The 2024 750 Word Story Challenge Support Thread

[ElectricBlue]

Okay, I better get editing my 750 story!! And make a decision on whether it's even worthy of publishing... It's a super strange vignette and extremely out of character from my usual light fare...

Don't be daft. Get on with it! Dark Freya, sounds intriguing.

 

[oneagainst]

Have we had the annual obligatory bit where we define whether the preamble and "This story is part of the 750 word challenge 2024" counts in the 750 words yet? I might have missed it in earlier pages. I've been on holiday.

 

[jsmiam]

Like the main writing events, is it discouraged to have a part of a series (not a chapter in particular but perhaps a related story) entered into this event?

There’s a difference between “obeying the specified rules while seizing every possible loophole” and “following the spirit of the event.”

The spirit of the event, is “write a complete story in 750 words.”

Here's your mission - Write a complete story in exactly 750 words.

I can’t help but feel like the whole darn thing start to finish, characters, backdrops, everything, should fit in 750 words.

But…the rules by way of not banning loopholes say it doesn’t (really) have to.

I’ll repeat an earlier sentiment. Please don’t (a) tell the world it’s wrong to care about scores while (b) using loopholes and (c) boast about good scores if you used loopholes.

And next year, let’s revise the rules so stories really have to completely fit in 750 words.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think I'll kill two birds with one stone by submitting one story for this event, in the second person POV. We've had some conversations in this forum about 2d person and I've been meaning to try it, but a little of it, IMO, goes a long way, so I think it's ideal to experiment with it for this event. These stories can be fun, but the reception tends to be "meh" in terms of scores as well as views. I see them as more of an exercise than anything.

 

[jsmiam]

FYI, here was the 2019 announcement. It addressed “2000 word headers” good naturedly, but not using series to bypass some of the intent. So.. right or wrong, making the stories not truly stand alone hasn’t expressly been forbidden. (I’m not a fan of this.)

From https://www.literotica.com/s/the-750-word-project-coming-soon
“
Is it possible to write a complete story in exactly 750 words? That's the minimum limit that Literotica will accept, and after talking among ourselves, some of the writers on Lit decided to see if we could do it. After all, it's 750 words, right? How hard could it be? It's not like editing it is going to take long, after all.


So we buckled down, arguing whether hyphenated words counts as one word or two, trying to work out whether we should be taking the Microsoft Word count as gospel, or the one you get from Windows Explorer, and trying to squash blackrandl1958's desire to write a two thousand word header, 'to explain all the context' (yeah, we see through that, Randi!)

It turns out it's harder than you might think to tell a story and have it mean anything in 750 words. But you can judge for yourself, on February 4th, when the fruits of our labors will be posted.
”

 

[Duleigh]

And next year, let’s revise the rules so stories really have to completely fit in 750 words

That is the rule
I don't understand how that is so hard to understand

 

[jsmiam]

That is the rule
I don't understand how that is so hard to understand

If the rules said, “stories must stand alone, not be part of a series, not relate to other stories in any way, shape, or form,” that would be more clear. That would say “no loopholes.” and stop people from making their story not really be a single standalone story that fits in 750 words and nothing else.

((Edited. But quoted later. I regret this paragraph. ))

 

[alohadave]

If the rules said, “stories must stand alone, not be part of a series, not relate to other stories in any way, shape, or form,” that would be more clear. That would say “no loopholes.” and stop people from making their story not really be a single standalone story that fits in 750 words and nothing else.

Because some people use “morning” then “afternoon” then “evening” trickery, wordplay such as numbering in their titles, and other methods, to game the system, to act like a series, that sort of thing. Right?

It's a writing challenge. There's no money on the line. If you feel like you need to use a loophole, no one is going to stop you or ding you for it.

Adding a small explanation or author's note isn't cheating or using a loophole, IMO, because that's not part of the story. The story part is still 750 words. And having done a couple of these, it doesn't matter much to readers if there is an author's note or not.

 

[jsmiam]

It's a writing challenge. There's no money on the line. If you feel like you need to use a loophole, no one is going to stop you or ding you for it.

Adding a small explanation or author's note isn't cheating or using a loophole, IMO, because that's not part of the story. The story part is still 750 words. And having done a couple of these, it doesn't matter much to readers if there is an author's note or not.

Correct. As it stands today, not being a standalone story is not expressly addressed. So people can.

And I wasn’t talking about authors notes, because that has been made very clear in the past, and in support of my point (constantly improve the guidelines), are part of the guidelines this year. See post number one.

I’m suggesting improving the process for future years. Remove ambiguity. Let everyone challenge themselves in the same way.

