☡Secret Shutin Santa Signup 19 ☡ Post Story Requests Here

Trollheart said:
Yes, something like written from the point of view of a rookie guard at the palace writing home to his mother about all the goings-on...
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Oh, great one! A hulking henchman type who writes with a flowing hand and sends his dear mother all his earnings and some pressed primroses to boot.... And he has to go to great lengths to hide all this from his pals!

Originally, I was thinking vaguely of something like Rumplestiltskin told in a series of letters from the main character (the Queen) to her younger sister (who wasn't in the original story, I believe). And show some sibling-interaction, along with hints at a deeper backstory, and some venting on the part of both correspondents. Sort of, younger sister is secretly envious of her older sister's newfound prosperity, and is fishing for an invite to the palace, and the Queen is feeling betrayed by their father and out of place, and is trying to discourage her sister from coming and turning them both into the laughingstock of the court.... Oh, or maybe it was the younger sister who got taken to see the king? And the older one was left at home?

Anyway, that's just me brainstorming--I'd love to see what someone else can come up with. (Although, I almost want to write this myself, now!)

But do feel free to steal from my brainstorm if you like!
 
Trollheart said:
Yes, something like written from the point of view of a rookie guard at the palace writing home to his mother about all the goings-on...
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Food for thought...

Screenshot_20200625-151250_Pinterest.jpg
 
I'll put up two subjects that I have tried to write, done a lot of planning for, am certain hold potential - but never got anywhere.

Staff in an ultra luxurx orbital hotel come low gravity hospital,

and a bioengineered partly sapient sea monster, exploring the depths of the deep ocean trenches.

As those of you who have been involved in earlier SS raids will possible remember, I tend to write stories for almost all of the requests, a thousand or so words, concentrating on the one I am issued, then rough preparing the others. It's fun, and the fact that I am not a writer doesn't seem to hamper me at all, and writing a story in a thousand words is much preferable to seventy-five. And then, when we've overshot the deadline by a couple of weeks (can't just say 'OK, won't put yours in then' - somebody's waiting for that story - I can give one of my spares a polish up when (s)he who is organising requests an extra :)

It is really worthwhile trying to write a coherent piece that can be used for more than one of the requests - fir instance: epistolary, time travel, humoristically space opera non-human aliens invading alternate universes and tlonks can all be integrated into one, narativically coherent universe…
 
chrispenycate said:
I'll put up two subjects that I have tried to write, done a lot of planning for, am certain hold potential - but never got anywhere.

Staff in an ultra luxurx orbital hotel come low gravity hospital,

and a bioengineered partly sapient sea monster, exploring the depths of the deep ocean trenches.
…
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Just have to ask. Is the hotel converted into a hospital or is there a hospital and hotel and the staff transfers between them? And is it the sea monster doing experiments itself, or is it an assistant to an actual scientist?
 
Mad Alice said:
Just have to ask. Is the hotel converted into a hospital or is there a hospital and hotel and the staff transfers between them? And is it the sea monster doing experiments itself, or is it an assistant to an actual scientist?
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Or is the sea monster the scientist and it constantly bemoans its human assistant who can't physically join it in exploring the trenches and has to rely on video for images?
 
Mad Alice said:
Just have to ask. Is the hotel converted into a hospital or is there a hospital and hotel and the staff transfers between them? And is it the sea monster doing experiments itself, or is it an assistant to an actual scientist?
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Kharn said:
Or is the sea monster the scientist and it constantly bemoans its human assistant who can't physically join it in exploring the trenches and has to rely on video for images?
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I should limit my potential benefactor by insisting that his/her environment be the same as my concept? I'm not trying to steal the work, just be stimulated into attacking the story myself.

My hospital/hotel is (are?) two separate projects under one… well, inside one physical structure. It is designed to separate the obscenely rich from some of their money, the old ones by putting them in a low gravity environment, reducing the stress on circulatory systems and mobility, while the younger ones goggle at the planet slowly circling outside and experience zero gee sex. Staff interact socially, but it's unlikely that the um rotating chefs producing gastronomic delights for the conferences and social functions the hotel organises would be asked to deliver specialist foods for the invalids, or ready meals for the staff, and outside construction crews. Occasionally there are crises that involve everyone, even paying guests, to lend a hand - this is an inhospitable environment, after all.

Gyms and centrifugesare common territory, and there is no reason why a member of the medical tean might not be enthusiastic about microgee tantrics, or a chambermaid of any gender being particularly soothing company, sent to oversee a patien for whom medical science can no longer do anything. And there are the environmental techs, keeping everyone breathing and, hopefully, happy, interplanetary janitors, but not looked down upon socially (except by consultants - but they even look down on other consultants, and the paper pushers with no particular reason to talk to any of the others (apart from the deputy manager, who keeps the staff cooperative while the manager calms the guests), and communications crew, (there is no blank time on an orbital habitat. It rotates, slowly, and even at the rim never exceeds a tenth of a gee, less than on the moon.) keep visitors in continuous contact with inhabitants all over that globe rotating slowly around the.

There is a large research ship, with laboratories, a couple of bathyscaphes, several hundred scientists some of whom double as crew, satellite communications and helicopters fueled to reach land with samples, an international team whose official tongue is English, but actually speak oceanography, icthyology, volcanology… nothing any reasonable human could understand, The monster's favourite human is a journalist with the embedded film crew, who seems to communicate in the language she (the monster is female, not that this is likely to be important within her lifetime), had been taught as a lava.

But all of this is my conceptualisation - I'm not expecting the unfortunate who is given the task of writing it any of the details will be carried over.
 
I agree that there are some tempting and interesting requests dropped in the lottery box. Funny thing is I can't think of a decent request myself offhand.
 
I will sign up IF I can think of something for someone to write about...

Big if with my current writing lethargy
 
Really looking forward to this! But, um....when's the deadline exactly? Do I have the time to write extra stories based on all these wonderful ideas?

Also, once the recipient guesses who wrote the story (If they do? If they don't guess it after, say, several months, is it proper to tell them?), what then? Can the writer post the story if they like--for comment or critique, say? Or is that the recipient's prerogative? How is it usually done on here?

@Peter V, what sort of genres/styles/settings do you like reading, or writing? Maybe if the rest of us tossed out a few 'example ideas' you'll come up with something exciting--there's nothing like a group brainstorm!
 
Land Under Wave said:
Really looking forward to this! But, um....when's the deadline exactly? Do I have the time to write extra stories based on all these wonderful ideas?

Also, once the recipient guesses who wrote the story (If they do? If they don't guess it after, say, several months, is it proper to tell them?), what then? Can the writer post the story if they like--for comment or critique, say? Or is that the recipient's prerogative? How is it usually done on here?

@Peter V, what sort of genres/styles/settings do you like reading, or writing? Maybe if the rest of us tossed out a few 'example ideas' you'll come up with something exciting--there's nothing like a group brainstorm!
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7
I would like to shed some clarity upon these points of order you have brought up. I truly would like to. However upon perusal of previous Santa threads, delving deep into the archive upon your behalf I find Im not seeing a clear plan of action in plan for just those contingencies you are mentioning. To quote from "Shakespeare in Love" it's a mystery but it always turns out right.
So may I suggest that for such questions we leave it in play for now?
After all we wouldn't want to disturb a mystery in its very formation.
;)
 
As for writing starts I believe I indicated I would start handing out assignments as of the week of July 1st. In other words by next Thursday I will start handing them out.
Anyone who really wants a certain persons prompt to write, please subtlety and suremptiously indicate so here or pm me with your query. I will try to assign you something that kicksparks your muse if I can.
 
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