Forum: Author Hangout

Are they multiplying?

Might have done....

Might have done....

Three more stories have been submitted since this time yesterday, bringing the total to 21. It's proving very popular this year.

AJ

I would like to think that it was the advance warning....LOL. Most people can't bang out a half decent story in just a month, but if they had a bit more notice, then maybe...

The only way really to find out, is to publicise it a bit earlier and see what happens with the submission count. Last year was a bit of an aberration, as many people were stuck at home because of Covid lockdowns with nothing better to do. This year, many are back at work, so don't have as much free time.

Last year's total was 21.

It says 24. 3 winners and 21 non-winners... ;)

3 winners

When do last year's winners go into the free area?

Ummm... Today!!

Thanks. I need to notify my fans. Both of them will be thrilled. :)

I couldn't find it in the rules, but when does voting actually close on the contest?

because I bloody well didn't...

See, that's why i'm pre-writing for next year. I'm going to have it all written, that way, when it's time to submit, it'll just be time to hand it in. Mwa ha ha ha ha.

LOL.

old enough to vote

Quick! Someone write a fan fic about how the submission count got fucked! XD

Incest themed stories have traditionally attracted more readers than other themed stories on this site. So it makes sense that because it's a competition with an actual financial reward, gaming the system is in the writers interest.

I'm finding it rather interesting looking at the stories that are being read in comparison to the ones that aren't. This is especially so, as its 'blind' so for the most part, writer bias is removed (ie, I like that writer so I'm going to read that story, where-as I don't like that writer, so I'm going to ignore it.).

One question I have that Laz is best positioned to answer, do the writers get to see how many votes they have gained, or is that hidden until the vote closing date? I ask because I am curious as to whether paid members are more willing to vote on a story than the free users. Actually, how does the voting system work for the competition? Is it the usual voting system and the top three are deemed the winners or are the paid members asked to read all the stories and then say which three they like the most in order of preference? Maybe Laz could jump in with a clarification, or a paid member of the site could explain how the voting system for a competition works.

Edit: So out of curiosity, I worked out my rough average. For every 22.38 readers, I normally get one vote. Currently I have :redacted: reads and no votes cast.

Incest themed stories have traditionally attracted more readers than other themed stories on this site. So it makes sense that because it's a competition with an actual financial reward, gaming the system is in the writers interest.

I would say that can also depend on the author.

I am sure that some authors do game the system, and are writing stories that they designed they hope in a way that will win based on that.

Yet others might simply write mostly incest stories. I have noticed that a lot of stories in here do tend to gravitate towards incest (especially what I jokingly call "kitchen sink" stories).

Myself, I know I have only really written two "incest stories". And each of them involved what I call "Accidental Incest", where the two were not aware of the relationship when they had sex. I did not even include the incest tag in the story, because both times the guy simply thought he was hooking up and getting laid and was not aware of the relationship at the time.

In both of those, it was the story to me that was important, not that ultimately they were boinking their sister or daughter.

Is it just me, or do a disproportionate number of entries have the incest tag this year?

Channelling my inner Grinning Dick, does that mean there's an excest of incest?

AJ

Is the story commenting function switched off, can you comment on the actual stories?

Is all this interest because you might possibly/ probably/definitely have submitted an entry? ;-)

I can't even remember where the comment feature lives. I expect it can be changed under 'Manage Stories' but is there an author-wide default or can it be set using the submission wizard. Just to complicate matters, I think there was a recent forum thread about changing it.

Just an observation, but some of the story description and tags made me wonder whether the stories weren't actually Halloween stories, but bog-standard stories with a bit of Halloweeniness hacked in. Some of them don't even have the 'Halloween' tag or mention Halloween in the description so, but for the contest collection, an unsuspecting potential reader wouldn't have an inkling it was supposed to be a Halloween story.

AJ

Just an observation, but some of the story description and tags made me wonder whether the stories weren't actually Halloween stories, but bog-standard stories with a bit of Halloweeniness hacked in

That's a fair point.

In the meantime, some of my answers have been answered by time. Yes, we can see how many votes we have accumulated, and it appears commenting is automatically off. I have just looked and it was off, so I have turned it back on. So it appears that that (Now 'that' was an ugly piece of prose...) was fully my mistake.

it appears commenting is automatically off. I have just looked and it was off, so I have turned it back on

That's a potential problem. If the author can respond to comments, presumably that would blow anonymity out of the water.

AJ

I saw that Laz...LOL... I was also aware of the potential to reply and subsequent...issues..., which is why, you will have noticed, that I didn't ;)

Is all this interest because you might possibly/ probably/definitely have submitted an entry? ;-)

DON'T ANSWER THAT!

It's against the rules.

DON'T ANSWER THAT!

It's against the rules.

