Quote by KimmiBeGood
wkt55uk:
The thing I like about your goal for the Omnium is it’s just up to you to get that badge. I like to set goals like that where I only need myself to reach it. Whereas if you have goals for #of votes, comp placement, etc, you are relying on others.
You make a good point, Kimmi, and yes, I do agree with you. 😊
Quote by 1meanjean
I found it easy to make a chart of the categories and mark them off as I went along. It is a real challenge, especially getting into the right head space for categories that you are not comfortable with. Good luck with reaching your goal!
Thank you, 1meanjean.
Though, as expressed at the start of this thread, I feel this information should be readily available to authors/readers through LS.
But, I did make a spreadsheet covering the genres of my 76 stories. They are in 12 official categories, though 64 are in the novel section. Of these 29 could be recategorised, though I have no plans to do this.
As poetry is not counted, for me there are only 3 categories that stand out as being hard to write in. Humour (I have a loose draft done, but it needs work), Trans (that one is going to take some thought) and Monster Sex (that is going to take some research).
Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Omnium is a great goal. I might make it one day too, but I need to branch out more.
You are free to republish your stories in any category. Sometimes new categories are added which are a better fit for old stories. It might not even trigger a resub to the moderators. I'm not sure though. Add a note in the Moderator Notes box just in case so that we know that's the extent of the changes.
If you haven't done already, I would suggest using the Series Link feature to join the chapters too.
I don't think the poetry categories are included in the count. And I think Incest Fantasies is also exempt but I'm not 100% on that.
If new categories are added, your badge will still remain. I think it only impacts anyone who goes for the badge after the category is introduced. As far as I know there aren't any plans to add new categories any time soon.
Thank you, WW
Quote by MC1982
I'm trying for omnium by the end of the year. They have a badge called "Prolific Writer" which tells you you have done two thirds of the genres, I think. Get that, then count the remaining ones would be my suggestion.
I wish you good luck in obtaining the ominium badge. I have always liked the idea/challenge of writing a story in every genre here. In the coming years, this is something I hope to achieve.
However, I have a few questions about the badge, (yes, I did make a forum search first).
There are 58 genres listed including two poetry genres, Erotic Poems, Love Poems.
Are these two genres part of the Ominium badge?
I am not planning to do this but...
I have written and posted 4 novels here. With three? exceptions, every chapter is posted in the novel section. However, many of these chapters could have been posted in their own and very different genres. If I did that, I would be about two-thirds of the way to the omnium badge. Is republishing a story in a new genre allowed?
Finally, are there any plans to add more (or remove) genres to the LushStories list of genres?
I have just submitted my competition story - "The Pull of the Paddle." Hopefully, it will pass through moderation okay as I noted the word count jumped from just under 5,000 words to 5.1k when I hit the publish button. I know this has happened with other authors here and it is down to how the LushStories editor counts in comparison to Word. I guess, the moderator would return my story if it had too many words to enter.
On another note, I like to claim that I must have the most travelled story in this competition. When writing it, I started in Brisbane, then went all the way up the east coast of Australia, across the top to Darwin, then down the middle via Alice Springs to Adelaide, then across to Perth and finished it back home in England.
Now it is time to read the other entries and frighten myself as I realise how good they are.
Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Interesting. I wonder if there's a place for "how close" counters for those badges that are numerical achievements. Can't see a place on the story list or profile that would be helpful, since you don't have badges show up on the profile pages if you haven't achieved them.
Maybe it could be incorporated on the Badges landing page. So as well as the check mark to show which ones you've been awarded and the counter of how many members have it, some of them could say "nnn to reach achievement" or something?
E.g. number of views needed to reach Prolific. How close your highest viewed story is to becoming Legendary. How many categories you have left to write in to achieve Omnium (bonus points for a link that lists the ones you haven't written in yet). And so on.
I'll ask if something along those lines is a possible future enhancement. Might slow the page down too much.
Thank you, for considering my suggestion.
