The Recipe for a Guaranteed Contest Winner

[MatthewVett]

This can be fun or be serious, but just wondering, which features do you think would make for a guaranteed contest winner? I'm sure we all think that certain genres have a better shot of winning than others, but what else goes into it?

From my own story experiences, I think that my theoretical maximum scoring story would be a choose-your-own transsexual story where the guy gets fucked in the ass at the end. If I were going for most readers, it'd be that, only the transsexual is his sister.

What's your hypothetical guaranteed winner?

 

[Brandie69]

I hope you get some good replies. This (the summer contest) is the first one I've paid any attention to, so I'm afraid I'd be a pretty bad judge.

One thing that strikes me about lit's "top lists" is how completely they are dominated by the incest stories, so I think your comment about a sister is probably right.

And, at least among the readers who comment (publicly or privately), there do seem to be a lot of people around here who want to read about gay sex, so the tranny angle may be right, too. Although, one story I read a little while ago (racking my brain to remember which one -- I probably found it from one of the top lists) took a real shelling when one of the characters ventured into gay sex without proper warning.

So, with all of that as a disclaimer, here's my entry:

Widowed father of twin blonde lesbians remarries hot young brunette, who catches her own son masturbating while spying on the twins as they share a two-ended anal dildo. Havoc ensues.

 

[TxRad]

This can be fun or be serious, but just wondering, which features do you think would make for a guaranteed contest winner? I'm sure we all think that certain genres have a better shot of winning than others, but what else goes into it?

From my own story experiences, I think that my theoretical maximum scoring story would be a choose-your-own transsexual story where the guy gets fucked in the ass at the end. If I were going for most readers, it'd be that, only the transsexual is his sister.

What's your hypothetical guaranteed winner?

You might want to go have a look at the stories that have won in the past. You might be surprised at what won and what didn't.

One surprise that i wrote might get ya. How about a BDSM story winning a Valentines day Contest.

 

[oggbashan]

My recipe:

A shortish story in a unpopular category that gets only a few votes over the 25 minimum.

Not Incest or Loving Wives - too many votes that depress the rating.

Audio, Illustrated, or Foreign Language might be suitable if you get enough votes.

 

[_Lynn_]

You might want to go have a look at the stories that have won in the past. You might be surprised at what won and what didn't.

One surprise that i wrote might get ya. How about a BDSM story winning a Valentines day Contest.

Or a non-erotic story winning a contest on a site best known for erotica?

 

[oggbashan]

Or a non-erotic story winning a contest on a site best known for erotica?

How about a How-To and two Reviews and Essays? My 3 Ws.

 

[Brandie69]

"the guy gets fucked in the ass at the end."

Did anyone else flag this as redundant?

B

 

[TxRad]

"the guy gets fucked in the ass at the end."

Did anyone else flag this as redundant?

B

If it had been "in the end." I might have but it stands fairly well as is.

 

[Brandie69]

If it had been "in the end." I might have but it stands fairly well as is.

Just messin' with you

B

 

[_Lynn_]

How about a How-To and two Reviews and Essays? My 3 Ws.

Interesting. Reviews and Essays might be a category I'll have to look into soon.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

One thing that strikes me about lit's "top lists" is how completely they are dominated by the incest stories, so I think your comment about a sister is probably right.

Just for your interest, at the moment the top 10 scores in the current competition are held by stories not in the Incest category. Of course, this may change later on.

 

[MatthewVett]

Just for your interest, at the moment the top 10 scores in the current competition are held by stories not in the Incest category. Of course, this may change later on.

Aw poopy, that means I'm not in the top ten... Of course, I wasn't expecting it with incest. It gets views, votes, and favorites, but it's not a high scorer. Sci-Fi & Fantasy was my best contest story; I think I got 4th...

 

[lovecraft68]

I think an incest sci-fi combo could do well.

I think Paco fear has one. Can never remember the name, but the thing has a E an H and a W.

 

[lovecraft68]

Aw poopy, that means I'm not in the top ten... Of course, I wasn't expecting it with incest. It gets views, votes, and favorites, but it's not a high scorer. Sci-Fi & Fantasy was my best contest story; I think I got 4th...

Hey if it means anything to you, I liked your cousin story. I didn't vote because I think authors votes are swept. I also didn't comment because supposedly an author commenting on another in a contest could lead to trolling

I think we need an official contest do's and don't's handbook.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

I've been voting and commenting on other stories. What the heck. "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."

I'm gonna vote and comment, and the hell with it.

 

[_Lynn_]

I've been voting and commenting on other stories. What the heck. "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."

I'm gonna vote and comment, and the hell with it.

I've been reading and voting on them, too.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've been reading and voting on them, too.

I've been reading, but not voting for the fear of the vote getting swept and maybe taking other votes with it.

I can't remember who it was that told me they get swept. Hmmm....

 

[_Lynn_]

I've been reading, but not voting for the fear of the vote getting swept and maybe taking other votes with it.

I can't remember who it was that told me they get swept. Hmmm....

When I first started on Lit, authors left comments to the others in the contests like 'good luck in the contest', etc. That was in 2007. I've never heard anything about author votes getting swept in all those years.

 

[Brandie69]

Hey if it means anything to you, I liked your cousin story. I didn't vote because I think authors votes are swept. I also didn't comment because supposedly an author commenting on another in a contest could lead to trolling

I think we need an official contest do's and don't's handbook.

Ooh, I think you're right. I think I voted on one story, back before I thought I was going to even enter this contest. Since then, I've refrained, not knowing what the etiquette was. But I did comment on one. I hope I've done no harm.

Trolls? On this website? Do tell!

 

[PennLady]

Tearjerkers are good. I won 3d in the 2009 Halloween contest with my story "Ghosts of the Forum" and many, many people told me they cried when the girl's grandmother died. I have one or two others that were somewhat unintentional tearjerkers and they probably got me the most feedback.

 

[_Lynn_]

Clarification on the voting:

I'm wondering if you can clarify something on voting.

~~ Are author votes swept from contest stories? For example, if I vote on author x in the contest, is that swept because I am an author as well?

Nope, authors can vote too - even on their own stories (provided they only vote once!)

 

[gentledemands]

Just for your interest, at the moment the top 10 scores in the current competition are held by stories not in the Incest category. Of course, this may change later on.

Is there some way you can find this out without checking every story individually?

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Not really. I am doing a daily scan of the competition stories and posting a summary in the main competition thread. But I don't want to post too much info in case that is used to manipulate the results, for example by down-voting the top story.

When the competition is over I'll post the full story list in score order. At least that will be from the information I have to hand. The site's owners will have the really up-to-date figures. They don't appear to be updated in real time.

 

[RodenAddison]

Not really. I am doing a daily scan of the competition stories and posting a summary in the main competition thread. But I don't want to post too much info in case that is used to manipulate the results, for example by down-voting the top story.

When the competition is over I'll post the full story list in score order. At least that will be from the information I have to hand. The site's owners will have the really up-to-date figures. They don't appear to be updated in real time.

I thought the stories qualified according to favourites, not by the rating.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

From this page: http://www.literotica.com/contests/

Literotica will determine the winners based on the voting score and number of votes the story has accumulated from the first of the contest month to the sometime after 15th of the following month.

...

In the event of two submissions have the same highest vote score, the submission with the most votes wins.