This should be good.

I'll sit back and watch this one.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

My judge had a really hard time as he loved something about each entry!

Writing_Interest, expressomarkie, and Ellie73 are the judge’s picks in this challenge. :worship:

My son and I are both sure Jimbo in Writing_Interest’s story lives in the hills of Eastern Kentucky.

Thank you all for making this fun! You are all so talented!

I’m sure it’s foul play!!!

I kid, of course. This was fun, Kimmi! Thank you, and well deserved winners.

Now. Go to bed.

Quote by ArconathResonath

Oh wow, really didn't expect my stumbling writing to pull through and a place in the podium! It had been long years since I was last active on the site, and came back to see a comp going on... I'm just glad the idea was good enough to overcome the little itsy bitsy parts of my engrishu text and resonate with people.

Congrats to all other contestants, I read a lot of them and I loved almost all of them!

Congrats!

Quote by techgoddess

(Klaus’s story was the one I picked in my head to win.)

You are too kind.

Or after my money.

You'll be sorely disappointed if it's the latter...

What I meant to say was "Thank you"

Quote by AndreaDetroit

Whenever I enter a competition, I never expect to do well, in fact I'm just glad I can think of something to write about, so I was very much surprised to see my entry had been chosen as runner-up.

Thank you to everybody who has read, commented and liked my story. A big thank you to the moderators who've helped improve my writing throughout the years and to the judges for their "😉 impeccable” decision.

I'm truly humbled by this.

Congrats!

I’m supposed to say something, right?

I just woke up, being Norwegian and all. I think I woke, anyway.

I’m honest when i say “not in my wildest dreams”. I mean, I had faith in Mayra, but…

I don’t know where to start or who to start thanking, but it feels natural to start with the two people I thanked when posting. Without Matt and Kimmi’s encouragement, Mayra would never have happened.

Shortlister? I envy you not.

Judges- thank you.

Podium- what the actual fuck?!

Top ten: congratulations!

Jen? What am I supposed to say?

I….

Forget it. Thank you ❤️

Quote by Down4anything23

Can we add “talented”?

I think so

Quote by JamesLlewellyn

Speak for yourself!

🤣

Read your signature lately?

Quote by fillelapine

Because it's a fun challenge!

Aye--true that.

Quote by expressomarkie

No question marks? That’s not broken grammar—that’s speechless admiration!

At least I don’t call myself eXpresso 😉🤪

(Hush-don’t upset the mods)

<sssorry, Preciousss>

Quote by expressomarkie

If that’s your surrender cry, I’m honoured to break your spirit so thoroughly. ;)

Broken enough to forget question marks...

Quote by expressomarkie

Thanks Kimmi, for arranging this

She touched herself under the window, knowing trick-or-treaters roamed below. The thrill was wicked until she glimpsed her face in the glass, leering with hunger. The orgasm crashed through her in helpless waves, stealing her breath, clenching her belly, leaving her writhing in trembling aftershocks. When she looked again, her eyes in the reflection blinked out of sync. Halloween night, her own desire had opened the door, and something stepped in to share her skin.

Well—fuck me—why do I even try.

Well. Here goes nothing, I suppose. And you're right, Kimmi. The fun is just in trying.

'Ween

Turnip turned pumpkin on Eve of the Dead,
Fang-thirst desire, the drug in my head.
I wait for your teeth to nibble my skin—
Rise once again, to fulfill our sin.

Come pour in my chalice, my greedy vessel,
’Til next year I linger, this night to nestle,
Still at your grave, dreading the dawn,
To lose you again, my wicked faun.

Fuck me again—there is still time.
Fang-thirst desire. All mine.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

That’s because my adult son is the judge. 🤣 He does NOT wanna see his mom’s name in that context. 😳🤣🤣🤣 Bad enough he accidentally discovered I’ve written erotica. 😳 He frequently blackmails me with this information when it suits his needs. 🙄

If anything, that SHOULD qualify as HORROR to said judge?

“Warning: If you use any form of “Kimmi” in your entry, my judge will holler, “Ewwww!” and barf on your entry. It’s happened before.”

