a second story which was one of the lowest rated (guess which category that was in?) It seems likely that the high rated story suffered some contagion related to those readers who loathed the low rated one. Without that cross-pollution, who knows what my rating might have been.

So be careful as @Actingup says.

 

[RoyalAuthor]

I just submitted mine because I'll have really limited time and spotty internet for the next month. I wrote it months ago to get ahead since I knew I'd have a hard time logistically around this contest schedule. Hopefully it's not too early.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I just submitted mine because I'll have really limited time and spotty internet for the next month. I wrote it months ago to get ahead since I knew I'd have a hard time logistically around this contest schedule. Hopefully it's not too early.

Me and you both

 

[Rustyoznail]

I've got a really short story based on a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song that I'll tweak for this. Problem is, it'll go in non-erotic...

Actually, thinking about it, Erotic Horror would be a fit.

Bizarre, shocking, scary, and sometimes sexy...

Ok, there's a plan.

 

[Ian_Snow]

Good luck to everyone. Don’t think I have anything for this one but looking forward to reading.

 

[BryanRichardson]

Im partway through a story and just realized it might not meet the guidelines. The main character is a doppelgänger who imitates their sexual partners bodies by killing them and eating parts/ drinking blood.
Does this break a rule? Where do I find that rule?
Thanks.

===
I found it under Content Guidelines:

• Sexualized death, “vore”, or “snuff” fiction. Characters are allowed to kill or die in stories, but the death should not be intended as sexually titillating.

I can change the story to make it work.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Im partway through a story and just realized it might not meet the guidelines. The main character is a doppelgänger who imitates their sexual partners bodies by killing them and eating parts/ drinking blood.
Does this break a rule? Where do I find that rule?
Thanks.

Dunno. I have my angel / demon fiancées kill two Nephilim by fellating them then biting off their manhoods as they cum. Then my story is yet to be approved, so .

 

[StillStunned]

If the death/violence isn't sexualised - if you don't write it to arouse the reader - it seems to be OK. I have a story where the POV character stabs a man as he's masturbating over her. I have space vampires suck the souls out of people during sex - and another character then have sex with the soulless bodies while the vampire seduces another character.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

If the death/violence isn't sexualised - if you don't write it to arouse the reader - it seems to be OK. I have a story where the POV character stabs a man as he's masturbating over her. I have space vampires suck the souls out of people during sex - and another character then have sex with the soulless bodies while the vampire seduces another character.

Y'all be some sick (insert Samuel L. Jackson catchword here). I love it. LOL

 

[EmilyMiller]

In a previous Halloween story, I had a vampire self-dust after mistakenly biting my angel FMC during sex. She and her demon girlfriend had swapped costumes for Halloween.

 

[StillStunned]

Y'all be some sick (insert Samuel L. Jackson catchword here). I love it. LOL

My head is a better place with these ideas out of it.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

My head is a better place with these ideas out of it.

Are they truly out? Or are they all stirred up and energized by your paying attention to them?

 

[StillStunned]

Are they truly out? Or are they all stirred up and energized by your paying attention to them?

No, they're free to spread their wings and nestle in someone else's head now.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

No, they're free to spread their wings and nestle in someone else's head now.

Then you are inordinately lucky, "Mr Sticky".

 

[BryanRichardson]

by fellating them then biting off their manhoods as they cum.

Minds think alike.

 

[Soixenta]

How my story starts:

The pain was beyond describing, beyond knowing. The pain was the entire world, flaying her, consuming her, eating her alive, stripping away all perception, all thought, all understanding until nothing remained but a blinding, burning awareness of silver.

The end.

Well, there's some action that leads up to this, but you get the picture.

 

[EmilyMiller]

How my story starts:



Well, there's some action that leads up to this, but you get the picture.

Werewolf?

 

[Soixenta]

Werewolf?

I have not decided yet how it will play out. The opening that I wrote had the point of view character (referred to as a Shadow) be trapped by enemies that are connected to the moon. I have only written less than 300 words so far.

The idea is that main character dies, but is cursed to come to life, or undeath. But I could rewrite the first bit so she's human, a very nasty human, who messes with the wrong supernatural powers and is killed and cursed by them.

I will have to see where the keyboard takes me.