Official Support Thread - 5th Annual 750 Word Project

[ElectricBlue]

The currently running Valentine's Day contest started posting the stories on the first day of the contest window.

I think any time they give a window for submission, all stories are posted as soon as they're reviewed and within that window. Otherwise, there's no need for the window dates, just a "no later than" date.

Yep, I forgot that Contests have a window too - the imperative would be to get In early, to get Votes growing on a story. And sweeps...

 

[ecorche]

Now I understand the truly deceptive nature of this challenge.
You are lured in by the low word count. "Come on, everyone! It's only 750 words! You can churn it out in a couple hours! What are you, chicken?"
So you sit down at the keyboard and, indeed, you churn it out in a couple hours.
Then you make an edit pass and wreck the word count. It's too long. So you make another edit pass. You cut a couple of sentences that add nothing. Now it's too short. You conceive of a great visual that must be added and cannot be denied. After you add it, you're over again.
When writers go to hell, this is how they spend eternity.

 

[KeithD]

I think the "imperatives" of the 750-word contest are to take advantage of the writing exercise and to enjoy yourself. A 750-word story isn't going to break any rating or comment records here. I think this striving for high ratings and comments is getting out of hand on Literotica. You're fooling yourself if you think it's telling you anything significantly meaningful about your abilities as a writer (or writing competitor).

 

[ElectricBlue]

Now I understand the truly deceptive nature of this challenge.

When writers go to hell, this is how they spend eternity.

The trick is to come in slightly under on your first draft, then add one or two descriptive words. Or come in slightly over, and lose a few. Or do what I managed to do on this one, hit 750 on the first go, then fine tune, one word at a time.

I start my word counting around 700 words, and my subconscious mind must do the rest, because I always seem to get the first pass in plus/minus five words, and the final count comes easily.

But then I add the one liner intro and my © name at the end, and must remember to subtract them. But then, the actual word count can differ depending what software you use, and nobody will actually count each word, one by one, so plus or minus a couple of words makes no difference. A story will only get rejected on content, not the actual word count.

 

[AlinaX]

I let my characters keep the word count.

 

[Duleigh]

Here's the note I'm putting at the top of each story. I think most readers will get the idea. (I've got a few that I'm not so sure about)

Content Note: This is a little story for the 2023 750 Word Project. Beneath this line are exactly 750 words

 

[KeithD]

That's fine, I think. I just note that it's for a writing exercise requiring exactly 750 words in the body of the story.

They will still get a "too short" comment or two, but so do my 50,000-word works.

 

[ecorche]

It was mentioned earlier that MS Word counts a hyphenated word as a single word, e.g., "pitter-patter". Turns out if you use an em dash with no surrounding spaces, it also counts it as a single word. E.g. "Surround yourself with candles—jasmine." would count as four words in MS Word. Same with Google Docs.
But Scrivener, and any human, recognizes that the em dash is *not* a hyphen and would count the preceeding candle quote as five words. Tricky, eh?
So if you use an em dash between words, and you want those words to count as two words, then put spaces around the em dash.
(Why is it 2023 and we're still trying to figure out how to count words?)

 

[gordo12]

It was mentioned earlier that MS Word counts a hyphenated word as a single word, e.g., "pitter-patter". Turns out if you use an em dash with no surrounding spaces, it also counts it as a single word. E.g. "Surround yourself with candles—jasmine." would count as four words in MS Word. Same with Google Docs.
But Scrivener, and any human, recognizes that the em dash is *not* a hyphen and would count the preceeding candle quote as five words. Tricky, eh?
So if you use an em dash between words, and you want those words to count as two words, then put spaces around the em dash.
(Why is it 2023 and we're still trying to figure out how to count words?)

Every word processor counts differently. It's been a constant subject here since the 750 contest started. Just take whatever figures you get and consider it ok. Unless you like counting with your fingers and toes. I said readers would never bother counting. I was wrong!

 

[ecorche]

Every word processor counts differently. It's been a constant subject here since the 750 contest started. Just take whatever figures you get and consider it ok.

