The 2024 750 Word Story Challenge Support Thread

[AlexBailey]

I’ve been obsessing over my pending submission and keep second guessing myself.

I thought it would be easy enough to self edit 750 words but I found one blatant grammatical error, two minor continuity errors, and I have come up with two better titles.

Oh well

The continuity errors came from the shrinking process. I wrote the first draft without counting and hit ~ 920 words. Paring it down left a couple of ideas hanging…

What a great exercise! I’m thoroughly enjoying this!

 

[OffNSFW]

For clarification, it was sent back by the mods for this specific reason and I checked the text as submitted. My suspicion is that they might have CTRL+Ved twice on their end when putting it into whatever software they use to check. I could also just be losing my mind, which is plausible.

 

[UnquietDreams]

I’ve been obsessing over my pending submission and keep second guessing myself.

I thought it would be easy enough to self edit 750 words but I found one blatant grammatical error, two minor continuity errors, and I have come up with two better titles.

Oh well

The continuity errors came from the shrinking process. I wrote the first draft without counting and hit ~ 920 words. Paring it down left a couple of ideas hanging…

What a great exercise! I’m thoroughly enjoying this!

And that is the point, really. It isn't a contest, it is a challenge between you and you. We tend to be verbose here, I have noticed. And there isn't anything wrong with that --gods know that points right back at me. But having to hone and choose one word, or one phrase, over another is a fantastic exercise. If a novel is beer, and a short story champagne, then microfiction is a well-made shot.

 

[UnquietDreams]

I knew that the scores were lower for these, but I didn't expect it to be my lowest so far. The comments have been favorable at least, but only five. I mean, I am whining about something in the 4.20s, but I admit I am a "Hot" Whore.

Wait, that gives me a connotation I am not willing to accept. I am not hot.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Okay, my third story is now up: An Intimate Rendezvous 750-Word. Be forwarned, this is gay male stuff.

One more to go, I put in the cue yesterday.

 

[MrPixel]

I knew that the scores were lower for these, but I didn't expect it to be my lowest so far.

My observation is there is a coterie of readers who dislike the 750 format so badly they maliciously "one-bomb" the short stories repeatedly. I'd go so far as to say a 750 above 4.0 is well-deserving of an 'H', but that's not my call. IOW, there's roughly a half-point penalty in the average score for a 750.

But, again, the 750 project is mostly for the authors to hone language skills, not impress the general readership. I'd say 2024's participation has been awesome with a lot of quality writing and massive amounts of creativity.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, are you just so creative this week?

Okay, my third story is now up: An Intimate Rendezvous 750-Word. Be forwarned, this is gay male stuff.

One more to go, I put in the cue yesterday.

 

[UnquietDreams]

My observation is there is a coterie of readers who dislike the 750 format so badly they maliciously "one-bomb" the short stories repeatedly. I'd go so far as to say a 750 above 4.0 is well-deserving of an 'H', but that's not my call. IOW, there's roughly a half-point penalty in the average score for a 750.

But, again, the 750 project is mostly for the authors to hone language skills, not impress the general readership. I'd say 2024's participation has been awesome with a lot of quality writing and massive amounts of creativity.

I think the 750 are for the other writers as well. We seem to enjoy them, here.

And I know --I'm just whining.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

I knew that the scores were lower for these, but I didn't expect it to be my lowest so far. The comments have been favorable at least, but only five. I mean, I am whining about something in the 4.20s…

My first 750-word project story in 2020 finished the event at 4.72 (and has since settled in the low-to-mid 4.6s). It was a Reader’s Choice nominee that year and I still see it as one of my most fun works. My second one in this year’s event is my lowest score ever, almost a whole point below the 2020 entry. However, in two days, it has more views, more likes, and more comments than the one from 2020, so it’s not all bad.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I knew that the scores were lower for these, but I didn't expect it to be my lowest so far. The comments have been favorable at least, but only five. I mean, I am whining about something in the 4.20s, but I admit I am a "Hot" Whore.

Wait, that gives me a connotation I am not willing to accept. I am not hot.

Add 0.2 to your 750 word rating to get the normal story equivalent.

