Valentine's Day Story Contest 2009 Reminder and Support Thread

[YoursSINSerely]

I need votes

Don't forget to sing out if you're short on votes, or barely over the 25 vote threshold. Those who haven't been able to keep up with all the entries can focus in on you, if they haven't read you yet, and perhaps put you into qualified territory.

I've read and voted on almost everything, even though I'm not leaving comments. Takes me too long to think of what to type in the comment box, cutting down on reading time

My scores suck, but maybe it’s the stories that suck and the scores reflect it. If I could get them to double, I might reach 25. I’m singing out. Fah, lah, lah, lah, lah

Thanks.

 

[Munachi]

Munachi, you might not be getting as many votes, etc because you told the readers right off the bat that it was an under the wire submission that wasn't edited. I would bet that would cause many people to back click without even bothering to read it. Normally, Romance stories get a decent amount of votes.

hm could be... on the other hand, if i hadn't done so i guess people might have complained about all mistakes they found... but maybe if the situation is like that again i shouldn't do so, don't know...

 

[DG Hear]

just saw your comment... thanks! glad you liked the story...

am still busy reading all the entries, will see that i check out yours soon...

oh and surry if my post above came above a bit like wining... am a bit tired today, so that always puts me into a strange mood... generally i write because i enjoy writing, and because there are so many thoughts in my head that are looking for a way out... so scores aren't that important... but it is of course still nice to get votes and stuff...

I totally agree with you. It's the same reason why I write.
DG

 

[RainierWriterII]

Why I write?

I totally agree with you. It's the same reason why I write.
DG

Because I can!

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

I am slowly working my way through the entries. My PCs are signed by my writing ID though, not this one.

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Good Morning Og,

If my Valentine story doesn't get to 25 votes, which it looks like it won't, does that disqualify it for being in the contest in regard to counting it as one of my submissions for the Survivor Contest?

One of my entries is a letter and one is non-erotic. I know you aren't the expert on the Survivor Contest Scorecard. Does anyone else know where I log those two submissions into my scorecard. I don't see any rules on minimum votes to the Survivor Contest.

I also thought, if I continue to write crap, it probably shouldn't count for points in the Survivor Contest as well. I can see it's going to be a long year here. I'm already thinking about packing my bags and moving out.

I'll take advice and guidance from ANYBODY who want to help out the newbie. Thanks.

 

[Darkniciad]

Good Morning Og,

If my Valentine story doesn't get to 25 votes, which it looks like it won't, does that disqualify it for being in the contest in regard to counting it as one of my submissions for the Survivor Contest?

One of my entries is a letter and one is non-erotic. I know you aren't the expert on the Survivor Contest Scorecard. Does anyone else know where I log those two submissions into my scorecard. I don't see any rules on minimum votes to the Survivor Contest.

I also thought, if I continue to write crap, it probably shouldn't count for points in the Survivor Contest as well. I can see it's going to be a long year here. I'm already thinking about packing my bags and moving out.

I'll take advice and guidance from ANYBODY who want to help out the newbie. Thanks.

Crim can correct me, but I'm fairly certain that acceptance into the contest qualifies you for the bonus points in Survivor. It doesn't necessarily have to make the qualifying bar for the actual Valentine's contest -- two different things.

You're not writing crap, even if the scores and vote totals aren't up to where you want them. You're new, without quick name recognition just yet, and you're writing in a tough category to pick up votes in.

It took me months to consistently make it to 10 votes in a much higher-read category ( if still small by comparison to the dominating cats on the site ).

Hang in there

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Crim can correct me, but I'm fairly certain that acceptance into the contest qualifies you for the bonus points in Survivor. It doesn't necessarily have to make the qualifying bar for the actual Valentine's contest -- two different things.

You're not writing crap, even if the scores and vote totals aren't up to where you want them. You're new, without quick name recognition just yet, and you're writing in a tough category to pick up votes in.

It took me months to consistently make it to 10 votes in a much higher-read category.

Hang in there

Dear Dark,

Thanks for your response.

Is it the Valentine Contest that is the tough category, or the Letters that is the tough category?

 

[Darkniciad]

Dear Dark,

Thanks for your response.

Is it the Valentine Contest that is the tough category, or the Letters that is the tough category?

Letters is the tough one. It and Novels/Novellas probably have the lowest rate of voting/commenting on the site.

 

[Munachi]

yay, woke up to several new votes and comments... now i think i am well enough over 25 to not have to worry... thanks...

now back to reading, hope i manage to read as many stories as possible still...

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Zyrtec Helps

It took me months to consistently make it to 10 votes in a much higher-read category ( if still small by comparison to the dominating cats on the site ).

Hang in there [/QUOTE]
I'm allergic to cats. They make me sneeze, and make me sick. I love them, but I try to stay away, but I realize they are everywhere, so I take a pill in order to tolerate them.

Thanks for your help this morning, Dark.

 

[humminbean]

25 min

You're new, without quick name recognition just yet, and you're writing in a tough category to pick up votes in.

The "no name recognition" probably isn't doing me any good. At the current rate, I'm not likely to make the 25 vote minimum - and the first four or five votes looked like the fan clubs of well-liked writers voting me down!

I can't get too bent out of shape about it. Voting on Amazon reviews is subject to much more pervasive manipulations. I'm just here to have fun reading and writing. As far as that's concerned: mission accomplished.

