The Halloween 2024 Official Contest Support Thread!

[Kethandra]

It's either a typo, or was a desperate attempt for old men to write an acronym that wasn't IANAL

I’m thinking about applying for an IANAL license plate now. What could go wrong?
‘What’s that, officer?’
‘It’s because I’m a lawyer.’
‘Yes. a lawyer. With a K.’

 

[Actingup]

Jim Bob44 has 8 submissions. I’ve read a couple and they’re captivating to me. He cranks them out two at a time. Beyond prolific. He’s gone off the reservation.

Personally, it’s been a good day for me. I made progress on a first love theme. She’s such a lovely gell.
I made her love interest Australian for some unknown reason. Not a clue what drives him. That never stopped me before.
More weirdness ensues.

Oh yes, those ones are scoring really well. I suspect supernatural influences to be that prolific and maintain quality - next year there will be a story about JimBob selling his soul to the Devil.

Australian love interest? Pretty straightfoward. Firstly, he's a stud. If he lives in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory or Western Australia, he plays Australian Rules Football and Cricket. If he's in New South Wales or Queensland, he plays Rubgy League, unless he's educated in which case Rugby Union. And cricket. If in Melbourne, he takes his KeepCup to the barista to get coffee. In Sydney he has bought a coffee machine. If in Sydney he is either rich and owns a boat, or he is insignificant. If in Canberra, he works for the public service. If he's middle-aged, he still listens to Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Crowded House and Paul Kelly. If he's young, he'll still appreciate Paul Kelly but likes more modern stuff too. If he's educated, he travels a lot. If he's a bogan, he sticks to Bali and Thailand, or Vietnam if he's really pushing himself to be cultural. I hope this helps.

 

[Voboy]

I’m thinking about applying for an IANAL license plate now. What could go wrong?
‘What’s that, officer?’
‘It’s because I’m a lawyer.’
‘Yes. a lawyer. With a K.’

 

[DukeofPaducah]

Oh yes, those ones are scoring really well. I suspect supernatural influences to be that prolific and maintain quality - next year there will be a story about JimBob selling his soul to the Devil.

Australian love interest? Pretty straightfoward. Firstly, he's a stud. If he lives in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory or Western Australia, he plays Australian Rules Football and Cricket. If he's in New South Wales or Queensland, he plays Rubgy League, unless he's educated in which case Rugby Union. And cricket. If in Melbourne, he takes his KeepCup to the barista to get coffee. In Sydney he has bought a coffee machine. If in Sydney he is either rich and owns a boat, or he is insignificant. If in Canberra, he works for the public service. If he's middle-aged, he still listens to Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Crowded House and Paul Kelly. If he's young, he'll still appreciate Paul Kelly but likes more modern stuff too. If he's educated, he travels a lot. If he's a bogan, he sticks to Bali and Thailand, or Vietnam if he's really pushing himself to be cultural. I hope this helps.

Oh yes, those ones are scoring really well. I suspect supernatural influences to be that prolific and maintain quality - next year there will be a story about JimBob selling his soul to the Devil.

Australian love interest? Pretty straightfoward. Firstly, he's a stud. If he lives in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory or Western Australia, he plays Australian Rules Football and Cricket. If he's in New South Wales or Queensland, he plays Rubgy League, unless he's educated in which case Rugby Union. And cricket. If in Melbourne, he takes his KeepCup to the barista to get coffee. In Sydney he has bought a coffee machine. If in Sydney he is either rich and owns a boat, or he is insignificant. If in Canberra, he works for the public service. If he's middle-aged, he still listens to Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Crowded House and Paul Kelly. If he's young, he'll still appreciate Paul Kelly but likes more modern stuff too. If he's educated, he travels a lot. If he's a bogan, he sticks to Bali and Thailand, or Vietnam if he's really pushing himself to be cultural. I hope this helps.

He’s in the States at the moment, fixing to be overwhelmed by Cupid’s quivering quiver..
But thank you for the fodder. I”ll be chewing my cud, softly lowing and brewing up an environmental methane disaster.
I smell gas…did I pass one?

 

[Morevinila]

The problem is that the contest ended yesterday. So, if I understand the question correctly, the story had 60 seconds to get 25 votes. I think that might be tough to do.

I don't think that's right I think the date for submission ended yesterday - if the story is sent for submission before deadline, I think admin will see to it that it enters the list of stories in the contest provided it's in line with all requirements. Which is why sometimes stories are added even after submission is closed.
Then, at some point in time, before results are announced, they sort of take a picture of the situation at that moment in time and use it to decide on the winners (with all the controls they apply like sweeps and all that) - people can continue to vote after that point in time but it will not be counted in the final decision.
At least, it's how I interpret the rules - those who are more experienced please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Morevinila]

Then I stand corrected. The wording of the contests are always super confusing to me. Don't tell anyone, but I'm a natural blonde.

