The 2026 [lit] 750 Word Project Support Thread

[millamomud]

I did a first test, to see if I can come up with something good and handle the pressure to keep it short, and came up with about 860 Words, which I find pretty neat for a first try.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there.

To all the people in the previous pages wondering if it's possible to write a story that's less than 750 words, look at the quote. That's my translation of "El Dinosaurio," a short story written by Augusto Monterroso, and also one of the shortest pieces of fiction in Spanish.

I've also done a few, and I think I shared them on Xitter before my ISP blocked it. I've also seen some erotic flash fiction bouncing online, so yes, it is possible without making it sound like poetry. I mean, the whole challenge of Writing About the Same Thing for a Year that I'm doing is me writing stories that are 500 words long, which is just a leaf of A4. One of my published works here is actually a tryptich made out of three 250 words stories crunched into a single 750 word story.

Keep practicing. Trust me: your prose will improve with this restraint.

Anyway, I picked up an old story I wrote earlier this year and didn't know it was 809 words long. I managed to cut it to 704 words. I believe I'll be done long before the submissions open up because it's only editing that I'm doing.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I did four or five last year.

Okay I am asking a serious question here @Duleigh or @EmilyMiller maybe you can chime in.

I have two stories done and an idea for a thrid.

Is that like snarky of me to submit more than one?

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Maybe I should publish my novel as 120 x 750 word stories

About ten years ago I went into a contest in which the goal was to write a novel of 20 chapters; each chapter had to have between 350 and 500 words. My entry happened to be a sci-fi episodic novel, each chapter between 470 and 500 words, and won first place.

It is possible.

 

[EmilyMiller]

About ten years ago I went into a contest in which the goal was to write a novel of 20 chapters; each chapter had to have between 350 and 500 words. My entry happened to be a sci-fi episodic novel, each chapter between 470 and 500 words, and won first place.

It is possible.

10,000 words is a short novel

 

[EmilyMiller]

This is a complete erotic story in just 750 words:

https://www.literotica.com/s/edens-park-bench

 

[KittyOfSteele]

10,000 words is a short novel

Shut up! You know what I mean!

If an episodic novel can have chapters that are 350 to 500 words long, you can definitely do 120 chapters of 750 words. I was thinking about writing a steamy like that as well on a daily basis to see where does it lead to, but I'm drowning myself with ideas at the moment.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Shut up! You know what I mean!

If an episodic novel can have chapters that are 350 to 500 words long, you can definitely do 120 chapters of 750 words. I was thinking about writing a steamy like that as well on a daily basis to see where does it lead to, but I'm drowning myself with ideas at the moment.

Having it in six parts was enough complexity for me

 

[iwatchus]

Having it in six parts was enough complexity for me

I'm sorry to derail this a bit. Did you write yours in 6 pieces or write it in one and slice it at the end? For my novel this summer, I wrote as one piece (all one word processor document) At the very end I decided which chapter to group together and made my final editing pass over those segments, once split. But my master copy stayed one document. That worked well for me.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm sorry to derail this a bit. Did you write yours in 6 pieces or write it in one and slice it at the end? For my novel this summer, I wrote as one piece (all one word processor document) At the very end I decided which chapter to group together and made my final editing pass over those segments, once split. But my master copy stayed one document. That worked well for me.

I wrote it in six pieces. Each (with the exception of Part IV) is based in a different location. I’d always seen myself publishing it as a series of six parts. Plus Google Docs on iOS crashes regularly around the 17 - 20,000 word mark. Even for shorter stories (e.g. WhoreBNB at 30,000 words) I’ve had to split up the master files, before finally consolidating the text on Lit.

 

[iwatchus]

I wrote it in six pieces. Each (with the exception of Part IV) is based in a different location. I’d always seen myself publishing it as a series of six parts. Plus Google Docs on iOS crashes regularly around the 17 - 20,000 word mark. Even for shorter stories (e.g. WhoreBNB at 30,000 words) I’ve had to split up the master files, before finally consolidating the text on Lit.

