The Valentine's Day Contest Support Thread 2010

[oggbashan]

starts: January 20
closes: February 5
winners announced: February 12

I know. The Winter Holiday Contest has only just finished and it isn't Christmas yet, but going by 2009 the Valentine's Contest will start in about a month from now.

This year, 2010, the parameters are:

Valentine's Day
themes: romantic love, Valentine's Day, Cupid, sensuality, etc.
starts: January 20
closes: February 5
winners announced: February 12

(as copied from the sticky "Welcome Authors! Please Read" which gives the competition details for all of 2010)

As before, this thread is to encourage authors to write and enter, to support them when the muses fly away, to sympathise when trolls attack, and to shamelessly beg for votes.

For anyone who hasn't entered a themed Literotica contest before:

The advantages are that once you enter, your entry and all your writing gets more attention, votes, feedback and PCs than it would otherwise get. You also get support from members of the Author's Hangout.

The disadvantages are that you will also attract unwelcome attention from trolls and unenlightened critics. The sweeps of duplicated and illegal votes can cause heartbreak. You will probably curse the marking systems and fail to understand how they could possibly have done that to you. It can be a bumpy ride. If you want to know HOW bumpy, read one of the previous support threads e.g. The Halloween Contest Support Thread.

If you really want your writing to improve, critics will be a factor. Entering a themed Literotica contest is one of the easier ways to get noticed.

If in doubt, go for it. You have nothing to lose but your virginity, and if you haven't lost it yet, what are you doing here?

Og

PS. And you could be eligible for the Author's Hangout Last Place (tm) Contest and win nothing but the awe and esteem of your fellow-writers.

PPS. As usual there's a plug for my essay: Entering A Themed Literotica Contest. You will also find more helpful advice from others in the How-To section of the stories listed on Literotica. Some of that advice is much more helpful than mine because after all I'm the instigator of the Last Place Contest.
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Og

 

[oggbashan]

Hearts and flowers bump.

Og

 

[scouries]

Valentines Day???????????

fuck, it's not even christmas yet let alone new years!

pal you're pushing this thing a little too hard. can't you give us a little break? and man, you don't have to worry, no ones going to steal your thread...

sit back, enjoy the holidays... there's time for this later...

jrs

 

[oggbashan]

Less than a month to go...

Og

 

[Handley_Page]

Oh, please do cheer me up!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Not to sure what to do about Valentine's. I mean, I've got HM's present coming and it's an impressive one but for a story . . .

Valentine's always struck me as something too commercial to take seriously. But then, I'm a male-type bear so that's to be expected. Hmmm . . . commercial romance . . . Does that lead to commercial sex? Reluctant commercial sex? Guilty sex? Maybe there's a plot bunny at work here after all.

 

[_Lynn_]

Unless inspiration hits soon, I'm skipping this one.

 

[oggbashan]

Less than 3 weeks to go to the start...

Og

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I envision one well-known author here writing a beautiful tale of an undersized penis find ltrue ove and happiness at a roadside rest stop men's room.

 

[TxRad]

An Oggian bump.

I don't have a clue what to write this year.

 

[oggbashan]

They're off!

The starting gun has been fired. The official start has been announced:
Here

Get those hearts and flowers to inspire you to enter the Valentine's Day Contest 2010.

Og

 

[roguefem]

so i'm pretty new (like JUST signed up) so i'd like to know that when the contest starts january 20th, will there be a submission forum or is there an email that we have to submit our stories to?

 

[oggbashan]

so i'm pretty new (like JUST signed up) so i'd like to know that when the contest starts january 20th, will there be a submission forum or is there an email that we have to submit our stories to?

The procedure for submitting to a themed contest is the same as for submitting any story. You go to the members area of Literotica, find the button "submit story" and follow the instructions.

The help for this is in the Frequently Asked Questions which is part of the first post at the thread at the top of the Authors' Hangout called "Welcome Authors! Please Read".

The only difference for a contest is that you have to put "The Valentine's Day Contest" in the Notes box. See the contest thread again at the top of the Author's Hangout.

Og

 

[Lisa Summers]

I didn't see it mentioned - is there a minimum/maximum story length?

 

[oggbashan]

I didn't see it mentioned - is there a minimum/maximum story length?

The minimum for any Literotica story is 750 words. There is no maximum but it is preferable to break into chapters anything that is over 50,000 words.

You can bend the rules a bit. I have frequently submitted sets of 15 x 50-word stories to reach the 750 word minimum.

Og

 

[al_Ussa]

Oooo, I've just gotten a yummy idea for a Valentine's Day story...

Its always a surprisingly difficult category to come up with good entries for.

 

[Lisa Summers]

The minimum for any Literotica story is 750 words. There is no maximum but it is preferable to break into chapters anything that is over 50,000 words.

You can bend the rules a bit. I have frequently submitted sets of 15 x 50-word stories to reach the 750 word minimum.

Og

Thank you! I don't think I could say 'Good Morning', in less than 50 words. BTW, is that Peter Ustinov in your avatar, or are you just naturally handsome?

 

[oggbashan]

Thank you! I don't think I could say 'Good Morning', in less than 50 words. BTW, is that Peter Ustinov in your avatar, or are you just naturally handsome?

That's me portraying Henry VIII at a local pageant.

My beard, then and now, is white. The colour is stage make-up.

Here is one of my fifty-word entries for a previous Valentine's Day Contest.

Og

 

[Lisa Summers]

Seriously, you're a good looking man - and I don't say THAT very often.

 

[inspirixis]

scores

Is there a way to see the scores for all of the entrants in the holiday contests? I entered the Christmas one and I know I didn't get a place but I'd like to see where I was in the field.

Not sure about this valentines day thing... I need to post something in a different category than usual to get better exposure, maybe nonhuman, that seems to be pretty popular these days. But wait, aren't dogs and cats allergic to chocolate?

Warewolf puking their guts up after eating their lover's valentine candy gift... hmm not sure that's going to work.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I'm thinking of a plumber who falls for and hads a wild romance with a toilet. What do you think?

 

[oggbashan]

I'm thinking of a plumber who falls for and hads a wild romance with a toilet. What do you think?

Make it a garderobe instead of a toilet and I think you'd have a winner (of the Last Place (tm) Contest).

Og

 

[Lisa Summers]

I'm actually getting excited about this - I've never entered one of these. I like the pressure (plus I already like the characters and plot I've come up with.)

 

[mia_erotica]

Down but not out

I'm 1500 words into my Valentine contest submission.

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Just checking the dates before it rolls off the page...........