Official Support Thread - 5th Annual 750 Word Project

[Djmac1031]

My question after this particular "challenge" is just how much the average reader is aware of what's going on.

Unless they're paying close attention to the home page announcements, I get the feeling most readers have no idea about the 750 Word Challenge, or why it's even a thing.

So one day they log in, check the new story page and are suddenly flooded with a bunch of really short stories.

Even if we put a disclaimer at the top explaining the challenge, and the appropriate tags etc; I honestly don't think most readers are getting the concept.

Sure, we authors are. And I've gotten a lot of support from many of you on the two I posted, so thank you.

But as it stands, the Joe Average reader all but ignored my submissions for this one.

It's not even about ratings, both are scored moderately well.

But the view view counts are terrible, compared with my other longer submissions.

Hey maybe my titles just didn't grab their attention, who knows?

Don't get me wrong; I like the 750 Word challenge. It's an interesting exercise.

But as far as drawing in a new audience, it falls short, at least for me.

Your milage may vary, of course.

 

[ElectricBlue]

But as far as drawing in a new audience, it falls short, at least for me.

Your milage may vary, of course.

The first sentence of each of my 750 Word states "A 750 Word Project Story", so if readers can comprehend what they read, they know it's short.

The comments I'm getting indicate they are getting the concept.

Interestingly, I'm getting new followers following the publication of Part 2 yesterday, whereas no new followers from the first part. Two more parts to go. 7750 views on the first, 1350 on the second part, after twenty-four hours. They're both doing okay.

 

[Series 6]

My question after this particular "challenge" is just how much the average reader is aware of what's going on.

Unless they're paying close attention to the home page announcements, I get the feeling most readers have no idea about the 750 Word Challenge, or why it's even a thing.

So one day they log in, check the new story page and are suddenly flooded with a bunch of really short stories.

Even if we put a disclaimer at the top explaining the challenge, and the appropriate tags etc; I honestly don't think most readers are getting the concept.

Sure, we authors are. And I've gotten a lot of support from many of you on the two I posted, so thank you.

But as it stands, the Joe Average reader all but ignored my submissions for this one.

It's not even about ratings, both are scored moderately well.

But the view view counts are terrible, compared with my other longer submissions.

Hey maybe my titles just didn't grab their attention, who knows?

Don't get me wrong; I like the 750 Word challenge. It's an interesting exercise.

But as far as drawing in a new audience, it falls short, at least for me.

Your milage may vary, of course.

I'm terrible at coming up for titles for my stories.

My advice - just enjoy it for what it is. A fun experience to write a short story and share some comments with other writers here on the message board. Think of this as something that is appreciated by the circle of writers on this board. The main thing is - did you have fun writing it and did you enjoy sharing it with the people who appreciate it and understand the challenge? Your feelings are independent from the people who don't "get it."

 

[Rustyoznail]

I'm pretty happy with how my two stories are going. I think putting them into Humour was a good move, as those readers are ok with a short joke.

 

[MrPixel]

...enjoy it for what it is...

And you just found your next title: "A 750 Word Story - Enjoy It for What It Is"

 

[Series 6]

And you just found your next title: "A 750 Word Story - Enjoy It for What It Is"

I'm submitting my stories to you so you can write my titles for me.

 

[SomaSlave]

My latest 750 word story is in the wild (Beware Dommes Bearing Gifts). I wrote it with a different ending in mind, but decided to make it a little more friendly to the BDSM readers on Lit. It's funny how one line can change the entire tone of a story.

If you have a couple of minutes free and don't mind that genre, take a look at the story, then read it again, replacing the published last line with the original: "And She laughed." Let me know if it makes as big a difference as I think it does and, if so, which ending you prefer.

Thanks for your collective wisdom.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

My latest 750 word story is in the wild (Beware Dommes Bearing Gifts). I wrote it with a different ending in mind, but decided to make it a little more friendly to the BDSM readers on Lit. It's funny how one line can change the entire tone of a story.

If you have a couple of minutes free and don't mind that genre, take a look at the story, then read it again, replacing the published last line with the original: "And She laughed." Let me know if it makes as big a difference as I think it does and, if so, which ending you prefer.

Thanks for your collective wisdom.

I prefer the ending you published, ('And I smiled, content.') because it makes clear the guy affected is consenting to it all. Otherwise it shows her going beyond a comfortable limit and her laughing suggests she knows it's beyond a limit.