I would hate to write a novel like that. On my first pass of Blunt Force Drama, I hadn't even figured out chapter breaks. It was one long piece. I added chapters when I went through and adjusted the story. And I am working on three new novels (expecting 60K each instead of the earlier 120K) the same way. I would hate to break that early. But I mostly a panther, so I mostly have no idea what is going to happen 5K later, so I can't plan chapters.

 

[Aoife_from_Ulster]

I wrote it in six pieces. Each (with the exception of Part IV) is based in a different location. I’d always seen myself publishing it as a series of six parts. Plus Google Docs on iOS crashes regularly around the 17 - 20,000 word mark. Even for shorter stories (e.g. WhoreBNB at 30,000 words) I’ve had to split up the master files, before finally consolidating the text on Lit.

A truly interesting concept. I am really tempted to try this … if there is enough time remaining

 

[EmilyMiller]

I would hate to write a novel like that. On my first pass of Blunt Force Drama, I hadn't even figured out chapter breaks. It was one long piece. I added chapters when I went through and adjusted the story. And I am working on three new novels (expecting 60K each instead of the earlier 120K) the same way. I would hate to break that early. But I mostly a panther, so I mostly have no idea what is going to happen 5K later, so I can't plan chapters.

Yeah - as I’ve said many times I’m a hybrid writer.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

On March 1st, the full list of all challenge stories will be posted under the Literotica account. (Follow Literotica to be notified of that and all other challenges and contests!)

Follow Literotica where?

Copy and paste this phrase into the Note To Admin section of the submission form: "750 WORD PROJECT".

I've wondered this about other challenges and contests as well. Does doing this mean that nothing else can be in the Notes to Admin section? I ask because I actually wrote a standalone 750 word story. BUT! It's not exactly 750 words by any word count unless you realize that [word]...[word] is two words. Lit...doesn't. Now, I realize that once I add the recommended header that just below the line you'll find a 750 word story written for the contest, I'm just worried that if you were to, say, copy and paste the story itself into word and use the word count feature, you'd see 748 words because of the use of the ellipsis. I'm tempted to add a space, just so that the word count looks right, but it looks so wrong and I'd want to include that it was intentional, and why, in the notes to admin.

And finally, another "rules" question. My story involves a character "speaking" to an audience (not the readers per se, a different audience), but the readers could do exactly what the character asks and it would be fun, at least for me (think "like and subscribe" to a YouTube audience only...sexier) and could lead to future stories outside of this contest. Would letting the Lit audience know that they are encouraged to participate with their comments just as the fictional audience is being encouraged be considered part of the introduction of the story (and therefore not count towards the 750 word limit) or part of the 750 words of the story text (even though it's not really happening in universe)? I keep going back and forth!

And now for my next magical trick, figuring out which category this story fits because since it doesn't fit any of my usual suspects.

 

[alohadave]

Follow Literotica where?


I've wondered this about other challenges and contests as well. Does doing this mean that nothing else can be in the Notes to Admin section? I ask because I actually wrote a standalone 750 word story. BUT! It's not exactly 750 words by any word count unless you realize that [word]...[word] is two words. Lit...doesn't. Now, I realize that once I add the recommended header that just below the line you'll find a 750 word story written for the contest, I'm just worried that if you were to, say, copy and paste the story itself into word and use the word count feature, you'd see 748 words because of the use of the ellipsis. I'm tempted to add a space, just so that the word count looks right, but it looks so wrong and I'd want to include that it was intentional, and why, in the notes to admin.

And finally, another "rules" question. My story involves a character "speaking" to an audience (not the readers per se, a different audience), but the readers could do exactly what the character asks and it would be fun, at least for me (think "like and subscribe" to a YouTube audience only...sexier) and could lead to future stories outside of this contest. Would letting the Lit audience know that they are encouraged to participate with their comments just as the fictional audience is being encouraged be considered part of the introduction of the story (and therefore not count towards the 750 word limit) or part of the 750 words of the story text (even though it's not really happening in universe)? I keep going back and forth!

And now for my next magical trick, figuring out which category this story fits because since it doesn't fit any of my usual suspects.

Don't overthink this. If you want to encourage readers to comment, that's part of the introduction.

You won't be penalized for it because it's not a contest, it's a challenge.

