In other words, I kind of hate it. Right on schedule for me, really.

How are you all doing? Feeling it? Struggling? 

Oye vey! I haven't put any words down yet so you are ahead of the game. 

Sometimes the characters make unexpected decisions once I get going, but I usually like to have a broadly defined story arc laid out in my head before I start writing. I currently know how I want to start and finish, but not entirely sure about that troublesome middle bit. I might have to just suck it up, start writing, and see what happens.

Last year for R1 I did not settle on an idea and start writing until Thursday. Still managed to eek out top of the group. I shan't rely that that kind of lightening striking twice! 

Being gay myself, my entries are *always* focused on gay characters. Yes, I've had same-sex romantic couples in my stories (though have never had romance or rom-com as assignments), and have never been downgraded for it.

This current story is my first that doesn't feature a gay male protagonist, and that's only because it doesn't fit the character or the story.

That's a tough one. Personally, I feel like if they said boxing, it should be boxing. Not sure what all constitutes the many definitions of bootlegging. 

Maybe others have thoughts as well?

I think you'll be fine. I've seen lots of same sex pairings in stories and they've placed based on the quality of the story. Write interesting characters and tell a good story. Period. 

I think if you are more comfortable writing a same sex pairing, then do it!

Absolutely!

Do you find yourself thinking that if you don't write a hetero couple that the judges will think you're trying too hard to be modern?  I always find myself thinking that!  I submitted a story with a lesbian married couple to a contest and I really, really, struggled before hitting send.  Maybe it's just me. 

Romance--- not my typical genre--- so I decided to go super weird with it.  We shall see.

Right on track for me-- wondering why the hell I do this to myself.  We pay money for the pleasure of this misery.  

So I always start with google or wikipedia to get some ideas and try to get as "out of the box" as possible.

The definition of "bootlegging" is pretty broad from what I've found with a cursory search, and consists mostly of secretive organization of non-sanctioned activity -- so in that case, I would say yes, illegal fighting could be considered a bootlegger organization.

As for the boxing -- having been around for a while, I'll say that the objects and characters have gotten much more specific over time. If it says 'boxing,' I would tend to stick with boxing.

On the other hand, playing fast and loose with the prompts is a NYCM tradition. I've done well with stories where a 'protestor' was a teenager being bratty about doing what her grandma asked her to, a romance where the guy protag ends up marrying the girl protag's sister, a story where 'long-term parking' was a euphemism for cryosleep .... you get the gist. So if you wanted your boxing promoter to promote, say, Boxing Day ... or a guy at a Uhaul dealer trying to upsell boxes ... or any other kind of weird and twisty interpretation, the judges tend to like those.

Hope this helps

No. In fact, I consider it quite the opposite - proving that a story with a gay protagonist doesn't have to be only about being gay. I'm creating genre fiction that I would actually want to read.

And I think this right here is what will give you a good story. 

Why would it be any more limiting than writing non-gay characters? People are people. The same things happen to everyone, regardless of who they love.

One of my online friends has done quite well here with his gay characters. I haven't seen any evidence that any of the judges has a bias against it.

Oh, and as for the boxing promoter, I would say you could make it work even if the character was someone in charge of making sure people use boxes, so I wouldn't think illegal fighting (which is still mostly boxing, right?) would be a problem.

I saw this one and it looks so fun to write! Maybe that's because it's really up my alley to flip something like a eulogy on its head. Kind of jealous, but I'm just telling myself that my prompts are more challenging to me personally. 

I second that!

Once I get "the" idea, that's it for me. I need to see it through. So here we go. In good times and in bad, sickness and health... you get the idea.

Hope everyone is doing well and the muse is being kind.

Biggest fear is that it will be way over wordcount but I plan to just chuck it all down on paper tomorrow and see how long it is, have a look and see how easy it will be to cut down without utterly destroying it, and decide then whether this is the right idea or whether I try a different one.

^^ This x 100

(that would be me, myself, and I applauding that sentiment.)

One more reason to love you!  

