Once Upon A Time: the Dark Fairy Tales Challenge

[StillStunned]

You have a tag that may be "problematic". "nobody is going to read this to the end."

Oh, and the "non-erotic" tag might shoo a few readers away.

Fair enough. But....

 

[dirk2024]

Fair enough. But....

View attachment 2562693

Yeah. I don't know why. Personally, I enjoy the SciFi category. I haven't written anything there, but I do have one WIP that may go there or NonHuman one day.

 

[iwatchus]

SF&F gets very low views, but good engagement per view. It's not that the series get the views. No one does. The top ten list (by rating) from the last 30 days tops out at 2.6K. Only one of the top ten from the last year gets much better, but still only 5.1K.

That said, it gets much better comments/view and ratings/view than something like Group Sex does.

 

[StillStunned]

Yeah. I don't know why. Personally, I enjoy the SciFi category. I haven't written anything there, but I do have one WIP that may go there or NonHuman one day.

I've come to the conclusion that the sci-fi and fantasy that I enjoy aren't the same as what the modern readership enjoys.

 

[iwatchus]

I actually came here to say I'm looking forward to seeing these stories. I did not have time to write one for this. I wish I had.

 

[StillStunned]

I actually came here to say I'm looking forward to seeing these stories. I did not have time to write one for this. I wish I had.

You still have nearly three weeks...

 

[iwatchus]

You still have nearly three weeks...

I just mentally committed myself to writing three more novels in the next 4-6 months as well as several more short stories. And I want to increase the amount of reading I am doing, including published here, pre-published for writers here and other stuff.

I'm too obsessive, but even I have limits.

 

[StillStunned]

I just mentally committed myself to writing three more novels in the next 4-6 months as well as several more short stories. And I want to increase the amount of reading I am doing, including published here, pre-published for writers here and other stuff.

I'm too obsessive, but even I have limits.

Don't worry about it. I'm already astonished by the number of writers participating.

 

[dirk2024]

I just mentally committed myself to writing three more novels in the next 4-6 months as well as several more short stories. And I want to increase the amount of reading I am doing, including published here, pre-published for writers here and other stuff.

I'm too obsessive, but even I have limits.

Sounds like you need a few dozen more hours in your day.

 

[iwatchus]

I've tried not sleeping to gain some, but that has other unfortunate effects.

 

[Erozetta]

I've tried not sleeping to gain some, but that has other unfortunate effects.

To write the three I finished this week, I pretty much didn't eat or sleep much the past two weeks. I have a bad habit of getting fixated on a project (or projects) and being unable to let go until finished.

Do not recommend.

I just came out of the fog of it yesterday and now I'm woozy and have to adapt to eating actual meals again instead of existing on a piece of fruit or spoonfuls of peanut butter.

*Cough* I'm gonna ignore the fact that I was supposed to be in bed four hours ago and have to be awake in about five hours ...

 

[dirk2024]

To write the three I finished this week, I pretty much didn't eat or sleep much the past two weeks. I have a bad habit of getting fixated on a project (or projects) and being unable to let go until finished.

Do not recommend.

I just came out of the fog of it yesterday and now I'm woozy and have to adapt to eating actual meals again instead of existing on a piece of fruit or spoonfuls of peanut butter.

*Cough* I'm gonna ignore the fact that I was supposed to be in bed four hours ago and have to be awake in about five hours ...

I almost 'liked' this post, but that last sentence kept me from it. So I'll just slip in a BIG HUG of support instead.

 

[iwatchus]

To write the three I finished this week, I pretty much didn't eat or sleep much the past two weeks. I have a bad habit of getting fixated on a project (or projects) and being unable to let go until finished.

Seriously folks, don't do this. It is not healthy. That was the unfortunate effects I was referring to. For me, it is more mental health than physical health, but I have known people create physical health issues too. Take care of yourselves. Nothing on here is worth it. Little else is other than your loved ones.

 

[BryanRichardson]

15 stories so far, which seems good.

5 of the stories are in Fantasy Science Fiction, the highest of those with 3.1k of “views” in five days. None of the other categories are doing lots better, although I/T and NC do have more views. But those categories do have larger readers.

FSF does seem to get fewer views, but I’m happy with where my story has landed.

