Quote by KimmiBeGood
Morning, Rumpies
Happy day before Friday!
Ima taken some sweets and be in my corner writing. I’m working on a memoir about my reflections on some constants I’ve noticed in my life. It’s an emotional, but healing writing for me. Here’s my cover and title.
That cover and title tell me so much, Kimmi. 😘
I am sure you will find the right healing words to go inside. Hugs from me.
When I used to travel for business to the States, I always, if possible, tried to first land in Detroit's Wayne County Airport. It is an international hub, and I found it far easier and quicker to get through than the bigger city airports. I used to do a lot of business in Toledo, Ohio. Stayed there many times. However, I did have one customer who was in Detroit itself, a place called Plymouth. I think they were the last US customer that I ever visited, as unfortunately, I have not been to the USA since 2016. Hopefully, I will return one day. I loved the country and really enjoyed mixing with the people (the ladies seemed to love my accent). 😳😜
Yes, I did know Canada was south of Detroit, having once stood on the banks of the river and looked across. Never did, though, due to time pressure, but I kind of wish I had now. 😊
A cup of your best Yorkshire Tea, Bear, make it a strong one. Thank you. 😊
I'm sitting in my back garden, writing, and not planning to do anything more today. The weather is perfect, though apples are scattered around me, fallen from our two apple trees due to yesterday's wind. I can hear the speedboats and jet skis from the local beach; it's maybe half a mile away.
And to answer your question, did you all know that Toronto is closer to the Equator than the North Pole?
No, I didn't, but it does not surprise me. When I was in Hobart, Tasmania, I was told that I was nearer the equator than the South Pole... Though that could just have been an Australian pulling a Pommy's leg. 😳🤣
Take care, everyone. 😎
Quote by sprite
what is a moderator shift? no. seriously.
It is the amount of hours a moderator puts in of their own time: reading, correcting, rejecting, and probably very occasionally laughing at us wannabee author efforts. For their "shift," they get no pay, little reward apart from the odd thank you, and probably the odd, unhelpful abuse (which should never happen as there is no excuse). 😢
But you know better than me, Rachel... Without moderators, this site wouldn't be what it is today. So I say thank you to you and every one of you fellow moderators... 😊
Quote by Seeker4
That seems like a day to avoid for any kind of event like that given how much is going on but I guess there is also a romantic element to getting married on the last day of the year. My mother was born on New Year's Eve so we celebrated her birthday with dinner then the New Year later.
Good morning. Air quality warnings are lifted here but the heat continues. Supposed to cool down by the weekend.
I am working on a story for the SS comp and contemplating more Paris. Though with the reaction to part two being rather muted, I think I would try to make it standalone rather than tying it too tightly to the original two-parter.
On the wedding, I agree, as I thought it would be more expensive! However, it was around half price, as she got a deal. Don't ask me how, but she is a company buyer. She has managed to book a whole hotel that is out in the countryside and wouldn't have anything going on that night. The wedding and reception are all being held at the same place. We even got a later bar opening time as it New Year! 😳😊
On your Paris story, both parts were hot, but I see that you only had around 60% of the views for the second part over the first. Give it time; it may catch up to part one. There are a lot of variables in play when one story gets more attention than another. I think we both know that.
I'm not going to list them, but one often overlooked factor (the admins might not agree) is how long your story was on the front page. If it stalls there between moderator shifts, you will pick up many extra views and some likes/comments. Can you recall whether there was a significant time difference between the two?
A cup of Yorkshire tea for me, Bear. Thanks!
Our oldest daughter gets married at the end of next year, on New Year's Eve, to be exact. So my wife is beginning to go through the same things as you, Kat—eighteen months of preparation!
Have a great day out with the girls, and good luck with the shopping! 😊
Quote by Seeker4
Me, too. Or I might depending on the outcome of a meeting tomorrow. Long story and not a sexy one. Fact is, I have been talking about retirement for the past five years but keep finding reasons to stick with the company. Under one plan, I would have gone this year, in fact (at 60). So I am ready, just not sure the time is right. There's one more big project I would like to execute on (as PM, not developer). But the situation that led to this meeting has me reconsidering.
