I would have called it a celebration rather than a competition if it had been up to me, but it wasn't and isn't. It's just a word, and an opinion about what it signifies, but there you have it,

I shall throw something together with the best that my limitations allow. I believe that's in the spirit of things, as opposed, perhaps, to other ways this environment has been hijacked. Time and place for it? Not for me to say.

I'd make a joke about the LWSDL (Little White Swimmers Defence League) but then someone will come up with something that's even more ridiculous but is true.- Grumpy old git has had his rant, you're safe now.

Quote by sprite

so... new comp coming or what? how about if all stories have to have Bill the Goat as a character?

'Billy goat' - We see what you did there.

Are profile views the new 'my dick's bigger than your dick?' All a bit irrelevant, especially if 80 per cent are from people who don't even bother to filter out those who state they're not interested in what they're looking for. 80,000 light bulbs is impressive, but if you're in a rowing boat in the ocean? Utterly useless.

Big cheers for the winners and noted entries. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did throwing something together for it,❤️

Quote by WannabeWordsmitay
plus the little extra editing assistance from moderators.

...and for some, this alone is a price worth paying when what you use the site for is focused almost entirely on one aspect of what the site offers.

I sometimes think people think it's not a 'proper' story without a backstory, leading to passages that add little and consume a chunk of word count for little purpose. Maybe I've even done it myself, but if I have, I'd put my hands up straight away. It's just a style, not a necessity, and I can't improve on your 'What the...' categorisation of the alternative, so won't even try! 🤣

Quote by sprite

I know er doctors do too. FYI. I wasn't wearing it at the time.it was in my purse cause I'm a dumbutt🙃

Considers explaining my gizmo adjusted with a magnetic wrench placed against the side of my skull in the context of avoiding airports and security scanners, but the truth sounds too much like science fiction to be true...but is!

Excruciating Pun Club membership forms on their way. ( Or if there's milk on that cereal, they might be on their whey.)

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Still waiting for a little help…

10 inches with more to come… hey, that sounds like a great title for a story!

But then you feel let down when they're fibbing and it's only half that, soft and barely visible in the morning

Well done to the winners, Hope the rest had as much fun as I did with it too,❤️

From my non-expert point of view, my distinguishing criteria between a novel and a series would be the same. If you're writing something more easily digested, you can give a reasonable hint in a one-liner, genre, and tags to give an idea if something's someone's bag. With something that requires a major investment in time for all involved, including a potential reader, you'd probably need a synopsis feature, meaning, again, extra resources for one aspect that other styles don't need. It's a lot of accommodating for a small number of pieces of creativity; I think that's the point I'm trying to make, even if I'm doing so badly!

I think it is possible to have respect for those who create a novel while also believing here is not the place for them. If people want to write one, they can do so and make themselves a hard copy to remind themselves of the pleasure they had doing it. ( I did something similar in pre-wonky brain days, although in a rather different area of escapism to here!) This didn't put anyone out but me or require volunteers to give up large amounts of their time to proofread or moderate either. A need to balance resources against the probable interest is something I wouldn't expect those involved to comment on, but it is a reality nonetheless.

After eating enough for a year,

And having his annual beer,

He thinks he's a poet

And wouldn't you know it?

His lunacy's found its way here.

😇

Roses are red,

So's Rudolph's nose.

So is my arse in the snow,

Without clothes.

As the clock struck midnight, midnight felt the flat of the clock's hand on her buttocks. The new year's spanking party was a highlight since the world had suffered an uppercase shortage and they'd had to make do with shiftless shit instead.

"Stealing caps should be a 'capital' offence," midnight wailed as she opened her hat draw.

"MY CAPS, THE CLOCK!" Midnight cried as she climaxed.

Happy Christmas.

It was great fun to take part. Nudge as you see fit. It was just a giggle to do for myself and, I suspect, many others.

"Can my mum video everything?"

Heaven KNOWS what it would say on my badge, if I had one and wore it,🤣

The competition has had some extraordinary side dishes. For a giggle, I did an audio of me stumbling to read my daftness to send to a friend. There are plenty of surreal experiences to be had hereabouts, but hearing yourself utter those immortal words, 'double-ended fuckywuckydoodah' on an audio file, definitely made me feel glad I had a stab, as it were.!

Quote by deviantsusie
The next time I attempt to explain why I enjoy what I do, I may find myself referencing this post ( with appropriare acknowledgement, of course). It sums a complicated explanation of the pleasure perfectly. Bringing a smile with a fuckywuckydoodah? Life feels gooooood!🤣

'Fuckywuckydoodah' is now up there with 'okiedokiedoggiedaddie' for words to bring a smile to your face when you read them

Quote by JourneyYoung

My story is out! My gosh. I think writing 100 word stories is easier than 1000 words because at least 100 word ones you know you have to dispense with any and all fluff and pretense and 1000 word stories at least makes one think you still have room for some LOL Romance on the Rails | Lush Stories

They say it's not the size of your word count that matters; it's what you do with it.

As someone far more likely to write a story than read one, this thread does remind me of the 'pleasing some of the people some of the time' saying. Someone's pet peeve is important to them; I understand that. That said, this will also be true for the next person, whose gripe is different but just as 'deal-breaking' for them. If you write for your personal pleasure and see others connecting with it as a bonus, you rid yourself of fretfulness and fear over alienating one reader who has bugbear #33539, etc.

I'm just celebrating my competitive debut. Getting ' fuckywuckydoodah' in there means I'm already buzzing!🤣

Quote by AmuseBouche

It is done 1,000 words of dirty smut - I have forgotten how much I love Flash Erotica. So, for your consideration and delectation - Batteries Not Included.

Hope you enjoyed the challenge as much as I did my first dip into the competition world.

Safe to say that my effort was fun to write, which is not being selfish, just honest!

Quote by shmi

1. Old enough to know better. Young enough not to care
2. Eastern USA
3. 34B
4. Nicely trimmed landing strip
5. Neither. I prefer wearing it.

>>> writes down 'landing strip' and promises to use it in a story soon!❤️

Why would I need someone else to make the pictures? I have an imagination for that.

Filtering out the 'wrong people' is, of course, subjective to a degree. Some of the topics people write about are and will always be of no interest to me whatsoever, to the point I'd even avoid discussion around it. Does that mean I don't think others should? No, although I'll admit I find attempts to 'get around' the few areas that are explicitly off limits disturbing. But that's me talking about my values.