Post by Dante on May 1, 2012 14:50:23 GMT -5
THE COLLABORATIVE CALAMITY
by 667 Dark Avenue
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To My Kind Editor - by Kensicle
Chapter One - by Dante
Chapter Two - by Tiago Squalor
Chapter Three: Part One - by Terry Craig (Illustration - by Terry Craig)
Chapter Three: Part Two - by The Anonymous Narrator
Chapter Four - by thedoctororwell
Chapter Five - by Pen and Bee
Chapter Six - by BSam
Not a chapter. - by Hermes
Chapter Seven - by Hermes
Chapter Eight - by Dante
Chapter Nine - by Dante
Chapter Ten - by Dante
Chapter Eleven - by Dante
Chapter Twelve - by Dante
Chapter Thirteen - by Dante
Dear Reader - by Dante
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Opening #1
Welcome, all, to the long-awaited collaborative 667 ASoUE fanfiction – one in which I’ll be attempting to include contributions from non-writers as well as the writers among you. How will that happen? Read on to find out.
The basic idea for this fic is that a group of 667’s fanfiction writers – a full thirteen, I hope! – will be writing an ASoUE fanfiction in the form of a standard book in the series, with the Baudelaires finding themselves in a strange new home over the course of thirteen chapters. Each writer will contribute a chapter before the baton is passed to the next – it’s just like The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, if you’ve read that!
But between chapters, and before the story has even started, I want everyone, writers and non-writers alike, to submit ideas on various topics which I’ll suggest – scroll to the end of this post to see the first opportunities. As a writer, I think it would be exciting to have more material to work with like this, and as a reader, I think it would be thrilling to get a chance to suggest ideas without having to go the length of writing a full chapter. Since it’s a 667 Dark Avenue collaboration, everyone should be able to take part!
If you want to write a chapter – please post and let me know! I probably won’t let chapters be “pre-booked” in case anyone has schedule difficulties when their turn comes up, but don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll write the first chapter to give people an idea of what this will look like, and I’ll be on hand to give advice to any writers challenged by their chapter, but otherwise it’s up to each writer to decide how the story progresses.
To get us started, I’d like people, especially non-writers, to return an answer to any or all of the following questions:
1. When in ASoUE should the story take place? (For instance, if you want the freaks to be in, you might want it set between the ninth and twelfth books, or if you think the story should be simpler, before TAA.)
2. What kind of region should the story take place in? (In the city? By the sea? The Hinterlands?)
3. Can you provide a name for a new character in the story? (If your name is a literary or historical allusion, the writers will have to make the character fit with that reference!)
4. Can you come up with a random object to be involved with the plot? (Umbrellas? Pumpkins? It’s up to you!)
After I’ve got a few responses, I’ll have a Kind Editor letter from the “previous book” written up based on a random selection of your ideas, to start things off.
Let the collaboration commence! Er, hopefully not calamitously, though…
Opening #2
After a hiatus of several years which was absolutely, definitely for the purpose of bringing in new blood, the collaborative calamity The Collaborative Calamity is now relaunching! The plan, as ever, is for 667ers to come together to produce a work of Lemony Snicket fanfiction as a group; each chapter is written by one or more people different from the writer of the previous chapter, building on the work of the other writers before them, and each chapter ends with a question for the public affecting how the story should proceed. As time goes by, hopefully we can gather an illustration for each chapter, too. It's turned into a very long project, but it'll be all the more impressive when it's completed!
At the time of writing, the story is just over half-complete, though the progress of the story and the chapters so far are linked at the top of this post. We will now be looking for writers to continue the story. Collaboration between two or even more people is allowed; the only condition is that whoever takes up the story next should genuinely believe that they can complete their chapter soon - ideally within a week, no more than a month. If you want to write the next chapter, you should PM Dante or post in the thread to say as much. Given how much time has passed, rereading the whole story would be a good idea, but volunteers will also be provided with a continuity summary of the story so far with points of note marked out, for ease of reference.
As for illustrations, anyone can volunteer so long as they claim a specific chapter! Chapters which have already been illustrated will be noted at the top. You might be better off just submitting your illustration straight to the thread, but it's up to you.
Let the collaboration continue! Er, hopefully less calamitously, though...
Opening #3
Dear Reader,
If you have found your way to this story expecting a perfectly ordinary fanfiction, with single-paragraph chapters and no ending ever written, you may soon find that your time is shorter than expected. The following chapters chart the four-year collaboration by the members of 667 Dark Avenue on creating their own alternative history of the Baudelaire orphans. As you might expect, nothing went exactly as planned.
There are many other histories of the Baudelaire orphans which make fewer demands on your time. However, if you have the patience for such unfortunate events as a doomed sea voyage, several untrustworthy sailors, a broken film projector, fluctuating allegiances, and a countdown, it may well be worth your time to risk reading this story.
For the collaboration of writers responsible for this tale, it would be a calamity to lack the collaboration of readers to complete their work. But nobody could blame you for navigating away from this story if you have no idea what you are getting into, in this world in which all of our time is running out.
With all due respect,
The Editor