Thanks, I get that.
I used to work in software. When different programs come up with different answers for the same thing, it gets under my skin. And in this case, it's a bug in Word and Google Docs. And if companies like Microsoft and Google, who have raked in millions in revenue, would simply fix their damn software, then we wouldn't have to just accept that "every word processor counts differently" without explanation.
Not yelling at you, just raging against the machine.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

So, I'm actually quite excited about the event, challenge, I mean. As to different word counts, hot to trot counts as three words in Word, but hot-to-trot only counts as one.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

One done. A little character insight and blatant ad encouraging people to read my other stories with the same characters.

I'm quite pleased as it's concise but the length doesn't feel forced. Though will probably get complaints there's no sex in it.

 

[Duleigh]

4So, I'm actually quite excited about the event, challenge, I mean. As to different word counts, hot to trot counts as three words in Word, but hot-to-trot only counts as one.

As pointed out earlier, Hot–to–trot counts as three words because it's using an em dash it looks like a hyphen but it's longer, but it's not, so it's not counted as a hyphen. Don't worry about it though, it actually takes some extra work to put it in a hyphenated word, but knowing this might come in handy if you're at 748 words and have a hyphenated word in your entry.

 

[KeithD]

It's not an exercise in using words improperly, though. "Hot-to-trot" (hyphenated) is only a proper rendering used as a combined direct adjective to a noun.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

As pointed out earlier, Hot–to–trot counts as three words because it's using an em dash it looks like a hyphen but it's longer, but it's not, so it's not counted as a hyphen. Don't worry about it though, it actually takes some extra work to put it in a hyphenated word, but knowing this might come in handy if you're at 748 words and have a hyphenated word in your entry.

Its a quirk in Word. I wasn't saying it counted that way in the lit event, just in MS Word.

 

[KeithD]

Its a quirk in Word. I wasn't saying it counted that way in the lit event, just in MS Word.

Just noting that the combined adjective "hot-to-trot" uses hyphens, not em dashes.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

So, I just finished my first 750 word story. Put a draft into Literotica control panel wiating with baited breath for the first to make it official. By the way, I need to go brush my teeth and get fishy taste out of mouth.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

It's not an exercise in using words improperly, though. "Hot-to-trot" (hyphenated) is only a proper rendering used as a combined direct adjective to a noun.

I wasn't addressing your concern, I know its a hyphenated word. I was saying, in my version of Word, it counts hyphenated words as one word. If I use en or em dashes, I have spaces around them, so it still counts every word.

 

[KeithD]

My "concern" was that folks were sliding into advising improper word rendering in what's supposed to be a writing skills development exercise. It wasn't focused on your specific posts. The "hot-to-trot" word form (like a lot of other combinations) is only proper in one position in a sentence. Used in other positions it's "hot to trot." And it's hyphenated when used, not rendered with em dashes.

"Amelia was a hot-to-trot sort of gal."

"Amelia was the sort of gal who was hot to trot."

"Are you hot to trot, Amelia?"

 

[ecorche]

Where do I get my "Proud to be a 750-Word Challenge Submitter" sticker?

 

[SoCalAshley]

I just submitted my second story and this may be a fun little exercise. Although reading some of the previous posts, there are some authors taking this exercise a lot more seriously than me. Who knew there were so many ways to count words?

 

[AlinaX]

So, I just finished my first 750 word story. Put a draft into Literotica control panel wiating with baited breath for the first to make it official. By the way, I need to go brush my teeth and get fishy taste out of mouth.

I assume 'wiating' is an honest typo, but 'baited'? Is that a deliberate typo just as an excuse for a fishing joke?

 

[AlinaX]

I just submitted my second story and this may be a fun little exercise. Although reading some of the previous posts, there are some authors taking this exercise a lot more seriously than me. Who knew there were so many ways to count words?

I'm not convinced anyone takes it seriously at all, but it's fun to act like it's serious.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I assume 'wiating' is an honest typo, but 'baited'? Is that a deliberate typo just as an excuse for a fishing joke?

Fishing joke, that was why I said I had a fishy taste in my mouth.

 

[alohadave]

Got mine ready. Second attempt as my first one blew way past 750 and will likely be much longer.