Announcing our Free Spirit competition

A free-spirited person embraces spontaneity and is often a creative person with their own individual style. They’re natural explorers, seeking to learn about the world around them, and the people they meet along the way.

We’re looking for hot, sizzling stories about these adventures, featuring someone with a free-spirit who eschews societal ties and norms in some way.

Have you given up a static home for van life, where you chase the weather and scenery across the land, depending on your mood.

Have you landed in a new city and just wandered, following exotic sounds or scents, seeking out interesting places and people off the main thoroughfare.

Maybe you resist being tied to one person for too long, take many lovers, or like to join in with other couples’ bedroom fun.

We want to read your sexy tales inspired by this theme. Stories (no poetry, please) should be between 600 and 2000 words long and you can also be guided by any of the lush genres we have on offer.

This competition will run through 31st August and winners will be announced 11th September.

Happy writing

Woo hoo! New comp! Willhave to tackle it after my vacay I guess, but I think I can do this one.

Yeah, this could be a fun theme to play with.

puts on thinking cap

P.S. we know about the broken image on the comp page. Will try and get that fixed tomorrow.

Free spirited? Bunch of hippies if you ask me. I may take a shot at this.

Ooh, I have a story I’ve had brewing in the back of my mind for over a decade that would be perfect, but I’ve never gotten around to fleshing out (so to speak). Will be in my usual category, but a somewhat different angle from most of my stories.

Unlike many of my submissions, this one is genuinely a one-off and doesn’t subtract from any of the series I have going. It does subtract from my other summer writing plans (sorry, Midlife Renewal!) - but that’s part of the fun of being here!

Quote by Ensorceled

Free spirited? Bunch of hippies if you ask me. I may take a shot at this.

Yes, some might consider this place a free-spirited bunch of hippies. What's your point? I, for one, resemble that remark (well, not really, but in spirit perhaps). 😎

Comp page cover image fixed. Thanks, dev team.

I am somewhat new to the site but it just so happens that my next planned story I was working on should fit right in to this competition. Looking forward to it!

I get why there's a 2K limit for the contest (to make judging manageable), but I feel like my free spirit needs more space to roam.

Sounds like a fun theme!

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
I get why there's a 2K limit for the contest (to make judging manageable)

I always thought it was more about giving us a challenge. If it was needed to make judging manageable, why was the last comp 5000 words, 2.5x that limit? And the last SS comp allowed the full 10K (not that anyone went there).

I personally love these limits. They force me to focus and try to get the story told with more economical use of language. Kiss those unnecessary adjectives and adverbs goodbye. Dump the infodumps. Find how to use two words instead of three. It makes more work, but more reward at the end, I find.

So embrace the limit! Take it to heart!

</rant off>

My first attempt has been shelved. It was looking like it would be too much of a challenge to keep it to 2K. I have another idea for the same basic story and scenario but not sure I'll get far before my vacation intervenes.

Nothing is jumping out at me. With the last one, I had the two main characters, setting and whole storyline in my head before I read the full theme through. Gonna need to put my thinking cap on 🤔

Would a true story work? 😘

Quote by utterchaos

Would a true story work? 😘

She said any category (except micro and poetry) so I imagine a true story would fly.

What do we free sprite from this time? Did she get stuck in her self-bondage gear again?

puts on glasses, squints

Oh, wait.

Quote by Seeker4

...So embrace the limit! Take it to heart!

</rant off>

My first attempt has been shelved. It was looking like it would be too much of a challenge to keep it to 2K.

Ha!

I get what you're saying, and there's definitely skill in telling a short story well (though not so much in doing it poorly, which seems to happen more often than not). However, as I mentioned in some other thread, I've been leaning more into long-form writing. By the time I introduce characters and set up the situation for a story, I'm just about at or over the limit, which leaves little room for them to actually get it on. Unfortunately, I can only cut so much before it's no longer the story I want to tell, or much of any story at all. I might still write something inspired by the prompt - I've got an idea in mind - but given the word limit, it will probably have to be published outside of the competition.

That said, good luck to the writers who thrive on producing well-written stories under 2K words. I'll look forward to reading the entries.

Oh yes! I am there. Jen, a fantastic choice. 2,000 words will try to clip a free spirit's wings. Challenge accepted!

Bonne chance, mes amis. 😘

Quote by utterchaos

Would a true story work? 😘

Mine will be true (assuming I get around to writing it)

EDIT: True-ish. I'm giving this a shot today, but trust me, it's going to be weird.

First draft completed! Gonna be dripping with free love … er, sex. Just have to cut it down from 3400 words.

It will take some effort to economize my writing that much, but I just did the same earlier this week, trimming my newest story down from 2800 to 1600, and making it hotter in the process (sharpens machete). My first drafts are always rambling and repetitive.

Quote by joe71
My first drafts are always rambling and repetitive.

Lucky you! My final drafts are always like that.

Quote by krystalg

Lucky you! My final drafts are always like that.

I would beg to differ, but I understand feeling that way about one’s own writing.

Oh, and after some editing last night, I got mine down from 3400 to 2400. Wasn’t too difficult, but the next four hundred words are going to be more painful. What to cut? Sex scenes, exposition and explanation (always the low hanging fruit, but pared back fairly clean last night), or dialogue? I’ve got six sex scenes in there, but I consider then all important to the story.

And about the only dialogue left is the buildup to the final blowout scene. Don’t want to cut too much of that because those lines are good banter that heighten the tension, but I’ve avoided that so far and I’m afraid that’s where the next cuts will have to be. Decisions, decisions.

Saturday update: looks like this thing’s gonna fly! 1989 words, and I still have all six sex scenes, though I lost some playful dialogue. I’m far from done, of course, with lots of heavy wordsmithing to come,

Well, my story is collapsing like wet origami.

Quote by Ensorceled
Well, my story is collapsing like wet origami.

Yours and mine both, haha. I know there's a story in there somewhere but, man, it's hard to bring it to the surface.

Come on, boys, you can do it! Ensorceled and WW, I'm gonna give you a tip for freeing your spirit. Strip naked and run around outside. Let it all hang out. It's very freeing (so I hear 😳). See what comes to you... 😊

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Come on, boys, you can do it! Ensorceled and WW, I'm gonna give you a tip for freeing your spirit. Strip naked and run around outside. Let it all hang out. It's very freeing (so I hear 😳). See what comes to you... 😊

I think I will stick to "letting it all hang out" online. My story has been on hold during my vacay. Will get back into it soon and see if I like what's there.

Quote by Seeker4

I think I will stick to "letting it all hang out" online. My story has been on hold during my vacay. Will get back into it soon and see if I like what's there.

Aww, come on, Mr Ape. Free your "spirit"! 😀 then post pics. 😊

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Aww, come on, Mr Ape. Free your "spirit"! 😀 then post pics. 😊

My "spirit" or my "spear-it"? 😋

Hey, if I can do it, so can you guys!

As for my own story, I’ve been heavily rewriting, still hovering just around 2000 words, as I find branches here and there to pare, making room to return some of the hot dialogue and banter.

I do wish I could add back the two sex scenes I dropped, but they’re not as important to the story (yes, there is one!). One of those may someday become a separate story.

I had so much fun with this one! 😁 Good luck to everyone who is entering.

Okay, I'm back on the horse too. Sudden inspiration from Sonic the Hedgehog.