Emily

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've done another story for the contest, but I have read it through several more times before deciding if it's good enough to suit me.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

He Showed Her His Porn (750 Words)
...his femdom shoe fetish porn, in class, by accident...oops

And as I post it here I realized I transposed two clauses. The description would have worked better had I said "by accident, in class." Oops.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I bet some folks ignore this no-wagering thing; what do you wager, @Duleigh?

The 6th Annual 750 Word Story Challenge Support Thread

And as always, please, no wagering.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I just loaded up and took a second shot at the Challenge. Not sure when it'll be up though!

 

[Duleigh]

I bet some folks ignore this no-wagering thing; what do you wager, @Duleigh?

A 46 ounce can of Tomato Juice and a bottle of Tabasco sauce

 

[ElectricBlue]

No, but they say each 750 word story must be a complete story. Breaking a story down to 750 word chapters breaks the spirit of the rules.

Last year I did something with four x 750 word chapters, each self-contained, but each progressing the overall story arc.

What's very rare for 750 Worders is that two are Red H, one is borderline, only the first being "typical 750 word low score".

If I'd written it as a single 3000 word story, it would have had a completely different feel, I think. It was a good little experiment.

Chapter One: https://www.literotica.com/s/brooke-works-at-the-hardware-store


EDIT: I posted this, then went back and read the last three pages of the thread. Fuck me drunk, that just got ridiculous. So bloody serious!

The challenge I set myself was, can I make each part tell itself, by itself. Because of my points of view changes, I think I did - each one works as a little vignette. Others may think, no, the last part needs the first three to work, but who cares? It's a little writer's challenge. I call myself a writer, I set myself my own challenge. Job done. Readers liked it. Job double done.

All the rest reads like Pedanticism 101.

 

[Duleigh]

Last year I did something with four x 750 word chapters, each self-contained, but each progressing the overall story arc.

What's very rare for 750 Worders is that two are Red H, one is borderline, only the first being "typical 750 word low score".

If I'd written it as a single 3000 wired story, it would have had a completely different feel, I think. It was a good little experiment.

Chapter One: https://www.literotica.com/s/brooke-works-at-the-hardware-store

Well, the challenge is to get the ENTIRE idea on the screen with an exact number of words. Foolish drooling about series benefits aside, (we've never had a series of benefits as far as I know) it's a tough job and I'm proud of @EmilyMiller for doing it twenty times, each in a different category. Emily Superhero!

 

[EmilyMiller]

Well, the challenge is to get the ENTIRE idea on the screen with an exact number of words. Foolish drooling about series benefits aside, (we've never had a series of benefits as far as I know) it's a tough job and I'm proud of @EmilyMiller for doing it twenty times, each in a different category. Emily Superhero!

Thanks - but I did [intentionally] double up on Toys & Masturbation and [unintentionally] double up on Lesbian Sex, after my IR story was moved there. So 18 categories.

Emily

 

[Duleigh]

Thanks - but I did [intentionally] double up on Toys & Masturbation and [unintentionally] double up on Lesbian Sex, after my IR story was moved there. So 18 categories.

Emily

Still twenty stories - awesome job!

 

[MillieDynamite]

That's quite an accomplishment. I've done two this year. Impressive, not so much!

Thanks - but I did [intentionally] double up on Toys & Masturbation and [unintentionally] double up on Lesbian Sex, after my IR story was moved there. So 18 categories.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

Still twenty stories - awesome job!

Thanks

 

[EmilyMiller]

That's quite an accomplishment. I've done two this year. Impressive, not so much!

Quantity <> Quality

 

[MillieDynamite]

Like I said, not so much! I think my read as rushed and incomplete.

Quantity <> Quality

 

[lc69hunter]

I am working on one, that I hope will be put in LW, as all my others have been dumped to Essays.

Essays get very few reads, but on my last one, every new viewer has given me a 5, and my score, which dropped to 4.11, and is now at 4.24

 

[Duleigh]

Quantity <> Quality

750 is tough, it's like haiku. it's not spewing out words, words are carefully selected, sentences are specifically crafted.