The Official Author's Hangout 2013 Winter Holidays Contest Support Thread

[oggbashan]

I'm in the middle of another one.

In the early hours of the morning I woke up in bed. I had changed the heroine's name half way through. Surely that was a nightmare.

I've just checked. No it wasn't. I had changed her name. Edit on way but the rest of the story has still to be written.

 

[DG Hear]

I was rather surprsied by the first day numbers. I said my LW story would help with the trolls. LOL

4.13 970 38853 Loving Wives (English) 11/18/13 approved
Public Comments: 53

Best of luck to everyone. Just have fun writing your story.
DG

 

[sr71plt]

Hmmm. Two days gone by without one of my contest entries posting. Have always seen it up the next day before.

 

[oggbashan]

I've just completed a second oggbashan entry. I'm going to sleep on it before deciding whether to enter it as it stands.

 

[FlyAwayFromHere]

I'm in the middle of another one.

In the early hours of the morning I woke up in bed. I had changed the heroine's name half way through. Surely that was a nightmare.

I've just checked. No it wasn't. I had changed her name. Edit on way but the rest of the story has still to be written.

i did exactly that with my recent one. thank god for find and replace ...

 

[oggbashan]

My second entry as oggbashan is now posted:

http://www.literotica.com/s/christmas-truce

Only 3 Lit pages this time.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

My second entry as oggbashan is now posted:

http://www.literotica.com/s/christmas-truce

Only 3 Lit pages this time.

Only three pages? Isn't three rather a lot? I mean, it's often difficult to see a long piece as a pleasure to read. I went through my story and deleted a lot of it so it wouldn't be so long. I think my story will be a page and a half which is also a little too long

It's a crazy world. I mean, the story is supposed to be about winter and an example of winter given for the stories is Christmas. Our Christmases are in Summer.

I really wanted to submit a Christmas story like every one else can. So, my winter story is about Christmas in summer. I don't see a Christmas story as being more acceptable in the summer competition. There, it would also be completely out of step. It's difficult dialing up a winter for Christmas.

We don't do Halloween either. I have no idea about it so I don't enter that competition. I guess I'm a part of a minority and it doesn't really matter. It would be nice though to be eligible for the competitions, to be considered.

I wanted to write about the noninclusiveness of Christmas, to write about the stupidity of it when there are no children to make it interesting, the way it means so little and the artifice of it. I think it adds to the ridiculous to write of it as a summer event that happens at the same time as a northern hemisphere winter. I think it would be helpful if the competition was expressed as a winter/Christmas competition.

I guess if it is accepted into this competition it will be automatically deemed ineligible and I won't be able to submit it in another competition. It really is a conundrum.

 

[TxRad]

Only three pages? Isn't three rather a lot? I mean, it's often difficult to see a long piece as a pleasure to read. I went through my story and deleted a lot of it so it wouldn't be so long. I think my story will be a page and a half which is also a little too long

It's a crazy world. I mean, the story is supposed to be about winter and an example of winter given for the stories is Christmas. Our Christmases are in Summer.

I really wanted to submit a Christmas story like every one else can. So, my winter story is about Christmas in summer. I don't see a Christmas story as being more acceptable in the summer competition. There, it would also be completely out of step. It's difficult dialing up a winter for Christmas.

We don't do Halloween either. I have no idea about it so I don't enter that competition. I guess I'm a part of a minority and it doesn't really matter. It would be nice though to be eligible for the competitions, to be considered.

I wanted to write about the noninclusiveness of Christmas, to write about the stupidity of it when there are no children to make it interesting, the way it means so little and the artifice of it. I think it adds to the ridiculous to write of it as a summer event that happens at the same time as a northern hemisphere winter. I think it would be helpful if the competition was expressed as a winter/Christmas competition.

I guess if it is accepted into this competition it will be automatically deemed ineligible and I won't be able to submit it in another competition. It really is a conundrum.

And what is the problem with a long story? They actually do better in contests as the people who stay with them all the way usually vote and vote high. Nothing wrong with short but there is also nothing wrong with long if the story takes that much to tell.

