New Themed Contest

[warmAmber]

Putting my toe into the eddy of this discussion.. afraid I'll simply get swamped when it turns into a whirlpool and sucks me beneath the waters but here's my two cents worth....

Do readers who vote really care about the theme or do they simply care that the story turned them on and they "got off"? Is it simply a popularity contest anyway?

I know the mechanics of it would be a nightmare, but if the votes in a contest could incorporate a separate voting star system for theme incorporation it would make the contest more viable.

As to theme.. someone mentioned "A Midsummer Night's Dream".. I like that - thinking it would be like a sci-fi/fantasy category. Though I'm sure there would be stories with incest between elfin siblings and a troll dominating a faerie, those of us whose writing doesn't attract the "get off" sort of reader might have a shot the theme at least. And also it would highlight authors who write well, but their categories aren't widely read.

Before you say I should find another site to apply for submission, I do believe in this site and think it's great! Just for the contest sake, stricter acceptance rules might apply. (guilty of a brief "put the oyster shells back" theme in my Earth Day story). And yes, good writers will attract votes regardless of theme! Just thinking outside the box for a bit.

Ok... ready to be sucked down in the maelstrom of differing opinions!

 

[hmmnmm]

Ahem. *nods*

Thanks.

 

[Tarakin]

I tend towards the Travel theme.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Okay. All humor aside I will drop my dime here.

Someone says, "I like the travel idea." Another says, "I like the beach." Someone else says, "I like ..." On and on.

Maybe you are trying to define the theme too closely. Look at the other contests. Earth Day could be about anything having to do with the earth. Holiday isn't about Christmas. It's about the whole season from Thanksgiving to New Years.

Why don't you just say Summer Heat or something and just let it fly? That encompases all the Catagories and also, travel, etc.

Can I have my dime back now?

 

[DesertPirate]

Okay. All humor aside I will drop my dime here.

Someone says, "I like the travel idea." Another says, "I like the beach." Someone else says, "I like ..." On and on.

Maybe you are trying to define the theme too closely. Look at the other contests. Earth Day could be about anything having to do with the earth. Holiday isn't about Christmas. It's about the whole season from Thanksgiving to New Years.

Why don't you just say Summer Heat or something and just let it fly? That encompases all the Catagories and also, travel, etc.

Can I have my dime back now?

No! I spent it!

 

[DesertPirate]

Putting my toe into the eddy of this discussion.. afraid I'll simply get swamped when it turns into a whirlpool and sucks me beneath the waters but here's my two cents worth....

Do readers who vote really care about the theme or do they simply care that the story turned them on and they "got off"? Is it simply a popularity contest anyway?

I know the mechanics of it would be a nightmare, but if the votes in a contest could incorporate a separate voting star system for theme incorporation it would make the contest more viable.

As to theme.. someone mentioned "A Midsummer Night's Dream".. I like that - thinking it would be like a sci-fi/fantasy category. Though I'm sure there would be stories with incest between elfin siblings and a troll dominating a faerie, those of us whose writing doesn't attract the "get off" sort of reader might have a shot the theme at least. And also it would highlight authors who write well, but their categories aren't widely read.

Before you say I should find another site to apply for submission, I do believe in this site and think it's great! Just for the contest sake, stricter acceptance rules might apply. (guilty of a brief "put the oyster shells back" theme in my Earth Day story). And yes, good writers will attract votes regardless of theme! Just thinking outside the box for a bit.

Ok... ready to be sucked down in the maelstrom of differing opinions!

I vote for the stories that I enjo the most. Good writing trumps sex every time. Just my $.02 worth.

 

[scouries]

sent to laurel (copy to manu) this am....

Dear Laurel,

Here is my suggestion for a potential new summertime contest. It also includes ideas that I believe should be incorporated into the other special contests. I also have other ideas I’ll be forwarding to you in the coming months. I beseech you to carefully examine some of these proposals before you announce next years schedule.

