The Official Authors' Hangout Halloween 2022 Contest Support Thread

[MillieDynamite]

My story went live sometime, maybe at midnight this morning, perhaps yesterday. Take a day off from chit-chat, the internet, and shit happens.

 

[Duleigh]

Whoo Hoo! My #2 story goes life on 10/04, whenever that occurs at Laurel's house.

 

[Bazzle]

My story was creeping up to 4.5...then bang in comes a 1 or a 2... Drat.

 

[Trionyx]

My completely unscientific review of AH questions has come up with the top two topics: Loving Wives and the under eighteen rule.

 

[Rustyoznail]

My completely unscientific review of AH questions has come up with the top two topics: Loving Wives and the under eighteen rule.

Yep. Questions about U18, complaints about LW. Although both are a minefield for newcomers.

 

[Duleigh]

My story was creeping up to 4.5...then bang in comes a 1 or a 2... Drat.

I get them EVERY contest. It's like a "Welcome to the club!" card from that "person" he hit me on 10/2

 

[MSTarot]

I humbly surrender to the rules mentioned by Duleigh, Baz and Rustyoznail,
... but I can't help but notice that precisely the Harry Potter saga is about characters growing up and becoming adults and having children (and everyone knows this, because it's even seen in the movies).
In other words: I would understand banning any story that includes Wednesday Addams (never portrayed by actresses older than ten or twelve), but of Harry and Ginny we even know the names of the children, even without considering more recent developments in the saga.
But I understand that the general rules have safeguarded this site from a flood of fanfiction all with the same equal flavor, and I humbly bow out.

One of the things about the Potterverse is JKR has lawyers whose whole job is to sue the pants off of fan fiction authors or sites that post work themed in her story setting. It's her's and she isn't sharing.

I did a 60k story for last year's Halloween to discover that when I tried to post it. All of my characters were well over 18.

 

[Lifestyle66]

My story was creeping up to 4.5...then bang in comes a 1 or a 2... Drat.

I have at least one troll following me to 1-bomb every story I post within the first hours. Then about every four or five hours after that I receive another 1-bomb. I got four 1's interspersed within the 4's and 5's within the first day for my Amorous Goods story. It has now crept up to 4.31 with 54 ratings in three days.

I had one old story posted in December which finally (seven months later) got up to 4.54 ... for two days. Then another 1-bomb set it back to 4.36! And that story wasn't even the latest in the series!

Soooo ... that indicates someone is checking my story list and watching for any which get a red-H! And I have trouble believing it's some random reader out there!

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have at least one troll following me to 1-bomb every story I post within the first hours. Then about every four or five hours after that I receive another 1-bomb. I got four 1's interspersed within the 4's and 5's within the first day for my Amorous Goods story. It has now crept up to 4.31 with 54 ratings in three days.

I had one old story posted in December which finally (seven months later) got up to 4.54 ... for two days. Then another 1-bomb set it back to 4.36! And that story wasn't even the latest in the series!

Soooo ... that indicates someone is checking my story list and watching for any which get a red-H! And I have trouble believing it's some random reader out there!

Fucking irritating, isn't it. Sigh, how can you get mostly 5's and someone honestly gives you a 1? They can't.

 

[TxRad]

The words troll and honesty should never be used in the same sentence.

 

[Voboy]

Fucking irritating, isn't it. Sigh, how can you get mostly 5's and someone honestly gives you a 1? They can't.

Of course they can. No story is everyone's cup of tea. I think I write well, and most voters seem to agree... but not all of them. And that's okay. I'm not everyone's favorite. And in a site with no definition of what a 1* actually means? Naturally some people will give an excellent story an honest 1*, for reasons all their own.

 

[Emotional]

If only everyone had to register to leave a score, and their score was publically viewable.

 

[Voboy]

If only everyone had to register to leave a score, and their score was publically viewable.

Lol. If that was the case, most stories would get just about zero votes I think.

 

[Emotional]

I dont think so. Noone cares behind the magic keyboard.

Plus it would stop people from voting multiple times, and if one person was a serial negative voter, action could be taken

 

[Northstar4695]

Well, I finally got my submission finished! Hopefully, it goes live on a contest list near you very soon.

 

[Duleigh]

If only everyone had to register to leave a score, and their score was publically viewable.

You can turn off anonymous comments but you can't turn off anonymous voting

 

[MelissaBaby]

You can turn off anonymous comments but you can't turn off anonymous voting

If authors could turn off anonymous voting, contests could no longer be based on ratings, since it would not be a level playing field.

 

[Duleigh]

If authors could turn off anonymous voting, contests could no longer be based on ratings, since it would not be a level playing field.

Yes, for contests voting would have to be wide open. But outside of contests if an author feels they are being harassed it may not be a bad option to try for a while if it can be done temporarily

 

[Duleigh]

Well, I finally got my submission finished! Hopefully, it goes live on a contest list near you very soon.

Keep checking on it as it sits in pending, It will go live in there and show you what date it will go public

 

[Voboy]

Asked and answered. "Reforming the voting system by eliminating anonymous voting" might be about the third most common thread topic in the Hangout. Maybe second.

 

[Emotional]

Furiously editing my story so it is published this weekend!

 

[Lifestyle66]

Of course they can. No story is everyone's cup of tea. I think I write well, and most voters seem to agree... but not all of them. And that's okay. I'm not everyone's favorite. And in a site with no definition of what a 1* actually means? Naturally some people will give an excellent story an honest 1*, for reasons all their own.

BUT when my chapter 10 (out of 12) suddenly gets a 1 two days after getting a Red-H, and none of my other stories happened to get 1's that day ... ???

That suggests it was targeted.

But I've known I'm targeted by a turd out there for several months. I was merely commiserating with Bazzle for getting his story 1-bombed. It can be worse than just once.

 

[Bazzle]

Not trying to advertise stories that are not in the competition. But...its within the theme of the competition. I published this one earlier in the year- not knowing about the competition!

https://literotica.com/s/watching-her-13

Its again a smoking fetish story, but with a paranormal twist. Some board dwellers might, or might not enjoy it!

B

 

[Duleigh]

My Number 2 story is there!

Amorous Goods: Black Pearls
Stormwatch - A Wedding in the Woods

We're up to 57 stories now, including 3 Amorous goods stories

 

[Bazzle]

Ooh I've had my regular hater of my writing complaining that my story was unreadable.

Is it really this bad?

"This is not a contest quality entry. It desperately needs to be proofed and edited. Within a quarter of the way down the first page there were already entire paragraphs full of sentences that aren't sentences, don't make sense, and have baffling punctuation. There are entire exchanges between characters with question marks at the end of each declarative statement leaving the reader to wonder what is going on. I reread the first mess of a paragraph at least three times before giving up and moving on, and the rest of the story is more of the same. It does not read coherently. It makes me wonder if the author's first language is English. It doesn't have to be, of course, but if it isn't, that's only more reason for a set of eyes with a better than tenuous grasp of the English language to proofread this. This story is illegible as it currently stands."

Wow I know I'm no James Patterson, but I thought it an interesting story.

Nice to see the love!

B