After a brief chat with @Robert Mackay and @Phyrebrat I've decided to go ahead, stop this relentless mithering 
and get the seventh instalment of the Secret Santa stories under way.
Here's how it works.
From now until March 31st, you can post details in this thread about what type of story you'd like to receive: it could be a genre with a specific MC, or a twist on a specific location, or whatever tickles your fancy. For example, last time, I received the request "Can I have a teeny story about fire", and poor old Phyrebrat received "a spaghetti steampunk western featuring a gang of bankrobbers and their dog." (I was the happier). By posting a request you're effectively "registering" to write a story for somebody else.
In early April, I'll use my patented arbitrary pairing algorithm (torn up bits of paper in a baseball cap) to pair up requests with authors. This'll be done privately. That leaves the rest of April, May and June to write your masterpiece.
Stories should be submitted to me by July 1st. (Though it will make my life easier if not everyone decides to submit on deadline day, pretty please!)
A word to the wise: this is not one of the official Chrons challenges, this is a bit of fun (hence Muggins is hosting rather than one of the professional, gun-totin' mods), so none of it is overly formal. Nevertheless, there are a few "rules" which are more to do with etiquette than anything legally binding; please try to stick with them.
Ok, get requesting, people! And good luck!
and get the seventh instalment of the Secret Santa stories under way.Here's how it works.
From now until March 31st, you can post details in this thread about what type of story you'd like to receive: it could be a genre with a specific MC, or a twist on a specific location, or whatever tickles your fancy. For example, last time, I received the request "Can I have a teeny story about fire", and poor old Phyrebrat received "a spaghetti steampunk western featuring a gang of bankrobbers and their dog." (I was the happier). By posting a request you're effectively "registering" to write a story for somebody else.
In early April, I'll use my patented arbitrary pairing algorithm (torn up bits of paper in a baseball cap) to pair up requests with authors. This'll be done privately. That leaves the rest of April, May and June to write your masterpiece.
Stories should be submitted to me by July 1st. (Though it will make my life easier if not everyone decides to submit on deadline day, pretty please!)
A word to the wise: this is not one of the official Chrons challenges, this is a bit of fun (hence Muggins is hosting rather than one of the professional, gun-totin' mods), so none of it is overly formal. Nevertheless, there are a few "rules" which are more to do with etiquette than anything legally binding; please try to stick with them.
- There is no word limit as such, but aiming for 1k-10k words would seem reasonable (says the guy who wrote 17k last time).
- Whilst the pieces do not appear in their entirety on the forum, and so writing standards are a little more relaxed it is polite to assure that at least an excerpt worth be family friendly, with no determined pornography, excessive delectation in torture or unacceptable language. If the full length version is to be attached, this holds for the submission as a whole
- When you've finished your story, you send it to the admin (that's me! ) and I'll pass it on to the person who initially requested that story so they do not know who wrote it.
- When all stories have been submitted (on time, people!!), the Admin will post excerpts in a guessing thread and we will try and guess who wrote which one - it is a fun exercise identifying Chrons members' voices in their writing.
- After a week or so of guessing, I'll reveal who wrote each story.
- After the revelation of the authors, there can be a decision by the persons involved - (s)he by whom and (s)he for whom the piece has been written and the full length text can be attached.
- If you request a story, and you by extension receive a request from somebody else, it's polite to actually write one! This never actually happens and somebody always goes AWOL, but let's try to make it a full house this time. Last time at least four of us went empty-handed. I was one of them, and I got so mad I threw a cricket ball INTO SPACE.
Ok, get requesting, people! And good luck!