Yours truly,

James R. Scouries
LITEROTICAN and…
1000+ VOTE CLUB MEMBER

cc Manu
[size=+2]

Summer Surprise Contest​

[/size]

Contest theme will be announced on July 15.*

We will accept entries starting on August 18, and we will stop accepting new entries on September 10. We will announce the 3 winners on September 17. This contest will coexist with the usual monthly contest. Stories may only win one or the other, not both contests simultaneously. As with all Literotica contests, all entries must be new stories never before posted to Literotica.

RULES

- A story has to accrue 50 votes to be eligible.

- Your story must be between three and five thousand words long (3000-5000 word stories only!).

- All contest stories must be submitted via our online form. If you are a WebTV user or have difficulty with the form, follow the instructions here.

- Author must put the phrase "SUMMER SURPRISE CONTEST 2008" in the "Notes" field of the submission.

- Each contest story must be the work of only one person (i.e. multi authored stories will be refused).

- Your story must have a direct and clear connection to the theme. The censors will be instructed to disqualify any story that doesn’t follow this guideline.

- An author can only enter one story in the contest. Give us your best shot only. An author caught entering a second story under an ALT will have both stories removed from the site immediately.

- No stories that are follow up chapters of previously posted stories will be accepted. Nor will “chapter ones” of planned longer stories be accepted into the contest.

- Authors who are caught vote rigging, are members of vote cabals, or who are found guilty of any other nefarious scheme will be banned from all contests for a minimum of one year.

- Vote totals for all stories will be published at the conclusion of the contest and the actual vote counting itself will be overseen by an independent commission headed by darksideofthemoon.

*********​

*THEME: In a departure from other contests the theme of this one will only be announced on July 15th, just a month before the site starts accepting entries. It’ll be a surprise!
Why? For the challenge…for a change…to see how we write under pressure…for fun…

AND HERE LAUREL ARE MY TWO IDEAS FOR POTENTIAL SURPRISE THEMES:

1 – Loving Wives Category Story – A story that must include the story of a wife who cheats on her husband while they’re away on their summer vacation. Both the illicit sex and the vacation particulars must be adequately covered. Without these two elements the entry will be disqualified.
Can include any aspect of this delightful category (wimp husband, revenge, etc., etc.) and can cover any sexual variation (interracial, lesbian, incest, swinging etc., etc.)

Or

2 – Back to School Story – Story must take place during the first week of the school year (high school or college) and must include a sexual encounter that includes seduction and consummation within that one week window. Again, any permutation of teacher/student/professor/principal/parent/gym teacher/school gardener etc., is acceptable. As above the full gamut of sexual variations are available to the authors. Failure to comply with the requirement of school and sex and time period will be disqualified.

*********​

NOTES

VOTES – Given Manu’s recent change in the voting mechanism (and the subsequent rise in the number of votes cast) combined with the overall continuing rise in the number of visitors to the site, I believe it’s time for the site to raise the bar for contest entries. If 25 votes was a fair threshold in 2002 when the site had far fewer viewers surely it’s now time to raise the number. In fact I believe that for some of the more popular contests (Valentines, Halloween) the minimum vote total required to qualify should be raised to at least 100!

MULTI CHAPTERED STORIES – My views on this subject are well known so I won’t reiterate them. I’ll simply say that allowing chapter 6 of some ongoing saga to compete with an original complete story is idiotic. Apples and oranges and all that.

DISQUALIFICATION OF STORIES – The PILOT raised the problem of contest stories having nothing to do with the theme in the moonman’s thread. It’s an issue I raised when I rated the 2006 NUDE DAY contest. Quite simply, authors continue to enter stories that bear no relation with the contest theme. Back in 2006 I found about two thirds of the entries were fakes. From what the pilot has written about the 2008 EARTH DAY contest nothing has changed. The only way to change the mentality is to start publicly disqualifying stories.

STORY LENGTH – The length I chose was simply arbitrary. I’d like to see in future contests different lengths mandated in the rules. Maybe one time 2000-3500 words, another time 7000-10,000. For a couple of reasons. One is so that we start with comparable stories. It makes judging easier. It also makes the voting process fairer. The patterns of voting on four page stories are completely different than for one page stories. It also adds a new challenge for the author – maybe forcing him/her out of their comfort zone a bit.

