The Authors' Hangout 2011 Halloween Contest Support Thread.

[Sugary_Comfort]

Haha yeah sorry to post about pregnancy stuff.

Man I just haven't felt like writing much. I have no idea how this thing is going to turn out and though I like the idea, I'm not excited about it. I might end up changing it.

 

[Darkniciad]

It's a challenge to your writing at this point, and that's what the thread is here for -- to support everyone through the contest, regardless of the nature of the challenge

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Haha yeah sorry to post about pregnancy.

No no! You can write all you want about the weird basketball your body seems to have grown. I didn't mean it that way. I just meant... hmmm... that I didn't think anyone wanted to read all about my past adventures since they're... past.

 

[Sugary_Comfort]

Hehe well I'm not sure many want to hear about mine either, even with it being current, lol.

As far as not feeling the story, I wanna say that part of it probably has to do with having this brand new story to work with. Everything I've been writing has been with characters that I've had in my head for years.

I'm trying to do this like I do NaNoWriMo. I don't read back over what I've got until I'm done. I try not to think about what I've already written and how it may be bugging me until I'm finished.

And then of course I'm making this all up as I go. I'm crap at planning. I can get the overall plot in my head and a few of the major details but I always have a hard time with transitions and whatnot.

Right now I'm at the point where things could begin to pick up. I'm about to do a bit of a time jump because the stuff that happens between where I'm at now in the story and in the two days where things get interesting isn't all that interesting. There's no point in putting it in there. Thing is, is that I'm not sure how long it will take once I jump to actually get things going again.

I'm not sure I'll be able to make the story interesting enough.

Once I'm done, though, I'm definitely going to be redoing the beginning. It's super weak, bleh.

 

[BOSTONFICTIONWRITER]

I was hoping to write more stories, perhaps, six or eight, but my stories are growing longer.

I'll be submitting one story that is quickly approaching 20,000 words. Of course, it's an incest story. I find that I need more time to develop the character, when writing about incest. I'm sure Scouries will be jumping all over this post with his Little Ralphie character. Still, it's odd that I just can't post an incest story without explaining the motives and justification of the incest that takes place.

I'll only be posting 4 stories. There wasn't enough time between contests to post more and I'm saddened by that. I forget more stories than I write. Yet, even with just four stories, by the time I'm done, I should have more than 50,000 words.

I sincerely hope that this is a contest where more writers will participate. I'm always surprised that more writers don't take advantage of the contest exposure to enter. Typically its always the same few writers entering the theme contests. Wouldn't it be more fun if there were 500 contest entries from 500 different writers?

Good luck to everyone and may the best story win.

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Sometimes I skip around. Last year's Halloween contest story I wrote the beginning and end first and then filled in the middle part. It all came together in the end. With this current one I'm skipping around too and now I'm working on smoothing time transitions, and such.

Freddie, you can always make up for only four stories in the next contest. Don't be sad. Hey there's still time, you never know. Each contest adds some new blood to the mix it seems. I love discovering new writers and making new connections.

Taty: In other words you're anticipating that if we kept the preggo-talk going that someone (and hmm, we could predict who) would bitch and say "And how is that related to the Halloween Contest thread?" right?

 

[elfin_odalisque]

It's a challenge to your writing at this point, and that's what the thread is here for -- to support everyone through the contest, regardless of the nature of the challenge

Doesn't that say everything.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Since this needs a bump to stay above that other thread (ahem):

Taty: In other words you're anticipating that if we kept the preggo-talk going that someone (and hmm, we could predict who) would bitch and say "And how is that related to the Halloween Contest thread?" right?

No, I wasn't anticipating that. Part of it is pity on SC so that we don't devolve into birthing horror stories.

ETA: I can't believe they mocked your pillows! I brought pillows (one for my head and two for my body), a birthing ball, a pan of lasagna that I stored in the fridge, a water bottle, my own robe, my ipod dock so I could have the same song on repeat the whole time... I pretty much moved in to the birth center for a couple of days.


