The 2021 Sequel Soltice SF&F Story Slinging AKA the Sequel Sisyphus!

[Brightdreamer]

And in one day and an evening, I cleared the final season of Lucifer (short review: frellin' awesome, pitch perfect, very emotional in a great and satisfying way).

So tomorrow I will be back in revision mode, assuming I'm emotionally recovered enough...

 

[Sue77]

I completed my research while recovering from surgery kitten was sound asleep in her onesie.

Today Rob is home and we're both catching up on stuff, tomorrow we get ready to wreck out the front three rooms of our home to complete the internal renovation of our home.

Writing begins in earnest on Tuesday...

 

[Brightdreamer]

Okay, brain... it's Sunday, there's some nice ambient music on the headphones to drown out rain and relatives, and you finished your binge watch last night, so there should be no reason why you are not focusing on this #$*& draft and the @!%# revisions!

-

Early afternoon, getting some revisions done, but time for a break.

(In unrelated news, you know you've been listening to the Expanse soundtrack too much when, on a TV show, "Highway Star" is used as a background song and it sounds wrong to hear it without the Belter creole lyrics...)

 

[InkFinger]

Hoping all of you had a good writing weekend. Can't wait to start the guessing.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Sunday evening, about a third of the way through the draft on the first revision pass, about time to shut down for the night. Hopefully I make better time tomorrow.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Finally worked out the continuity-kink in my second scene, now I still have to write it.

Third scene should go easier, I get to blow things up! Again!

Kitten, Rosa, was spade on Thursday and pogoed her cone off within ten minutes of arriving home. Terrified me as she was leaping over two foot off the ground and jack-knifing her legs together in the air. Got her checked on Friday and she's not done any internal damage, but she is now in a kitten onesie to stop her pulling her stiches out.

God that sounds terrifying, and at the same sight, what a sight that must have been.

 

[Sue77]

God that sounds terrifying, and at the same sight, what a sight that must have been.

It truly was terrifying and stunning. I'm rarely at a loss of what to do, but this was one such occasion! I'm just glad the onesies are acceptable to her, although she does stretch out of them during the night and I find myself at 3am wriggling them back on.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Closing in on halfway through the first pass through the manuscript, and it's up to 20K words.

"Lean" just isn't in my writing vocabulary, I'm afraid...

 

[InkFinger]

Closing in on halfway through the first pass through the manuscript, and it's up to 20K words.

"Lean" just isn't in my writing vocabulary, I'm afraid...

Novella to the rescue, anyone?

 

[Brightdreamer]

Novella to the rescue, anyone?

Pretty sure it won't tip over into a full-scale novel, at least...

And I really need to get my revision game going today, but an extra-long shopping trip sorta threw me off the groove. Dang it...

--

And it's Tuesday evening. Hit a snag point that I may put off until tomorrow. Up to 21K...

 

[Sue77]

600 words in and happy so far.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Hooray for 600 happy words!

And going to take a quick swing at revisions tonight, though it might just be going over what I've already done; this next "new" bit is going to take some focus to get into the flow and get it to do what I want. Hope to get more writing time in tomorrow, as I plan to make roast instead of turkey taco for dinner; taco takes some poking and stirring and you have to remember to get the tater tots going, but roast you just throw in the roasty thing and let roastify.

 

[eyeblink]

I'm not finding it easy to get any fiction writing done at the moment, and time and headspace are taken up with non-fiction commitments and the day job. I am on leave from the day job for a week after tomorrow and hope to make some headway on a story which so far is 400 words long and doesn't have a real end yet. And in a week from now I'll be on my way to a convention with a barely-functioning laptop. If progress is minimal by then, I may have to pull out but I really don't want to have to do that.

Hope everyone is well.

 

[Kjbartolotta]

I've been working so much lately I may need to adjust my expectations for what kinda story I'm gonna produce. So another 3k joke story banged out the week before? Yes, probably!

Hope all is well w/ everyone and I feel ya, Vulture Dude.

