New Competition Announcement: Le Noir Erotique

Quote by Ensorceled

Dumb question: what's a fast way to get to a list of the comp entries? Is there a comp button or something? I've never done this in Lush 2.0

On the home page, the big "Le Noir Erotique" banner at the top is a link to the comp explanation. At the bottom of that page, all the entries are listed. As of now, all both of them!

Quote by SebastianTombs

On the home page, the big "Le Noir Erotique" banner at the top is a link to the comp explanation. At the bottom of that page, all the entries are listed. As of now, all both of them!

Yeah, right after I posted that I saw the GIANT COMP BANNER on the front page. D'oh! Hard to get more obvious than that. Too many damaged brain cells. Just say no to drugs, kids!

Okay, looks like I'm in. and a third entry came in while I was submitting. The contest begins to heat up. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and we won't know the results til around Christmas!

Quote by Ensorceled

Okay, looks like I'm in. and a third entry came in while I was submitting. The contest begins to heat up. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and we won't know the results til around Christmas!

christmas of 2024, actually. BWA HA HA!

Quote by Ensorceled

Yeah, right after I posted that I saw the GIANT COMP BANNER on the front page. D'oh! Hard to get more obvious than that. Too many damaged brain cells. Just say no to drugs, kids!

It’s a good question though. The banner comes down as soon as the competition closes and then you have to scroll to the competitions icon and the select the right competition from there to see the listing and read the stories, find our who’s won, top 10 etc.

I preferred it when competitions was a tag

Quote by deviantsusie

It’s a good question though. The banner comes down as soon as the competition closes and then you have to scroll to the competitions icon and the select the right competition from there to see the listing and read the stories, find our who’s won, top 10 etc.

I preferred it when competitions was a tag

There's a whole special section on the front page showing the last comp's Top 3. If you click on the title, Competition Winners, it takes you to the list with the Top 10 and the rest of the entries in the last comp.

Quote by sprite

christmas of 2024, actually. BWA HA HA!

Shit, if you run it out that long, I might even get an entry in. 🤪

Quote by joe71

Wow. Both are excellent, really capturing the Noir feel. I admit that at first I was intimidated by the challenge of matching up to the quality of these stories, but now I’m feeling motivated to level up. Mine will be more of an action thriller set in the gritty bits of contemporary Seattle, rather than a classic procedural set in 1930s-40s LA. Still has detectives, though, and I still hope to imbue it with the cynical, snarky Noir essence. After all, how could today’s world not make one cynical?

Quote by KimmiBeGood

That's the Spirit! I look forward to reading yours. Comps are a great way to get noticed by new readers and other authors.

It's published! https://www.lushstories.com/stories/trans/dick-job

(mods, feel free to delete this post if it feels like too much self-promotion. I do have an entry in that forum as well).

Quote by joe71
feel free to delete this post if it feels like too much self-promotion

It's absolutely fine. It's on topic. And it's great to see the competition entries starting to fill up.

There are some fab tales told to date, so anyone who has an inkling of an idea for something noiresque, please get your writing mojo on and bring it to life for the rest of us to enjoy. Plenty of time left: remember that the 10k word count is a limit not a target, so don't feel intimidated by the length. Fnar.

My idea is still in production and I'm struggling with what to put in and what to hack out. Oh, and finishing it. That's probably important.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

My idea is still in production and I'm struggling with what to put in and what to hack out. Oh, and finishing it. That's probably important.

Thanks for the confirmation.

I had that challenge too. I've edited and rearranged this thing so many times, having started it several months before we even knew there would be a Noir comp. If I added back all the ideas I've taken out over time (some of where were actually good!), I easily would have had 18k words instead of 9, I think. Besides the full-scale rearranging, which has happened several times, lots of small-scale rearranging: I've shifted smaller bits of dialogue around a ton of times to choreograph as naturally as possible with the the physical action.

Quote by joe71

Thanks for the confirmation.

