The Official Valentine’s Day Contest Support Thread 2026

[HelenL]

"The Franchise" is now in the pipeline!

 

[EmilyMiller]

"The Franchise" is now in the pipeline!

Yay!

 

[spiderboi]

"Deeper Than a Son's Love," my first-ever contest entry, is officially submitted.

I'm a slow ass, so the fact that it only took me two weeks to write, which is my tightest turnaround yet, gives me hope I might be able to get to all the other projects I've got planned this year

 

[EmilyMiller]

"Deeper Than a Son's Love," my first-ever contest entry, is officially submitted.

I'm a slow ass, so the fact that it only took me two weeks to write, which is my tightest turnaround yet, gives me hope I might be able to get to all the other projects I've got planned this year

Congratulations

 

[RoyalAuthor]

It's my understanding they're queued up for release on the 10th. if I'm wrong, well, I'm going to look silly for having submitted mine early.

This is correct, I've submitted early for almost every major contest I've participated in.

 

[HelenL]

They all get published on Jan 10th

So if mine is showing that it will be published on 01/08 did I do something wrong? I triple-checked the "note to admin" field

 

[EmilyMiller]

So if mine is showing that it will be published on 01/08 did I do something wrong? I triple-checked the "note to admin" field

Yeah - sounds like they missed that it was for Valentine’s - again it’s the intern at the wheel.

Either pull and resubmit, or try a PM. It’s hard to know which is the better approach. Maybe PM and if no change then pull it before it publishes overnight.

 

[HelenL]

Yeah - sounds like they missed that it was for Valentine’s - again it’s the intern at the wheel.

Either pull and resubmit, or try a PM. It’s hard to know which is the better approach. Maybe PM and if no change then pull it before it publishes overnight.

I went to check before a PM and the publication date has changed to 1/10 so I'm good. (If admin is monitoring the thread, thanks!)

 

[Trionyx]

I mentioned this in the 750 word thread. There will be many 750ers in February which could easily drown out a Valentine’s Day entry for the first week of February. You may want to get your Valentines story in before the first. As a courtesy, I am holding my 750 story until mid February.

 

[Voboy]

I mentioned this in the 750 word thread. There will be many 750ers in February which could easily drown out a Valentine’s Day entry for the first week of February. You may want to get your Valentines story in before the first. As a courtesy, I am holding my 750 story until mid February.

Excellent point.

That 750-worder, I've long thought, has worn out its welcome. It really does clog the New panel something fierce.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I’ve finished a first draft of…something. I haven’t decided if it can go in the contest. Rewriting figures to take a long time, so this definitely wouldn’t post on Day One. In my judgment, the story wouldn’t belong in Pink Orchid. The rewrite process may show me that it shouldn’t be published at all.

As I dither over this, I hope that all of your entries attract an appreciative audience. Enjoy the contest!

 

[Agent0069]

Just like the protagonist I was ready to go off prematurely, but am forced to wait until the seal is broken.

 

[old_prof]

I'm fighting with mine still. The characters are flat and I have four endings, none of which I like. I may or may not get this done.

 

[redgarters]

I'm fighting with mine still. The characters are flat and I have four endings, none of which I like. I may or may not get this done.

Fight on! We believe in you!

 

[EmilyMiller]

I went to check before a PM and the publication date has changed to 1/10 so I'm good. (If admin is monitoring the thread, thanks!)

That’s great

 

[PapaRomantic]

I have just submitted my entry, "To the Very End." It's a departure from my typical HEA romance. I'm anxious to see how it does, because I have a feeling there will be some readers that will tear up while reading it.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have just submitted my entry, "To the Very End." It's a departure from my typical HEA romance. I'm anxious to see how it does, because I have a feeling there will be some readers that will tear up while reading it.

Yay!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I have just submitted my entry, "To the Very End." It's a departure from my typical HEA romance. I'm anxious to see how it does, because I have a feeling there will be some readers that will tear up while reading it.

Love a good tear jerker. Will def check it out.

 

[old_prof]

I'm fighting with mine still. The characters are flat and I have four endings, none of which I like. I may or may not get this done.

I rewrote big portions of this and added about 6K more. Maybe it will work. Feeling more hopeful tonight. Still not sure about the ending.

 

[YDB95]

Mine is submitted!

Like a lot of my stories, I feel a bit underwhelmed about it now that it's done. But let's see what my readers think...

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I just happened to notice that a story by @CiaoSteve was posted on the 7th, though it is stated as a Val's Day contest story. I sent the author a PM, in case he isn't aware of this. I don't think the story can count as part of the contest if it was posted before the start date, but maybe the author can contact the site folks and get the situation rectified.

 

[CiaoSteve]

I just happened to notice that a story by @CiaoSteve was posted on the 7th, though it is stated as a Val's Day contest story. I sent the author a PM, in case he isn't aware of this. I don't think the story can count as part of the contest if it was posted before the start date, but maybe the author can contact the site folks and get the situation rectified.

Contest rules said post 10 January (or before) so I posted before, expecting the story to be held until 10th, which it wasn't. Let's see what happens.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'm on my third re-start. Going well...

I'm such a non-rom-com person, it's hilarious. The sheer amount of head hitting desk for this one is up there with whole books I've written.

I like the idea a lot — Aspie tamandua girl's first human boyfriend, panicking over how to live up to the Valentine's Day hype because dating humans is weird and complicated. It's just, you know, executing it. Small thing like that.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Contest rules said post 10 January (or before) so I posted before, expecting the story to be held until 10th, which it wasn't. Let's see what happens.

I’ve heard about that happening to other people this year. But the two people both caught it before publication. Write to @Laurel (or the intern who is covering for her). Sorry that this happened to you, it really shouldn’t.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Well, let’s all collectively cross our fingers that the first batch of Valentine’s stories publishes overnight and that everyone who has submitted one gets approved and makes it to the comp web page.

Any problems and I’ll try to help. Not that this is saying much.