The 2020 Sekrit Solstice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Story Swap!

It. Is. DOOONNNNNEEEE!!!

(well, aside from a couple of minor fixes)

I should have it sent off to Cobra by this evening!









Aaaannnndddd sent. Story came in at 9624 words.

Jealous...way to go, y’all.

Still writing here. I got another page down last night, very writerly-feeling as I’m writing by hand in the almost-dark. (That seems to be the only way to get this thing moving.) I’m liking what I have so far, but I’m also not looking back!

Go, Annie! You've totally got this thing!

Jaymz Connelly said:

Aaaannnndddd sent. Story came in at 9624 words.

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Whatever were you thinking? With just a little more padding you could have cracked 10K! Were you not tempted?

I'm on the last stretch of my story but working from home and teaching the kids has taken all the wind from me. I feel exhausted after they're in bed and I can not bear to look at the monitor.

I hope I can still get this beta'd before I have to pass it on. It's still very short, and I've found myself weirdly wrapped into the story. The worry is, wondering if others will feel the impact of it.

:sticks head out of the pillow fort: Go, go, people!

Beta reader status update: Stuff is normalizing for me as much as anything can be 'normal' right now, but I've also joined in the April CampNaNoWriMo event on top of still working (my job's been designated essential). I'll still look at stuff for people but if you want detailed line-by-line crit or your story is extra long (like, 10k+) you might want to find someone with more spare time.

Norman Mjadwesch said:

Whatever were you thinking? With just a little more padding you could have cracked 10K! Were you not tempted?

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Heh. Well, tinkering is happening. It could get there eventually.

Two sentences the other night, then a page tonight. It’s feeling close-ish to the end? For what little that’s worth. I’m still enjoying the baby steps, so that’s something!

I don't think I've updated here since I finished editing, so to make sure the story elves aren't worrying, I'm just waiting on beta feedback at this point. Once I have it, I'll implement what I can, but even if I don't have time to implement it all (this thing really did get longer than I originally meant it to) I'll still send it in by the deadline because it's still a finished story and at least I'll have the rest of the feedback to hang on to and shine it up the rest of the way later.

I finished a draft Saturday, let it chill yesterday, and this afternoon I plan to jump back into revisions, which might be fairly major; now that I've written the thing out, I think I see where I could do it somewhat more effectively/less dithery.

My goal is to finish by the weekend.

We shall see how that goes...

--

Tuesday morning, about to start revisions. Think I can both compact and strengthen it, but it's gonna take a major chainsaw-and-patch job...

All sent!

Now I get a week to worry the story is terrible and my giftee will hate it and... Maybe I will just play more video games instead.

I have an ending!

It’s rushed and tell-y and unforeshadowed and I still haven’t read back over more than a paragraph or two. (And I still have no title, and I still have to type the thing, and work, and it’s Holy Week, and......)

Still. Ending! Yay!

Still working. But I've got a 4 day holiday from tomorrow. That's the crunch time. No excuses, I will get a story done for my giftee.

Tamlyn said:

All sent!

Now I get a week to worry the story is terrible and my giftee will hate it and... Maybe I will just play more video games instead.

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Ah, but does that mean "all sent" as in you sent in one story, or does it mean "ALL sent" as in you wrote more than one story and sent them all in? These are the questions that haunt me...

Also, your giftee won't hate it, they will love it because you took time to create something that didn't previously exit, and that's the most magical kind of gift of all!



@Annie: Yay, ending!!!

SciSarahTops said:

I'm on the last stretch of my story but working from home and teaching the kids has taken all the wind from me. I feel exhausted after they're in bed and I can not bear to look at the monitor.

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I'm feeling some of this. It's a vastly different dynamic. Work has ramped up with the crisis, so it's crazy.

CobraMisfit said:

Okay, all confirmation e-mails have been sent for the stories received thus far. If you don't have one, please let me know!

Also, as a word of concern/caution, a couple folks have gone dark in the last couple of months. I'm not ready to press the Panic Button just yet, but if I don't hear from them within the next couple of days, I may ask for volunteers to help fill in story gaps. Just want to ensure everyone gets a story based on their prompt if able!

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I'm still trucking along on mine. Progress is slow, but I'm planning to surge these last few days and have something ready. I think I finally have some direction so that makes it a little easier.

CobraMisfit said:

Stories are rolling in, but I wanted to check with everyone to see how you're doing. April 14th still doable? You all okay physically and emotionally?

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Still good here. As soon as I get this typed I'll have something sendable, plus however much revision I can manage between now and then.

Reckon I'm about 70% done and expecting to finish over Easter.

I've finished editing and a good thing I did, my time line was jumping back and forth, worthy of the retrograde movement of Mars. I think I've caught the worst problems. For some reason I really struggled with synonyms this time, which was funny in a self-depreciating way and maddening all the same.

Maybe one more round of 'spot the typo and uncomprehensible Dutchism' later today and then it's off to Cobra's mailbox.

I was hoping to have my story in by now, but have been side-tracked by phone calls and organising stuff due to being identified as one of those most at risk. I'm quite amazed at the amount of help I'm getting.

Began getting back on track yesterday and should be fine for the deadline of the 14th.

It's exciting to see how many are getting close to the end of their story - I'm really looking forward to seeing what arrives in my inbox and having fun with the guessing thread.

Stay safe and keep well everyone.

CobraMisfit said:

Stories are rolling in, but I wanted to check with everyone to see how you're doing. April 14th still doable? You all okay physically and emotionally?

I'm beginning to send confirmation e-mails, so if you don't have one from my by COB today (and it's not in your S-P-A-M folder), please let me know.

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Doing fine physically and emotionally. Still just waiting on beta feedback, but like I said up thread, even if I don't have time to implement it all, I'll still send the story in by the deadline and just keep the rest of the feedback to shine the story up later in the hopes of subbing it out to markets at some point. I really enjoyed writing this story so it would be super cool if it would also be one that sells. *crosses fingers*

I'm still here, and will work on my story over the weekend. It's complete in draft so just needs tweaking.

Still alive, still functioning! Not in the best shape ever, but who is right now? I have words, an outline, a few scenes done, a few yet to write, evenings and the weekend, and a friend who's ready to assist if I stumble.

I'll get there.

I'm doing good. Like Sue, I'm in the 'at risk' category, so I haven't been out of the house for the past month and a half, and keeping my distance from Mr C and the boys (cause they do need to go out from time to time).

My story has been sent in. Looking forward to next week! Whoever is writing for me, don't sweat it, I'll LOVE what you've written, simply because you wrote it for MEEEEE!

and to those still working towards the finish. You got this!