Christmas is a time of year and according to which hemisphere you live in it is either summer or winter. Just because it is summer in the South doesn't mean it isn't Christmas. I'm pretty sure the story will be excepted. Think November and December. Since the site owner lives in the US, that is winter but it is the time of the year that the contest is held in.

Write your story and use the length it needs. That's the best I can tell you. If you have any doubts about what I say, PM Laurel, the site owner, her name is at the top of the AH beside several stickies.

 

[patientlee]

Only three pages? Isn't three rather a lot? I mean, it's often difficult to see a long piece as a pleasure to read. I went through my story and deleted a lot of it so it wouldn't be so long. I think my story will be a page and a half which is also a little too long

It's a crazy world. I mean, the story is supposed to be about winter and an example of winter given for the stories is Christmas. Our Christmases are in Summer.

I really wanted to submit a Christmas story like every one else can. So, my winter story is about Christmas in summer. I don't see a Christmas story as being more acceptable in the summer competition. There, it would also be completely out of step. It's difficult dialing up a winter for Christmas.

We don't do Halloween either. I have no idea about it so I don't enter that competition. I guess I'm a part of a minority and it doesn't really matter. It would be nice though to be eligible for the competitions, to be considered.

I wanted to write about the noninclusiveness of Christmas, to write about the stupidity of it when there are no children to make it interesting, the way it means so little and the artifice of it. I think it adds to the ridiculous to write of it as a summer event that happens at the same time as a northern hemisphere winter. I think it would be helpful if the competition was expressed as a winter/Christmas competition.

I guess if it is accepted into this competition it will be automatically deemed ineligible and I won't be able to submit it in another competition. It really is a conundrum.

I assume that it's a "Winter" contest for the same reason that we say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas. I stick with "Happy New Year". I'm an atheist. It's just easier that way.

I've always wondered what those in the southern hemisphere think about the Summer/Winter Olympics thing.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

And what is the problem with a long story? They actually do better in contests as the people who stay with them all the way usually vote and vote high. Nothing wrong with short but there is also nothing wrong with long if the story takes that much to tell.

Christmas is a time of year and according to which hemisphere you live in it is either summer or winter. Just because it is summer in the South doesn't mean it isn't Christmas. I'm pretty sure the story will be excepted. Think November and December. Since the site owner lives in the US, that is winter but it is the time of the year that the contest is held in.

Write your story and use the length it needs. That's the best I can tell you. If you have any doubts about what I say, PM Laurel, the site owner, her name is at the top of the AH beside several stickies.

Some times long stories are wonderful but too often they say too little for the endurance they require to be read.

Thank you for your reassurance. I think it is a typo that you have written excepted rather than accepted. I hope so. Good luck in the competition.

 

[HeyAll]

Re: Long stories

My biggest grip with writing a longer story (at least 'long' by my standards) is that editing it is a real pain in the ass. I edit by reading it slowly and carefully. So I spread the duty over a few days. It's boring because I already know what the story is...

My second grip (which is a minor one usually) is that I get bored with the same story. I want to write something else already.

 

[sr71plt]

I have a couple of gripes about the long ones I invariably see here (which doesn't mean that some stories don't need to be long). Mostly they are by undisciplined writers who think the more words and dangling plot threads and detailed character descriptions you throw at it the better. They don't encourage readers to envision characters and work out plot connections themselves--they serve up detailed pabulum and therefore are all surface, serving the lazy reader. And for any writers who are writing here to hone their skills for the marketplace, they help form bad habits. Marketable short stories in the mainstream don't go to two Literotica pages, let alone five.

And some have figured out here the way to get high ratings is to tire out any reader who isn't going to be prone to sticking the story out and giving it a 5--which sets getting a 5 at a higher premium than writing a great short story. We are continually bombarded for advice on what readers want on Literotica and what they will give high marks for. Such writers should probably be looking into the joys of being a plumber or an electrician--you fix someone's plumbing or wiring and you don't have to make the effort to be creative and mind provoking to get praise for your work.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

I assume that it's a "Winter" contest for the same reason that we say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas. I stick with "Happy New Year". I'm an atheist. It's just easier that way.