Why throw stones in blondes' garden? They are charming people, especially the girls
Don't worry about the wording of the contests though You're not the only one to get confused by them and they are not all blondes As long as you continue finding the correct wording for your stories...

 

[gleader]

What's the deadline for the votes? My story seems trapped in the humour & satire and can't get enough votes.

 

[AlexFourways]

What's the deadline for the votes? My story seems trapped in the humour & satire and can't get enough votes.

Asked before but as the rules say "The contest rules are here."
You can begin submitting on (or before): October 2
The last day to submit is: October 23 at 11:59pm EST
Winners will be announced on: October 30
I presume Laurel and team will run the numbers at the EST close of play on the 29th (or shortly before) having done their magic sweep! So 5 days-ish! Of course a sweep could take my 30 below 25 but will never change the 4.1 to a winning score!

 

[Inkent]

I've enjoyed the ride with this one. My entry was always going to face a challenge, writing mainly in the LW section is one (if not the the) category where you're story is the equivalent of throwing to a Christian out to the Lions in a Roman arena. For me, that's half the fun! I've been brave and read some stories that I typically wouldn't, a big stand out for me was The leopard-Print Leotard which I really enjoyed and would not have gone anywhere near it under normal circumstances. So gladI did, I used my grey matter and I think I could now put something together in that genre somewhere down the line whereas previously, I didn't think I'd be able to.

That's the beauty of these competitions - introduces authors that we aren't necessarily familiar with and even a peek at genres that may not float my personal boat so to speak. I'm getting there though!

It's been a pleasure reading a lot of the work that's been submitted, this threads been a joy to follow and looking forward to the next competition or themed event. Shame I couldn't get my second story sorted in time, at least I'll have it set and ready for next year.

In a nutshell, thanks to all those that participated, and well done for making the effort to enlighten people like me with your work

 

[FreyaGersemi]

You can begin submitting on (or before): October 2
The last day to submit is: October 23 at 11:59pm EST

Yes, but "you can begin submitting" is when the contest begins. Following that logic, "last day to submit" would be when it ends? Just curious about the semantics.

 

[Fatdog25]

I would imagine that the site wants to give those writers who submit nearer the deadline some kind of fighting chance. I believe that is why there's a week between end of submissions and announcing the winner.

If it were me, I wouldn't announce exactly when the winners were decided, either. Prevents further last minute score manipulation.

 

[DukeofPaducah]

I've enjoyed the ride with this one. My entry was always going to face a challenge, writing mainly in the LW section is one (if not the the) category where you're story is the equivalent of throwing to a Christian out to the Lions in a Roman arena. For me, that's half the fun! I've been brave and read some stories that I typically wouldn't, a big stand out for me was The leopard-Print Leotard which I really enjoyed and would not have gone anywhere near it under normal circumstances. So gladI did, I used my grey matter and I think I could now put something together in that genre somewhere down the line whereas previously, I didn't think I'd be able to.

That's the beauty of these competitions - introduces authors that we aren't necessarily familiar with and even a peek at genres that may not float my personal boat so to speak. I'm getting there though!

It's been a pleasure reading a lot of the work that's been submitted, this threads been a joy to follow and looking forward to the next competition or themed event. Shame I couldn't get my second story sorted in time, at least I'll have it set and ready for next year.

In a nutshell, thanks to all those that participated, and well done for making the effort to enlighten people like me with your work

Loving Wives is indeed where Bread and Circus is alive and well. The roar of the greasepaint.
The smell of the crowd.
One comment to me was simply: ‘I used to be a writer from Kentucky.’
Concise, but not particularly constructive. lol.
I replied that I believed their crystal was likely cloudy as often as not. Try to hurt my feeling, will you?
I think not.

 

[SyleusSnow]

Well, I squeaked in a story in 5 minutes before the deadline. Technically several hours after, since made an edit while it was in the pending queue. Laurel accepted it anyway (thanks, Laurel!).

Pumpkin Splice is now live in all it's campy horror.

 

[Nellymcboatface]

Don't forget Hector's house, pretty sure Hector Kiki & Zsazsa had plenty of three way fun behind the scenes? How many other kids programs had a sexual undercurrent

Please don't spoil my rose tinted glasses view of my childhood programs !
ha ha !
How they ever passed Tiswas for a Saturday morning, I'll never know....

 

[TheBrownRecluse818]

Reduced threshold for this one, only 25 needed. I guess it depends on how many people look for your stories to pop up, the first ten are the hardest for any story to get but the H tag draws eyes

That's 4.5 and up for the H tag right? Bummer, skating just under that. How do you know if you get a vote though?

