2009 News & Views: Discussions and Announcements for the Survivorphile

[Boxlicker101]

Box, how can you say that about me when I was totally sand bagged by MungoPark in 2007? In 2007 I updated my scorecard every time a story posted and I did the same in 2008. What for? Just to let my competition see how many more points they need to beat me? Or in the case of PrincessAirHead, how many more stories she needed from others to help her beat me?

As matter of fact, Box, if you look through the Survivor Archives, since you have nothing better to do than to make an ass of yourself, you'll find the post that I made about sand bagging.

I suggested that for a story to count in the Survivor Contest, the story had to be posted to the person's scorecard within a week. You and the others laughed or didn't even answer my suggestion. And now here you are crying and complaining about what of all things, sand bagging.

Either you're a moron or you are just posting this comment to start shit, as you did last year and as you've do. e throughout the year by dragging my name through the mud, you pedo.

If you have the balls, make the rule that if you write a story and want it counted in Survivor, the story must be posted to the scorecard within a week or even by the end of the month, how's that? That wil end sand bagging and we all can see everyone else's score. I like it. It sounds fair to me.

I even said that in every sport, we always know the score of the game. Not in Survivor. None of us have a clue what's going on, unless we take it upon ourselves to update everyone's scorecard on Excel.

"What's the score?"

"I don't know."

"Don't know?"

"They haven't finished playing the game yet."

Do you remember my post now, Pedo?

Oh, and by the way, I'm not the only one sand bagging here. How about Middleagedpoet? Or have you forgotten about him or her. He or she has more points than I have. I'd worry more about him, Box, actually I'd worry more about yourself if I were you.

Happy New Year Box. Leave the children alone, you pedo.

I remember the year of MP quite well. He or she entered the contest late in the year and posted a mass of stories that had been written throughout the year. That's why entrants must be entered by Oct. 31 now.

That was one form of sandbagging, but a simpler one is to post a lot of stories but not enter them in your score sheet until late in the year such as now. That's what you are doing this year, and I see that MAP is probably doing the same thing.

Sean, regardless of how you may have misread Freddy's earlier post, I have never sandbagged in any way. I consider it to be unethical, and will never do it. I normally updatye my scoresheet a day or two after a story or poem or essay posts, although sometimes something might happen to prevent that.

I don't like sandbagging, but I don't know how we can make a reasonable rule against it. I do not make the rules, and have only the same input as you and everybody else does. I don't worry about the contest as much as you might think and, although I expect to enter next year, I will concern myself less with scoring points and more with writing better smut.

I am more concerned with my grandchildren than I am with these anonymous children you frequently mention.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

The new 2010 threads will begin to appear over the next 24 hours or so. Once I get the News & Discussion thread up, the plotting thread will be moved to the archive. If there's anything else you want to add to that discussion (there are a couple of suggestions there now that need to be addressed), you need to do it soon... otherwise, the discussion can be carried on to the new thread if need be.

The rules and registration thread will go up soon also, but there will be a possibility it may be adjusted a bit over the next couple of days once all of the rules are finalized. That will be clearly marked on the post once it goes up.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

Friendly advice to the participants in Survivor 2010:

Though it's been said that you can have multiple stories with the same characters, just be careful if you want those stories to count for points at the end of the contest. Like Crim said, if its in the same location or involving the same relationships, it won't count..which is something I wasn't expecting. So, if your main character is married and has a fantasy or fetish in one story, the next story can't involve his wife or be driven by the same fantasy or fetish. So, basically, the character has to change. And if you think you're safe because you can read one of the later stories without reading the previous stories and it makes perfect sense (which is what I had used as a ruler to judge the stories as being independent and not chapters)-- doesn't matter. I suggest playing it safe and not using the same characters.

 

[sr71plt]

If this discussion was carried to a separate venue, I would take the limiting suggestion that anything "continuing" was a "chapter" to serious task. That's nonsense and gets into the knickers of author privilege in putting standard literary devices to use.

