A New Contest: Your Input Needed!

[PennLady]

I'm in for Spring Flings and would be happy to be the liaison with Laurel. I also like the idea of a relationship or romance being started or re-started, although that's a bit more of a specific theme than most other contests have.

 

[AirRichard101]

Yes. Yes, it is. Painted by one of my former students, a tattoo artist. When he did my husband's tattoo, he said that when people ask how he got started, he always says that I encouraged his art (as part of the story). My family had him paint my butterfly for my birthday. Thanks for noticing.

I've learned to notice things. I get rewarded for it.

I better shut up now.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm in for Spring Flings and would be happy to be the liaison with Laurel. I also like the idea of a relationship or romance being started or re-started, although that's a bit more of a specific theme than most other contests have.

In that vein it could be simply "Beginnings" and see what interesting directions writers could take that.

Or, we could have a contest on bisexuality.

 

[lovecraft68]

In that vein it could be simply "Beginnings" and see what interesting directions writers could take that.

Or, we could have a contest on bisexuality.

And they would all go in the bisexual category?

That would probably work, but the majority would probably write about bi sexual women.

I would be one of them.

 

[Hypoxia]

Is that springtime contest for the northern hemisphere, or the southern? Hallowe'en is a springtime festival in Australia, right? If USA-centric, what about Hawai'i, San Diego, Florida, and Puerto Rico, which hardly know springtime weather? Or much of Alaska, with eleven months of winter and one month of road repairs?

If we're trying to fill-in a March-April-May time slot, how about an Easter contest? I can think of a few zillion good plots for Semana Santa / Holy Week. (I have stories from Antigua Guatemala, and from Naples, Italy, that would curl your shorthairs.) Non-Xians could write tales of Passover and Ramadan debauches, and equinoctial rituals. The scope is vast.

So, go global, and think: Easter / Passover / Ramadan / Equinox.

 

[RejectReality]

Chalk me up as a "no" on something that heavily tilted toward religion. Easter is the only one of those with a significant commercial/non-religious mythos to play with.

 

[scouries]

Thank you LAUREL!

I think both the idea and the fact that you’ve started a thread to discuss the idea is great!

And doing it after a week or ten days of being criticized by various authors on a variety of points is a credit to you. And I think we all know that the issue of the state of the environment is one very dear to your heart. Which must have made this offer even more difficult for you.

I’ve always felt that all the themed contests should be rotated every couple of years – I think its good for both our readers and for we authors. At the same time I see nothing inherently wrong with the EARTH DAY theme – why not switch out of it for a couple of years and then bring it back fresh.

I’d also like tightening up the themes of our contests (Summer could easily be rotated through various different ideas) and I do also have some thoughts on rules (as if you didn’t know!). However I am quite happy to leave this thread to the question at hand and will offer up my humble suggestion. I’m somewhat loathe to do it since coming from me may just be the kiss of death for the idea but what the heck… here it is…

and yes I do believe large and colorful fonts would be great!!!!

[size=+2]LITEROTICA[/size]

presents the

2015 Sexy April Contest

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhz6rxmfup1qg39ewo1_500.gif

APRIL: The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers and virgins begin to "open".

Yes, LITEROTICA is sponsoring the first APRIL contest in its history. Here are just a few of the possible April themes you can incorporate into your story:

April Fools Day… (for our AHers?)
Passover… (for our Jews and Sci-Fi writers)
Buddha’s Birthday or Thai, Burmese, or Khmer New Year… (for our short authors)
Good Friday and/or Easter… (for our Christians)
Tax Day… (for the TEA Party members among us)
Boston Marathon… (for you know who!)
Chocolate bunnies… (for the Interracial gang?)
ANZAC Day… (for those Down Under)
Opening Day in Baseball… (for writers with big bats?)
Avril Lavigne… (for everybody else?)