 

[Norman Mjadwesch]

Life is super weird right now.

I've been picking away at my stories, and one I voted for is no longer the 3K piece I'd envisaged (not a novella... yet) but at least it's a distraction from the view out the window. I'm working on the last scene (as in, last scene unwritten, not the ending) and then I'll make a couple of editing passes. I'm thinking there's not gonna be time for any beta'ing this time around. Oh well.

And although it seems as though handing in multiple stories is hitting the productivity boxes, right now it's more of a sanity strategy.

 

[Norman Mjadwesch]

Damn, I just caught up with reading the last few posts. We're really dealing with more than the usual right now.

Also, thanks for keeping this thread ticking over, Brightdreamer. Those regular updates must have felt like talking to an empty room sometimes. I'm glad you're on track to finish.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Friday evening, and hoping against hope I can finally get some revisions in.

(For the record, the plan for roast - a.k.a a meal that would let me sit down and do some stuff while dinner was cooking itself - has yet to happen for Reasons.)

Okay, bit-I'm-really-not-that-happy-with... let's see what can be done to make it a bit-I'm-slightly-less-not-happy-with...

--

And it's later on Friday, wind's picking up and power supply has ticked a few times to tell me that it's not confident in electricity being a reliable thing for much longer, so I'll take the hint and shut down. About 3/4ish through, pretty sure it'll hit 22K by the time I'm done at least, and got the bit-I'm-really-not-happy-with worked out (I hope)...

--

Saturday afternoon, and barring one last quick grammar/spellcheck pass (and hopefully a better title), this sucker is done! Or, at least, as done as it's gonna get...

 

[InkFinger]

Here's a cheer for all those writing. You'll get it done.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Story bomb away!

This year's is admittedly a bit of a sprawl, but it feels about as done as I can get it... In any event, feels good to have it off the plate.

Now off to bed, where I'm sure I'll immediately think of about ten different ways I could've done it better...

 

[InkFinger]

Congratulations, @Brightdreamer

 

[Sue77]

Yay! Good to hear, Brightdreamer.

This weekend has been a write off for me writing wise and next week is busy with FantasyCon starting on Friday. I've got a reading slot - which is very exciting.

I've also got some big news coming up. More when things are a little further on...

My current story is now fully planned out in my mind, I love the ending I created over dinner one evening. My hubby sat there chuckling at me as conversation was a no-no. I'm up to 850 words and will do my best to chip away at it over Mon, Tues and Wed next week, but have to admit things are looking awful tight for the 4th October.

If I'm not finished by the 3rd Oct, what I will do (providing Froggy says it's okay) is to send in an excerpt and keep working on it until the Guessing Thread is finished.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Froggy is okay with unfinished stories! In fact, I'd prefer unfinished stories to people hurting themselves to get a story finished. And really, all the Guessing threads needs is an excerpt.

 

[eyeblink]

I passed 1000 words yesterday and hope to do some more today. I too will be at Fantasycon this coming weekend and will then be back at the day job on Tuesday 28th. I have submitted first drafts and polishes to past Sisyphuses (did so last year, and that 9000 word story called "Tunnels" is now 12800 words and called "Somebody to Love") but haven't sent in an unfinished story before. This might be a first time for that.

 

[Norman Mjadwesch]

Drafts are finished! 18K of hopefully not-drivel.

I did a quick editing pass tonight, and then probably another one tomorrow. Excepts WILL be in Froggy's inbox prior to the due date, as well as completed stories. Unless something goes seriously wrong, which I don't think any of us would be discounting because 2020/21 Reasons.

 

[armgrab]

At around 17K-ish after the latest round of edits. I have enough time to give it another look, but at this point, it might be as presentable as it's ever going to get.

I have noticed one thing. Without giving too much away, this is a story set in the not-too-distant future, and for whatever reason, I keep impulsively throwing in random references to what an apocalyptic cesspool the planet is due to unchecked climate change. Maybe making jokes about the mess we're making of the world is... therapy, for me? All writing is some form of therapy, I suppose.