I've always wondered what those in the southern hemisphere think about the Summer/Winter Olympics thing.

I've always had some problem with Christmas- the excessive expense of it and the conspicuousness of the expenditure. There are so many issues and not all of them are about greed. I wouldn't mind if it reverted to its pagan origins.

Summer and winter olympics are amazing- how they do every thing twice so it looks appropriate in both hemispheres, once where every one is on their feet so it all appears normal to us and once where they all get around on their heads so it looks normal in the northern hemisphere. One can only admire the effort.

 

[StrangeLife]

A story needs to have the length that fits the story. I've read great one-pagers and the winner from the Halloween contest was 15 pages and great too.

If it can carry 20 pages I have no problem with a story of that length. If half of it is filler however - a typical example of that is the "long-boring-flashback-to-when-we-met-back-in-highschool-which-has-no-relevance-what-so-ever-to-the-plot" - I am less thrilled...

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

Re: Long stories

My biggest grip with writing a longer story (at least 'long' by my standards) is that editing it is a real pain in the ass. I edit by reading it slowly and carefully. So I spread the duty over a few days. It's boring because I already know what the story is...

My second grip (which is a minor one usually) is that I get bored with the same story. I want to write something else already.

I agree and in fact longer stories often reflect inadequacy in authorship= what happened to the idea of being concise and succinct?

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

I have a couple of gripes about the long ones I invariably see here (which doesn't mean that some stories don't need to be long). Mostly they are by undisciplined writers who think the more words and dangling plot threads and detailed character descriptions you throw at it the better. They don't encourage readers to envision characters and work out plot connections themselves--they serve up detailed pabulum and therefore are all surface, serving the lazy reader. And for any writers who are writing here to hone their skills for the marketplace, they help form bad habits. Marketable short stories in the mainstream don't go to two Literotica pages, let alone five.

And some have figured out here the way to get high ratings is to tire out any reader who isn't going to be prone to sticking the story out and giving it a 5--which sets getting a 5 at a higher premium than writing a great short story. We are continually bombarded for advice on what readers want on Literotica and what they will give high marks for. Such writers should probably be looking into the joys of being a plumber or an electrician--you fix someone's plumbing or wiring and you don't have to make the effort to be creative and mind provoking to get praise for your work.

Yep. It's so humourless, cynical and abusive. But that is just my opinion

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

A story needs to have the length that fits the story. I've read great one-pagers and the winner from the Halloween contest was 15 pages and great too.

If it can carry 20 pages I have no problem with a story of that length. If half of it is filler however - a typical example of that is the "long-boring-flashback-to-when-we-met-back-in-highschool-which-has-no-relevance-what-so-ever-to-the-plot" - I am less thrilled...

Yep- good perspective.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

I have a couple of gripes about the long ones I invariably see here (which doesn't mean that some stories don't need to be long). Mostly they are by undisciplined writers who think the more words and dangling plot threads and detailed character descriptions you throw at it the better. They don't encourage readers to envision characters and work out plot connections themselves--they serve up detailed pabulum and therefore are all surface, serving the lazy reader. And for any writers who are writing here to hone their skills for the marketplace, they help form bad habits. Marketable short stories in the mainstream don't go to two Literotica pages, let alone five.

And some have figured out here the way to get high ratings is to tire out any reader who isn't going to be prone to sticking the story out and giving it a 5--which sets getting a 5 at a higher premium than writing a great short story. We are continually bombarded for advice on what readers want on Literotica and what they will give high marks for. Such writers should probably be looking into the joys of being a plumber or an electrician--you fix someone's plumbing or wiring and you don't have to make the effort to be creative and mind provoking to get praise for your work.

marketable mainstream in my experience come in at 3000-5000 words. i've had a tendency of late to write longer pieces for lit, depending on the category i have in mind at the start. i did start one for the contest with the aim of making it short and having it in the toys and masturbation category, but i got to the point where she was about to give him a handjob under the table in a busy pub and it derailed. now i'm up to 20k words with a MFM threeway.

dammit. when's the deadline?