LIMIT OF ONE STORY PER AUTHOR – Almost all recent contests have featured multi offerings from various authors (I’ve been guilty myself). But all this does is add clutter to an all ready cluttered field. Looking today at the Earth Day contest now on I found two authors (Mr. Heat and my pal Freddie) who each already have five entries. Neither is breaking any rule (or even a gentleman’s understanding), they are acting perfectly correctly. But the reality is that they are taking too much space up in the contest. Given the number of authors wanting to enter these contests we simply have to limit the field somehow.

 

[DesertPirate]

Thanks for "ignore"

 

[mellowgyrl]

Thanks for "ignore"

LMAO!

 

[DesertPirate]

LMAO!

Glad you enjoyed it

 

[oggbashan]

How about a "Mature" contest - not May/December but both partners being older? So many of the stories are about people who are young and beautiful that it might be a change to have a few about us oldies.

Og

 

[sr71plt]

Knee jerking aside, I think Scouries's most recent suggestions are worth consideration/discussion (although, of course, only the opinons of the Web site owners really matter). I don't agree with some of them, but just because he's Scouries doesn't mean they aren't thoughtful suggestions, set forth with a minimum (for him) buffoonery.

To the extent that the money-award contests are supposed to help develop writers--and put forth the best efforts on Lit. for readers and enhance the site's story quality reputation (which may not be a Web site consideration; perhaps they just have money to burn), I would agree that unfinished stories (chapters of series not finished within the scope of the contest) should not be accepted.

And in what he didn't mention, I don't think it's fair to chop up your entry into five or six chapters, all competing on the same basis as individual entries, and thereby up your relative winning opportunity. (added later: Perhaps series completed within the scope of the contest could be accepted, but that their ratings would be averaged out to form a single entry composite score.) I'd also not be adverse to limiting the entries to one or maybe two--and I've entered as many as five (but all separate stories) in previous contests myself.

I think his suggested length (particularly the minimum) is not in keeping with most other guidelines for on-line story competitions, which generally state "up to 3,500 words," with 3,500 words being pretty much the commercial cutoff. Shorter wordage isn't bad--padding to make a minimum is worse--the author just must be extra brilliant with the entry, which is hardly a bad thing to promote.

 

[sr71plt]

Okay. All humor aside I will drop my dime here.

Someone says, "I like the travel idea." Another says, "I like the beach." Someone else says, "I like ..." On and on.

Maybe you are trying to define the theme too closely. Look at the other contests. Earth Day could be about anything having to do with the earth. Holiday isn't about Christmas. It's about the whole season from Thanksgiving to New Years.

Why don't you just say Summer Heat or something and just let it fly? That encompases all the Catagories and also, travel, etc.

Can I have my dime back now?

Uh, oh, you've committed the fox paw of agreeing with me on something. I suggested "Summer Interludes" way up the line for precisely the same reasons.

 

[DeeZire]

Summer Interludes sounds like a show from the Lifetime Network
Summer Heat sounds like an episode from CSI Miami

I propose: The Dog Days of Summer
That way, we can be having a similar discussion three months from now:
"Well, I put a dog in my story, isn't that good enough to qualify?"

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Uh, oh, you've committed the fox paw of agreeing with me on something. I suggested "Summer Interludes" way up the line for precisely the same reasons.

I know, SR. I can prolly get my PAWS into that theme.

 

[sr71plt]

Summer Interludes sounds like a show from the Lifetime Network
Summer Heat sounds like an episode from CSI Miami

I propose: The Dog Days of Summer
That way, we can be having a similar discussion three months from now:
"Well, I put a dog in my story, isn't that good enough to qualify?"

Dog Days sounds like something you'd go down to the pound to rescue. (and remember, no bestiality)


How about simply: Summer!

Or if we must be inclusive: July!