I had that challenge too. I've edited and rearranged this thing so many times, having started it several months before we even knew there would be a Noir comp. If I added back all the ideas I've taken out over time (some of where were actually good!), I easily would have had 18k words instead of 9, I think. Besides the full-scale rearranging, which has happened several times, lots of small-scale rearranging: I've shifted smaller bits of dialogue around a ton of times to choreograph as naturally as possible with the the physical action.

I had to throw away a chunk of plot and a sex scene, not because I hit the 10K limit, but I wanted to keep the flow going, and I was breaking it with plot and sex. The first sex scene is too long as well, but I couldn't bring myself to cut it. Yet.

It's an excellent group of comp entries. Looking forward to yours WW.

My reading of what 'noir is' suggests that sex should be, short immediate and not loving, shall we say. I think you get this right by having a longish scene early, Ensorceled.

I've kind of taken a different approach, there are lots of short sharp sex scenes in mine as my hero (well heroine - and additionally hero is probably the wrong word in noir,) gets into the plot. But having got to 10,000 words, I'm in edit mode and the savings if I have to add to the plot will come, so to speak, in the sex.

My bigger challenge is reflected in this quote by Michael Robotham: “My UK publisher said he’d rather it be set in the UK or the US - anywhere but Australia because no Australian crime novel had ever become a big international hit” Lol, did that stop me, hell no.

I will be intrigued what readers think of a modern Australian sexy noir; there is a lot of 'truth' in my story, not 'my truth' I should point out, but real things in Australia's recent history and culture. Like 'Vagina Whisperer' looks at first sight like me having a clever naming idea, but in reality the deputy head of Queensland police resigned for using that term earlier in the year. For me that adds verisimilitude to my story, which I love, and always try to do.

I have only read three so far (loved them all- this is shaping up as such a fun competition) and am looking forward to reading more, when I get mine done. Me too WW, so looking forward to yours; and Rachel and Jake too who I've heard are writing.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Plenty of time left: remember that the 10k word count is a limit not a target, so don't feel intimidated by the length.

Lol, that's news to me, I always get to or very close to the word limit, something about feeling I've left plot on the table if I have words to spare.

Hope to see more stories, have fun writing.

Quote by CuriousAnnie
I'm in edit mode and the savings if I have to add to the plot will come, so to speak, in the sex.

I think several of us have taken the same approach.

Quote by CuriousAnnie
anywhere but Australia because no Australian crime novel had ever become a big international hit

That's terrible! Personally, I took an interest in Australia about a decade ago and consumed quite a few Australian novels, movies and nonfiction books, including crime-related works. Anyone who hasn't read Picnic at Hanging Rock or For the Term of His Natural Life is missing out. For that matter, I really enjoyed the contemporary crime novel Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood, though I haven't kept up with the series since. Noise was a great movie too; Snowtown Murders was chilling and disturbing. Australia has a rich history of crime fiction (and, yikes, nonfiction); who cares if they aren't international hits?

Quote by CuriousAnnie
I will be intrigued what readers think of a modern Australian sexy noir

Yes! Please! An Australian setting is an asset, not a hindrance, in my book. In my own story, I went for Seattle instead of the usual Los Angeles/New York setting, not least because I have lived actually lived in Seattle and know it well. "Write what you know" is always the #1 rule. For all I know, many readers might be annoyed by the number of local references I included, but my hope is that there will be readers who truly know the city and enjoy the depth of that. I think the more local references (like "Vagina whisperer," specific locations, or uniquely Australian turns of phrase - of which you have so many) the better. It enriches the story even if not everyone gets every reference.

Quote by CuriousAnnie
I always get to or very close to the word limit, something about feeling I've left plot on the table if I have words to spare.

Seems a lot of the stories (mine included) are coming in around 9000 words. Hard to tell the complex stories we want in less, even if it means editing down the sex.

i guess i should probably get back to writing this thing so i can get 'er finished...