Pixy already indicated he wouldn't reveal whether he'd entered or not so I wasn't expecting an answer, although subsequent posts are indicative.

I don't know which rule it breaks but it seems to me the real crime would be posting anything that ties a particular story to a particular author.

Further down this topic, another author has admitted entering and hasn't been stomped on.

AJ

Just an observation, but some of the story description and tags made me wonder whether the stories weren't actually Halloween stories

If I remember right, last year's winner wasn't a Halloween story. It had a witch, but it wasn't Halloween.

I just realized I have to be a paid member to read the entries! sobs

After the three winners are announced, the other entries will be available to read by non-Premier members. And last year's 3 winners are now available in the free area.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to spend 30 bucks [My country's currency sucks] on a 30 day membership just to read the entries

That's the point! Those prizes won't fund themselves...LOL

And Switch Blade, are the entries not paying Premier for a year or something first, before dropping to the level of mere mortals?

And Switch Blade, are the entries not paying Premier for a year or something first, before dropping to the level of mere mortals?

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but it's my understanding that the entries are available to Premier members only until the 3 winners are announced and then the non-winning stories move to the free area. And then after a year, the 3 winners move to the free area.

Do the rules say whether or not entries in a contest can be posted to SOL's sister sites?

AJ

I think rule 8 might apply? "By participating in a contest, the author grants World Literature Publishing Co. exclusive right to publish winning entries in the site's premier area for a period of 6 months. Due to this rule, stories previously posted on other sites are ineligible to participate. After the six months exclusivity period, the author can publish the entry elsewhere."

Laz would be best to confirm, but one could interpret it as being yes, you could post to the sister sites, but only if you make them Premier for six months and not post them elsewhere (therefore keeping the exclusivity period).

the author grants World Literature Publishing Co. exclusive right to publish winning entries in the site's premier area for a period of 6 months.

I thought last year's winners had only just been unpremiered.

AJ

I thought last year's winners had only just been unpremiered.

🤷 I did not make the rules...

Definitely, plus, you never know, someone may read it and be from a huge company and want you to write for them.

I think I would submit to ALL of the contests possible.

For me, it is more that my muse simply does not grace me with stories appropriate in time for a contest. And I really don't hold onto stories with the idea of posting it in a contest, but simply post them when I finish.

Disco Vampire would fit, but I wrote that in June. Harvey I actually wrote in I want to say April. I actually did start to write a story for the Halloween contest last year, but gave it up as I thought most would not understand it (I was writing in the style of the pulp Sci-Fi and Horror magazines of the 1950s). But it is still in my "morgue", and I may revisit it again in the future as I do like the story. Maybe give it a more contemporary style however.

I have long wished that the contests would be a regular thing. Not for prizes, as much as for recognition and for fun. Because of how my demented mind works, if there was a contest for Arbor Day, I can see myself writing a story that featured Groot. Maybe even two Groots.

I can picture the dialogue now.

He walked up to her and said "I am Groot". And as it was spring and she was feeling the need, she turned around and bent over, moaning softly to him "I am Groot".

"I AM GROOT" he almost shouted as he moved up behind her...

***

I have never been accused of having an excess in sanity.

Is it bad that I totally want to read the Groot story now?

Is it bad that I totally want to read the Groot story now?

Well, get them to host an Arbor Day contest. *laugh*

Who knows, find somebody who can do a Vin Diesel voice and make an animated short on it. And for the female, it is just too bad that Phyllis Diller is no longer with us.

I used to belong to a writing club, and each month they just picked a random topic for the contest. And one was an "April Fool" theme, where the writers had to take one of their older stories and turn it on it's head. Or it might just be "Summer Vacation" or buying a new car.

And the prize was a cheap plastic cup painted gold that came from a dollar store. And the winner the month before would pass it to the new winner.

A lot of my almost random changes in genre are probably because of that. Even then I mostly did light horror or sci-fi (think Twilight Zone), but because the topic was Westerns, Crime, Police, or the like I had to try other genres I normally did not write in. And now, I think I would find it hard to write in a single style or genre.

For me, it is more that my muse simply does not grace me with stories appropriate in time for a contest. And I really don't hold onto stories with the idea of posting it in a contest, but simply post them when I finish.

Funny. I started my Halloween story five years ago, and it's at a whopping 636 words so far. My muse for that one gave me the initial idea, then fled, screaming into the night.

Funny. I started my Halloween story five years ago, and it's at a whopping 636 words so far. My muse for that one gave me the initial idea, then fled, screaming into the night.

I can relate to that. Whilst 'having a go' it gave me an idea for another story, which ended up being three times longer and considerably better received...LOL. One thing the competition does, is that it gives us all a rough idea of how many pay the subscription. Currently the most read is 943 and the least is 273. Add on 10% for error margins (Paying members not reading a story because it squicks them) and that gives a rough ballpark of 1k.