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Knee jerking aside, I think Scouries's most recent suggestions are worth consideration/discussion (although, of course, only the opinons of the Web site owners really matter). I don't agree with some of them, but just because he's Scouries doesn't mean they aren't thoughtful suggestions, set forth with a minimum (for him) buffoonery.

To the extent that the money-award contests are supposed to help develop writers--and put forth the best efforts on Lit. for readers and enhance the site's story quality reputation (which may not be a Web site consideration; perhaps they just have money to burn), I would agree that unfinished stories (chapters of series not finished within the scope of the contest) should not be accepted.

And in what he didn't mention, I don't think it's fair to chop up your entry into five or six chapters, all competing on the same basis as individual entries, and thereby up your relative winning opportunity. (added later: Perhaps series completed within the scope of the contest could be accepted, but that their ratings would be averaged out to form a single entry composite score.) I'd also not be adverse to limiting the entries to one or maybe two--and I've entered as many as five (but all separate stories) in previous contests myself.

I think his suggested length (particularly the minimum) is not in keeping with most other guidelines for on-line story competitions, which generally state "up to 3,500 words," with 3,500 words being pretty much the commercial cutoff. Shorter wordage isn't bad--padding to make a minimum is worse--the author just must be extra brilliant with the entry, which is hardly a bad thing to promote.

I agree with your assertion that some of Scouries' suggestions have merit. It's a shame he has reduced himself to the level of the "village idiot".

I agree that there should be a limit on the number of entries a writer can submit.

I don't agree that there should be a limit of the number of words, some writers are more verbose than others, and want to write something more than a one page stroker.

As far as entering chapters of multi-chapter stories, I personally have no opinion one way or the other.

I do agree that the total number of votes does need to be raised, with the exception of the "How To" contest.

And I have no problem with collaberative efforts being allowed. Two writers working together doesn't automatically signal an advantage.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

How about a "Mature" contest - not May/December but both partners being older? So many of the stories are about people who are young and beautiful that it might be a change to have a few about us oldies.

Og

Hmmm....A Lovin' Og contest...hmmm

 

[DeeZire]

Dog Days sounds like something you'd go down to the pound to rescue. (and remember, no bestiality)

(quote) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The phrase "Dog Days" or "the dog days of summer", refers to the hottest, most sultry days of summer. They are a phenomenon of the northern hemisphere that usually falls between July and early September but the actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant. (quote)

The key word for me is "stagnant". Just imagine, stories about overcoming adversity! (if you interpret 'stagnant' as an adjective defining state of mind, or the state of a relationship.) Stories with plots! Stories with people working there way up to sex, instead of just getting it on in the second paragraph! Doesn't this sound exciting?

 

[sr71plt]

(quote) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The phrase "Dog Days" or "the dog days of summer", refers to the hottest, most sultry days of summer. They are a phenomenon of the northern hemisphere that usually falls between July and early September but the actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant. (quote)

The key word for me is "stagnant". Just imagine, stories about overcoming adversity! (if you interpret 'stagnant' as an adjective defining state of mind, or the state of a relationship.) Stories with plots! Stories with people working there way up to sex, instead of just getting it on in the second paragraph! Doesn't this sound exciting?

Quoting from Wikipedia? oh . . . my . . .

But, yes, I do believe I've read some stagnant stories--undoubtedly have written a few too.

 

[pinball_fun]

I like the "Back to School" idea, though I know not all countries follow the Sept-June school schedule that we have here in the U.S. I can think of ways to fit nearly every theme into this context, especially when the person attending school could be someone in their 40s, say, going back to finish a doctorate, just as easily as it could be a nubile 18-year old starting college. Lots of room in-between, plus all the non-students (What will Mom do now that both her young kids are in school full-time?).

Now I'm thinking this would be a fun theme even without a contest.

Someone can even combine a couple categories & write about Summer School...

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Summer Heat

OMG that's just what I was going to type! gmta!

I vote for "Summer Heat."

And my goodness, Jenny dear, who did that intriguing cover in your signature line?