In Eternity this world will be Troy, I believe, and all that has passed here will be the epic of the universe, the ballad they sing in the streets. - Marilynne Robinson
I am more awake than I have any right to be.
It's snowing! Sadly, it's snowing bird poop.
I wish I had a pet monkey.
I am sure I've never had sex on Christmas Day since I've had kids. Waking up at what-the-fuck o'clock to open presents, then making a huge dinner, and then eating it! I'm lucky to make it until 5 p.m. without falling asleep.
I AM the tin foil guy in the tree.
Comedy or drama?
I always switch filenames if I make a significant change in direction, and keep the old version, though I almost never go back to it.
Here's one of mine, where I sidestep the wrestling of the first version entirely. It ended up being a Shard called Morning Light. It's no longer on Lush (trying to sell it) (unsuccessfully), but it got an RR at the time.
First version:
She was crying.
He lay beside her, watching her cry, wondering what to say, what to do. He mentally rehearsed several things to say in response—What’s wrong? Why are you sad? Do you want to talk about it?—but none of them seemed appropriate.
He listened.
Eventually he closed his eyes, still listening.
Final version:
She was sad.
It doesn’t matter why. Lots of things make people sad. Life is sad, sometimes.
She awoke at five a.m., hours before she usually did. She could not go back to sleep, and did not try very hard. She called into the office and left a message telling them she was taking the day off.
In a previous job the corporate culture involved strip clubs (along with a lot of steakhouses and football games), maybe once a month or so. I can't say I never enjoyed myself, but they tend to leave me pretty cold. It's so artificial and dehumanized, and so centered around money. And the strip club crowd is SO depressing - take a look around at the faces of the men at a strip club sometime. They are blank with desire. Blank. There is a real joylessness to it.
And a time or two I'd catch a detail (what comes to mind is seeing a small scar on a girl's lip) that took me totally out of the performance and left me wondering about the girl, and her real life, and what working there must be like. It made me sad.
So. I might go again someday. But in general: not my thing.
Gin (but prefer bourbon).
Liquor straight or with a mixer?
Monday morning. Ugh. Köffee.
I see there are a few more comp entries. I'll attempt hit them tonight. Does the name Runnerwriter sound vaguely familiar? He has a good story.
Wrote the first 3-4 sentences of a new Shard. I've missed them. Hope to have it out before contest results are announced.
I'd say something else, but my brain is too fogged over.
I'll take a nightcap, Bill. A few fingers of Safeway Select, perhaps?
If you have tired of comp entires, Stormdog has an excellent two part story called A Rare Beauty. Its long at 15,000-ish words, but a very well-crafted, precisely written journey into some interesting new territory.
Me? I'm just happy to be not writing about tentacles anymore. Three outta my last four stories. I've got to get out more.
Got paid $3 into the PayPal account for a story this morning. Being a pornographer really pays off! I'll take my proceeds and buy a Slim Jim, which all the denizens of the bar may then split.
Sent out three more stories too.
Oh, fuck it, it's afternoon but I already fixed the weather stripping on the back door, so slide me a beer.
Morning all.
I know that "up in the middle of the night soothing nightmares" thing, Tonya. We have a lot of thunderstorms in the Spring and late Summer, nd they used to scare my girls crazy. I'd sit in their room with them (they shared a room when younger) and read until they fell asleep. If they got really scared I'd stand in the middle of the room and hold their hands, one on each hand. I have sweet fond memories of doing that. At the time I remember mostly how tired my arms would get!
The cool thing about this particular contest is that it gives you a quick tour of the new categories (as well as a tour of writers you may not have read). I was surprised how sweet and tender the teen stories tended to be, how the pee stories were less gross to read than I suspected, and how monster/tentacle sex can actually be hot.
Enough rambling. Work is looking a bit busy today. But, I CAN SLEEP IN TOMORROW!
Köffee please, barkeep.
To the new guy: I don't understand the chat rooms either, so I feel your pain. I tried that when I first came here and got nowhere. Like everyone was talking in code. No one would talk to me.
Best way to meet women here is to read profiles and say hi politely to someone who seems simpatico. Look for someone who seems cool in the Forums and say hi. Women here are hit on constantly here, do try to differentiate yourself from the white noise of male come-one.
And some advice if you want a woman to pay attention to you? Listen to THEM. That applies to Lush and real life and all the nuanced spaces in between.
I am no real gamer, but the old-school Wii is still my favorite platform out there. It's 2018 and I just bought a new (refurbished) one. We play the Sports Resort it packs with, tennis and bowling, a LOT of MarioKart, EA Baseball (last year they made it was 2012 so all the rosters are old), Mario Galaxy, Spore. It's just fun to be so active while playing.