And then there’s the Masters golf tournament, the Easter Bunny, and April has the ‘take your daughter to work day’, April is National Frog Month, and April is also National Cleavage Month, and…​

 

[DesEsseintes]

We could always go back to Chaucer's April, at which time, you will remember,
'Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages'. Not necessarily literal, of course, unless one has Sadean urges about nuns and consecrated wafers. Pilgrimage could be a trip abroad for the first time - a visit to the town where one first lost one's innocence - a retirement round the world cruise - endless possibilities.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Realize this isn't a vote, but I'll toss my opinion out. I like the idea of "Spring is in the Air" or "Spring-Fling." Between spring breaks, proms, graduations, summer vacations pending, snow finally melting, I think there is lots of room for ideas.

There, my two cents - for FREE!

 

[Hypoxia]

Realize this isn't a vote, but I'll toss my opinion out. I like the idea of "Spring is in the Air" or "Spring-Fling."

Again, I'll ask: springtime WHERE?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Chalk me up as a "no" on something that heavily tilted toward religion. Easter is the only one of those with a significant commercial/non-religious mythos to play with.

April 15 is the favorite holiday for most LIT posters.

 

[SamScribble]

April 15 is the favorite holiday for most LIT posters.

In London, April 15 is not a holiday. And it's often raining. Ironically, by March 1, St David's Day, something for the Welsh and we of Welsh ancestry to celebrate, the daffodils are out and about. But six weeks later, while the days are longer, the weather is seldom springlike. I guess it's difficult to find something that has the same meaning to all members of the now far-flung Lit family.

 

[Laurel]

Great ideas here!

Is that springtime contest for the northern hemisphere, or the southern? Hallowe'en is a springtime festival in Australia, right? If USA-centric, what about Hawai'i, San Diego, Florida, and Puerto Rico, which hardly know springtime weather? Or much of Alaska, with eleven months of winter and one month of road repairs?

Either one. We have a Winter Holidays contest in December, which is summer for the southern hemisphere folks. We've had Aussie writers submit stories revolving around beachtime Christmas or New Years celebrations, or winter activities set in June. A Spring Fling story could be set in the springtime season in August if that's where spring is for you. Same with the Summer Lovin' contest - which takes place August/September. It's wintertime for those down under, but that doesn't mean they can't write about summer activities.

How about a Historical Erotica story contest. That could cover most categories in Lit, just in a historical setting. Cave men using the club to court women, A lonely Neanterthal or Denesovian (spelling?) man or woman finding the Cro-Magnon mate of choice. Regency romance, Revolutionary war, Russian Revolution epic, Napoleonic wars, Depression era, etc, etc, etc.

There are good - and I think you've brought up a good point. Just because the contest will take place in April doesn't mean it needs to be about April activities/holidays/weather/etc. A Historical Erotica contest might be fun, or a contest where writers all start with the same sentence (i.e. "It was a dark and stormy night...") could be interesting. You could have a contest where you must include like 5 different objects somewhere in the storyline. The sky's the limit.

 

[Boxlicker101]

This was discussed about a year ago, and Spring Fling or some similar name seemed to be the favorite then. Things like March Madness (which extends into April) Spring Break, April Fool's Day, various social events such as proms, college graduations, baseball spring training, May Day (Labor Day in most of the world) Mothers' and Fathers' Days, Earth Day and probably many other things which people will think of.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Awww, I will be sorry too to see Earth Day go. I liked reading the stories about saving the Earth sexily, there are some good ones. It was more of a challenge to write sexy about conservation and encouraged people to write about outdoor sex, too.

Spring Flings does seem to have lots of possibilities, although people cheat dreadfully anyway, LOL. Nude Day is full of lovely sexy outfits!


I do feel Spring Flings has so many possibilities, personally I like a challenge. But there are the FAWCs for that .

 

[oggbashan]

In that vein it could be simply "Beginnings" and see what interesting directions writers could take that.

Or, we could have a contest on bisexuality.

"Beginnings" is good. It isn't hemisphere or USA biased. Perhaps it could be put as:

"New Beginnings" - the end of the old and/or the start of the new. (Or "New Beginning")

That is wide enough for a variety of interpretations - end of relationships, beginnings of new ones; first time; first time at BDSM, Lesbian/Gay, Taboo, even How-To do something the first time...