I think retirement is such a personal thing. I feel that most of us know when we want to retire, but then we wonder if we can afford it. That second point is important, as with the extra time you suddenly have, you will need money to do those things you have always wanted to do. 😊
Thank you for opening up, Rumpies, Lion... any ice-cold drink for me. I'm not complaining; it's just hot in the UK at the moment. 😎 If you ever come to the UK, you're going to be disappointed on the devil's doughnut front. Entenmann's products seemed to be Stateside only. 😳
I seem to have created two story series links, "Cash in Hand," and have one chapter in each series link. 🙄
Is it possible for the author (me) to delete one of the series links and put both chapters in the remaining series link?
Or do I need the help of a moderator or admin? 😊
If I owned LushStories, I would be worried if story verification times got out of control. 😳
In saying that, it is no reflection on the moderators, who do a wonderful job. It just sounds like they are being overwhelmed at the moment, but it is hard to tell looking in from the outside. Am I the only one who counts the number of published stories each day? 🙄
Let's hope things settle down and a long-term solution can be found. 😊
Quote by fuzzy1954
Thursday aka Thristy Days at Rumps
1st in
Lights On
Windows Open
I am pleased you opened the window, Lion, as I can see you inside. Up a ladder again, staring across the Atlantic. 🥹
I see Kimmi’s honeybuns have all gone so I stick with just a cup of tea. Thanks.☕️ 😀
The first part of "Cash In Hand"—"A Job Opening"—is up, and it seems to have been well received. 😊
Here is the link: Cash In Hand 1 - "A Job "Opening?"—Part 1 Of 2
The second part is with the moderators.😊
I have been up a ladder most of the day, scraping old paint off the house walls. However, when I was up there, I did manage to peep through Rumpie's open window and saw Kimmi's delicious honeybuns on the bar. Unfortunately, I was a messy as the honeybuns, covered in old white paint. 🙄 And I was turned away! 😳😕
On a brighter note, the first part of my uniform story was published: 😊 Cash In Hand 1 - "A Job Opening?" - Part 1 Of 2
Quote by techgoddess
Heading to the pool for a swim with the neighbors.
That pool does look inviting... and nicely decorated.
I don't know why, but when you mentioned your pool in the past, I never expected it would be literally on the beach, even though I know you are a beach girl (read beach babe😉). 😎
I should be working on my 7th novel, but it is hot, and writing complete books is extremely draining, just like the heat. So I slipped into writing something not quite so taxing until I have the free time to spend writing the novel. The novel's timeline and storyline are complete; I just need to write the words.
So instead, look out for a series of standalone stories from me following a married couple as they go through life. Each story is a different genre and will appear at my own pace. When I have completed this story journey, I will be very close to finishing my Omnium Badge. 😊
I am hoping that I will be in the position to submit the first story next week. 😳😀
Quote by JustForYou
I actually count mine, as it's achievable. I don't do it with the intention of preparing for a hissy-fit, but purely to see how much my number differs from the god that is tech. Perhaps possible ambiguity over whether a bean's counted as one or two is a part of the challenge, as opposed to being angry over something I will always consider a bit of fun?
Yep, I do similar. I wrote one recently: 100 words on Word, 100 words on my fingers, and 105 words when I put it in my story draft folder. Where did those 5 words come from on the LS word count? 🙄
It's like magic, as there are still only 100 words there.
Quote by JustForYou
I genuinely cannot see a reason why anyone would have a problem with a week between submissions, especially when it's to help those who do as much as they do.
Just suggesting... that authors who write poetry or only micros might have an issue. I remember one author here, until fairly recently, got up and wrote a piece of poetry in the morning, submitted it and did that every day for at least a year. His name escapes me, but others will remember. He told me poetry was his soul. What he lived for. An extreme example, I know, but he was real and would be excluded; 52 stories a year is not very many when you think about it.