🤣🤣🤣

Quote by KimmiBeGood

:worship: Brilliant piece of writing, Klaus! Congratulations! 😊

Thank you, Kimmi ❤️❤️❤️

I will attempt this without sounding like a blithering idiot.

Thank you.

I’m flattered beyond words. There’s so much talent on here that any read or like takes me by surprise. Surprise and gratitude.

I was talking to a friend the other day, and mentioned that I feel this piece is perhaps the one I’m most happy with.

The story almost never happened. I wasn’t sure it’d ever get approved given the content.

I just…thank you❤️

Quote by Piquet

It is with immense pleasure and considerable relief that I can announce that my competition entry is now posted. 'Midnight Satin' is inspired by the Hollywood musicals, romantic comedies and war movies of the 1940s. It's light-hearted and a bit of fun. Please leave a comment if you can. All feedback is greatly appreciated. btw I've loved the other entries I've read so far. Kudos to you all.

Midnight Satin | Lush Stories

Oh, and I just realized the competition got even harder.

Queued. And best of luck.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

Wow! I thought I was a fast writer! Two stories (one long) already in!

I really love competing with y’all in comps here, so trying to pivot from the children’s stories I’ve been writing to a smutty obsession story. 🤣 It’s a big pivot. 🤣

My entry will be short like me, but hopefully a good read. In my usual fashion, I wrote the ending, and am now working my way backward. 😊

Happy Writing, Lushies

I usually have the ending mapped out. Always the introduction. It's filling in the spaces between and making sure they connect that's a bugger.

Quote by techgoddess

Some of my best stories barely hit 50 flames. Which is why that isn't a metric that can accurately measure the quality of a story. I can pen a 100-word microfiction piece and snag over 100 🔥in a day. And I can also spend hours researching for a seduction story, spend a couple of days vigorously editing it till I am happy with it, get an RR and a bunch of really lovely comments, and get 23 🔥 in that same amount of time.

This being an erotic story site, I realize that stories with depth are not going to be fan favorites. But I don't care. I love when I write a piece that I have poured my soul into and a couple of handfuls of readers tell me how much they enjoy it. 😇

I did an experiment when I wrote what turned out to be the first chapter of my series, Hannah. I wanted to see if putting all effort away and writing I/F filth would result in a higher score. It remains my highest-ranked story in terms of likes and views.

Lush Stories, in many ways, strike me as a popularity contest, and I notice that it's crept under my skin. I'm not saying my stories are fabulous or great works of writing, but lately I've found that I've lost interest in my own writing.

I do, however, agree with you that it's the handful of comments that are the real payoff.

Quote by simplyjohn

The name change I suspect is relevant. I have reported this to the development team.

Thanks

Quote by techgoddess

I believe it's actually the Competition Top Ten badge you should have received since you placed 7th. Runners-Up badges are awarded to 2nd and 3rd place. You can raise a ticket here.

Yes. Of course. The top ten badge.

Badges. Yes. I don't want to be that guy, but I decided to be anyway. I didn't want to start yet another topic on badges, so I just thought I'd pop in here. I believe my entry for the Island Getaway competition should have earned me a Runners-Up badge, but I have yet to receive one.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Sorted for you. For reference, I:

• Removed part 2 from the series.

• Selected the series with 0 stories

• Tapped Edit.

• Tapped Delete.

• Opened the part 2 story.

• Assigned it to the remaining series name.

• Saved. Then checked the stories were in the correct order.

I’ve noticed this a couple of times myself. That when i try to upload a story to an existing series, the site creates a duplicate series with the same name. A glitch or MMI (Man-Machine-Interface) issue?

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I love island settings and look forward to y’all’s entries! ❤️

I better sit this one out. My crazy mind went to “One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, Alien!” And you don’t wanna know what she does with her tentacle hair that moves like additional appendages!

Now, there’s a story I’d actually want to read 🥹

Oh dear. What a good question, Kimmi, at least on the surface. I've scrolled through the replies, and most seem to support my view on the topic.

