2020 Summer Solstice Sekret Sequel Something Speedround

CobraMisfit

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Also, hi Cobra!


Emoticon: Howdy Face!

And Gatteau, definitely check out the REAL Sisyphus this year, it's tons and tons on fun.

COLDER, perhaps, not-so-much "real".

How about "Sisyphus: The Original Recipe"? Or "Sisyphus 1.0"? Or "Sisyphus: The Prequel"? Or "S1syphus"?
 

Brightdreamer

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Plz tell me what music you're playing and if you've experienced any sudden blackouts where you wake up a regional boxing champ..

Alas, no writing montage occurred. Though somehow I now have a new powerhouse career in The Big City, I experienced a goofy yet sweet courtship, and I learned how to hunt vampire werewolf aliens.

I think I need a new playlist...

Anyway, up to 14.5k words, two scenes left, and I should finish by tonight or tomorrow. (Not completely happy with one character arc, but it's how she seems to be going; it would take a complete rework that, frankly, I don't want to invest in to do anything about it.) But if anyone else needs a little more breathing room I wouldn't object.

Besides, this new powerhouse career is suspiciously riddled with vampire werewolf aliens... but I can't let my goofy-yet-sweet boyfriend know about them. And now he's scheduled the wedding for a full moon! (Insert silly sitcom music cue.)
 

AnnieColleen

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:ROFL:

I'll be tinkering up until deadline, but I'll have something turn-in-able on Friday. Maybe another scene or two to draft, and then use the rest of the time to attempt to make it make some kind of sense outside my head. :)
 
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Norman Mjadwesch

vacuous eyes, will bark at shadows
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Lemme be real: Who wants another week? I was dead-set against it, but I don't have too many stories in my inbox and if it takes the stress off people rushing to finish, I'm glad to push things back till October 2nd.

Mine’s in but I’m not opposed to anyone else needing more time. I’m a bit like Froggy in that I was trying to clear October for other things, but I’m also suspecting that I’ll find excuses to put that stuff aside as well, no matter what circumstances dictate.

The thing is, this writing we’re all doing together alone is completely voluntary and vibey. None of us have to account for our actions to a truant officer, and I’m seeing that reflected in a complete lack of needing to make excuses for not being ready yet. Procrastination isn’t a crime, and it’s actually kinda cool how willing we are to own that. My view is that everyone who signed up for this Sisyphus did so fully cognisant of the difficulties afflicting the world, and that gets a big tick* from me. IMO anyone who wants an extension is welcome to it, no excuse too lame (and if no excuse is forthcoming – also totally acceptable). :)

*I’m a dog, so they’re free to good homes.

And not to point out the bleeding obvious, but the deadline is for the excerpt. We’ve got a few extra days to polish our turds while the guessing is in progress, and then if we’re still not finished there’s nothing to say we can’t ask for a few more days (weeks?) from anyone who requests a read of said turds.
 
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Sue77

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Mine will be in on the 25th, but if some need more time that's fine by me.

I agree with Norman that we have a few days to finish off, tidy up or polish during the Guessing Thread. That's if we have the time and choose to. This is a fun event, not 'produce a perfect and publishable story' one, so what ever someone has managed to do is fantastic. Life isn't easy right now.
 

eyeblink

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Mine will be in for the 25th but I'm fine with an extension if people want it.

I've always regarded Sisyphus stories as works in progress - written and polished to the best of my ability for the swap, but that's not to say I can't keep working on the story and eventually submit it somewhere. Four out of eight of my winter Sisyphus stories have been sold.

The ultimate example was my first ever Sisyphus story, "Mourning Becomes Me", which ran 9300 words for the swap in 2013 but which I rewrote from scratch the following year (including material from another story, "Spinning Fast", which I'd written later in 2013) and it ended up as a novella of 34,500 words, with "Spinning Fast" effectively a 4000-word prologue, the two stories the final two in my collection from 2015.
 
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Albedo

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A 2000 word burst this afternoon's brought me close to the end. I've still gotta go back and heavily edit, but I should hopefully make the original deadline. I'd rather do that this year, just to get it OADW (I've got so much to do ... and it's not all video games, though a lot of it is). But I'm fully behind an extension if needed.

Also my millennial depression story has a happy ending maybe, wtf?
 

Kjbartolotta

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25th it is, unless someone really needs an extension. But like everyone said, turning in what you have in whatever unfinished state you have is perfectly glorious and honorable. Turns out all the lollygagging and false starts worked out for me, because I actually wrote short this year. An accomplishment in of itself, ignoring all the thousands of werds I burned through on half-attempted megastories.