It could fit any date structure, unlike April or 'Spring', but stories about April or Spring could be appropriate. Naoko's Earth Day wish could be met with 'new' technology, new ways to 'save the Earth'.

It is possibly too wide. A good contest theme should be wide enough to allow different interpretations but narrow enough to confine writers to the theme.

Edited for PS: Perhaps a "New Beginnings" Contest could include a sub-contest with a special prize for an Author's first ever story on Literotica, either as well as the three places or instead of the 3rd prize?

 

[NaokoSmith]

Naoko's Earth Day wish could be met with 'new' technology, new ways to 'save the Earth'.

It is possibly too wide. A good contest theme should be wide enough to allow different interpretations but narrow enough to confine writers to the theme.

I do think this will be a very wide theme. Summer Lovin' is like that. Pretty much any story can be set in warm weather, and pop! it's in Summer Lovin'. Or add some snow and a warm coat, and it's in the Winter Holidays competition.

People cheat anyway, LOL. But then they get a bit punished in the scoring, so that's fine. I do like there to be a bit of a challenge in a competition: see what you can come up with on this topic. I often found that very inspiring in the FAWCs. I would say: "Oh no, I can't be writing a story at the moment, I am so busy." Then I would see the challenge and my brain would go to work, I would start laughing at the twists which I thought I could put on the challenge, and would be unable to resist writing.

I do enjoy that myself - just a personal opinion. But maybe it's a good thing to have a competition that's very inclusive.

 

[oggbashan]

We could always go back to Chaucer's April, at which time, you will remember,
'Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages'. Not necessarily literal, of course, unless one has Sadean urges about nuns and consecrated wafers. Pilgrimage could be a trip abroad for the first time - a visit to the town where one first lost one's innocence - a retirement round the world cruise - endless possibilities.

I have a part completed story about a modern pilgrimage, seeking something to heal his girlfriend's loss of voice.

But for a contest theme why not widen Pilgrimage to "Journey" - travelling to a different place, different relationship or different sexual experience?

One of my Christmas stories gives a version of that theme:

http://www.literotica.com/s/christmas-journey-1

It is about a journey to a happy ending.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Again, I'll ask: springtime WHERE?

Well, considering 90% of people live in the northern hemisphere. . .

Though, a good number of people clearly live close enough to the equator that seasonal changes are minimal.

 

[oggbashan]

Well, considering 90% of people live in the northern hemisphere. . .

Though, a good number of people clearly leave close enough to the equator that seasonal changes are minimal.

It hasn't deterred Antipodean authors from entering the seasonal contests.

 

[SandraMustard]

We are still getting used to Florida seasons (18 months now) after a lifetime of Chicago's dramatic changes. I like hot weather but hubby would not survive actual Summer here if we didn't live right on the ocean. Spring and Fall are moderate summers and Winter is more like a northern Fall. I used to think trees lost their leaves and grass turned brown because of freezing temperatures. Even with average lows in the mid-forties, there is a two month dormant period.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Read an article once in Writer's Digest magazine reminding would-be authors about the lead time needed for the magazine market. According to the article, many magazines were putting together their Christmas issues in the middle of summer, spring during the fall, summer grilling hints during the dark of winter, etc.

The article suggested decorating your writer's garret in sync with the market - so, Christmas in July, sand and beaches for Christmas, etc.

Unsure how prevalent that timetable remains, however, living the southern hemisphere would automatically put one in the right season for that sort of submission timetable.

 

[Swilly]

I'm a fan of the Spring fling idea. So many things can be done with that.

 

[oggbashan]

Some of my past feedback suggested that there should be a contest for fifty-word stories, or Flash Fiction.

I'm not convinced. Although I have written many fifty-word stories, I think the audience for them is too limited to be the theme for a mainstream contest.

The one-off How-To Contest produced some useful additions to the collection of How-Tos on Literotica, but again I think the appeal is limited.

 

[RejectReality]

If it's going to be completely divorced from a seasonal theme, the best bet is probably to take a page from FAWK and have a contest that doesn't have the same theme year after year.

Seed the theme with something like Oral Sex, Seduction, Workplace Flings, Travel, Forbidden Fruit, etc.