I've written many stories that are well beyond my own moral and ethical boundaries. They depict actions and scenes I would not condone, take part in, or even remotely live out in real life—because this is fiction. I've had one story returned from the moderator team because it needed to be toned down, and I pretty much implied as much when I submitted it. After a re-write, which frankly made the story a better one, it was published. So, there's the first layer of 'censorship'—the moderators and rules of the site.

I always make sure to take advantage of the tags so that the reader has ample opportunity to decide if the story is within their own boundaries. For my most bizarre and extreme stories, I use the author's note to warn the reader of the content.

Ultimately, the nature of the site, the content that is allowed, and the tools we have been given should be enough to steer the readers in the right direction. If you read an story and are troubled by the content, you have no one but yourself to blame.

Quote by pinkysurprise

I usually come into a story with a clear idea of what it's about. In a longer series, like Only One Bed, there's a bit of a character arc planned (Emma's growing confidence, etc). In standalone shorts, it's more about what's happening in that scene, so I'm less invested in character growth than I am in writing something hot that feels like it could happen to a real person.

I often have the opposite problem. I come into a short story with little idea who the character is, and she reveals herself in the writing, demanding to be shaped a particular way. I'm often startled at how vividly I can picture the character's voice in my head, showing me how they'd react…

I've run into a few characters, usually created as an extra or a mere backdrop to the story, and have had them demand the spotlight.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

I see a lot of "Part 1" stories that never follow up with a "Part 2."

I'm wondering how many series writers start a series that never reaches a conclusion. I've got at least two that I've more or less lost interest in finishing.

When you start a series how often do you see it through? How often do you abandon it?

When I start a series I always have the ending in mind. It’s all about telling the story that’s inside my head. Mind you, I’m a rookie writer, and don’t have a lot of work published (but too many ideas spinning). I invest too much time in my characters to abandon them before their story is told.

Ask me again two years from now and who knows.

Quote by wxt55uk

I prefer character-driven stories. Unlike most here, I begin to fall in love with them even before I start writing the story. This is because I normally write little bios on the lead "actors" and as I write them into the storyline I have continually and three-dimensional real people. Well, at least in my head. 🙄😊

My take on this is that there must be a piece of the character inside you as you write and work with them. With the books I have written and am adapting for Lushstories, those characters have lived with me since 2021. Their never-to-be-published background information now runs to several A4 pages.

As for killing off a character or putting them in an awkward situation? I don't see that to be a problem, I do the latter all the time and you can always resurrect a character in another story if you are in "love" with them. Though, I don't see that scenario happening to me.

So, to answer your question: I do become attached, and even deeply attached to the characters I have been working with for three and half years. But my attachment would never stop me from putting them in harm's way.

Thank you for the insight 😊

I agree. I never let my attachment or love for my characters get in the way of the story. Traci did meet her intended fate (gangbanged on a pool table in a dive bar), but she also came out of that story a changed person (with an addiction to used panties 😉).

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

As joe71 says, a little attachment is good for developing character traits and insight. But if you love them too much you may end up not wanting to harm them or not wanting to put them in morally awkward situations. Then they'll turn into boring shells, devoid of conflict with others or they come across as invincible, always getting into scrapes and coming out unscathed. And nobody wants to read that stuff long-term.

Conflict drives a story so be wary if you find too much emotional attachment developing. It can spell the end for a character. Try to retain some semblance of objectivity in your writing to avoid this.

Oh, part of why I develop attachment to my characters is because they're so ultimately morally flawed and because they do put themselves in harms way. I appreciate your insights. Thank you!

My apologies if this topic has been raised and answered before. If so, please point me in the right direction. I've scrolled through the topics and I've tried the search, but nothing really came up.

So - how attached do you become to your characters?

As a newbie, I'm still trying to hone my craft. I've noticed that I tend to develop an attachment to several of the characters I've created. I even accidentally fell in love with a gorgeous redhead whose fate I had envisioned was entirely different, and she ended up as the main character in a different story.

My attachment also pushes me to dig deeper into their stories, and I let them evolve far beyond my initial idea.

So, my stories end up in a series, and when a series comes to an end, I feel genuine loss.

How far does your attachment to your characters reach, and have I fallen victim to a noob trap?