 

[WriterPerson314159]

That's 4.5 and up for the H tag right? Bummer, skating just under that. How do you know if you get a vote though?

You just have to look at your Works->Stories page to see how many votes your story gets, AFAIK. That’s the most up-to-date count. You’ll see notifications for favorites and comments, but not every vote.

 

[TheLobster]

That's 4.5 and up for the H tag right? Bummer, skating just under that. How do you know if you get a vote though?

It's very easy. All you need to do is obsessively watch your vote count, refreshing the page every five minutes.

...What? Are you saying that you don't do that?

 

[Rustyoznail]

Yes, but "you can begin submitting" is when the contest begins. Following that logic, "last day to submit" would be when it ends? Just curious about the semantics.

The last day to submit is the last day you can submit a story. This gives stories that were submitted at the last bell nearly a week to get the 25 votes needed to be in contention.

It's not a perfect system, but its what we have.

 

[TheBrownRecluse818]

It's very easy. All you need to do is obsessively watch your vote count, refreshing the page every five minutes.

...What? Are you saying that you don't do that?

I don't know if i've ever felt more exposed then right now. Because that is exactly what i've been doing for the past half hour lmao.

 

[OtterlyMindblowing]

I don't know if i've ever felt more exposed then right now. Because that is exactly what i've been doing for the past half hour lmao.

I do the same, don’t you worry.

 

[StillStunned]

It's what I've been doing for the past 18 months. And I don't even have a story in the contest.

 

[AlexFourways]

I do the same, don’t you worry.

I find two or three checks a day is normally sufficient (rember to update the page or you won't see the reads have gone up) and I try to model the scores with a spreadsheet where I have:
A1 "Story" A1 "SS&G" (in this case Step Sister and the Gang)
A2 "Read" B2 "18200" (manually updated)
A3 "Score" B3 "=AVERAGE(B5:B200)" > 4.65
A4 "Votes" B4 "=COUNT(B5:B200)" > 108
A5 "1" B5 "5" (the 1 is the number of votes and the 5 is the assumed score as sometimes two 4's could be a 5 & 3)
A204 "200" B205 "" As there is not 200 votes

Obviously I copy column B to C, D, E .... P for other stories.
Apologies for those who don't know spreadsheets and there is a less clunky way of doing it (Oh and if I get ten Votes and a Score of over 4.5 I highlight the Read number.

YMMV - Should I have attached a file?!

 

[OtterlyMindblowing]

I find two or three checks a day is normally sufficient (rember to update the page or you won't see the reads have gone up) and I try to model the scores with a spreadsheet where I have:
A1 "Story" A1 "SS&G" (in this case Step Sister and the Gang)
A2 "Read" B2 "18200" (manually updated)
A3 "Score" B3 "=AVERAGE(B5:B200)" > 4.65
A4 "Votes" B4 "=COUNT(B5:B200)" > 108
A5 "1" B5 "5" (the 1 is the number of votes and the 5 is the assumed score as sometimes two 4's could be a 5 & 3)
A204 "200" B205 "" As there is not 200 votes

Obviously I copy column B to C, D, E .... P for other stories.
Apologies for those who don't know spreadsheets and there is a less clunky way of doing it (Oh and if I get ten Votes and a Score of over 4.5 I highlight the Read number.

YMMV - Should I have attached a file?!

A spreadsheeter after my own heart!
I thought of doing something similar, but a combination of the fact I wasn’t doing it from the beginning plus not always being able to keep up with checks meant I decided not to. Which is unusual for me, for reference.

 

[AlexFourways]

A spreadsheeter after my own heart!
I thought of doing something similar, but a combination of the fact I wasn’t doing it from the beginning plus not always being able to keep up with checks meant I decided not to. Which is unusual for me, for reference.

Never too late to start! Just slash and burn!
Just looked at Attach files and all it allows is images!
If anyone is desparate, DM me, but I think if you know spreadsheets, those clues are enough to hack it!

 

[DukeofPaducah]

Please don't spoil my rose tinted glasses view of my childhood programs !
ha ha !
How they ever passed Tiswas for a Saturday morning, I'll never know....

It’s an advert tactic, tried and true. Subliminal implantation for a turbocharged pervy thrill down the line.
Kind of like The Manchurian Candidate, only instead of a robot assassin, you become the Emperor Wang.
Or Miss Klitty from the series Gunsmoke in some cases. She was the reason Marshall Dillon’s trigger finger was so itchy and he was so quick on the draw, and Festus walked with a stiff legged gait.
Diabolical, no?