The 2013-2014 Sekrit Solstice SFF Story Swap!

*clothespin on the nose, deep breath, jumps into the pool*

Prompt: Um, okay, I'd like to read something with an animal companion of the non-verbal variety (with the exception of parrots or other birds that can "talk". They're okay.) I like comedy SF/F (think Terry Pratchett), but I'm open to most genres with a little touch of the unusual. Please no smexytimes or extreme gore/violence.

I can write SF/F with humorous tones, I cannot write smexytimes or horror. I am willing to write shiny emo teen vampires if it comes to it. Just don't expect it to be serious.

Okay I'm in. Feb is quite a while away so I think I can squeeze it in.

Give: I write F/SF/H and some lit fiction. Most of my work is darker, little humor, and character centered. I can probably do about anything except the emo stuff or smexy stuff (both of which I fail miserably at).

Receive: hmmmm... I like unlikely heroes and strong feminine characters even if they aren't the MC. Perhaps a mystery or something like that.

I'm in!

Give: I write science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk. I'm pretty bad at romance, but I'll take a whack at it. I'll attempt hard SF as well, but results may vary. I fail miserably at torture, gore, violence, horror, and sex, though, so most of my stuff is PG-13 or under. My work sometimes has touches of humor, and is typically set somewhere unusual, though I'm not limited that.

Prompt:

I like character-centric stories, with themes of triumph over adversity/inner darkness, in an unusual setting. I'm into steampunk, science fiction (hard and soft), fantasy, with touches of humor and satire, but no one's limited to that. I'm not into nonhuman characters that much, or traditional epic fantasy. Please, no explicit gore/torture/horror/smexytimes. Romance is fine, as long as it fits the story. I prefer happy/uplifting endings, though darkness and misery may lie in between, and turn it bittersweet. (Now, setting all these aside, if something else happens, feel free to run with it!)

Nicely done, CM! You will make an excellent Solstice Leader

And I only take credit for getting the SS started since CM bailed me out after.

For this year, I like the low stress approach so I am going to give as many stories as I can based on whatever prompts catch my eye. I hope anyone else who is worried about the challenge will join me as a giver.

Plus I swore to cut my thumbs off if I signed up this year, and after I cut the right thumb off I don't know how I'd grip the axe to remove the other thumb. Dire.

I'm in, and I will both give and receive .

Give: I write sci-fi and fantasy, usually hovering in the 'science fantasy' kind of area. My characters go through hell and come out as heroes.

Prompt: Something sci-fi and/or fantasy with goats playing a central role. I don't mind if you make me cry, but end the story on a positive note.

Going both ways here

Giving: Will try most things, but not really up to very hard SF or trad fantasy/sword & sorcery. You're more likely to get a genre blend from me, possibly at the slipstreamy/literary end of SF/F/H. Tends to be darkish and while my stories aren't without humour I can't do out-and-out comedy.

Prompt: Please write a story in which a religious festival or holiday plays a vital part. Any genre. Any religion, whether a real-world one or a fantasy/made-up one, will be fine, but I'd rather not receive a pro-religious or anti-religious tract.

I'm in.

Giving: light SF/F/mystery, generally somewhat humorous. I'm really bad at gore, violence, explicit sex, and romance.

Prompt: Just about anything in the SF/F/mystery genres, as long as there's no gore or animal cruelty. Bonus points if it's funny, has an unreliable narrator, or is told from an unusual perspective.

I love this stuff so much.

Okay, both giving and receiving.

I am a big fan of antagonistic forces being made to work together, and the ambiguity of not knowing if they can trust each other. So I'd like to see a story where the MC is the newcomer to an already formed group, and s/he has put them in a situation (via some form of magic) where they have to work with her/him, mostly against their will.

No gore, and I'm fine with sexy times. I infinitely prefer characters over plot. Happy to receive both sci-if and fantasy, but pretty please not straight horror.

I can't write gore, happy with almost everything else. I would prefer a fantasy setting over a scifi, can't write horror, I'm terrible at it.

I'll give and receive, and I'll give another story.

What I'll write: SFF... all of it, whatever of it, any of it. I can do gore and all the dirty, naughty stuff, but I can back off if asked.

Prompt: A story set in a SFF world (you choose which, or how much crossover) about food.

Okay, I am sure I am going to regret this, but I'm in, both giving and receiving.

Give: I write SF (with an emphasis on Space Opera), contemporary fantasy and a little bit of horror. My stories tend to be a bit on the funny side; think Terry Pratchett more than Douglas Adams.

Receive: well, pretty much the same as my giving particulars. I like space opera (space pirates are a plus), contemporary fantasy (please no fairies, dwarves, dragons, and emo/sparkly vampires). You know what would be fun (but certainly not required)? A funny horror story, in the vein of Shawn of the Dead or The Canterville Ghost.

Last year was actually rather fun, so I'm in. Giving and receiving.

giving: Please nothing too dark, violent or horror. I generally write sci-fi, modern fantasy or humourous, but that's not a must.

prompt: something light to combat the cold season ahead. So rather nothing too dark, violent or horror. As for a theme, hmmm... let's go with cryptozoology this time.