 

[cw5523729]

My first draft came in at 920 words. Now I put someone else in charge of hacking it up since I'm very indecisive.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

My first draft came in at 920 words. Now I put someone else in charge of hacking it up since I'm very indecisive.

You can do it!

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

Don't overthink this.

All my life - I've wished to be capable of following this advice.

 

[cw5523729]

You can do it!

The editor managed to trim it to exactly 750. I didn't even read his suggestions before accepting them because I know I'm very wishy-washy and would feel that every last word had to stay.

And then he suggested another sentence of 25 words I could axe if I wanted to use my limited resources elsewhere.

 

[cw5523729]

Oh, and his first question was "What's the deadline?"

So I asked if he could work through all 750 words in the next 4 months, or 7 words per day.

 

[PennyThompson]

Follow Literotica where?

The official Literotica "Author" profile, which Laurel et. al. use to post official contest and writing challenge announcements.

I've wondered this about other challenges and contests as well. Does doing this mean that nothing else can be in the Notes to Admin section?

i've put contest/challenge notes in the Notes to Admin along with an actual admin request, and it seemed to work fine! however...

I ask because I actually wrote a standalone 750 word story. BUT! It's not exactly 750 words by any word count unless you realize that [word]...[word] is two words. Lit...doesn't. Now, I realize that once I add the recommended header that just below the line you'll find a 750 word story written for the contest, I'm just worried that if you were to, say, copy and paste the story itself into word and use the word count feature, you'd see 748 words because of the use of the ellipsis. I'm tempted to add a space, just so that the word count looks right, but it looks so wrong and I'd want to include that it was intentional, and why, in the notes to admin.

Waaayy overthinking this

Like, yes, you should actually follow the spirit of the challenge and make the actual story 750-words exactly. But different writing tools will count words in slightly different ways, Google Docs is going to give a different word count from Lit's text entry box. If the word count is significantly more or less than 750, some picky readers might call you out on it, but make a good faith effort using your writing tool of choice and it will be fine. Laurel is not going to reject it if Lit's counter says 748 or 753.

Also, it's a very good idea to include a note at the top of the story saying something like:

"This story was written for the 2025 Literotica 750 Word Challenge. below this line are exactly 750 words, the minimum amount of text that Literotica will accept as a story..."

Which means your word count is going to be over 750 regardless!

another "rules" question. My story involves a character "speaking" to an audience (not the readers per se, a different audience), but the readers could do exactly what the character asks and it would be fun, at least for me (think "like and subscribe" to a YouTube audience only...sexier) and could lead to future stories outside of this contest. Would letting the Lit audience know that they are encouraged to participate with their comments just as the fictional audience is being encouraged be considered part of the introduction of the story (and therefore not count towards the 750 word limit) or part of the 750 words of the story text (even though it's not really happening in universe)? I keep going back and forth!

Personally I'd say, keep that interaction within the story itself! It's also a fun, playful, experimental idea and I'm looking forward to reading it

 

[Duleigh]

Follow Literotica where?

Literotica exists as an author! If you follow them you'll get all the announcements. Click the link I put here, it will take you to their page.

 

[DEFCOM5]

Thank for sharing. I am following them now!

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

Thank for sharing. I am following them now!

@Duleigh @PennyThompson - so am I. Thank you both!

Is this where the 2026 post will be to link to for the 750 word challenge as well?

Personally I'd say, keep that interaction within the story itself! It's also a fun, playful, experimental idea and I'm looking forward to reading it

I'm not sure it's as creative as you're thinking. The general premise is still a cliche, I just think it's a fun element that can be added to lead to potential new plot bunnies (though if you're willing to beta read, I'd love to hear if you think it's so overdone it's not worth entering even). That is, if it's not instantly flooded off the feed since the only place it seems to fit is Erotic Couplings and I know that's a pretty popular category.

And yea, overthinking it is definitely my middle name.

 

[Duleigh]

Is this where the 2026 post will be to link to for the 750 word challenge as well?

The support thread will be right here come February. Just submit your story like normal, just add 750 WORD PROJECT to the notes to admin. No special link needed.