Slightly off subject, has it ever been discussed having badges for 10k and 20k views? These days the amount of stories posted and therefore the churn is a lot higher than it used to be. So getting 30k reads takes a long time, I even wonder if new stories here will ever make that number.
And finally, why are all the badges black? Wouldn't it be nice to add a little colour to them?
Quote by CallmeJayne
I imagine so, otherwise it wouldn't know when to award the badge.
Have you tried counting? Your current tally is eleven categories.
Not yet, Jayne, but thank you for counting for me.
However, wouldn't it be nice for us authors to have technology working for us? Especially as I believe this could be quite an easy thing to implicate. I might be only speaking for myself, but I would like to have a live tally of how many times I wrote a story in each genre.
What I should be working on is a story for the unleashed competition. I do have a seed of an idea which I am geminating as I travel, but I am not sure it will bear fruit in the two weeks I have at home before the competition closes.
I also have a short story, working title "A Good Life," which has nothing to do with the British 1970's sitcom. This story I hope to publish in 2024. I will also be working on follow-ups to "Swinging into Christmas", and "Breaking the Chain" though nothing written yet.
In the Autumn I am planning to turn my attention to the 5th and final book in the 1987 - Friends, Lovers or Rivals Series. That is already roughly drafted, I just need to raise my game and bring it up to LushStories quality.
That is an excellent question. I think backstories have a place in most stories, but not all. So my answer would be, that it depends on what type of story you looking to write. A novel would require some sort of backstory, which could be upfront, layered through the story or come out later. A short story could be action-biased with minimal backstory.
I always think adding back stories can pull your audience in, and give story characters three dimensions.
Avidly and Krystal are spot on (2.5 to 4K word range) if you are after the most views and therefore a higher chance of the most likes. However, I would suggest writing what appeals to you and building up your audience (followers).
I feel it is not all about the numbers, it is about what gives you the most satisfaction to write.
Good to see there are so many entries to this competition (68 so far if I counted correctly). I wasn't going to enter but was drawn in at the last moment. It was the idea of 10,000 words and an enticing idea that in the end hooked me.
It is also (probably) the last competition I will be able to do for a while as I am touring around Australia until April. It is hard to write and drive a campervan (lol), but I do plan to log in and occasionally post my already-written "Clare" book chapters.
Now I have finished the Festive Unexpected story, Swinging Into Christmas I will return to my fourth book, Clare.
"Clare" - Chapter 1:- “A Little About Me” The first two chapters are already up on LushStories. I am pleased to say, that all the future chapters are written subject to a final edit.
However, from January to March I am nothing but a tourist travelling around Australia. A little too old to be called a backpacker, but that is basically what I am doing though in a campervan.
I will have my laptop and will be dropping into Lushstories, but it is unlikely I will be writing anything new, including competitions.
For my multi-chapter stories (there are character based novels), I have always written short(ish) biography on all the main characters. This includes, what they look like, behave, evolve, catch phrases, and a little background story to support each character. This helps me to keep character constant, except for the deliberate changes that happen as characters evolve.
My story plots are all on a spreadsheet, which covers the over all story, and each chapter and what needs to happen. It there to keep me on tack, so I know exactly where I am heading and the route I should be taking.
Having said all that, I wouldn't say that I keep things on a tight leash. There is always wiggle room to change things, and I do, especially plot details. They always evolve as I write, though I try hard to keep plot changes true to each characters personality.
On short one chapter stories, I write a couple of lines, or use a photo to remember what each charater looks like. The rest is is in my head and I just get on and write it.
Quote by Jen
Not yet. Hopefully tomorrow.
A semi-serious suggestion. If this issue cannot be fixed easily. Could we have the stories that have dropped off the bottom of the list added to the top and keep doing this each day until the end of the month?
Sort of, a conveyor belt of rotating competition entries.
Is this a record number of competition entries?
I asked this question with the Freespirt competition and was told that there were two previous story competitions that ran to over 100 entries. So with the counter stuck on 100 and with me reckoning there have been at least 117 entries, this must now be the most popular story competition ever on Lushstories.
