News & Views: Discussion and Announcements for the Survivorphile

[Svenskaflicka]

Not necessarily, no, but I think that stories with many chapters belong in Novels & Novellas and no other category.

I'll probably rub a lot of people "against the fur", but I still think that as a basic rule - with a few exceptions - it takes more effort to come up with a whole new story every time, than it does to just go on and on with the same people doing different things, like "Chapter 1: foreplay, chapter 2: oral, chapter 3: actual sex, chapter 4: anal sex, chapter 5: swinging..." etc.

To me, that sounds as if the author's just trying to manipulate the score by dividing one story into tiny pieces, and then ranting on within each chapter to make it long enough - instead of writing the whole story as one compact piece.

Like babelfishing Non-English stories, I say this is a way of manipulating to increase one's scores, and unfair to those who take the trouble to write a completely new story every time.

 

[Guest]

In some cases, the difference between the novels category and other ones is that the novel categories has alot more plot to them than ones in specific categories. Plus, not everyone writes their stories with chapters all at once. I know I don't. I write a chapter and go onto something else and then come back to it later.

Personally, I think we are really getting into a quagmire with the rules. The contest follows Literotica's guidelines for submissions. The rule for Non-English changed because the way Literotica treats those stories changed during 2004 (and I wouldn't do a web translation just to get points. That's what immunities are for).

Literotica's guidelines states a minimum word count of 750 for acceptable submissions and there is no rule against putting chapters in places other than the Novels and Novellas category. Therefore, there shouldn't be a rule of this nature for the contest. If you start changing the rules to be different than Literotica's guidelines for submissions, then you are changing the spirit intended for the contest.

Just my opinion.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

The spirit of the Survivor contest is to fill ALL the categories, not to score an immense lot of points in just ONE category.

How about this for a rule, then?

Before you can write more than 20 stories within one and the same category, you must fill all the others, too.

That way, everyone will make an effort to write in ALL the categories - which is the point of this contest - and THEN they can specialize in their favourite category.

 

[Guest]

I understand where you are coming from on that one. I for one intend to try and fill most of the categories evenly.

On top of that, it's more to a competitor's advantage to write at least one story in every category (except for immunities of course) before they start filling just one since first stories are worth more than subsequent ones. It's also to a competitor's advantage to write 10 in each category since that's how you can get 5 extra bonus points per category.

From what I saw of the score cards from last year, while some categories were definitely written in more than others, most of the top finishers filled lots of categories.

 

[velvetpie]

I absolutely have to agree with Vix about this. There should be no limit on chapters. Chapters make a long story more palatable and enable the author to properly pace and plot the story. Besides, anyone could get around that rule simply by naming each chapter and putting a note at the end of the previous story so that the flow is uninterrupted.

I don't really see what limiting chapters will do to help anything out ... And to illustrate one of the points you made, my Wicked Game series utilized the different category for different chapters and if you read the story, you would see how that was relevant. Each chapter was a different story because different characters were going through different things.

Once again, you can get around this rule, too, if it was to be implemented. Some stories require single chapters and some require more. The story will tell you what it needs and every author who is a true author will tell you that. Good stories write themselves and we are just lucky to be the ones to receive them. Wicked Game wrote itself and I will be hard-pressed to command the second version this year. It will present itself when it is ready and it will come in whatever form it chooses.

Just let people write!

I don't think there should be a limit on chapters. Just because one person doesn't like reading a longer story doesn't mean someone esle wouldn't. On top of that, for those of us who write short chapters, we wouldn't be finished telling the story in five chapters.

Just because you have several chapters doesn't mean the later ones are less in quality compared to the earlier ones.

 

[velvetpie]

I can sort of understand that but the objective is to write as many new and original stories in as many different categories as possible. I'm sure Laurel and Manu want to encourage people to write, not discourage them by putting so many stipulations on entries.

The spirit of the Survivor contest is to fill ALL the categories, not to score an immense lot of points in just ONE category.

How about this for a rule, then?

Before you can write more than 20 stories within one and the same category, you must fill all the others, too.

