Announcing our Elements competition

Some things in life are just fundamental. Ancient cultures around the globe believed that the complexity of matter could be broken down to 4 simple states, broadly composed of Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

For this competition, we want you to use one of these elements as a theme for you to explore the fundamental nature of sex and eroticism.

Earth could be about connecting with nature. Water could range from a seaside holiday to someone making you cum just with a showerhead. Air could be a breath on your neck, giving you goosebumps. And fire... fire could be candlelight on someone’s face. Or it could be used to melt wax that stings when dripped onto bare skin.

These are just a few prompts on what is a very open theme. Your skill will be needed to weave this theme through your story. As always we encourage you to look through the available categories to help refine the story you want to tell.

Lush competitions bring out the best in our authors. Unfortunately, cash prizes also attract fraudsters. If we deem you to have submitted a story to the competition which uses AI for writing or editing, you will be banned from this, and all future competitions, so we would recommend keeping any working notes and drafts as you go.  If you have used AI to only edit your work in the past, we would strongly advise against. We will treat this the same as using AI to create and you may be banned for cheating.

This competition will run through April, with winners being announced on the 11th May. Stories should have a maximum of 3000 words. No poetry or micros please, but flash stories greater than 600 words are allowed.

For more info, see here

Oh! This should bring on some really inventive writing. I have no idea how I will tackle this yet, but I don’t usually lack for ideas for very long. Maybe I’ll go watch those hot Pagan Forest videos again for inspiration.

Good on you for the stern AI warning. We’re all drowning in slop already (though some, have yet to fully recognize our new reality), and it is an existential threat to what we do here. Good writing is hard fucking work, at least it is for me. No cheating!

what about the other 114 elements? You only listed 4.

Quote by sprite

what about the other 114 elements? You only listed 4.

By all means write a story based around Holmium, Ho. 🤭😁

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

By all means write a story based around Holmium, Ho. 🤭😁

You're on, mofo. lol ❤️

Jen, does a story have to include all four elements in the story?

Quote by Meagananne1986

does a story have to include all four elements in the story?

I'd say not, given the comp brief:

For this competition, we want you to use one of these elements as a theme...

Quote by sprite

what about the other 114 elements? You only listed 4.

I was thinking of a story on Ununoctium. 118 opportunities and you still can't last long enough to achieve satisfaction.

Quote by WannabeWordsmit

By all means write a story based around Holmium, Ho. 🤭😁

Does the element of surprise count?😇

Fucking love this theme and the cover on home page.

Thanks for another fun competition for writers!

Quote by sprite

what about the other 114 elements? You only listed 4.

Teehee I was thinking of Periodic elements too. Gotta have that Chemistry after all

Quote by Jen

Some things in life are just fundamental. Ancient cultures around the globe believed that the complexity of matter could be broken down to 4 simple states, broadly composed of Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

For this competition, we want you to use one of these elements as a theme for you to explore the fundamental nature of sex and eroticism.

Earth could be about connecting with nature. Water could range from a seaside holiday to someone making you cum just with a showerhead. Air could be a breath on your neck, giving you goosebumps. And fire... fire could be candlelight on someone’s face. Or it could be used to melt wax that stings when dripped onto bare skin.

These are just a few prompts on what is a very open theme. Your skill will be needed to weave this theme through your story. As always we encourage you to look through the available categories to help refine the story you want to tell.

Lush competitions bring out the best in our authors. Unfortunately, cash prizes also attract fraudsters. If we deem you to have submitted a story to the competition which uses AI for writing or editing, you will be banned from this, and all future competitions, so we would recommend keeping any working notes and drafts as you go.  If you have used AI to only edit your work in the past, we would strongly advise against. We will treat this the same as using AI to create and you may be banned for cheating.

This competition will run through April, with winners being announced on the 11th May. Stories should have a maximum of 3000 words. No poetry or micros please, but flash stories greater than 600 words are allowed.

For more info, see here

Question, does the use of AI include using AI art for the cover art for the story? Cos I've seen some cover art for stories that looks like AI art to me, which is saying something cos sometimes I can't tell, but I'm trying to get better at discerning what art is AI and which is just some human artist's digital art.

Quote by LuceDevlin

Question, does the use of AI include using AI art for the cover art for the story? Cos I've seen some cover art for stories that looks like AI art to me, which is saying something cos sometimes I can't tell, but I'm trying to get better at discerning what art is AI and which is just some human artist's digital art.

