We've already heard from some of you in the other thread - Ficathon - but now we need specifics.

~~~~~~~

Rules for Writers:

Note that stories don't *have* to be Christmas stories. Unless the request you get states it specifically, of course. It would be fun if stories had a Holiday theme, but I'm not going to limit anyone's inspiration by requiring them to be centered around Christmas. If you have a holiday preference/non-preference either in the fic written for you or in what you'll write, please include it in your form

1. Sign up for the ficathon by December 8th.

2. In order to sign up, email your completed form (located just a little further below) to njhky@yahoo.com with the subject "ficathon." Mellie or I will send you a confirmation that we received your sign-up.

3. Assignments will be given out no later than December 13th.

4. Stories should be at least 750 words in length. (That's not as long as it sounds.)

5. You can start posting your stories as soon as you're ready. You can post them yourself, just make sure posts are labeled "ficathon" so we can identify them - also don't forget to mention who the story is for, when you post it. *g* (And if for some reason you don't want to post it yourself, we'll do it for you.)

6. All stories should be posted by January 20th.

7. If your story is delayed - or if you find you won't be able to finish - you must let me know as soon as possible so we can find a pinch hitter.

8. If possible, have your story beta-read. These stories are meant as Christmas / holiday presents - the contents should be as appealing as the wrapping, I think. *g*

9. No character-bashing is allowed. Neither will deathfics. And we'll not be doing nfic either, because it would be really lame for someone to not be able to read the story written for them because they don't have access to that side of the boards...


Form:

Screen name: (I'm Classicalla)

Three things I want in my fic:
1.
2.
3.

Preferred season(s)/holiday [if applicable]:

Three things I do not want in my fic:
1.
2.
3.

I am willing to write: Give us a short description of what you would be willing to write so we don't set you up with humor if you're into angsty A-plots, okay!

I will not write: An example of this would be that you hate writing anything Lex. We wouldn't want to assign you that.

Will I pinch hit: (meaning if someone does not complete their story or circumstances prevent them from finishing, will I volunteer to take on another story?)

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Okay, I think that's it. Now, let's hear from you!

Mellie and Nancy

OK, I sent my form in.

*takes deep breath at thought she will actually have to do this now*

WOW! We already have 10 sign-ups! We want more, more, more....

Email sent...

WOW! We have lots of sign-ups and still five more days to go. And I gotta tell ya', we have some awesome authors onboard. (No, we aren't telling you who. ) But we want more, more, more. The more the merrier, right? So come on everybody, let's .


We want to hear from YOU!


Mellie and Nancy (who are honored to be coordinating this shindig)

This is the last day for the ficathon sign-up!! We have some great authors that have signed up. But how about you? First time authors, authors who haven't written for awhile... How about YOU!!!

And, please, when those of you who do have your assignments get them, please keep it a SECRET!

Thank you, Nancy and Mellie

Oh, and on another note: Please don't ask us to give your story to your best friend or vice versa. I mean, where would be the surprise in that?

Email sent!

WOOT!

To be technical, Carol isn't my best friend. More like co-conspirator.

LOL Jenn - ditto.

And cookie provider...

Okay, everybody, we have lots of folks (20 plus) participating. If you have not received an email from me saying that I got your request, please email me again post-haste! Thanks.

That should keep Labby busy for a couple of months.

Michael

Okay, everybody... Just a little heads up. Mellie and I were supposed to finalize assignments this evening, but I was in a car accident. If all goes well, we should still get them out tomorrow (but late), but I just wanted to let you know that there could be a slight delay.

In a car accident?! I hope that you and everyone involved are OK. Please say yes.

Nancy! I've seen the companion-thread in Off Topic and it sounds like you had some amazing luck, all things considered.

No hurry about the assignments.

Michael

Yes, Iolan, I am okay.

Most of you should have your assignments but if you don't, fear not. There are still a few that I need to send out.

I wanted to tell everyone that we have 25 authors participating in the ficathon! Can't wait to see the stories starting to come in.

(There are still a few of you that haven't received assignments yet.)

Remember when you post to have ficathon noted in the title.