That way, everyone will make an effort to write in ALL the categories - which is the point of this contest - and THEN they can specialize in their favourite category.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I absolutely have to agree with Vix about this. There should be no limit on chapters. Chapters make a long story more palatable and enable the author to properly pace and plot the story. Besides, anyone could get around that rule simply by naming each chapter and putting a note at the end of the previous story so that the flow is uninterrupted.

I don't really see what limiting chapters will do to help anything out ... And to illustrate one of the points you made, my Wicked Game series utilized the different category for different chapters and if you read the story, you would see how that was relevant. Each chapter was a different story because different characters were going through different things.

Got a point there. Like they say, "rules are only for honest people".

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Second, the Audio-cats (both poetry and Text)... I do wish the same thing could happen to them! I don't own a microphone, so I can't record anything, and that limits me in this competition. I think Audio should go the same way as Non-English, that is to be more or less optional.

And while we're talking about lack of technology limiting our ability to write, I suppose the same goes for anyone who don't own a scanner - I've seen some "illustrations", and I think there should be SOME quality check of the so called illustration - drawing a smiley in MSPaint does NOT qualify as a proper illustration for an erotic story, to me!

What happened to the non-English category cannot be applicable in any way to audio. That category was removed because it has, in fact, lost its purpose; that is not the case with audio by a long shot.

As I said above and as Jim repeated, there is nothing in the rules of Survivor or in Literotica's submission guidelines stopping you from asking a friend to record your story for you. In addition to that, there is always the option to call the toll free hotline, if you're in the US, or record a simple audio cassette and snail mail it to Literotica.

In what concerns illustrated stories and poems, even if you do not own a scanner, you ask for your photos to be burnt into a CD next time you develop any, in most places. There are many online art-creation tools and freeware programs. If it becomes necessary, I can post a list of links to these resources.

As for the quality of the illustrations, again, the only person who can have a say in it is Laurel. When the stories are approved, it's implicit that the editors consider it to have enough quality. If you disagree, PLEASE report the story. Let Laurel know about it.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

A couple of considerations:

The difference between "Novels and Novellas" and the series in any other category is that while each chapter of a novel builds up to a longer story from which it cannot be dissociated, each story is a series must be an independent entity, capable of standing alone regardless of all others.

That is the only limitation. If you read a story that cannot be understood without reading the others in the series, if it doesn't make sense on its own, or if it doesn't correspond, on its own, to the minimum that can be expected for the category it is placed in, PLEASE report the story. If you think that ANY story you read in Literotica is substandard, PLEASE report the story. Let Laurel know about it. That's the only way a quality control can be implemented.



I wouldn't be opposed to (although I don't necessarily agree with) a 10-stories cap per category until all categories have at least one submission. It would be in tone with the basic premise of the game. We can discuss that, if you want.

 

[jthserra]

Watch for an exciting announcement!!!!

Everyone watch for an exciting new announcement about the 2005 Literotica Survivor Contest. If you excuse the cliche' "It will knock your socks off!" I am not competing and I'm still searching for my socks.

Lauren and I will unveil the news in the next day or two. Wow...


jim : )

 

[Guest]

Oh now that's just mean. Tease!

 

[jthserra]

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Attention All Authors: It's the 2005 Survivor Literotica Contest!

Much like the original Survivor game that inspired our contest, the Literotica Survivor Contest has hit the "big time." The 2004 edition attracted many contestants and the competition was fierce, with the any of the top four scores more than doubling the winning score from previous years.

Of course, big scores mean a lot of stories and poems, and as Laurel announced recently, the top three contestants posted nearly 1,000 submissions.

This success made for a great contest, but created some problems for the 2005 contest. First of all, similar to the TV Survivor, this contest calls for commitment and endurance to compete, a significant commitment and endurance to finish in the top three.

Lauren Hynde and I, as contest moderators, realized we needed to award commensurately the level of endurance it took to finish in the top positions in the game, while at the same time, recognizing all contestants for their commitment. We contacted Laurel in the hopes that providing more prizes and recognition, not just to the top three finishers, but to all who took the time and made the effort to compete, would help maintain interest in the game. Laurel agreed and, in an astounding show of interest and generosity to the writers at Literotica and more specifically the Survivor contestants, presented the following award structure for the 2005 Literotica Survivor Contest:

Top Survivor...............$500
2nd Place Survivor.........$250
3rd Place Survivor.........$200
4th Place Survivor.........$150
5th Place Survivor.........$100
6th-15th Place Survivors...$25 Amazon gift certificate

And as Laurel told me, "There are no losers because everyone who completes the challenge is guaranteed some sort of prize, even if they're past the 16th place."