In this venue it does indeed look like an effort to get at particular writers.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

In this venue it does indeed look like an effort to get at particular writers.

It's not. The rule was put into place because of constant complaints by the contestants about the use of chapters to get points. The rule applied to everyone. Not one person was singled out. Not everyone had disqualified stories because not everyone had stories that built off a previous story.

If anyone else has a question, I'll be happy to answer it here or in private, but I'm not going to debate the issue back and forth, over and over, just to restate what's been said already because I've got other things to do.

 

[sr71plt]

It's not. The rule was put into place because of constant complaints by the contestants about the use of chapters to get points. The rule applied to everyone. Not one person was singled out. Not everyone had disqualified stories because not everyone had stories that built off a previous story.

If anyone else has a question, I'll be happy to answer it here or in private, but I'm not going to debate the issue back and forth, over and over, just to restate what's been said already because I've got other things to do.

I obviously have no say in how the survivor contest is run, but if this comes up in other contests here, I certainly will say plenty. My 2008 Christmas contest entries are a case in point (and were accepted even though the chapter rule was already in place for that contest). Mine were four complete, standalone stories, linked in the title by the word "Second" and in the text by the characters and the locale. They however, were four standalone stories, which, when read together completed a fifth overarching story. They weren't chapters in one book. They followed a recognized literary device--which may be a bit above your comprehension in literary works--but is one with a long tradition of literary use--and reader delight.

I think the stories Boxlicker points to of his own are in the same vein.

(e.g., read Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet--not four long chapters of one book, but four standalone novels and serve an overarching fifth story. Or Riply's Scarlet sequel to Mitchell's Gone with the Wind--or even Jordan's interminable Wheel of Time series or the Hobbit and Harry Potter, et. al., for that matter).

You have sunk yourself in the weeds on this and this is hardly an effort to develop the writer's creativity and expertise--and, yes, it looks like you did it to manipulate the contest results.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

I don't have any reason to manipulate the results because I don't care who wins. I don't know anyone on here personally. I don't care how sweet, smart, stupid, or idiotic someone acts, I'm not going to manipulate scores for any reason.


Gripe and complain. I don't care. But stop accusing me of doing something I have not done.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

Last year, I asked about doing Ghost Hunter stories and was told that would be fine. I almost started writing one yesterday, and I'm glad that I didn't. They would involve the same characters..and being that there are limited potential couples on TAPS, I want to hold onto that story idea for close to Halloween if doing more than one story would make none of them count. I mean, unless I turn Steve and Tango gay there are limited combinations.

But, even if I wrote, say 3 of those stories and somehow managed to make them all have different couples doing the actual sexual activity in the stories, would this violate whatever a story arc is? And, if I focus on Steve as the participant of sex in a story, as I did in the one that I wrote, does that mean he can't be involved in the sexual acts of any future stories? He had sex with a succubus, which the succubus would not be making another appearance. But, if I included Steve in sex again, would that be perceived next January as chapters? I want to make sure I do this right this time.. cuz I obviously misunderstood the rules. Is the Ghost Hunters idea out now?

I really like the Ghost Hunters idea for the celebrity category, which is a difficult category for me. And, I'm trying to write stories for the categories that I find most difficult first and get them out of the way.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

Lady, I'm sending you a pm in response.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

Lady, I'm sending you a pm in response.

thank you

 

[sr71plt]

Last year, I asked about doing Ghost Hunter stories and was told that would be fine. I almost started writing one yesterday, and I'm glad that I didn't. They would involve the same characters..and being that there are limited potential couples on TAPS, I want to hold onto that story idea for close to Halloween if doing more than one story would make none of them count. I mean, unless I turn Steve and Tango gay there are limited combinations.

Yep, that would be yet another wonderful developmental tool the survivor contest has brought to Literotica (in addition to filling the file with dreck)--limiting a writer's creativity in weaving (and interweaving) stories.

 

[PrincessErin]

.....