Alas, no writing montage occurred. Though somehow I now have a new powerhouse career in The Big City, I experienced a goofy yet sweet courtship, and I learned how to hunt vampire werewolf aliens.

I read this before I had my coffee and my first reaction was "Wow BD what an unexpected life change, I'm really happy for you!"
 

Brightdreamer

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I read this before I had my coffee and my first reaction was "Wow BD what an unexpected life change, I'm really happy for you!"

Eh, it didn't work out. Turns out the boyfriend *was* the leader of the aliens, and the jerky boss was really another hunter who was "testing" me by being a bastard, but then interrupted the wedding-turned-vampire-slaughter to confess to "feelings" and propose. Kneed 'em both in the nards and moved back to the boonies with a cat.

(IRL, the closest thing to a new career has been starting some transcription on weekends, which isn't much but augments the existing job - which I'm increasingly uncertain will be around too much longer.)

On the story front, hovering at 15.5k words and hope to wrap up tonight after one last scene, though I may have to rework some of the last bit.
 

Kjbartolotta

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(IRL, the closest thing to a new career has been starting some transcription on weekends, which isn't much but augments the existing job - which I'm increasingly uncertain will be around too much longer.)

Feel ya, about my situation too.
 

Sue77

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Kevin, just a thought, but bearing in mind many of us are sending our stories in last minute, would it help if we got an excerpt for the Guessing Thread to you asap?
 

Kjbartolotta

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Kevin, just a thought, but bearing in mind many of us are sending our stories in last minute, would it help if we got an excerpt for the Guessing Thread to you asap?

It's ok, won't really help me bcuz the big work in gonna be to putting them all in a thread on SYW, and I'm not even messing with that till the 26th in any case.
 

Brightdreamer

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Gah... family is trying to sabotage me. I'm looking at a finish line tomorrow at this point. And I'm really not too happy with some of the last bits from yesterday... think I might hit the wrap-up, then double back, as I'm fairly sure about what I want the final scene to be but not so sure how to fix the problem bits.
 

Kjbartolotta

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Oct 2nd is still an option, there are a few folks who have been silent lately and I am keeping the extension open right up till the deadline.
 

Brightdreamer

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Got an ending, albeit an anemic ending, at 15,700ish words. I want to fix some of the last bits, but it may have to wait for tomorrow because family is being yelly right now for no reason. (Also I hope not to shop tomorrow, and I can stay up later because I'm taking Friday off.)
 

CobraMisfit

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Uh, gang.....I just finished beta-ing one of the stories* and ho-lee-crow.

You're gonna want to read this one.






*name withheld to prevent Guessination Information
 

Albedo

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Is everyone responding to Kev's relative lack of words this year by writing super-long, or something? I'm about to breach 10k.
 

AnnieColleen

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Maybe? My sort-of-not-really-finished* draft is over 9k, which never happens.

*as in, it has an ending but I don't like it; will be reworking that scene tonight.
 

Brightdreamer

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Is everyone responding to Kev's relative lack of words this year by writing super-long, or something? I'm about to breach 10k.


I tend to skew long anyway... gonna clock in in the mid-15K range. (I just need to fix a few last things today/tonight, and I'm done.)
 

Friendly Frog

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Naah, not me this year. Anyway I think I'm just not suited for epics. I don't have it in me.

But knowing the capacity of WTFery this year possesses, I specifically concentrated on keeping my story contained. And as it's under 9K, I think I succeeded.

I'm almost done. Most re-writing and scene-shuffling is done. Fixed a few issues. It has actually come almost together. I'm pleased. It's not my best, but it is not-horrible. And at this stage that suits me just fine. Still not sure if it isn't too dull. But ah well.

One more pass for readability (and already praying I don't find a giant plothole at the last minute) and then it's off to Kevin's inbox.
 

Woollybear

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Mine's 2600. And despite being dreadfully serious (yo climate change,) it was fun to write. And short enough to be a blog post when we wrap it up here!
 

ajaye

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Submitted, yay! Nudged just over 1000 words, which for me is a bit of an epic.
 

Jaymz Connelly

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Mine's about average for what I usually write and pretty much about the word count I was aiming for when I started writing the story. And for those who know me... yeah, it's got a cover. :)
 

armgrab

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I've managed, just barely, to get mine under 20K words, so... Quantity over quality! Woo!
 

Kjbartolotta

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Y'know what. TWIST! I'm extending the deadline by two day. Saturday, 26th is the deadline, that way there's no stress for the people that are rushing, but the overachievers who are finished don't have to sit on their hands much longer. And it's the weekend.