The Official Authors Hangout Winter Holiday 2023 Contest Support Thread

[NoTalentHack]

My entry, "Christmas in Norway Tour" drops tomorrow. I'm trying a Loving Wives story that picks up after the divorce, and shows the effects on a mother and daughter as they try to heal from her husband's infidelity. A bit unconventional in that category, but I'm obviously not going for scores. A lot of recent comments there complaining about same-old-same-old, or asking for part 2's. We'll see how this plays.

Hell yeah. Looking forward to it!

On my end, I've got the rough draft done, now to edit and proofread in a mad dash to the finish. Hopefully the system won't think I'm an AI! Going into Group this time, for a New Year's story.

 

[WendyTrilby]

My one and only entry for the Winter Holiday 2023 contest has dropped. It’s called WILL YOU MERRY ME?

When I began looking for a story for the contest, I considered variations of popular themes, but do we need another erotic version of It’s A Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol? Then I remembered a chance meeting with my high school boyfriend 15 years after we graduated. Our paths crossed the mall, which was now almost devoid of stores and felt like a metaphor for our decaying Rust Belt city. We went out for drinks and relived our teenage days in the mall and the plans we made together long before our lives drifted away from this old city. The evening ended with us making out like teenagers in the parking lot, then returning to our lives, leaving me to wonder if our paths would ever cross again.

I began this story two months ago and realized as I write that I hope for a third crossing of our paths in the future. Davey, if you are reading this and recognize the time and place, this is my love letter.

For the rest of you, I hope you can find a bit of yourself in the story, remembering that girl or guy who stole your heart and for a moment you thought you might spend the rest of your lives together.

If you’ve read any of my works (If not, I recommend Portmanteau: The Series), you know my strength is story and heated erotic interludes, and I think I’ve balanced both in this tale. The sexual encounters are based on my firsthand experiences. It is raw, unsanitized, and features all the sweat, hair, cramps, sounds, and smells of real sex. It is written to feel real because each touch and encounter is based on real events, not a far-fetched fantasy.

Please give it a read and let me know your thoughts. I’ve read it for errors, and despite publishing it, I continue to look for mistakes for an update. Please DM me anything glaring.

Merry Christmas

Wendy Trilby

 

[StillStunned]

My second entry is up: Fairytale of New York.

Initially I just wanted to use the title as a tribute to Kirsty and Shane, with the story having very little to do with the song. It morphed into something much more, though. It's quite personal, and my only regret is not managing to fit bells ringing out at the end.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Submitted! I just needed to do the final edits, when computer gremlins struck. Had to do them on the Lit submission page, so it's not as edited as I'd like, but at least it's in.

I feel remarkably like when I had coursework needing submitting on time, and printers and networks would invariably go on strike.

For anyone interested in 30k words of emotions, acceptance, and heterosexual sex, A Tale of Two Christmases should be up tomorrow. Guess I'll find out if anyone reads the Novels & Novellas category.

 

[Pluna]

My story was rejected again I messaged laurel (got an automated response back), showed the google docs proof that I wrote the story, and explained in the admin notes that I’d sent in proof. Guess that was for nothing. Do you guys think if I change some things and resubmit it as a different story that it would go through? I just don’t know what to edit lol, I have no idea why it’s triggering. I’m just gonna really be pissed if I miss the contest. I have no delusions about winning, but the contests are usually my main motivation for writing

 

[StillStunned]

My story was rejected again I messaged laurel (got an automated response back), showed the google docs proof that I wrote the story, and explained in the admin notes that I’d sent in proof. Guess that was for nothing. Do you guys think if I change some things and resubmit it as a different story that it would go through? I just don’t know what to edit lol, I have no idea why it’s triggering. I’m just gonna really be pissed if I miss the contest. I have no delusions about winning, but the contests are usually my main motivation for writing

Sorry to hear that! I can't recommend any particular course of action, but I sympathise, particularly with the deadline approaching so fast.

From the examples I've seen, AI tends towards "purple prose", using long words where shorter, more everyday words would be just as good. If you decide to make changes, perhaps that would be something to look at?

 

[StillStunned]

Dammit, I just had another idea! When's the deadline?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Please give it a read and let me know your thoughts. I’ve read it for errors, and despite publishing it, I continue to look for mistakes for an update. Please DM me anything glaring.

A nice January January, then June June, then November November story.

So far as a comment, it would run much better in Mature, I think. I'd ask Laurel if she can quickly change category, if I were you (it's in a Contest, so she might).

 

[MelissaBaby]

I am really fond of the popular Christmas songs of the 1940s, such as White Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. There is a melancholy, yet hopeful nature to them that I tried to capture a bit of in my story this year.

I hope you enjoy it.