 

[al_Ussa]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not 'on anyone's side' and don't have any control over how things are scored.

Furthermore I knew I wasn't going to "win" the survivor contest let alone make it to the top five slots regardless of which scores changed. But then I didn't enter it for the money. I did it for entertainment. Plain and simple. And I am very flattered to have made it as far as I did.

sr71plt...

When you say you have five stories that (when put together) are part of a bigger story... that seems to me to be the very definition of a 'story arc.' It doesn't matter if they are chapters or entire books.

Like I said before... think of it as episodes of a tv show. On some shows like the X-Files or Doctor Who you have episodes that stand alone. No plot advancement or character development. Just a 'monster of the week.' And on the other hand you have some episodes that are multi-part... things that tell a story and have to be watched in a specific order. Recurring villians and such.

Oh and by the way good job. I'm very curious to read your multi-part story now. Sounds like a very good plot device.

LadynStFreknBed...

You are a literary GODDESS. And I say that with all due affection a prolific writer like you deserves. I would really like to see what you could do with the TAPS team. Sounds like it'd be an exciting adventure even if I do have to wait until Halloween to read it.

If your having trouble thinking of celebrity stories my usual method is to just think of a celebrity I think is hot and hope I can find enough material to adequately develop their character. Either that or just make it up.

And I really must commend you on the idea of writing the hardest stories first. Seems like a decent strategy though it might make things seem harder than they are. I am much more... instinctive. I just write what I'm thinking about at the moment and I've tended to draw inspiration from the damnedest places.

As for the rest...

I'd like to say that I DON'T think the survivor contest 'crushes' creativity. If anything it encourages it by getting authors to write in categories they normally wouldn't consider. A creative writer can easily work whatever they like into that.

If all you are really concerned with is 'points' then simply don't re-use characters or settings. Come up with an entirely new story each time.

Nobody is forcing you to enter the contest or constantly worry about your 'score.' If you REALLY want to submit a story DO it. Even if you don't actually earn points at least other people will get to appreciate your work.

Just my two cents.

Thanks to all of the mods and participants and congrats to everyone who won something. I look forward to having a more challenging round this year.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Friendly advice to the participants in Survivor 2010:

Though it's been said that you can have multiple stories with the same characters, just be careful if you want those stories to count for points at the end of the contest. Like Crim said, if its in the same location or involving the same relationships, it won't count..which is something I wasn't expecting. So, if your main character is married and has a fantasy or fetish in one story, the next story can't involve his wife or be driven by the same fantasy or fetish. So, basically, the character has to change. And if you think you're safe because you can read one of the later stories without reading the previous stories and it makes perfect sense (which is what I had used as a ruler to judge the stories as being independent and not chapters)-- doesn't matter. I suggest playing it safe and not using the same characters.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm going to ignore it. This year, I expect to write two or three more stories about Angel Jones and at least one more about Marian and Ryan and another about the Hot Blonde Student and at least one more about Strider the Ponygirl. I thought the stories I wrote about those people should have counted this year, but they didn't, and won't count next year either. I'm going to write those stories anyhow, because I like writing dirty stories, and am not all that concerned about winning or not.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

Thanks for the advice, but I'm going to ignore it. This year, I expect to write two or three more stories about Angel Jones and at least one more about Marian and Ryan and another about the Hot Blonde Student and at least one more about Strider the Ponygirl. I thought the stories I wrote about those people should have counted this year, but they didn't, and won't count next year either. I'm going to write those stories anyhow, because I like writing dirty stories, and am not all that concerned about winning or not.

What I should have said in my advice is not necessarily to avoid reusing characters, but to ask Lauren and Crim about the stories if you want to make sure they will count for points. Honestly, I get very attached to a few of my characters and to throw them away or artificially change them for the sake of a point would be criminal. And, yes, I will be doing the Ghost Hunters stories which obviously use the same characters.

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

LadynStFreknBed...

You are a literary GODDESS. And I say that with all due affection a prolific writer like you deserves.

Awww... you made me blush