[mod post] Weekly Check-in - Week 15

[paleogymnast]

Greetings folks!

This is your weekly check-in. Squee and kvetch in the comments.

Challenges! I hope many of you found the recent April Sprint-to-Finish challenge helpful! Congrats to everyone who participated

Comments

[vampthenewblack]

Two weeks ago I ditched the story I've been working on since Xmas. I've been pretty close to dumping it and pulling out the month or so previous, but clung on as long as I could. And then I had to admit that there was no way in hell I'd be ready to post the thing by June (based on the earliest possible post date I could well have been assigned) and still retain my sanity

Sick

[junkerin]

Okay so finally I cought the flue, wich would normaly be bad but not terible, but for some unknown reason it comes with a really bad headache and that in return makes writing hard.

Don´t know how many words I got so far.

The sun is shining and I feel terrible :-(

Just my status - and thanks for this group!

[galadriel13]

I did finish my first draft during the Speed-to-finish challange. I'm happy and grateful.

I then sent it off to my trusty Beta, who knows me very well and thinks I can take it. She - let's say - challanged me (read: scared the heebyjeebies out of me) with her first set of comments. It took me an hour to scrape my ego off the floor and see if there was any self-esteem left.

Then I went in and made it better. I'm so proud of that!

So I'm grateful for such a thorough and keenly opinionated Beta, but I'm realizing I'l need the extra time I created for myself by finishing the draft early, to do the editing my Beta asks of me, learning more about writing SPN fanfic and rising to the challange.

Wish me luck!

The challanges and the weekly mails have helped me. I've never had this type of support before in writing for fandom. It's new and I a feel so taken care of!

Thank you for running this group!

[dragonflybeach]

Does the story have to be beta'd before submission? Mine has been with the beta for almost a month and at this point she's only maybe 1/4 way through.

[polleekin]

They don't need to be betaed before the May 1 submission. They only need to be betaed before you post. Last year I didn't get my story back from my beta until about a week before my posting date in August (my beta was wonderful, it was completely my fault for waiting so long to get it to my beta). I think most people wait until after submissions to get it betaed. If you already have yours with a beta then I'd say you are pretty far ahead of most people. :)

[paleogymnast]

The story absolutely does NOT need to he beta'd before submission. It's just a first draft. It doesn't need to be pretty or even spell-checked. Save yourself some stress and submit now. Just be sure it's beta'd before posting, but that's a long way off.

[paleogymnast]

The story absolutely does NOT need to he beta'd before submission. It's just a first draft. It doesn't need to be pretty or even spell-checked. Save yourself some stress and submit now. Just be sure it's beta'd before posting, but that's a long way off.

[shadowsong26]

I really need to touch base with the beta I've had lined up for a while and make sure she's still available...I also may want to trade beta services and get a second look at the thing...

I'm not as close to done as I'd like to be--I have like seven or eight scenes to finish and I think one I need to add, though I may tack it on to one of the half-finished ones because it should be fairly short. But I have ten days, and I should manage!

I also need a title. And a summary.

Also, question/opinions please? So, the actual plot of my fic is gen, but there is a fairly major background pairing (established relationship), and there are several coupley moments between the two of them, especially in the first half of the fic. So I'm not sure whether I should submit it under the heading for the pairing (both of whom are major characters, one of whom is a viewpoint character); or gen for the plot. Any advice would be appreciated...

[dawnmay]

I think it would be safe to call it gen if the main plot isn't about the relationship. Coupley moments don't automatically turn a story into a romance imo. Maybe list the side pairing in the warnings?

[paleogymnast]

You can call it Gen and still list the pairings in the pairings section. Clarify that the pairings are background and romance is not the focus of the fic in the warnings or summary. Also remember the summary you use for Artist claims need not be the summary you use for posting.

[shadowsong26]

I figured I'd do that (and by 'that' I mean call it Gen and tag the pairing and clarify in summary) when posting the full story this summer, I was mostly worried about the artist submission, since the form says 'pick one'...but putting those details in the warnings section makes sense. Thanks!