Okay, I'm caught up on Noir entries. Somebody publish an entry. Sprite? CuriousAnnie? WW? 😊

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Okay, I'm caught up on Noir entries. Somebody publish an entry. Sprite? CuriousAnnie? WW? 😊

editing what's written and then 3 scenes to write. working on it today

Writing at an average pace of one sentence per day at the moment. Must. Try. Harder.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Writing at an average pace of one sentence per day at the moment. Must. Try. Harder.

That's just not good enough, WW! Cracks whip

Quote by sprite

editing what's written and then 3 scenes to write. working on it today

Yay! You get a cookie! :) ❤️

Quote by KimmiBeGood

That's just not good enough, WW! Cracks whip

Ouch. Okay. I'll do better.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Ouch. Okay. I'll do better.

Good boy. 😊

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Okay, I'm caught up on Noir entries. Somebody publish an entry. Sprite? CuriousAnnie? WW? 😊

First draft is done, knee deep in the swamp that is editing: I may be some time ... does that merit a cookie or the whip?

I’ve an outline done. Having been on a writing hiatus for a number of months I’m finding it incredibly hard to get the words out.

I’m glad others are straying from the American private eye noir trope too. I’ve taken noir to mean unromantic, seedy and dark without a happy ending… so like Annie told me, just like all my other stories.

I try not to read other entries before publishing mine but I am a tad concerned at the thought of reading so many 10000ers in the short space of time between my last minute entry and results day.

Maybe I should just get back to writing

Quote by deviantsusie
I try not to read other entries before publishing mine

I usually do likewise but, as you say, catching up later would be tough in this case, so I've read almost all of them so far. And have found they've actually inspired me to write. Maybe it'll do the same for you?

Quote by CuriousAnnie

First draft is done, knee deep in the swamp that is editing: I may be some time ... does that merit a cookie or the whip?

You get to eat the whole cake, good girl! 🎂

Quote by deviantsusie

I’ve an outline done. Having been on a writing hiatus for a number of months I’m finding it incredibly hard to get the words out.

I’m glad others are straying from the American private eye noir trope too. I’ve taken noir to mean unromantic, seedy and dark without a happy ending… so like Annie told me, just like all my other stories.

I try not to read other entries before publishing mine but I am a tad concerned at the thought of reading so many 10000ers in the short space of time between my last minute entry and results day.

Maybe I should just get back to writing

I was thinking today the comp results are already the equivalent of two or three novels. Luckily we have a LOT of time to read them. I'm hitting one or two a day to spread them out. Looking forward to seeing yours Susie. And I agree with you and Annie's definition of Noir.

Quote by Ensorceled

I was thinking today the comp results are already the equivalent of two or three novels.

That comment got me wondering just how many words there are in a novel. Checking the Google, I see that today's average novel is about 90,000 words.

As it happens, we are at about 87,000 combined words for all the official entries (not even counting Kimmi's excellent Black Rabbit series). Not bad! It sounds like we have several regular contributors still working on stories to submit. We're headed for epic-novel length! Keep 'em coming! I've read all of them now except for one, so I'll need new material to devour very soon.

Quote by joe71
we are at about 87,000 combined words for all the official entries

Oops, I might have just added another 9800 to that total. whistles nonchalantly.

I swear I didn't intend to write so much.

Happy November Lushies! I must admit it is quite clever that they had this max word count competition to occur during NaNoWriMo. This is I think my first november competition, is this a common and intentional thing every year? If there was a comp in november that I was in in the past - I probably wasn't doing NaNoWriMo at the same time, but I think the irony/possible coincidence was thoughtful and amusing?

Quote by LuceDevlin

This is I think my first november competition, is this a common and intentional thing every year?

Gawd no, we're not that organised 🤭

Quote by LuceDevlin
NaNoWriMo

Honestly, this is the first I've heard of that, so not intentional, but good that it fits in!