Announcing our "Foolish" Story Competition

Quote by adele

If Lush would just limit the number of times a person could win and place in a comp to perhaps once in a six month period, then the competitions actually would draw newer writers and even some of us who have quit entering for the most part. Then you could still enter and people could enjoy your writing, which in my opinion (and that of many others) has become quite good (and a far cry from your earliest poems... ).

Quote by sprite

(i'd like to point out that i did this without swearing once. pretty impressive, right?)

Quote by JamesLlewellyn


Glad to see you've enlarged your vocabulary, Rach!

Quote by nicola

Moderator Note: It's time to wind your neck in JL.

Quote by JamesLlewellyn


I know, right? Taking the Mickey out of sprite? That's dangerous stuff…and I know she'll make me pay, somehow.

But I like dancing on the lips of…volcanoes!

Quote by sprite


you don't like the comps, don't enter.

Quote by AvidlyCurious

As a mere reader, I absolutely love the competitions.
I get to know new authors (to me, at least) every time, and it's also great to see the ones I do know or even follow outside their usual grounds.

I always thought it was an enjoyable and enriching experience for everyone, I'm sorry to learn that it's not, I truly wish it was.
Here's hoping they continue.

Quote by nicola
If you want to improve your writing, you need to go up against the best. You need to learn how and why a story was better. Then you need to work on your own skills.

That goes for all aspects in life.

Why create a false reality / competitive environment where only those who've not won competitions or have developed their writing chops to very high standard, aren't allowed to enter?

I would love for all our best writers to enter every competition. But these kind of threads have made some shun our competitions now, which makes me really sad.

Literature will ultimately be the loser if our best writers are restricted from entering competitions. And I won't stand for that.

Quote by adele

I never said they should not be allowed to enter, just limit how often they can win, say, the top 3 spots. I know a lot of writers who quit entering or rarely enter comps anymore because of the fact that the same people seem to win quite often. I have also had new writers say the same thing to me. I know there are many writers here far better than I am. I also have read many of the winning stories and objectively feel that some of mine have been just as good. I really don't think restricting how many times a person can win a contest is unfair. Many places that have contests limit that.

I have been here for 10 years and have been an author for most of that time. The vast majority of my stories are not returned for technicalities of spelling or grammar. I am nearing 1.5 million views on my stories and have over 400 story followers, very few of whom are friends, so my stories must appeal to some people. But if all you get is the best writers in each comp, then you are unfairly eliminating every potential excellent writer out there who is discouraged form entering by seeing the same handful of names winning every time. If you want to encourage new writers, then they need a fair shot at winning. But you won't get it both ways as it stands right now.

One other thing... the very fact that there are "these kinds of threads" proves my point. I am not the only person that feels this way.

Quote by KimmiBeGood
You WILL gain readers by entering comps.

You WILL become a better writer by entering comps.

YOU WILL receive some support from other authors.

Go into it for that. If you get in Top Ten, "Woohoo!" ... if not, you can be sure you got more reads, votes, comments than if you submitted your story outside comp.

Quote by adele

I never said they should not be allowed to enter, just limit how often they can win, say, the top 3 spots. I know a lot of writers who quit entering or rarely enter comps anymore because of the fact that the same people seem to win quite often. I have also had new writers say the same thing to me. I know there are many writers here far better than I am. I also have read many of the winning stories and objectively feel that some of mine have been just as good. I really don't think restricting how many times a person can win a contest is unfair. Many places that have contests limit that.

I have been here for 10 years and have been an author for most of that time. The vast majority of my stories are not returned for technicalities of spelling or grammar. I am nearing 1.5 million views on my stories and have over 400 story followers, very few of whom are friends, so my stories must appeal to some people. But if all you get is the best writers in each comp, then you are unfairly eliminating every potential excellent writer out there who is discouraged form entering by seeing the same handful of names winning every time. If you want to encourage new writers, then they need a fair shot at winning. But you won't get it both ways as it stands right now.

One other thing... the very fact that there are "these kinds of threads" proves my point. I am not the only person that feels this way.

Quote by Liz
I see no reason to entertain any further griping about the perceived equality of this site's story competition practices.