Currently the most read is 943 and the least is 273.

I'm mildly surprised those statistics are available. On SOL, number of downloads is a soft indicator of a story's appeal so it might influence other paid premier members to read the ones with the most downloads first.

AJ

On SOL, number of downloads is a soft indicator of a story's appeal so it might influence other paid premier members to read the ones with the most downloads first.

I personally don't see it that way, but rather as an indication as to what the readers want to, errr, read. I don't read stories because the have a high access count, but because the story codes/synopsis intrigues me. Granted, that's a personal take on the situation and others will see it differently.

I'm sure the more astute writers will be looking to see what attracts readership and will adjust for the next competition accordingly (be prepared for more incest stories...)

One snippet that intrigued me, was that length doesn't seem to matter (fnar, fnar) and some short stories have a lot more reads than the long ones. That surprised me as I thought greater length would appeal to more. Obviously not.

One snippet that intrigued me, was that length doesn't seem to matter (fnar, fnar) and some short stories have a lot more reads than the long ones. That surprised me as I thought greater length would appeal to more.

There's a correlation between length and SOL score in general. But for a competition, where there's an undertone of compulsion to read stories, I imagine readers might tackle the shorter ones first since they can read eg two short stories in the time in takes to read one longer one.

AJ

🤷‍♀️

Story (reader) count seems to have become almost static for most entries, implying those that are going to read them, have read them.

I did wonder if the speed at which they left the main page might have an effect. And I am curious if delaying all non- competition stories for a week would be a better option 🤷‍♀️ I don't know, that's a question for those with access to the metrics.

I really don't think length has any bearing on whether someone will read a story (for the majority of readers), but story codes appear to be everything.

I started my Halloween story five years ago, and it's at a whopping 636 words so far.

Only 30 more words to go then ;-)

AJ

she turned around and bent over, moaning softly to him "I am Groot".

She wouldn't though, would she? Because she's not Groot, she would be whatever her name is..

She wouldn't though, would she? Because she's not Groot, she would be whatever her name is..

Actually, according to the origin story, all of the members of the species have a stiffening of the larynx so that to those that do not know their language, everything they say SOUNDS like "I am Groot" to them. So unless one has learned the language (like the Guardians had), it sounds like that no matter who says it or what they say.

And "Groot" is not his actual name, it is basically an onamonapia that became his name because no matter what one says, that is what it sounds like. In fact, many now believe his real "last name" is "Tree". As Thor has a habit of calling everybody by their last name, and he understands the language. And when talking to or about him he always addressed him as "Tree". Just as he would the other members as "Banner", "Rogers", "Stark", etc.

If I remember, about half of their language is inflection. Which is why when watching the character in movies, one can tell kind of what he is saying just by how he is saying it.

I liked when thor called agent colson "Son of Col" lol...

Also, does that make rocket's last name "Rabbit"?

Also, does that make rocket's last name "Rabbit"?

Actually, Rocket was one of an earlier team. Lylla was an otter (his girlfriend), a rabbit named Blackjack O'Hare, and Wal Rus was a walrus. They were taken from Earth, then genetically manipulated to give them human levels of intelligence so they could be caretakers at a planet that was turned into a giant mental institution.

So what his name was before he adopted "Rocket" (originally "Rocky" but changed for legal reasons), who knows. This was in the 1970s, and there were a lot of drugs around back then.

He actually started as almost a joke character, thrown in with such people as Hulk and She-Hulk almost as comic relief. His quests were such things as finding "Gideon's Bible", and help settle the "Toy Wars" among the Loonies.
That was also roughly the same era that saw the premiere of "Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider Ham".

Marvel was quite silly in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

It was not until the mid-2000's that he started to change into the more serious character that most know of today.

Congrats to the winner! And thanks to those that bothered to read my tripe!

I actually sat back and chuckled in my mind about this thread as it was going on.

I saw a lot of people commenting on how many incest stories there were, and it made me smile. As all of my stories, it was something that just came to mind. As it was something that just happened to be in the story, never by design.

I actually try hard to avoid "actual incest" in my stories. But that one was kind of a blending of various "Origin Myths" from China (which actually do date back thousands of years and involve siblings), as well as the Huli jing, a mythical fox with nine tails that sometimes is able to turn into a human female.

So I simply mashed the two of them together. The origin myth where after a disaster two siblings must restore humanity, but where the female is a "werefox".

All tied together as a "found manuscript" story, even with some actual science about remnants of viral DNA that has found in the human genome (which is true). But "incest" was never actually an intent of the story, it was simply one of the real myths that I pulled for the backstory so ran with it.

but where the female is a "werefox"

Shouldn't that be weredana? ;-)

AJ