As is, I liked it. The alt ending would have left me feeling unhappy and going 'yet another nonconsent story in BDSM, must be Saturday'.

 

[AlinaX]

I'm not sure I like either ending, but then I'm a little confused throughout about motivation. If pain is a theme to their relationship, and certainly it seems to be, then I would have liked to see more recognition of this, some sense that Mistress may enjoy inflicting pain but that it answers a mutual need.

It was that pain that obliterates thought and banishes all but the present moment. My cock had become a column of fire between Mistress's clenching thighs, and perhaps I screamed, and certainly the tears ran, but a weight lifted from my soul and Mistress, my beautiful Mistress, cried out in ecstasy...

I think also that some reassurance is needed that the pain is deliberate and controlled, otherwise it's confusing like:

"Um, Mistress, whatever you put on my cock, I think I may be allergic to it."
"Hush, Slave. Let me come first, then I'll check to see if you need a doctor."

Take with a pinch of salt. I'm not a BDSM writer.

 

[Duleigh]

as it stands, the Joe Average reader all but ignored my submissions for this one.

It's not even about ratings, both are scored moderately well.

But the view view counts are terrible, compared with my other longer submissions.

Hey maybe my titles just didn't grab their attention, who knows?

I don't know either. I'm getting average to good page views, I've got stories that have been up for over a year with fewer page views than these stories. Could it be the name? Possibly, my naming convention is for me, not for them, 750-1 Saturday Morning, 750-2 Saturday Afternoon etc (in my personal spreadsheet they're being tracked separately from my regular stories)

Starting the story name with a number might pique their interest, and it does put the story at the top of an alphabetical list. After that - I have no clue, my style doesn't change dramatically, yet two stories get great ratings, two others get beaten up... is it the category I put them in? yet ALL comments are glowing praise.

Number 5 is getting submitted today - 750-5 Meanwhile Up In Heaven in the Humor and Satire category I have no idea what to expect (but it's a great joke)

 

[SomaSlave]

I prefer the ending you published, ('And I smiled, content.') because it makes clear the guy affected is consenting to it all. Otherwise it shows her going beyond a comfortable limit and her laughing suggests she knows it's beyond a limit.

As is, I liked it. The alt ending would have left me feeling unhappy and going 'yet another nonconsent story in BDSM, must be Saturday'.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments: I'm glad I made the change. Interestingly, this is something that actually happened to me many, many years ago during my first serious relationship with a Domme. She was a special lady, with a wicked sense of humor and a style of edge play that was much more based on relationships than sensations. IRL, she did laugh, but it wasn't nasty. At any time, I could have safeworded, but I chose not to.

Nevertheless, I appreciate your observations. I share your aversion to the number of "BDSM" stories that are simply tales of sexual and mental abuse.

 

[SomaSlave]

I'm not sure I like either ending, but then I'm a little confused throughout about motivation. If pain is a theme to their relationship, and certainly it seems to be, then I would have liked to see more recognition of this, some sense that Mistress may enjoy inflicting pain but that it answers a mutual need.

I think also that some reassurance is needed that the pain is deliberate and controlled, otherwise it's confusing like:


Take with a pinch of salt. I'm not a BDSM writer.

Thank you for your observations: they highlight one of the concerns I had about this story. There is a lot of nuance in a D/s relationship, especially when it comes to pain. Your suggestions would have clarified matters, but, in a 750 word story, there wasn't room for it. And, for the record, I (and the character) had a safeword that would have ended the scene but chose not to use it.

Since the story was based on my own experience, I was aware of the dynamics and committed one of the deadly sins for a writer: assuming the reader would understand without having complete information. You were dropped into the middle of an ongoing relationship which had led up to this moment. In particular, I assumed that, as this was a BDSM story, readers would be familiar with the underlying concept of safewords. I should have worked that into the story...my bad.

I'm outlining a series based on my relationship with this special lady. She was, in many ways, my mentor, and a very complex person.

On reflection, I'm wondering now if I shouldn't have fleshed this story out a bit and submitted it as an April Fool's entry.

 

[KeithD]

#7 posted today and #8 went into the submissions queue last night. Did I mention this exercise being addictive?

 

[alohadave]

I only have one story up, and even though it's been up 2.5 weeks, the voting is higher than my other stories. They aren't necessarily voting higher (it's my second lowest, though still above 4.0), but they are voting more by percent of views than other stories.