The point I am making is that restricting the number of times you can submit a story in a time frame will have repercussions unseen. If we have a time limit, why not start with 24 hours and see if it makes any difference?
Quote by Milik_the_Red
You may be right, and perhaps they should give a dispensation to that for people who have bought memberships. But I do agree you wouldn’t be able to get around people lengthening their stories instead of putting it into chapters regardless of how you limited it. I, for one, have never been a big fan of multi chapter stories, especially posting them because the readership drops off precariously as not everybody follows the story to its conclusion and new readers tend to stay away from Long multi chapter works. I would rather post a story that’s 10,000 words long then post three consecutive stories at 3300 words of peace. But having said that I’m about to break up at 8000 word story for just that reason because many people have told me they don’t read stories that are that long as they don’t feel they have the time.
I find that to be unfortunate but people are too busy to have a long attention span when it comes to detailed and complicated works. Finding people gravitate towards micro fiction and flash for that very reason.
There is an exception to what I'm going to state below, and that is if you have a large, loyal following that reads everything you write. But for the average author...
If you are looking for views and likes, then I'm fairly certain the sweet spot is 2,000 to 3,000 words. Once you hit 5,000 words, your views drop off quickly. I believe you lost half your potential audience at 5,000 words; they simply have moved to the next story, only seeing the number of words.
There is a poll here somewhere, basically confirming these figures.
Quote by Milik_the_Red
they desperately need help. I can tell you from experience mods have lives and they get burned out. I had a story that is now posted, but sat in the queue for three days. As I watched it, I could see that only a couple of stories every few hours was getting put through.
I don’t blame them for this. I understand it takes a lot of people to clear those stories. Each one has to be read sometimes sent back and sometimes edited. It takes time and we’re dealing with volunteers who are spending their weekends with their families or working or using the time to otherwise decompress from their daily stress.
Being a mod is hard work, and it takes a mental toll. I burned out hard when I did it and got to the point where I didn’t even want to look at a story.
Hopefully, they can find some more people to help them out because it takes a team. No one person can clear this queue. Not even a few, not when there’s dozens of stories to process.
I got all the respect in the world for the fine people doing that job, and all we can do is wait patiently until they have time to get to the stories we post
I 100% agree about moderator burnout. However, I don't think limiting posting to one a week is a good idea for selling memberships or will be a complete or even an effective long-term solution. What it might do is make the stories longer, as authors might stop splitting them into two parts, not wanting to wait a week to post the second part. That's just my personal opinion.
Quote by KimmiBeGood
Hi, David! Latest report by WW and Jen in the thread about wait times is that the backlog was cleared some then shot back up over the weekend.
Thank you for letting me know, Kimmi, but I'm still a little away from posting. I am just about to do a second read-through and either a heavy edit or increase the 2 sex scenes to make the whole story a two-parter.
On the story lead times, IMHO, this will continue to be an ongoing issue. This site is popular and seems to be increasing in popularity. Nuff said! 😎
Hi to ever one from a rather hot England.
I’m currently sat in my hot tub (my wife tells me I’m mad) not a cloud in the sky on what is predicted to be the hottest June day on record in the uk. That means something like 32C though cooler here as I live near the beach. I can hear the sound of the jet skis and seagulls.
Currently, drinking Coke Zero. So I’m happy and even happier as I was up very early and finished my first draft of my next story. No plans to publish for a while, hopefully the backlog gets clear first. 😎
Quote by KimmiBeGood
I’m running away from home for the weekend to reset. Behave yourselves… or don’t.
Someone please feed and water my guests in Storeroom 4.
Have a good weekend, Kimmi. 😊 I will put a link to your fun competition on my profile page!
The first half of my weekend has been spent decorating, and now I ache all over. The sad part is, I might as well copy and paste this line for most of next month. There is a lot to get done. 🙄 So little writing. 😕
Does Rumpies provide intravenous-fed alcohol? Tonight, I needed it! 😳
