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Just a note —

If Gav makes all the badge changes requested, some of us will see our badge count fluctuate. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="icon_smile"> <img src="/images/emoticons/happy8.gif" alt="happy8"> <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="icon_smile"> <img src="/images/emoticons/happy8.gif" alt="happy8"> <img src="/images/emoticons/drunken_smilie.gif" alt="drunken">

Suggest you send this, your thoughts, to every Member via PM because not every Member visits the Forum.

You might be right. How do I send a PM to all SS members?

It would be very cumbersome for you to do. However, we're working on getting a newsletter message ready to go out to all members and will include a pointer to this thread in it. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_flower.gif" alt="flower">

Good morning, Larry. Kind of soggy here but supposed to chill out and turn snowy later.

My current writing project (a contemporary romance-drama) has reached 4700 words with no end in sight. And that's all SS-friendly so no detailed descriptions of naughtiness. It's all plot and character, basically. I am kind of at the line where I need to decide where to take it, though. The climax (of the story) seems close and that's where it moves into other territory if it is going to.

But that brings me to another thought. How long will this site really tolerate? I know the limit here is technically the same as the other site I write for (10K words), most of what I see posted is fairly short, 2K or less. Even the chapters of Anna's novel run around 3-4K words. Night of the Wind, my last full story, was 4800 words and that seems long among recent stories here. I am starting to think I might want to split this new story if I go too much longer and still keep it SS-friendly. Not for rules but just for readership. Any thoughts?


Speaking for myself, about 6,000 words is the upper end of what I'm comfortable reading in this format. Longer stories are best viewed in ebook format, in my opinion.

Perhaps some members deleted their comments, but if there’s a large discrepancy between the number of votes and the number of comments we’ll have to look into it.

Question... Can we post more than once in a Challenge?

Also, since there is no actual winner of a Challenge, how about a "Good Sport" badge for members who make an effort to support SS in generating enthusiasm, ie. Challenges...

Each challenge may have different guidelines, but for this one post as many pieces as you’d like.

Anyone who successfully completes a challenge is a winner! Adding a challenge badge is among the badge update requests, but Gav is busy at his paying job so it might be a couple of weeks before he can get to it.

But seriously, this is an ongoing challenge. Whenever you’re inspired, it will be here.
Does this mean I can come back in a hundred years and post my entry? No doubt, LarryF and Adagio will have broken the 10,000 posted story barrier by then.
It does, and they will have! <img src="/images/emoticons/laughing11.gif" alt="laughing9">

From the movie, Legend, right? Or something like that? God, I love Ferry's voice.

I've got a thread on my other board celebrating Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. He turns 80 today and is doing a charity gig in his hometown, Orillia, Ontario, to celebrate.



Yes, Legend. He is a superb artist, I agree. I am listening to 'Boys and Girls' right now on a disc which is rotating at 33&1/3 RPM. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="icon_smile">

I also like Gordon Lightfoot. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a fantastic song.

OMG you two! Just spent a week discovering Carole King now you give me this Lightfoot guy? He must be country singer if he sings about wrecks.

Nah, not country. He’s a fantastic Canadian singer in the storyteller style, kind of like Harry Chapin and Jim Croce, but better. You should look them up too, though. <img src="/images/emoticons/Lwinking.gif" alt="Lwinking">

Gordon Lightfoot is 80?!?!

That's not a problem. When, sometime in the future, you do have the time and inspiration, write it, take your time editing it and then bring it back to the present and submit it. Simples!

Yeah, but owing to timey-wimey stuff, I'd probably land in an alternate 2018 where SS only accepts stories written in pig Latin or something.<img src="/images/emoticons/confused5.gif" alt="confused5">

Oh, didn’t you hear? Beginning next week, all stories have to be in Klingon. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_geek.gif" alt="geek">

But seriously, this is an ongoing challenge. Whenever you’re inspired, it will be here.

Sipping dirty martinis Watching girls in bikinis And strumming on my Les Paul Albert King ambles through Riffs ‘I’ll Play the Blues for You’ Man, I really got it all CHORUS It’s a dream vacation No place I’d rather be Yeah, a dream vacation Not sure where I’m at But it suits me Checking out pics From my Exakta 66 Can’t believe what I see Don’t remember all those Sometimes, that’s how it goes...