*sigh* I still don't know why I'm doing this, but... well, here we go.

For what I can give: I'm basically up for the challenge of writing anything, with very few exceptions. The only real exception is that under no circumstances will I write straight or lesbian erotica. I just don't have it in me to do so.

The stuff I normally write and like to write tends to involve magic, romance (more gay than straight by a large margin) and a whole load of really snarky sarcastic characters. I love me some snark.

But I'm very much willing to go beyond that, so I'm pretty much open to anything.

On the receiving side: Actually, I'm in the mood for just some contemporary gay romance... or maybe 'period drama' gay romance. The bitchier or sappier the better, frankly. Or, since this is a SF/F thing, let's add some urban fantasy to that, too.

I have a wicked bwa-hah-hah idea. So put me down to give please Mr Cobra. I am repping you now, and I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

I'm torn here -- I've got way too much on the go as it is, but I always did love the santa swap!

I'm going to do what Fen is doing (if I get the time) and maybe write a story for a prompt that gets my juices flowing. If your story is short (and not the novels that have turned up on occasion before!) I can almost certainly fit in a beta for one or two -- PM me.

I'm in!

Can give: anything, really, but I'm better at fantasy and creepy (not gory) horror. Can't write erotica, won't write sexual violence. At best I can manage bitter-sweet endings. I've written light-hearted stories, but they've never been my best work.

Would like to recieve: Ghosts! Creepy, sad, scary ghosts. No sexual violence, no 'stalking=love' relationships protrayed as positive.

Looking forward to it!

Okay, I guess I'm in this year.

Giving: What I can do is mostly fantasy, but I can probably swing some SF as well. I don't even want to think about trying romance/erotic to give to someone as a present. I have no confidence there.

Receiving:
For Fantasy I'm a fan of old-school fantasy. Evil wizards and priests, and heroes to put a stop to their nefarious plans. Elves, dwarves, gnomes, dragons, humans, none of the above? I'm cool. (A snarky talking sword smarter than the MC would be nifty . But by no means required.)

For SF, pretty much anything goes.

I kinda like characters who get themselves into trouble because they tackle problems head on instead of being more subtle or thinking things through.

Recently I have been gaining interest in Urban Fantasy, so that will work,m

*takes a deep breath before jumping in*

Can give: SF/F/H (exception of hard sf and traditional fantasy). It's not unusual for things to take a comic bend when I get scribbling. I'd like to steer clear of romance (I'm willing to work a little in, but would prefer not to have it as the main prompt) and erotica (just not my thing).

Prompt: I'd like a story that revolves around a game. Humour is good - dark or light - but not required. Bonus points for antiheroes.


EDIT: If things go well, I may try and gift an additional (at least one prompt has my brain whirring).

I think number 4 will be the best reason

Number 9 is also appropriate, for I am Belgian and Sinterklaas has just visited. (and to avoid sounding too cryptic, that means there's lots of spare chocolate in the house right now and it is the good stuff.)

CobraMisfit said:

8) Unlike NaNo, there's no trophy or badge that you can show off in your signature!

.....wait....that sucks.

I mean, there's no word-count limit! (Yeah, let's go with that.)

On second thought, if people DO want a badge, I may make one....

Click to expand...

Do it.

Try this "easy" ten step process:

Step one: Buy alcohol.
Step two: Drink alcohol.
Step three: Repeat step one through two till drunkened.
Step four: Open MS paint.
Step five: Size the picture up, smallest would be best. Do not use zoom!
Step six: Choose only the pencil thingamajigger.
Step seven: Set timer for thirty seconds.
Step eight: Draw, and stop when the timer beeps.
Step nine: Immediately send it off to everyone, without a subject line, without a comment, and send it six times to make sure it goes through.
Step ten: Wake up in the morning, with no idea how you fell asleep or how you got on top of the fridge... again, and regret everything.

Easy, right?

I'm going to do this. Hopefully we will be moved by the new year.

To Give:
I don't know that I could do an emo smexy vampire boy-child, but I can do some romance, some mystery and mostly urban fantasy, but some traditional type fantasy possibly. I'm not much of SF writer, but I'm might try something light and airy. Even fluffy maybe.

To Receive: I'm not much into SF or emo boy-children who whine. I like most fantasy, shapeshifters, personal struggle, strong characters. I'm a Kate Daniels, Harry Potter, LOTR fan, but I read just about anything, including cereal boxes. I like humor, long walks on the beach, and sarcasm. Dry humour also works.

Hmm, this looks interesting. I feel like I don't know many people here, so hopefully this will help. Like you said, famillllyyyyy.

To give:
Fantasy and urban fantasy for me. Dark things/antiheros are my strengths. I can do the emo well. Even smexy emo vampire lovers. My stories tend to be a little darker with strong, interesting themes. Please no humor- it'll just be embarrassing for everyone.

To receive:
Someone stop me if this is too specific. Write me a story where the moon is disappearing. Bonus if musical instruments are involved. Whatever style and feel you want.