(Or was that 'emission accomplished'?)

 

[RainierWriterII]

The "no name recognition" probably isn't doing me any good. At the current rate, I'm not likely to make the 25 vote minimum - and the first four or five votes looked like the fan clubs of well-liked writers voting me down!

I can't get too bent out of shape about it. Voting on Amazon reviews is subject to much more pervasive manipulations. I'm just here to have fun reading and writing. As far as that's concerned: mission accomplished.

(Or was that 'emission accomplished'?)

One more vote for you anyway...

 

[RainierWriterII]

yay, woke up to several new votes and comments... now i think i am well enough over 25 to not have to worry... thanks...

now back to reading, hope i manage to read as many stories as possible still...

My vote totals have dropped consistently the last couple of days. I've gone from 566 to 529 to 502, and just now they went to 446. Yet somehow my score remains the same, which seems to defy logic. How can I lose over 100 votes and still end up with the exact same rating each step of the way down? Riddle me that Batman!

 

[RainierWriterII]

My vote totals have dropped consistently the last couple of days. I've gone from 566 to 529 to 502, and just now they went to 446. Yet somehow my score remains the same, which seems to defy logic. How can I lose over 100 votes and still end up with the exact same rating each step of the way down? Riddle me that Batman!

Well, my rating finally changed, but I'm now down to 292 votes! Go figure...

 

[zeitgeist_the_clown]

Hey Look! Stupid question from a dumb newbie!

All right, I'm new here, and I can't figure it out on my own.

How do you tell how many votes your story is getting? I can't figure out where to go, or what button to push, or what spirit to summon.

A little help?

 

[past_perfect]

On the same page where you submitted your story - instead of going to submit, go to view.

 

[zeitgeist_the_clown]

Muchos danke for the info, Past Perfect.

Oh, and -- Holy Crap! I've got 32 votes! I was afraid of not getting 25 before the 12th, and I'm over that with a couple of days to spare!

Huzzah!

 

[manyeyedhydra]

Muchos danke for the info, Past Perfect.

Oh, and -- Holy Crap! I've got 32 votes! I was afraid of not getting 25 before the 12th, and I'm over that with a couple of days to spare!

Huzzah!

Beware the final sweep oh young and inexperienced one...

There's usually a ginormous sweep to remove fraudulent votes (or rather votes the system thinks might be fraudulent - no one really knows what the process is) before the final cut off date. You might be safe with 32, as it's usually the people with hundreds that lose the odd hundred or so, but it probably won't hurt to beg for extra votes.

(Personally I'm hoping the sweep bumps my story up to an 'H', but i suspect my story might have been a little too cruel this time round )

 

[zeitgeist_the_clown]

Huh. The things a newbie learns . . .

Well, based on manyeyedhydra's advice, I find myself having to say, OH PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, VOTE ON MY STORY LEST THIS 'SWEEP' THINGY REMOVE ANY OF MY PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS VOTES!

Seriously, go read my story. It's not very long, so it won't eat up much of your day. I'd say that it's kind of clever, but I wrote it, so who am I to judge?

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=405998

Thanks to all 32 of you that voted already. Thanks in advance to the rest of you for the voting you're about to do ("he says, hopefully")

 

[Lee Chambers]

After the vote sweep my score went up but I lost a few votes and I already didn't have the required 25. My story is long, 9 lit pages long and I think that's affecting how many people are voting on it. Anyone who would be willing to read through it, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm still trying to get through a lot of the other stories, although I've read some of them. I'd be more than happy to read anyone who needs votes.

 

[humminbean]

Score vs. votes

My vote totals have dropped consistently the last couple of days. I've gone from 566 to 529 to 502, and just now they went to 446.

Wow - I'm all the way up to a honkin' hot 17 votes.

Yet somehow my score remains the same, which seems to defy logic. How can I lose over 100 votes and still end up with the exact same rating each step of the way down? Riddle me that Batman!

Suppose your score was 4. Then suppose you lost 50 votes that gave a 3 and fifty that gave a 5. If the average of votes removed is the same as the average of all your votes, then the score won't move.

 

[Darkniciad]

After the vote sweep my score went up but I lost a few votes and I already didn't have the required 25. My story is long, 9 lit pages long and I think that's affecting how many people are voting on it. Anyone who would be willing to read through it, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm still trying to get through a lot of the other stories, although I've read some of them. I'd be more than happy to read anyone who needs votes.

I'll admit that the number of pages at the bottom has intimidated me so far. I promise that I'll try to get to it this afternoon. It looks like I may get off work early.

 

[RainierWriterII]

Suppose your score was 4. Then suppose you lost 50 votes that gave a 3 and fifty that gave a 5. If the average of votes removed is the same as the average of all your votes, then the score won't move.[/QUOTE]

I understand the basic math. As I explained above, my vote total dropped four times, each by an odd amount, yet the score did not change.

 

[loganforester]

well the contest is coming to an end and I want to congratulate all the contestants for your entries. It's another good group of stories that I'm proud to be part of. Good luck to everyone, I wish I had time to read all of them.

Just one quick request if anyone has time to read my short entry and give me some feedback on it public or private, either way is fine. Feel free to vote as well, but I'm more concerned with getting response to what worked and what didn't. Only a few comments so far and not overly helpful.