Added 07 Oct 2018 | Category Songs | Votes 12 | Avg Score 5 | Views 270 | 10 Comments

  MARTIN HANDED A MUG of fresh coffee to Jane and slid into the seat opposite her at the breakfast table, pausing a moment before he spoke. “Jane, I need to ask you something.” Caught off guard by the statement, she slopped a little of the steaming liquid. “You always do that when I’m holding a drink,” she chided gently, dabbing the spill with a napkin. Her lighthearted tone belied...

Added 13 Sep 2018 | Category General | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 189 | 6 Comments

  THE CALENDAR TAUNTED JANE, its little yellow-highlighted square outlined in a bold red stroke mocking her lack of progress. ‘You’re going to miss the deadline, you know. I’m just six weeks away now,’ it scoffed. ‘Whatever made you apply for that fellowship anyhow, and what could the panel have been thinking when they gave it to you? You’re no writer; you’ve proven that over the past...

Added 12 Sep 2018 | Category General | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 274 | 6 Comments

Note: This compilation occurred to me more than a year ago. In fact, the reason I logged on to Facebook on March 14, 2017, was to reach out to Alan and propose that we combine our efforts, merging his Colorado Calling and my Jersey Rejoicing into one poem. Instead, I learned that morning of Alan's passing a few days earlier. It threw me for a loop, and the idea got pushed to the back of...

Added 17 Mar 2018 | Category Poetry | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 407 | 6 Comments

  1. NaIgnoNaNoWriMo: Just ignore all the NaNoWriMo hoopla and hype. Pretend you didn’t read this or anything else about the writing frenzy that occurs every November. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s almost impossible to ignore NaNoWriMo anymore. But you can say you did. I promise not to tell anyone otherwise. 2. NaNanoWriMo: In the short time remaining, craft some kick-ass nano fiction....

Added 30 Nov 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 3 | Avg Score 5 | Views 516 | 2 Comments

You always did like surprise endings, A twist no one could see coming, And that last one of yours was a doozy. Days later, we're still reeling, Not from the shock, which dissipates, But from a grief that lingers. You probably never knew The regard people held you in, For it seemed to sneak up As we chatted and laughed About topics big and small. Our esteem grew Alongside your virtual...

Added 17 Mar 2017 | Category Poetry | Votes 20 | Avg Score 5 | Views 778 | 10 Comments

The president is doing great Only a fool would think Otherwise Most everyone believes We should trust him There is no cause for concern But some are saying The country is in danger People are scared Nothing could be further from the truth Everything is going to be fine Now read from the bottom up… * * * © 2017 by M.P. Witwer • All rights reserved    ...

Added 15 Feb 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 14 | Avg Score 5 | Views 658 | 15 Comments

There was a crooked man Who ran a crooked race [1] And with his crooked words, Put opponents in their place He chopped them down, one by one ’Til a single foe remained On merit, she’d win handily, So he painted her with disdain [2] This shameless huckster’s style Is totally ‘in your face’ At any time in memory, It would have brought him great disgrace But that isn’t how it happened, Not...

Added 16 Jan 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 9 | Avg Score 5 | Views 682 | 8 Comments

1. NaNO!WriMo: Do not write anything — not a single word — for 30 days. The challenge is tougher than it might seem. 2. NaDoWriMo: Chronicle every episode of The Simpsons in which Homer exclaims, "D'oh!" This, of course, requires watching every episode of The Simpsons. Not a bad way to spend the month. 3. NaSloWriMo: Writing shouldn't be a race. Take it slowly, savoring the...

Added 05 Nov 2016 | Category Humor | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 558 | 8 Comments

Excuse me, sir; I hate to intrude But you're out in public and your shirt's rather rude Although fairly mild, as far as some go, The sentiment still dips pretty low I mean, 'Life's a bitch - don't elect one.' Why does she deserve that, what has she done? Oh, I cannot stand her, lots of reasons why For one, get in her way, and you're gonna die She's had people murdered time and again You...

Added 26 Oct 2016 | Category Musings | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 629 | 7 Comments

When a noted writer hits the wall with her current project, she heads to the beach to concentrate on her work, but instead finds a charming distraction. This award-winning short story (approximately 4,500 words) has been called “magnificently well-crafted,” “clever,”...

A timely tale of just 2,300 words, “Lost and Found” is the second story in the Short Tales series, an affectionate look at a few of the pitfalls and mishaps faced by a couple navigating a new romance. Jane and Martin both have past histories: love, loss and unforeseen changes, but...