 

[Erozetta]

Seriously folks, don't do this. It is not healthy. That was the unfortunate effects I was referring to. For me, it is more mental health than physical health, but I have known people create physical health issues too. Take care of yourselves. Nothing on here is worth it. Little else is other than your loved ones.

It's not a thing I do intentionally.

Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it until I'm done.

And sometimes my husband shoves food and water in front of me, lol. I can eat/drink that then ask why there's a plate/glass in front of me. No memory of eating it, no idea what I ate, etc.

Fully automated mode highly focused on writing. (I think it's a bit of a coping mechanism from when I was a kid and didn't always have food available, writing sorta made me forget hunger.)

I did fall asleep around 5, and woke up at 9, so sleep was moderately successful.

 

[iwatchus]

It's not a thing I do intentionally.

Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it until I'm done.

And sometimes my husband shoves food and water in front of me, lol. I can eat/drink that then ask why there's a plate/glass in front of me. No memory of eating it, no idea what I ate, etc.

Fully automated mode highly focused on writing. (I think it's a bit of a coping mechanism from when I was a kid and didn't always have food available, writing sorta made me forget hunger.)

I did fall asleep around 5, and woke up at 9, so sleep was moderately successful.

I guess we all owe your husband a thank you.

 

[StillStunned]

Sounds like you need a few dozen more hours in your day.

As my wife says, there are plenty of hours in the day. It's the night that could use a handful more.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

As my wife says, there are plenty of hours in the day. It's the night that could use a handful more.

What are you reading on? I've been thinking about one of those fancy E-Ink screens as both an E-Reader as well as a writing tool if I add a keyboard. Easier on the eyes and less distraction.

 

[StillStunned]

I read on my computer or on my phone.

 

[SaintValyssa]

Hey Still Stunned.

I have an idea for this, but I may be stretching the definition of a "fairy tale". What is your opinion?

Are the works of HP Lovecraft in the realm of "Fairy Tales"?

I have an idea to erotically adapt something like Shadow Over Innsmouth.

 

[dirk2024]

Just curious, is Erotic Horror one of the lonely categories around here? My Dark Fairy story is scoring well, but there's not many readers and no comments.

 

[BryanRichardson]

Just curious, is Erotic Horror one of the lonely categories around here? My Dark Fairy story is scoring well, but there's not many readers and no comments.

I would say so. If you look at the list of new stories for Erotic Horror some days there aren’t even any new stories posted in the category.
The Red Chamber was published on 8/23 by sanitycheck who has 1089 followers and it only has 3k views.
You’ve got 4 favorites showing with 760 views, so that seems good. Although I did just touch it twice so now you’ve got 2 “fake” reads…

 

[EmilyMiller]

Just curious, is Erotic Horror one of the lonely categories around here? My Dark Fairy story is scoring well, but there's not many readers and no comments.

My only EH story sits at 5,100 views, which is better than SF&F on average, but a lot worse than LS or EV (closer to 10,000 on average).

I used to get good views in SF&F, but it seems to be drowning in slop now and it’s hard to top 3,000 views, even with a highly rated story.

 

[dirk2024]

I would say so. If you look at the list of new stories for Erotic Horror some days there aren’t even any new stories posted in the category.
The Red Chamber was published on 8/23 by sanitycheck who has 1089 followers and it only has 3k views.
You’ve got 4 favorites showing with 760 views, so that seems good. Although I did just touch it twice so now you’ve got 2 “fake” reads…

Okay thanks. I appreciate the perspective.

 

[StillStunned]

Hey Still Stunned.

I have an idea for this, but I may be stretching the definition of a "fairy tale". What is your opinion?

Are the works of HP Lovecraft in the realm of "Fairy Tales"?

I have an idea to erotically adapt something like Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Hey @SaintValyssa, great to have you on board for my challenge!

It's hard to say where the boundary lies between fairy tales and more regular fantasy. If there's something otherworldly about the tale, that helps. If you can imagine reading it as a bedtime story. If you write it in a fairy tale style: lots of repetitions, archetypal characters, abstract situations.

That said, the scope is inclusive, rather than exclusive. I think the key question is: do *you* consider it a fairy tale? And can you convince your readers?

Good luck!