 

[Duleigh]

If the rules said, “stories must stand alone, not be part of a series, not relate to other stories in any way, shape, or form,” that would be more clear. That would say “no loopholes.” and stop people from making their story not really be a single standalone story that fits in 750 words and nothing else.

((Edited. But quoted later. I regret this paragraph. ))

Why should the rules say the story not be related to other stories? I actually use my 750 word stories as a springboard to larger stories.

And I'm not allowed to use characters that I invented and I'm familiar with? I can't place my story in a universe that I created? Are you talking clarity or being punitive?

No. The rules are clear Write a complete story in exactly 750 words. You can base it on anything you want, staring any character you desire. You can have Bilbo Baggins boning Sarah Conor on Terry Pratchetts discworld for all I care. What matters is the story structure is sound, the readers are entertained and when you get to The End, end is word #750. That's what matters, not some illogical arbitrary restriction on content (other than age and animals)

 

[FreyaGersemi]

Don't be daft. Get on with it! Dark Freya, sounds intriguing.

I have a 750-word story written, but... I don't know... It's super weird. In my (demented) head, my story all makes sense, but the words may not convey that to anyone else... Just to make sure that ANY of it makes ANY sense to ANYONE, I think I may need to defer to a beta reader (or two) on this one...

 

[KeithD]

It's a writing challenge. There's no money on the line. If you feel like you need to use a loophole, no one is going to stop you or ding you for it.

This. It's just a writing exercise, not a contest. Do anything you want as long as you hit the 750-word limit with some counting program. This is for your skills workout and amusement.

 

[SamBomb]

This sounds fun, I am into this! I even have a good idea, at least I think so.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I can hear the Jeopardy theme playing in the background...

 

[vagrantx]

I skimmed the thread for it, but I haven't seen anyone mentioning or asking this: the stories don't have to be Erotica, do they?

I've written a 750 word horror vignette. There's no traditional erotica (unless you count the mental gratification of a sadist) or even nudity in it, but I'm rather proud of how horrific it turned out. It'll probably bomb at the box office but who cares

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I skimmed the thread for it, but I haven't seen anyone mentioning or asking this: the stories don't have to be Erotica, do they?

On Literotica, under (interestingly enough) "EROTIC STORY CATEGORIES" a category called "Non-Erotic." So, I think you're fine!

 

[alohadave]

I skimmed the thread for it, but I haven't seen anyone mentioning or asking this: the stories don't have to be Erotica, do they?

I've written a 750 word horror vignette. There's no traditional erotica (unless you count the mental gratification of a sadist) or even nudity in it, but I'm rather proud of how horrific it turned out. It'll probably bomb at the box office but who cares

One of mine from last year is in Non-erotic.

 

[vagrantx]

On Literotica, under (interestingly enough) "EROTIC STORY CATEGORIES" a category called "Non-Erotic." So, I think you're fine!

One of mine from last year is in Non-erotic.

Yay, thanks folks!

 

[FreyaGersemi]

Okay. I give up! I'm in need of a beta reader. I checked a list of editors (not really what I need) on Literotica and some of the descriptions that they gave have typos and poor grammar, so I'm not even going to hunt around the site for a list of beta readers. I'm going straight to the source! You guys. Is anyone interested in reading 750 words of (possible) gibberish and telling me if my point has gotten across with this story or if I'm a total failure? Thanks.

 

[oneagainst]

Okay. I give up! I'm in need of a beta reader. I checked a list of editors (not really what I need) on Literotica and some of the descriptions that they gave have typos and poor grammar, so I'm not even going to hunt around the site for a list of beta readers. I'm going straight to the source! You guys. Is anyone interested in reading 750 words of (possible) gibberish and telling me if my point has gotten across with this story or if I'm a total failure? Thanks.

Sure, 750 words? Too easy. Flick it and I can read it through if you need!

 

[Rustyoznail]

Hey! I found a story under the couch cushions! It's a bit sticky and has a few dust bunnies attached, but it should clean up alright.

Freya, if you need a second opinion, flick me a PM. I like weird and have a fair understanding of Australian gibberish. Should be able to translate yours.

 

[AlinaX]

Yay, I have this year's metacafe done.

 

[oneagainst]

Yay, I have this year's metacafe done.

Ditto! See you there...!

 

[Lifestyle66]

I threw a 750-word story together last night which I could post right now. (I'm getting a little faster at this writing thing.)

But this morning, I had too many good ideas to add in, so I think now I'll work it into a slightly longer version, then cut that down to 750 words. It should be ready to post in a few days.

 

[MrPixel]

I have one done. I'm going to make two or three more read passes since I seem to find something to "improve" every time.

Maybe I can whip-up another exhibitionist story for this year. We'll see (literally... ha ha... oh. That would be voyeurism).