The bottom line is that Lush believes in a fair and even chance for all authors and conducts the competitions in the fairest and most honorable way possible. The site has even gone to the trouble of detailing the exact methodology used for those that are curious.

If you would like to offer your thoughts on how to improve these competitions then by all means send a message using the contact form and share with Lush your ideas:

https://www.lushstories.com/contact-us.aspx

If I were a new member to Lush and considering entering a story competition here, reading through some of this thread would put me off. That is unacceptable.

From this point on, let's please keep this thread to story ideas, questions about the theme, pimping your entry, etc.

Thank you.

Quote by verity100


I only had my first story published in February. It was the first time I’d ever written anything longer than a shopping list. I was delighted to see it published. I only ever meant to write two but so far have had nine published, including one in this competition. I’ve only done this because of the help and encouragement from the moderators and the people who take the time to read and leave comments on my stories. And now, a matter of weeks later, I’m in the same competition as some of the great writers on Lush. What’s not to like about that. Plus, I’ve learned what a comma is for, well almost. Regards, Verity

Quote by ]If you want to improve your writing, you need to go up against the best. You need to learn how and why a story was better. Then you need to work on your own skills.

That goes for all aspects in life.

Why create a false reality / competitive environment where only those who've not won competitions or have developed their writing chops to very high standard, aren't allowed to enter?

I would love for all our best writers to enter every competition. But these kind of threads have made some shun our competitions now, which makes me really sad.

Literature will ultimately be the loser if our best writers are restricted from entering competitions. And I won't stand for that.

Quote by KimmiBeGood
You WILL gain readers by entering comps.

You WILL become a better writer by entering comps.

YOU WILL receive some support from other authors.

Go into it for that. If you get in Top Ten, "Woohoo!" ... if not, you can be sure you got more reads, votes, comments than if you submitted your story outside comp.

I look forward to reading everyone's entry. I am exhausted of late, so just writing what comes easy to me, which isn't a comp story right now. I will be a reader and probably hit next one.

Have fun and may the biggest Fool win!

Quote by leftlingula


I can't agree more with this Kimmi...

Here's my "foolish" submission on this topic:
I entered the masturbation contest last year and ended up writing a story that I loved, and I would have never pushed myself to write... too bad the mod rejected it because I hadn't read the details and was double the specified word limit
I submitted it as a regular story instead and it was my first RR and remains one of my favorite stories I've ever written. It also started a 6 month flood of writing all kinds of things that I never expected and started a fairly cool journey on Lush.

You gotta put yourself out there to push yourself sometimes (and you need to read the rules, lol)

Quote by Jen
To insinuate that any writer, whether seasoned or new, doesn't get a 'fair shot' is insulting AF and quite frankly ridiculous.

What, you think there's some great Lush conspiracy to throw the results of competitions, given that the pool of judges will change constantly depending on who enters what competition?

If you'd won the last 5 would you still think it was rigged?

Quote by Jen
Couldn't agree more. Most feedback from comps is good because people are glad they're not run as a popularity contest. But it can be difficult for people to accept results when they've received so many votes and nice comments.

I've never won a competition. Never made top 3. And when I read the stories that did win I can appreciate why they won. They were better than mine, plain and simple. I think people need to try and have a slightly more critical eye where their own work is concerned.

Quote by Liz
I see no reason to entertain any further griping about the perceived equality of this site's story competition practices.

The bottom line is that Lush believes in a fair and even chance for all authors and conducts the competitions in the fairest and most honorable way possible. The site has even gone to the trouble of detailing the exact methodology used for those that are curious.

If you would like to offer your thoughts on how to improve these competitions then by all means send a message using the contact form and share with Lush your ideas:

https://www.lushstories.com/contact-us.aspx

If I were a new member to Lush and considering entering a story competition here, reading through some of this thread would put me off. That is unacceptable.

From this point on, let's please keep this thread to story ideas, questions about the theme, pimping your entry, etc.

Thank you.

Quote by CumGirl
I am considering writing a 'spin off' series based on a segment of my competition entry, which would include 'reworking' that segment into a new story and format. Is it acceptable to do that whilst the competition is still running or should I wait until the competition has closed?

Quote by Liz


You would have to wait until it is closed.