However, it is related. The following was a real conversation:

10/31/2009

Me: I'm pregnant
Mr. Tat: *laughs* Funny, but you should have saved that one for April Fool's Day.
Me: No really, I'm pregnant.
Mr. Tat: OK. If you're trying to scare me, you're doing a good job.
Me, getting angry and annoyed: I'm serious. Do I have to go get the stick to prove it?
Mr. Tat, silent for a long time: Fuck.

 

[scouries]

Now this non writer miss o is bumping threads???

Well hon, if you're going to bump the thread lets use the one you used on my thread (thanks jerome but i'll only put one of the ten she posted on mine)

Miss o's BUMP!!!!

POSTS by miss elfin odious on the scouries thread

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff327/michchick98/made-up-fucktard2.jpg




​

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Taty, I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one all about the comfort items! Lasagna? Was that for you or your guests or for after birth? It's a good thing the doctor on call allowed me to have breakfast, otherwise I would have maimed people and not been able to have lasted 24 hours. Apparently he was hypoglycemic too and took pity on me. I woulda sent Mr. Tat to the dog-house or the very least made him sleep on the couch after such a reaction, unless it was a total surprise neither of you were prepared for, then I might have had a little understanding. Geez. LOL!

Oh, I finally have some steam going on in my story and it's towards the beginning this time.

 

[Darkniciad]

Still working on my other ideas. I'm bouncing around on POV on one, trying to decide between three options, and figuring out if it really has legs.

Another is making me wonder if there's a deep enough connection to Halloween, harvest or anything else to really post in the contest. Exploring other angles built on the basic idea to better fit the theme.

Have two or three ideas in my third name, but those are sort of back burner, as I can usually dash those off in two or three days -- less if the idea really hits me and I get lucky with quiet time to write.

The one I just finished is going to get hacked and slashed, I believe. The more I consider it, the more I feel as if the last sex scene is simply gratuitous, and doesn't contribute anything to the story other than heat. We'll see when I read back through it. If I do go that way, it's going to put all the sex in the middle. Will work fine for the category readership -- maybe not so much for the general readership of the contest *laugh*

It would cut the story down to a length closer to the attention span of the average Lit reader, though.

 

[sr71plt]

Scouries has requested that I enter several gay male stories, so I guess I'm in for the Halloween contest--just to please him.

 

[Darkniciad]

Scouries has requested that I enter several gay male stories, so I guess I'm in for the Halloween contest--just to please him.

*Laugh* You're of course most welcome. The more the merrier to defy his self-serving "rules" with good reads

I'm still hoping for a good non-erotic idea to hit me somewhere along the way.

 

[sr71plt]

*Laugh* You're of course most welcome. The more the merrier to defy his self-serving "rules" with good reads

I'm still hoping for a good non-erotic idea to hit me somewhere along the way.

Oh, did he ban nonerotic too? I have one of those in my pocket for Halloween-time posting. I might as well throw it into the contest as well.

I'm sort of thinking on doing a BDSM/Incest one too.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Taty, I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one all about the comfort items! Lasagna? Was that for you or your guests or for after birth? It's a good thing the doctor on call allowed me to have breakfast, otherwise I would have maimed people and not been able to have lasted 24 hours. Apparently he was hypoglycemic too and took pity on me. I woulda sent Mr. Tat to the dog-house or the very least made him sleep on the couch after such a reaction, unless it was a total surprise neither of you were prepared for, then I might have had a little understanding. Geez. LOL!

That lasagna was for me and Mr. Tat. We brought brownies and fruit salad, too, though the brownies were for sharing; happy midwives make for a pleasant birth. I was at a birth center, so they grilled me ahead of time to make sure I was bringing enough food and drink.

As for Mr. Tat's reaction, it was a bit of a surprise. Long and very boring story on that, though.

If I do go that way, it's going to put all the sex in the middle. Will work fine for the category readership -- maybe not so much for the general readership of the contest *laugh*

I've been wondering about this. Which categories do you think it works well in, and which not?

 

[Darkniciad]

Any category has a fair chance, really. The one thing about this contest is that Erotic Horror and Non Human get a boost in chance due to the ghosts and goblins angle. Horror in particular has a better chance in this contest than it does all year long. Stories that end badly are more welcome by the readers in this contest than they are in the other themes.

