Official Support Thread - 5th Annual 750 Word Project

[Duleigh]

Here we go! Just a bit late but Laurel gave me the go ahead to start the ball rolling

Back in 2019, author jezzaz wondered:

Is it possible to write a complete story in exactly 750 words? That's the minimum limit that Literotica will accept, and after talking among ourselves, some of the writers on Lit decided to see if we could do it. After all, it's 750 words, right? How hard could it be? It's not like editing it is going to take long, after all.

This challenge is open to all - established authors or brand new Lit writers, any story category. To be a part of this challenge, you must:

Write a story that is EXACTLY 750 words by Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Literotica Control Panel Editor count - no more, no less. The story must be 750 words EXCLUDING title, description, tags, etc. Word count includes story text only.

Copy and paste this phrase into the Note To Admin section of the submission form: "750 WORD PROJECT 2023". Please copy and paste this so that a typo doesn't keep your story from participating!

Submit your story in any story category February 1st-28th (the shortest month allowed by Literotica)

The list of all participating stories will be posted on March 1st.

This thread is to reach out to each other for support, suggestions, and good-natured ribbing. I've got one story cooking, maybe two...

 

[Duleigh]

Pro Tip: Hyphenated words count as one word, so if your MC is six-foot-tall that's one word. Good to know when trying to get from 760 to 750

 

[Voboy]

I think I did one of these for this year already?

I tend to get a thought, dash one of these off, then save it and forget where I put it.

 

[Djmac1031]

I just finished one in anticipation for this event.

My question is this: should I add a disclaimer at the beginning or end clarifying it's for the 750 word project so readers understand what's going on? Because not many of them may be aware of it.

Something like "This is part of a challenge to write a complete story using only 750 words. Please rate if you enjoyed it."

And again just to be sure, said disclaimer would NOT count towards the 750 words of the story itself, correct?

 

[Duleigh]

I just finished one in anticipation for this event.

My question is this: should I add a disclaimer at the beginning or end clarifying it's for the 750 word project so readers understand what's going on? Because not many of them may be aware of it.

Something like "This is part of a challenge to write a complete story using only 750 words. Please rate if you enjoyed it."

And again just to be sure, said disclaimer would NOT count towards the 750 words of the story itself, correct?

It's 750 words EXCLUDING title, description, tags, so you can work the 750 word hint into those but the title is 35 characters, the description is 60 characters.

In my normal stories I have been known to beg for votes in an intro, but here an intro would be counted. You have given me an idea however... (I read too much Pratchett!)

 

[Djmac1031]

It's 750 words EXCLUDING title, description, tags, so you can work the 750 word hint into those but the title is 35 characters, the description is 60 characters.

In my normal stories I have been known to beg for votes in an intro, but here an intro would be counted. You have given me an idea however... (I read too much Pratchett!)

Ah, got it. I was a little confused there, thanks.

So no disclaimer. I'll just make sure to add it in tags and description if I can fit it.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Got mine ready to go.

 

[Djmac1031]

I made the mistake last year of posting one in LW.

It's still my lowest rated, worst recieved story .

My one for this year will be far less...controversial.

 

[AlinaX]

I think it's fair to add a disclaimer so long as you count the words as extra. So what if it says 763 words in the end because you added, e.g.,

Content Note: This is a fun little story for the 750 words event.

Although I generally don't bother.

 

[Rustyoznail]

The challenge is to write exactly 750 words. That's the minimum a story must have to be eligible to post, and that's why the challenge exists. It's harder than you'd think. I spent ages on my entry for last year trying to figure out what words I could drop and still be coherent.

A prologue doesn't add to the count.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If the story contains 755 words, will it be disqualified? Sounds a bit petty to me.

Stories won't get disqualified, but it's up to authors to meet the spirit of the event.

So don't go wasting words on disclaimers, and accept that it's a writers' challenge that readers don't quite understand, and the stories won't get your usual scores.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

Wrote one in the aftermath of last years challenge to see if I could do it after most of mine clock in around the 30k mark. I'll dust it off and give it a go!

 

[Duleigh]

If the story contains 755 words, will it be disqualified? Sounds a bit petty to me.

Actually trying to sneak in a 755 word story into a 750 word story project sounds a bit petty to me the challenge is to meet the requirements, not ignore them

 

[Kumquatqueen]

You can put an author note at the top with content warnings and explanation that this is part of the 750 word project so please don't complain that it's too short.

Not that that seems to stop people from downvoting and complaining they're too short or didn't go into enough detail...

Different software counts words differently, so if you're happy you've edited down to 750 words, go for it - it's not like there's any prize.

 

[Duleigh]

He said an author note, disclaimer or any other clarification counts as 750.

I sent a PM to Laurel to verify the admissibility of an author's note however your original question had nothing to do with an authors note outside of the story, you asked about the size of the actual story...

If the story contains 755 words, will it be disqualified? Sounds a bit petty to me.

I'm just trying to keep the conversation on track, so a new writer doesn't get confused

 

[MrPixel]

(the shortest month allowed by Literotica)

Very funny, D.

I'm debating joining in the fun this time. Both of my 750 stories last year were well-received, generating a handful of positive comments, but they had roots in RL events. No such events in the past year, at least none worth writing about. I think. Maybe. We'll see.

"Exactly" 750 words isn't that hard. Add or subtract adjectives and/or adverbs and you're there. Contractions and compound words help, too.

 

[Duleigh]

Here's a quick explanation of how different programs count words differently. At first glance it looks like MS Word and Google Docs are pretty close

Why Does the Word Count Differ Between Programs?

 

[OtterlyMindblowing]

I should try this. I am writing a series and have offloaded a lot of worldbuilding, but since my chapters are usually in the 4500 range this will be interesting to try. Going to drop one in NonHuman, just have to decide which angle to take.

 

[SimonDoom]

This is a fun and challenging event. I participated in 2020 and 2022. I don't have an idea yet but I'll contribute if I think of one. It forces you to be extremely mindful of your word selection.

 

[Duleigh]

Number 1 is finished, that was a lot of fun. The 750-word limit means you can throw out much of what makes a story a story, things like pages of exposition, dramatic development, rising action, all that you have to do is present a vignette and make it enjoyable. That's the hard part, anyone can throw 750 words on a page, the job is to make them something the reader wants to add to their reading list.

 

[Duleigh]

Here's a challenge I decided to give myself

Three stories - the first written from the first person point of view, the second story from the second person point of view, and the third story written in the third person point of view.

#1 is done, it's been a while since I wrote in the first person, and I've never written in the second person so this should be interesting.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Plot bunny has come to life.

It was a little frustrating last year as I worked hard to get it to exactly 750 words, using counts from both Word and the site. It was published at 753. Close enough, I guess.

Oh, and thanks for doing this!

 

[jsmiam]

… but here an intro would be counted.

To help put everyone on the same page and on an even keel: the overall consensus last year was “author’s notes don’t count toward the 750.”

As in, an author’s note can be considered part of the “etc.” in the rules. Many people, myself included chose to include notes.

I’m not the final authority either way, of course. But lots of people each year chose to go the author’s notes way. Personally, with some numbers on my side, I think it’s ok.

 

[AlinaX]

Yay. One done. That was fun. And in Celebrities & Fan Fiction - my first story there.

 

[KeithD]

Ready.