Glad to hear you're OK! Your post in the other thread does sound horrific. I hope that bruising, etc., isn't too bad and that you'll be back to yourself soon.

I am sore, but I have more bruising from the hard neck collar they had on me than from the actual wreck.

All the assignments have been sent out! But it did seem complicated making sure I sent the right one out. I managed not to send anyone their own request, but I did come close a couple of times. And I sent one person the wrong request which fortunately I caught quickly.

So I tell you all this in case you didn't get yours. If you didn't, let me know ASAP!! Thanks

And I want to say that Mellie did almost all the work of assigning requests to authors and she deserves a big hand for that!

So it is Christmas (almost over) and I still don't see any ficathon fics. Did I miss something?

Natascha (who was looking forward to reading some new holiday fics...)

Nah, I figure it will be a few couple days before the first ones show up.

Michael

I've been writing diligently, but I can't figure out how to get to happily-ever-after without adding an extra fifty chapters. Anybody want to brainstorm me out of my corner? IM me if you're interested. One of my characters just isn't playing nicely, by request of my anonymous recipient.

Elisabeth

We got a later start this year, too.

Oh, and hey, Elisabeth, since I know who your assignment is for I'll look at your story. But I'm sure said requester would love 50 chapters.

Just over a week till deadline, but I'm still not down for the count. How about y'all? Am I still the only procrastinator out there?

Sorry I didn't get back with you sooner, Nancy, but I'm no longer backed into a corner. Will you beta for me when I get done?


Elisabeth
who is typing furiously

You're not the only one, LOL. I love that others were able to get their stories done so quickly since it gave me great stuff to read. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them!

On the plus side, my story isn't done yet because it keeps growing on me. I just hit 8600 words and, while I know how the rest of it will go, I'm not seeing that light at the end of the tunnel just yet. BJ keeps teasing me -- "You know you only had to write 750 words, right?"

Does it count if I post the first part by the deadline?

Kathy

Kathy to posting the first part.

That's what I did last year. I'm counting on it working this time, too I'm much more worried about posting the last part just before the Kerths

Michael, muttering about muses not understanding the concept of 750 words...

Cough.

Cough.

Cough.

I may be late, but the person I am writing for is aware -- I lost a bunch of time with a broken keyboard a couple weeks ago. Bah.

Go low tech - a pencil and paper never fail (unless bambino is big enough to grab it from you and chew on it).

The lesson of the week in my household is that BlackBerries ARE NOT teething toys, so I would hate to see what he would do to a pencil. Besides, part of my broken keyboard issues came from SOMEONE thinking it may be fun to pry the space bar up while Mommy wasn't looking. This exploration age is FUN! Har.

I have a new keyboard now, so I am getting back on track -- and keeping my little assistant far, far away from my laptop.

Yes, Elisabeth.


Yes. I’ve been thinking we may need to extend it anyway. I haven’t asked Mellie but I’m sure she’d be okay with it. (And, by-the-way, since Mellie and I coordinated, we just decided to do fics for each other. And I must have been in a doozy of a mood because I gave her a whopper of a request.


That is torturous for me because of pain. But now a recorder...

I asked her, too. But she just flipped me off and told me I'd have to make do with half of that.

Michael

/grabs new deadline and runs with it/

Some keyboards can be dismantled. Some cannot. Most laptops are designed to pop out the entire board and replace rather than to replace individual keys.

Thanks for the extension. I'm hoping I won't need it, but with my plethora of headaches I just might.

Elisabeth

OMG thank you for the extension!! My brain is refusing to cooperate and I was afraid I was going to wind up writing cr*p just to make the deadline. So thank you!!!

I just want to say that my fic is going to be delayed by a few days. My hard drive crashed and I lost my almost finished fic so I have to rewrite it and I have a dog show this weekend so I won't be home to write! I already let the organizers know but just want to apologize!

I sorry

Can we get another extension? Like another week? I'm stressing myself out about it, LOL. I already notified my person I was going to be late because I felt bad.

Yeah, mine is late, too, but the person I am writing for knows ... and says she still loves me. We'll see. After all, her fic does have a manthong in it.

I may or may not have had my fingers crossed. We shall see. I even gave you the perfect plotline but you shot it down and told me to write it myself. /glares/