Step 1. Start blasting through what seems like a great plot.

step 2. Feel the creep of self doubt

step 3. Freeze and stop writing

step 4. Delete everything, start again and harass non-reading non-writing boyfriend for ideas while he's busy.

Step 5. Pout like a three year old and whine about how you're never gonna be the next Murakami.

Rinse and repeat until the final hours.

Woot! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this... I'm sort of playing fast and loose right now with the "influenza." 

Looks like you have a well defined process E! 
 

Oh my gosh, it's like you invaded my brain and wrote my private thoughts for the world to see! 

We will see.

If this doesn't work out, I'll go back to the plans for writing smut (Just don't tell ma, she'll weep for shame) 

I actually have a BioChem degree, so in this case my "fast & loose" is a willingness to ignore what I know in favor of escaping the pigeon holes that the specific disease lends.

Here's hoping the judges aren't very science-y. Or that I can put together a story that's engaging enough that I'm forgiven. LOL

Eeek. The pressure. 
Honestly, I'm totally making this all up as I go. :)

THANK YOU! You know who you are.

Now, back at it!

So...feeling better. That's something! 

So by this time tomorrow I might expect to have three words, then? That's good to know. I love talking to people from the future.

My 12 year old broke his wrist horsing around with his younger brother.

 Fantasy, speech impediment and matchmaker.  I resolved to include a banshee...but the definition on NYC site states fantasy does not involve a macabre plot.  Would that mean a banshee would make it macabre?  How close to the lines can I get without being disqualified? 

Hey, I'm in the same group!

If it makes you feel any better, my story is super dark. I don't want to say it's a horror mashup, because there's no gore, and I'm still noodling but ... at this point, pretty sure my MC isn't going to make it out alive.

Also, as an aside, I started writing this as a romcom mashup and clearly I need therapy and/or to stop watching Frozen because my handsome human prince is an asshole now.

NYC Midnight cites GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire as an example of fantasy... so I'd say you should be able to get pretty darn close to the macabre line. 

But man, Comedy and "eulogy" is ROUGH! You can do it!

Drama/Hitchhiking/Doctor

Hey, heat mate! Boy, you aren't kidding! Comedy - HARD! Eulogy - SUPER HARD!

I would think a banshee would fit into the fantasy genre well. Unless there was a lot of gore or terror or gruesome deaths associated with the banshee, it shouldn't be disqualified. 

On topic, I've written about 1200 words so far, but most of them are pretty rough (Group 61: horror, house cleaning, a jester). 

If it helps any, one of my family's favorite stories (no idea if it was true or apocryphal) was about a preacher at a funeral who began, standing in front of the casket, with "What you see before you now is just a shell. The nut is gone."

We... err... have been known to utter those words at family funerals over the years.

political satire/a resignation/a stockbroker

 I've got the historical era anchored decently, and I know when the mutiny will happen. However, I haven't yet established that the child is homeless.  The child is an integral character, and being homeless will be key, once it's revealed. I wonder if it'll be okay that the reveal happens halfway or so through the story?

That's kind of what I keep thinking, "Don't worry, you've got all week, slow down." Except I've got a killer week at work ahead of me, and there's no way I'm going to feel like coming home and writing for hours on end. I want next Saturday to be set aside for sprucing up what's basically finished. So...this weekend is crunch time.

I have an idea I am stubbornly refusing to let go of because I love it in theory.  I just need to make it work on the damn page.  

Vernacula's guide to writing.  <3 

 rofl

Genre mixing is ok as long as you primarily make it look and feel like a fairytale. (I mashed up political satire with fairytale last year, but it was too much fairytale and not strong enough on the satire and it cost me). 

Don't forget that a moral or a life lesson needs to be in there somewhere (as opposed to fantasy, where you can just write about a dragon battle if you want).

And if you twist a trope inside out, you can make it original.

Good luck!

Aint it the truth.

Fairy Tales were designed as morality tales for children - to teach them of the dangers of the world.

If you're uncertain about whether your tale constitutes 'fairy tale' (as opposed to fantasy), I find that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp#Functions" rel="nofollow - Propp's Morphology provides a pretty good guide.