If Only In My Dreams

 

[Duleigh]

TOMORROW Posting closes! Get your high speed keyboards out, top off the oil, and let 'er rip!
I have seen last minute entries to a contest pull off the win, so don't let the calendar throw you off
​

Duleigh's Demandments - Here's my #2 Demandment that keeps me writing, this one is vital to my stories

2. Thou shalt love thy characters This is a big one, if I don't love my characters, I give up on the story. There's no way to clearly convey emotions in your story if you're emotionally distant, or if you dislike an important character. This being erotica, emotions are what we're writing about. Here's a test - write something really awful for your character to experience, a death of a loved one or something like that. If you feel nothing, you need a new character that you like

​

 

[Jorunn]

I am really fond of the popular Christmas songs of the 1940s, such as White Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. There is a melancholy, yet hopeful nature to them that I tried to capture a bit of in my story this year.

I hope you enjoy it.



If Only In My Dreams

You sucked me in on the first page and I couldn't let go. Wonderful story, Melissa Baby.

 

[Nellymcboatface]

YEAH !!
WHooop Whooop....
Pressed the button & it has now gone to those Literotica bots to pour over...
I daren't look at the preview - as there are bound to be missed typos...
3pm UK time...
Thank goodness all that hard work is done...

And now for the terrifying part, the worry, the biting of nails... The shouting at the screen... The endless double-checking of scores and readerships....
Arggghhhhhhhhh

Hmm, now something for Valentine's Day 2024 ?????

 

[Duleigh]

Hmm, now something for Valentine's Day 2024 ?????

Already started on my #1 - A Juvat Romance

 

[samhasstories]

Well, I didn't make it. I started late, my story got too long. I enjoyed the Halloween one and thought I'd try to keep it going. Oh well. I think I'll still try to post it before Christmas. It remains seasonally appropriate.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Still Pending after 24 hours...

 

[StillStunned]

Well, I didn't make it. I started late, my story got too long. I enjoyed the Halloween one and thought I'd try to keep it going. Oh well. I think I'll still try to post it before Christmas. It remains seasonally appropriate.

You still have until today. Midnight EST, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Duleigh]

And that's it for Winter Holidays 2023
Finish up your work and submit by the end of the day or you won't get credit for your work.
Thank you all so much for participating, the last time I looked we had over 130 entries listed on the
Contest Page
​

Duleigh's Demandments are rules I set down for myself that have helped me in my writing, and here is my number one demandment

Thou shalt knowest of which thy writes.

This is a big one, write about what you know. I place the majority of my stories in places where I have lived (which means a place where I received mail that was addressed to me) Not only does it add to the authenticity to the story but it also makes the story a lot easier to write, there's a lot less that you have to invent. Many of my characters are doing things that I have done in the past, from camping to military duties. Of course that mean that if you're going to write about something that you're unfamiliar with, you're going to have to teach yourself, or go out and invent something new.

​

 

[shakna]

Ooh. My very Australian Christmas made it to the page! So the contest mustn't mind the Southern Hemisphere having other weather.

 

[Duleigh]

Ooh. My very Australian Christmas made it to the page! So the contest mustn't mind the Southern Hemisphere having other weather.

If it did, it would cut out those of us in the US from Florida, Texas, Arizona and California

 

[StillStunned]

I just uploaded my third, and presumably my last, entry. It's actually a sequel to my first entry, "Too Hot Not to Fuck", and it's called "Too Early Not to Fuck".

Strange thing, I first wrote "Too Cold Not to Fuck" (the first of so far three stories) to widen my readership by publishing in I/T. But then I found that I liked the characters, in particular Sal. Incest isn't a kink of mine, but it can make for interesting situations, and like I said, I like writing about Sal.

Bonus: I managed to sneak a big "Fairytale of New York" reference in again.

 

[samhasstories]

You still have until today. Midnight EST, if I'm not mistaken.

Guess I jumped the gun on my surrender. But still not lookin good.

 

[Duleigh]

Here's my entries
The Pilot's Conjugal Christmas
Happy Hogswatch!
Andi's Dream - A Blizzard in Buffalo
Andi's Dream - A Wedding to Plan
Andi's Dream - Joy to the World.

 

[SamBomb]

Sadly, I was so proud of this stuff for this contest, but it ended up my lowest rated story yet.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I hope you included a note to let Laurel know that your stories are stand-alones and not a series.

Here's my entries
The Pilot's Conjugal Christmas
Happy Hogswatch!
Andi's Dream - A Blizzard in Buffalo
Andi's Dream - A Wedding to Plan
Andi's Dream - Joy to the World.

 

[MelissaBaby]

You sucked me in on the first page and I couldn't let go. Wonderful story, Melissa Baby.

Thank you so much.