Suddenly, this contest is wide open, not just to the die-hard, story-a-day competitors, but also to the writers who just don't have the time to write lots and lots of stories. The recent changes in Literotica's index structure also mean that the Contest is now open to authors and stories in any language. These changes and this new prize structure recognize and award all the writers who decide to compete.

Good luck to all,

jim & Lauren Hynde

 

[sweetnpetite]

Re: It might be too late

Please, for the love of all things sacred, can't we find a way to make the quantity have a little quality to it. I refuse to single any one person out, some did produce a lot of stories that were on the whole really good.

On the surface, i would say that I almost agree with this. Although, in addition to the fact that it would be impractical and open to bias (which has already been pointed out) there is one other point that we may be missing here.

Some people who enter the contest may find that they have to force themselves to stretch- to try something new- an unfamiliar way of expressing themselves, one which they may not be all that good at- such as drawing or poetry or writing in a category that they don't particularly like. Some people who enter the contest may not be 5 star authors, even at there best- or even 4 or 3/ There is really no way to tell weather an author is tossing a less than best effort out there for points, or if the work was actualy the best that they are capable of. Sure, we can guess, we might even be right some of the time- but not always.

The best authors who care about there work will always make an effort that what is posted under there names reflects the quality that they wish to be associated with. Those who enter the contest only for the money and post stories for which they had not even *tried* with are cheating themselves- sure they are also cheating someone who is trying out of the top spot as well as out of the cash prize- but what a sad victory, IMO.

This is coming from an out of work and very lower income person here. I would just like to say that there are many many better and faster ways to get $500 than by wasting a year of your life writing stuff that is substandard and which nobody, including yourself would enjoy reading. The money is nice and all but if you are in it for the money alone then you just aren't very smart. That is a highly ineffective way to earn $500. With a fraction of the effort, you could make $500 in a month or two at a minimum wage part time job, or dogwalking, or teaching old people how to use the internet. [No disrespect ment to anyone 'of a certain age'] The list goes on. If you are in it to be at the top- but with no actual accomplishment on your part, you're not to smart either. You might as well drop out and go buy yourself a trophy from the trophy store and have your name engraved on it.

Sure, there's gonna be some crap written as a result of Survivor. And without Survivor there is also going to be crap written. Some people don't care, and some think that they are doing great if they get feedback that says- "U'r storry got me so horny, I cummed all over my compurte."

But as I said earlier, there is really know way to know if the person is really trying and just not doing well, or not trying at all. And it's not fair to exclude people who may be trying very hard to express themselves the best they can, but who nevertheless want to compete and still have the dedication and stamina to give it a go.

Thank you for listening. PS- MasterV, this wasn't meant to be anything against you, nor were you the only one to express this sentament, I just used your post as a jumping off point for my own.

Sweet.

 

[Guest]

Writing alot of stories does not necessarily mean the quality isn't going to be good. To be honest, just because they have an H doesn't mean they are good and just because they don't doesn't mean they aren't.

I've read stories that had it and wondered how because the story had alot of grammar problems or something simliar. There are hoards of stories on this site in the 4.20-4.49 range that are very good and deserve the H.

All three of last year's winners have a decent number of H's on their stories. As far as I am concerned, if a story has a rating of 4 or above, then it's probably a decent story. I'm sure there are some that have managed to stay up there that may not be quite up to that standard, but that is what happens when you have the vast number of users that Lit does voting on stories.

 

[msboy8]

Thanks Sexxy Vixen, I tend to agree with you. I was just wondering why a red "H" had appeared next to one of my stories.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Sexxy Vixen, I tend to agree with you. I was just wondering why a red "H" had appeared next to one of my stories.

I answered that somewhere but I think it got moved or something. Stories with the H have at least 10 votes and a rating of 4.5 and above.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I answered that somewhere but I think it got moved or something. Stories with the H have at least 10 votes and a rating of 4.5 and above.

