Not sure. I guess it depends. I mean logic would say we would do a Halloween theme for October for example. What'd I'd really like to do is to maybe get nominations for a monthly theme (and, yes, the contests would be monthly) and then we'd vote on them. Maybe the previous winner could be a tiebreaker if it comes to that. I'd also want to give the judges a week to turn in their reviews so if the contest ends on March 31, the reviews would have to be in April 7. Of course, we'd already be into the April contest so we'd be doing a lot of overlapping between that and voting on the next theme. I'll set up a schedule on how we can do things. The most pressing thing right now though is what our word limit should be. I'm open to anything between 300 and 700 but what do you guys say?

The Word has spoken :D

Quote from: Rubber Soul on Feb 03, 2023, 06:58 PMThe most pressing thing right now though is what our word limit should be. I'm open to anything between 300 and 700 but what do you guys say?

I think that sounds good. I imagine that's about the size of a creepypasta :)

Happiness is a warm manatee

I'm interested in possibly submitting my writings to a potential contest. I just have one question. Would it be OK to enter writing that is "adult"/erotic? That's the genre I feel most at home writing, and I'm not sure if something like that is allowed on the forum. Nothing insanely smutty but I understand if erotica is not allowed.

"stressed" is just "desserts" spelled backwards

Well, first of all, I'm not sure what Guybrush's criteria in terms of the forum would be so we have to look at that. And, personally, I'm not really into something beyond R-rated so I would definitely be thumbs down on something pornographic. However, something tastefully done in a romantic setting, I wouldn't see a problem with that.

The Word has spoken :D

Quote from: Rubber Soul on Feb 03, 2023, 07:59 PMWell, first of all, I'm not sure what Guybrush's criteria in terms of the forum would be so we have to look at that. And, personally, I'm not really into something beyond R-rated so I would definitely be thumbs down on something pornographic. However, something tastefully done in a romantic setting, I wouldn't see a problem with that.

Thank you for your input. My writing is always absolutely the latter. Nothing hardcore or pornographic, always done sensually and tastefully.

"stressed" is just "desserts" spelled backwards

#20 Feb 03, 2023, 09:38 PM Last Edit: Feb 03, 2023, 09:40 PM by Guybrush
I don't mind and am fairly liberal minded in any case. As long as content doesn't interfere with our goals or break the stated rules, it should be fine. I think it's up to whoever holds the competition to say something about format and genre might be part of that.

If there ever was to be an erotica competition, I wouldn't mind. I might submit something myself.

Happiness is a warm manatee

We will have to have some boundaries if for no other reasons, legal implications. As such we cannot allows stories with pedophilia overtones for example. They could actually shut down the forum if we were to allow that. Also, if someone would plagiarize and it was proven, we would have to disqualify that entry at the very least. Again, something like that becomes a legal matter and isn't right anyhow.

The Word has spoken :D

Understood, thank you! Almost all of my erotic writings are based largely on my own relationship, I only write from experience. I would never write anything morally twisted like that.

"stressed" is just "desserts" spelled backwards

I would.  ;)

Seriously, I might have a bit of a problem with erotica, but as long as it was in context, i.e. not every story submitted by Her Ladyship was of a nooky bent, then sure maybe. I think it might be a mistake to have erotica in every contest; apart from anything else, as I have found over the last few years, it's never good to pigeonhole your writing. I used to think I could only write science fiction and fantasy, now I'm writing horror, comic fantasy, real-world drama and speculative fiction as well as satire. It's good to stretch out and challenge yourself.


Please note that I'm not singling anyone out. I'm just recounting the discussions we've had at the writing forum. As Trollheart certainly knows, they're a bit more conservative than we're going to be and the present owner there is always terrified of lawsuits which gave Trollheart and others a lot less freedom than we all have here and at MB. I mean, what we would do without Trollheart's pictures? :laughing:

Anyway, I'll try to be as flexible as possible without crossing any reasonable lines (I'm not one of those holy rollers for example :D )

The Word has spoken :D

Oh, I certainly wouldn't submit erotica into every contest. I would always try to fit the theme, I was just looking for clarity on whether I could submit erotic stuff at all.

"stressed" is just "desserts" spelled backwards