Yes. AI is allowed for the cover art, just not for the writing. I think almost everyone is doing it now.

Personally, to keep myself fully legal copyright-wise, I’ve gone to the trouble of replacing almost all of my previous story covers with AI-generated ones.

Quote by Jen
we would recommend keeping any working notes and drafts as you go.

I am likely a go for this one. There is so much symbolism to play with in the classical four elements (or the Chinese counterpart, which has five). I even started (but never finished giving) a series of sermons on the four elements and their symbolism in the UU church that I used to be involved with.

Good choice of theme.

This sounds fun! Need to get an idea. Earth wind and fire that would make a good name for a rock band😁

Quote by AAnna
Earth wind and fire that would make a good name for a rock band😁

Wouldn't it! 🤣 - I just googled them for inspiration...

Quote by AAnna

This sounds fun! Need to get an idea. Earth wind and fire that would make a good name for a rock band😁

Indeed.

Music is full of imagery from all four elements. 4 years ago, a favourite singer of mine put out a song called "Fire" as her solo debut. It is already the mental soundtrack for my story for this comp. Yes, you now know which element I am going for. 😊

Fifth Element? That's nearly filth element.... ponders...

Quote by AAnna
Earth wind and fire that would make a good name for a rock band

Yeah. Presumably the lofty heights of their career came after they fired Water from the band.

Quote by welshman

Fifth Element? That's nearly filth element.... ponders...

Leeloo misunderstands her task...

Quote by welshman

Leeloo misunderstands her task...

Actually, in Chinese mythology, "Metal" is the fifth element.

Also, how come a new competition is announced with a theme about the elements just 12 days after my last story was published, where the key scene towards the end was, quite literally, centred on the elements of earth, wind and water...🙄(and lightning - no fire, but definitely lightning!).

Just how do you explain that, huh?

Huh?😒

Quote by TheShyThespian

Also, how come a new competition is announced with a theme about the elements just 12 days after my last story was published, where the key scene towards the end was, quite literally, centred on the elements of earth, wind and water...🙄(and lightning - no fire, but definitely lightning!).

Just how do you explain that, huh?

Huh?😒

Sue them for IP violation? They stole your idea? 😳

🤣

It is actually a very obvious theme. Surprised it has not been done before (and maybe it has, just so long ago, no one is left who remembers it).

Quote by TheShyThespian

Also, how come a new competition is announced with a theme about the elements just 12 days after my last story was published, where the key scene towards the end was, quite literally, centred on the elements of earth, wind and water...🙄(and lightning - no fire, but definitely lightning!).

Just how do you explain that, huh?

Huh?😒

Well… you’re already well-acquainted with the theme then, Mr T. Now get to writing! Or else…

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Well… you’re already well-acquainted with the theme then, Mr T. Now get to writing! Or else…

Yes, Ma'am! I know my place... (gets on knees and prostrates himself for punishment)

Quote by TheShyThespian
Is it still okay to use Grammarly to check grammar and spelling

Yes of course. Or any other tool of choice, as long as it's limited to fixing basic mistakes of tense, punctuation, spelling, etc. The technical stuff we all miss after having stared at the piece for the fiftieth time.

There's a huge difference between "please mop up any grammatical mistakes I may have missed" and "write me a story about..." and "rewrite my sentences in the style of..."

Quote by WannabeWordsmith
The technical stuff we all miss after having stared at the piece for the fiftieth time.

Oh come on, that never happens. I only read my pieces forty-nine times, usually. 🙄

Quote by LuceDevlin

Question, does the use of AI include using AI art for the cover art for the story? Cos I've seen some cover art for stories that looks like AI art to me, which is saying something cos sometimes I can't tell, but I'm trying to get better at discerning what art is AI and which is just some human artist's digital art.

AI art for the cover is fine. I think a lot of us do that. i know I do.

Quote by AAnna

This sounds fun! Need to get an idea. Earth wind and fire that would make a good name for a rock band😁

I think it's been done... maybe earth wind and water might be a better choice? lol

Quote by sprite

Grammerly is not only ok, but suggested.

Welp, maybe I should re-install Grammarly then, I know I got issues with spacing (as the mods have told me multiple times lol) so that will at least help with the story being returned a zillion times. Not to mention my issues with commas. I think I've gotten better, but yknow human error prevails. (even those of us like me that are an ink-ubus at heart )