And we are only halfway through the allotted entry time.
I feel sorry for the judges, but I wish them good luck!
Quote by AngelWorthy
Only the latest 100 are now appearing on the competition page's entry list.
You are right. I have just counted them. By my reckoning, there should be approximately 110 stories there now judging by which one was 100 yesterday. They are for certain, disappearing from the bottom of the list. My guess is this is a technical issue... or the judge(s) have seen how many entries there are and taken an early Halloween knife to them!
Quote by CuriousAnnie
It appears that the earliest published stories have started to drop off the competition page's entry list. Is that just me or a bug that could be fixed?
You are right CuriousAnnie. There are only 3 (now 2) below my entry today, yesterday there were roughly 8 below mine. So some have dropped off the list.
Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Amen to that.
Anyone who only has time to read one, make sure it's My Treat by Toreador. But if you have any more time, plough through the rest and show the authors some love for their craft. You won't be disappointed. Some incredibly imaginative tales already, and still nearly three weeks to go till the deadline.
I read about three-quarters of the competition entries and there were 3 that stood out for me. Many I liked, but only those three which I marked as favourites. Why? Because first I related to them and second, I thought was a fantastic idea well executed.
I don't want to be controversial but for me, My Treat was like standing in front of a piece of modern art. I know it was good, everyone says it is good, but I didn't really understand it. I know it is a good technical piece of writing but sometimes I just like something easier to read, sorry.
Update:- I have finally got it! You were right WW, though perhaps it was a bit too clever for me! 🙄
There is something that I have been wondering about since I wrote my entry. Having never attempted Microfiction before I left the author's note off as I assumed it would eat into the 100 words. But is that right?
Maybe it is 100 words plus the author's note. Please would someone clarify?
Thank you.
In the real world (outside LushStories) I would never consider reading anything shorter than 50,000 words, so a book, with a start, middle and end. This is what I like writing here too, long stories, three-dimensional characters which evolve, plot twists etc. etc.
I ticked the 6-8k box thinking that would be just for a Lush novel chapter.
But my view on story length matches the pole, anything longer than 5k words and you have lost at least half your audience. I think the number of words in popular stories has slowly reduced since I joined here, many years ago. There are so many stories here now, and the volume of new stories that appear here every day seems to be on an ever-increasing curve. The reader has so many choices, why would they invest their time in one long story when they can read several short ones?
Great pole WW btw.
Quote by KimmiBeGood
Just curious about this. No judgment from me, so please answer honestly.
If you read a story by an author, do you expect them to return the favor?
Not really.
If an author reads your story, do you feel obligated to read one of their stories?
Normally I would but it depends on the genre.
Do you think authors should read the other entries in competitions?
Yes, once your entry is submitted, but comps like free spirit where the number of entries are very high it not possible to read all unless you have a lot of time.
Do you feel you can leave a critical comment on a comp entry?
No, if I don't like something I tend to not to leave a comment at all but I always give a like if someone has taken their time to write a comp entry. Honestly, I think it sometimes impossible to say one comp entry is better than another, most are really good and for me it is the idea behind the story that does it for me rather than the standard of English or writing.
Do you think differently about an author who doesn’t return reads?
Yes and no.... normally no but I admit there have been a couple of occasions where the answer is yes. I feel (if time allows) all wood be authors like me should take some time to read and comment on other writers stories.
For me, I just really enjoy reading comp entries. They are my fav to read. I enjoy newbies’ stories too. And of course have my fav authors and fav genres. But, I still work full-time and outside of comps, I do feel overwhelmed at times if authors read me and I don’t have energy or desire to read stories at that time. I tell authors I don’t expect reads back on my stuff. And I think it’s fine if some people are only here to write.
And I don’t think it’s right to leave a negative comment on a comp entry if you are in the comp too. Just my thoughts on it. I can always find something positive to say and leave out the negative in comps.
Just wanting to hear everyone’s honest expectations.