No, it wasn't moved. You answered it in the FAQ thread, and I had already answered here. So, there's three answers to choose from.

 

[Guest]

No, it wasn't moved. You answered it in the FAQ thread, and I had already answered here. So, there's three answers to choose from.

I could have sworn it was in a this thread... LOL. I think I'm losing what's left of my brain.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Current News:

At the turn of the first month of Survivor 2005, we have already over 40 contestants registered.

Velvetpie and Sexxy Vixen are setting the early pace and currently engaged in a fierce battle for the top spot.

Behind them, the battle for third place is wide open and too close to call. A new contestant would need no more than two submissions to jump into the top 15 and into the prizes.


In an effort to make it more accessible to newcomers to the game, we cleaned up the Survivor FAQ thread and compiled questions that had been made in a wide array of threads into the same place. If you have any question that is still not answered there, don't hesitate to ask.


Good luck!

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Hello, Survivorphiles-

We have a currently hypothetical situation we would like to present to all of you and get your input on what would be a reasonable and just approach.

One of the 2005 Survivor Literotica Contest Rules says that, for the Illustrated Stories and Illustrated Poetry categories, all illustrations must be original work of the entrant, and that the use of royalty-free and/or public domain images will make a submission ineligible for points. Another of the rules says that "Plagiarism or Cheating will result in expulsion from the Contest and potentially other actions taken by Literotica."

Imagine a situation where:

We, the moderators, receive a message expressing doubts about the authorship of an illustration, and we contact the contestant in question. That contestant, fully conscious of the 2005 Survivor Literotica Contest Rules, reaffirms himself has the author of said illustration.

If by January 5th, 2006, the moderators come across irrefutable evidence that contradicts that author, proving that he was not only consciously breaking the rules, but also lying about it, what would be the reasonable and just action for us to take? What penalty would be proportional to the transgression?

• No penalty; just a simple deduction of the points that had would have been awarded with the inclusion of that one ineligible submission.
• Deduction of the double of the points that had would have been awarded with the inclusion of that one ineligible submission.
• Deduction of all the points from all submissions in that category; if he lied about one illustration, it's reasonable to assume he may have lied about them all.
• Deduction of all the points from all submissions in all illustrated categories.
• Deduction of the double of the points from all submissions in that category.
• Deduction of the double of the points from all submissions in all illustrated categories.
• Exclusion from Survivor.
• Other.

Please let us know what your opinion on this is.

If you don't feel comfortable sharing your opinion publicly, please PM one of us.*




*Namely, me. Jim will be away for the rest of the week.




PS: In the hypothetical situation above, the focus should be on the lying about the authorship after being confronted with it.

If it weren't for the lying about it (i.e. consciously cheating), that one submission would simply be invalidated and that would be the end of it.

 

[impressive]

I would say it was grounds for dismissal from the Survivor Contest.

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

I'd say "A."

I can't draw, I'm not going to try, so I just won't do that category.

 

[C's Button]

Elimination from the contest and notification to the original artist of the situation so that they KNOW Lit has taken action. The last bit is not a revenge for the cheating thing, it is a "cover your ass" manuever for Laurel and Manu. That way, if they (the artist) do choose to get all punitive, hopefully they will go after the plaigarizer not Lit. As for the survivor philes, we do have other options. That is; we can use immunities to cover areas where we are not too talented (my immunities are going to the illustrated categories for that very reason.) or we can try to fill up other cats to make up for the points.

Cheating is the lazy cowardly way to deal with it.

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

I'd sooner write ten stories in the "gay male" category than make a fool of myself in the Illustrated category.

 

[Guest]

Another of the rules says that "Plagiarism or Cheating will result in expulsion from the Contest and potentially other actions taken by Literotica."

I think that pretty much sums it up. Wouldn't using an illustration that is not yours be considered cheating? I know it does seem like a drastic measure, but if the contestant cheated in one category, how do you know he/she did not cheat on another one?


I'm leaning for option G. Cheating is wrong and if it's dealt with by just a slap on the wrist, then other contestants would decide to see if they could get away with it too.


C's button said it right: There is never a reason for a survivorphile to cheat. Immunities exist to help fill categories we as authors might not be able to fill.