The costume angle presents all sorts of possibilities for other categories. Then there's the party angle, which might throw together people who wouldn't necessarily run into each other normally.

You can come up with something for darn near any category. The problem is avoiding the cliches or spicing same up same in some way that makes it fresh for people who've read the setup before.

There's a reason that this one and Winter Holiday usually have more entries than the other contests. They're just easier themes to work with, no matter what your kink as a writer.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Hmmm, was that a reply to me, Darkniciad? I meant, which categories does sex in the middle work well in (in your opinion), and which categories does it not work well in? I thought that's what you were getting at a few posts ago.

 

[Darkniciad]

Oh... Whoops

Sci-Fi & Fantasy readers actually seem to be far more invested in the storylines and worlds you create than the sex. It's really common to get comments about skipping or skimming the sex scenes to get back to the story. Some will even complain that there's too much sex.

 

[nomoretears00]

*laugh* well I'm entering the contest again this year with a gay male story and I know another author that's going to enter who usually writes in gay male, also. Looks like a good showing for that cat.

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Nomoretears, good to see you back for another Halloween contest. *hugs* Been thinking about you. I hope all is well.

 

[nomoretears00]

Hey! *Grin* Yeah, I'm going to jump in, lol, if I can get this story done before the deadline! How have you been?

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Taty: I had a midwife too and had looked into a birthing center. Very thankful I ended up staying at the hospital because rescue measures were taken and she needed to stay in the NICU for a couple of days. You're making me hungry with all the food talk! Ah, gotcha. Long and boring on PM if you are adventurous.

 

[Sugary_Comfort]

I wonder if I could come up with a story that has more of a monster in it than a ghost. Hmm...

Off topic of thread:

I was going to give birth in the birthing center here (had been dreaming of it since I was 14 when my cousin was born in it) but I've got gestational diabetes so I have to birth in the hospital. It sucks. It also means I have to see a different person than the midwives I've been seeing since April. I'm not very fond of this guy either but he's not mean or anything and I don't feel like trying to search for someone else right now.

 

[pinata]

And then of course I'm making this all up as I go. I'm crap at planning. I can get the overall plot in my head and a few of the major details but I always have a hard time with transitions and whatnot.

That's EXACTLY the problem I usually have when writing. Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone.

Also, I have a few questions that haven't been answered already (at least, I haven't found the answers -- I'm admittedly fairly new, so I might have missed them):

1. What's the upper limit on the amount of stories you can submit to the contest? I'm at a creative peak right now, and it seems I'm getting slammed with ideas... if I have 15 or 20 stories can I submit them all?

2. What's the rule about stories for the Celebrities category? Are they allowed? I've got something that takes place in Stephen King's canon that I'm really excited about, but I don't want to break any rules by submitting it to the contest if it's ineligible.

3. Does the site have any rules or standards regarding violence? I have one idea that, though erotic in its own twisted and disturbing way, is pretty much a full-fledged slasher story... not sure whether I'm allowed to post that kind of thing here. Same question for my Non-Erotic idea, which is about a cannibal.

 

[sr71plt]

That's EXACTLY the problem I usually have when writing. Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone.

Also, I have a few questions that haven't been answered already (at least, I haven't found the answers -- I'm admittedly fairly new, so I might have missed them):

1. What's the upper limit on the amount of stories you can submit to the contest? I'm at a creative peak right now, and it seems I'm getting slammed with ideas... if I have 15 or 20 stories can I submit them all?

2. What's the rule about stories for the Celebrities category? Are they allowed? I've got something that takes place in Stephen King's canon that I'm really excited about, but I don't want to break any rules by submitting it to the contest if it's ineligible.

3. Does the site have any rules or standards regarding violence? I have one idea that, though erotic in its own twisted and disturbing way, is pretty much a full-fledged slasher story... not sure whether I'm allowed to post that kind of thing here. Same question for my Non-Erotic idea, which is about a cannibal.

The posted rules for the contest can be found here: http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=779097

There is no maximum number of entries, I don't think, or anything prohibition entries in the celebrities category.

Afraid you're going to have to experiment with violence permitted. There are no set parameters on that and where the limits are is a never-ending discussion topic here.