The only one that comes close in this time frame is my Christmas story.

I'm curious if being part of a competition/challenge accounts for that, or if it's something else.

 

[KeithD]

I only have one story up, and even though it's been up 2.5 weeks, the voting is higher than my other stories. They aren't necessarily voting higher (it's my second lowest, though still above 4.0), but they are voting more by percent of views than other stories.

The only one that comes close in this time frame is my Christmas story.

I'm curious if being part of a competition/challenge accounts for that, or if it's something else.

I've noticed the high view (and, for me, voting) counts on these as well. I'm sure that's because they are short and readers are more willing to invest a few minutes more than they are an hour to reading a story they come across here. I think the low voting also is understandable. A 3 is, by site definition, a fine, supportive rating here. For something this short, it's understandable that a reader won't feel that enough effort has gone into the work to deserve superlatives even if they enjoyed the read and the story delivered on the needed elements of a short story.

That said, delivering a complete story this succinct is an art form and a good skill to practice, so the writer is benefiting from that no matter what the score winds up being.

 

[KeithD]

Another interesting aspect to look at with these 750-word stories--beyond the rating. Check on how many story favorite votes the story has gotten. At the short length, being added to a reader's favorites list is a real achievement.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I only have one story up, and even though it's been up 2.5 weeks, the voting is higher than my other stories. They aren't necessarily voting higher (it's my second lowest, though still above 4.0), but they are voting more by percent of views than other stories.

The only one that comes close in this time frame is my Christmas story.

I'm curious if being part of a competition/challenge accounts for that, or if it's something else.

Mine are the same, a much higher than usual Vote to View ratio. I put that down to the length of the story.

Chances are, with 750 words, the story is more likely to be read through, folk are more likely to vote because they've just read it, and they're dropping you an honest vote using whatever criteria they use to vote. There's less backing out after a couple of paragraphs (unless you've spectacularly failed and there's no hook), and of course, there's no jumping pages to the last page, because they're already on it.

 

[SomaSlave]

My first entry is now up. Consider it an erotic tone poem with an omission I hope some folks will notice.

Here it is for your reading enjoyment: https://literotica.com/s/a-kiss-25

Hmmm...so far, I've received one comment that picked up on the key point of the story. Too subtle, perhaps?

It's also received a lower rating than I expected, but the number of ratings as a percentage of views is good for one of my stories. These challenges are a lot of fun and good exercises.

 

[Series 6]

#7 posted today and #8 went into the submissions queue last night. Did I mention this exercise being addictive?

It is. I wrote 3 after not having written anything for years. I am going to work on a 4th when I have time.

It's a low-pressure and fun way to get back into writing. While I don't have a lot of views on my stories, the three have nice scores of 4.2 - 4.3. Sometimes I feel like readers are reluctant to give less than a score of "4" unless they really hate it

 

[alohadave]

I submitted my second one. I was inspired by the heart//beats challenge.

I wrote a tribal wedding ceremony that has a chant and it was pretty close to 750 by itself, so I worked it to 750.

The interesting bit for me is that I used ChatGPT for the lyrics. I left a note for Laurel, to be open about it. We'll see if she accepts it or not.

 

[KeithD]

I cranked out #10 last night sometime after 4:00 a.m. I've found over twenty in the files, so will do a flash fiction anthology for the marketplace.

 

[Djmac1031]

Weird side note:

I've found my previous 750 word story from last year has been getting more attention, with several new "Favorites" over the past week or so.

Wondering if it's somehow popping up in the "Similar Stories" recommendations, or just a coincidence.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Weird side note:

I've found my previous 750 word story from last year has been getting more attention, with several new "Favorites" over the past week or so.

Wondering if it's somehow popping up in the "Similar Stories" recommendations, or just a coincidence.

Probably. My A Girl on the Bus, from an earlier 750 Word anthology, shows up on this year's "similar stories" list.

 

[stickygirl]

Weird side note:

I've found my previous 750 word story from last year has been getting more attention, with several new "Favorites" over the past week or so.

Wondering if it's somehow popping up in the "Similar Stories" recommendations, or just a coincidence.

Favorites are nice, 5s are better - the two don't go together

 

[Djmac1031]

Favorites are nice, 5s are better - the two don't go together

I have no idea what they're rating it, although it did jump up from a 3.75 to 3.76 lol.

So...progress?