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Re: Long stories

My biggest grip with writing a longer story (at least 'long' by my standards) is that editing it is a real pain in the ass. I edit by reading it slowly and carefully. So I spread the duty over a few days. It's boring because I already know what the story is...

My second grip (which is a minor one usually) is that I get bored with the same story. I want to write something else already.

ditto.

 

[sr71plt]

Competition short stories in the mainstream rarely permit more than 3,500 words currently.

I once had no trouble staying under this limit naturally. Since I've starting posting at Literotica, my stories have gone longer. They typically go two pages and sometimes three here now. So, they typically are longer than 4,000 words.

 

[xelliebabex]

Only three pages? Isn't three rather a lot? I mean, it's often difficult to see a long piece as a pleasure to read. I went through my story and deleted a lot of it so it wouldn't be so long. I think my story will be a page and a half which is also a little too long

It's a crazy world. I mean, the story is supposed to be about winter and an example of winter given for the stories is Christmas. Our Christmases are in Summer.

I really wanted to submit a Christmas story like every one else can. So, my winter story is about Christmas in summer. I don't see a Christmas story as being more acceptable in the summer competition. There, it would also be completely out of step. It's difficult dialing up a winter for Christmas.

We don't do Halloween either. I have no idea about it so I don't enter that competition. I guess I'm a part of a minority and it doesn't really matter. It would be nice though to be eligible for the competitions, to be considered.

I wanted to write about the noninclusiveness of Christmas, to write about the stupidity of it when there are no children to make it interesting, the way it means so little and the artifice of it. I think it adds to the ridiculous to write of it as a summer event that happens at the same time as a northern hemisphere winter. I think it would be helpful if the competition was expressed as a winter/Christmas competition.

I guess if it is accepted into this competition it will be automatically deemed ineligible and I won't be able to submit it in another competition. It really is a conundrum.

I am an Australian and I have no problem writing a holiday story set in the summer. I have never been rejected for slanting my stories slightly differently for competitions, my Halloween story was far from the typical spooky american type of Halloween story and still managed a red H thanks to the sweeps.

The one competition I won was actually an 8 page story. I think longer stories do well in competitions on literotica. Though 8 pages is a rarity for me. Write whats right for you not what you think the audience wants because you can't make everyone happy. There will always be someone who feels it is their right to complain as if they paid for the story rather than being grateful they got a good read free of charge. You will find there are quite a few of us Antipodeans around so you certainly aren't alone.

My advice is revel in being in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is better in Summer, if the northern hemisphere could afford it they would all come down to have Christmas by the pool

 

[xelliebabex]

I assume that it's a "Winter" contest for the same reason that we say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas. I stick with "Happy New Year". I'm an atheist. It's just easier that way.

I've always wondered what those in the southern hemisphere think about the Summer/Winter Olympics thing.

I guess my answer to that question would be to ask if you thought it was odd when Sydney hosted the Olympics in our summer in 2000? I don't mind when they are held really I just love to watch 'em.
The winter ones less so although we do get those awesome Stephen Bradbury moments Hahaha!

 

[geronimo_appleby]

I guess my answer to that question would be to ask if you thought it was odd when Sydney hosted the Olympics in our summer in 2000? I don't mind when they are held really I just love to watch 'em.
The winter ones less so although we do get those awesome Stephen Bradbury moments Hahaha!

the rugby world cup 2003 and the same in 2011 were great. an excuse for a beer at ridiculous times of the morning.

 

[xelliebabex]

the rugby world cup 2003 and the same in 2011 were great. an excuse for a beer at ridiculous times of the morning.

I feel that way about the Superbowl. There is one pub here that does a great boozey breakfast for it.It starts about 5am our time.

World cup is generally all through the wee hours of the morning for me so I don't see much except the highlights.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

I feel that way about the Superbowl. There is one pub here that does a great boozey breakfast for it.It starts about 5am our time.

World cup is generally all through the wee hours of the morning for me so I don't see much except the highlights.

moment of magic 2003

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/31/article-0-007666231000044C-485_468x300.jpg