I value imagination and writing is preferred way to express what is in my imagination.

Quote by verbal
So, unless North Korea bombs Ping's house, housing prices should remain high.

And even if they do, doesn't that just decrease supply, forcing prices higher?? 😜

And do you know something we Canadians don't? Because if North Korea is declaring war on Canada, we're moving in with you and Talia. It's just two people, I'm sure you can handle it. 😋 Well, unless son and partner come (he liked Colorado when we were there a few years ago and she's a dual-citizen so can legally live on either side of the border), then it's four.

Hope your head is better, Sara, and with the delivery from Sugarcube, I think we're good waiting for your next batch of cookies.

Coffee here is fresh and hot,

Tea is waiting in the pot.

Scottish Breakfast and Red Rose

Will give us all our healthy glows.

Goodies wait for us to eat,

Even our pets get a treat.

So come on down to Inspirations,

The cafe for writers from every nation.

(Yeah, I know, it's not exactly Tennyson, eh)

Quote by JamesPBear
Peach? Really?

It is one of my favorite fruit flavours for black tea. And it is good both hot and iced.☕

Quote by Sugarcube
banana bread.

Yummee!! I detest raw bananas but I love banana baked goods.

Quote by Ping
I had the weirdest dreams early this morning.

I had a dream this morning that also involved a toilet but it wasn't public, just weird. I think I was in my parent's old place to start with, which Dad sold like 25 years ago.

Sigh. Gill's pics look rather familiar. Flurries with a risk of squalls until dinner time is the forecast here, with a steamy high of -8C. Yay?

Given those temps, nice HOT coffee is brewed, HOT tea is in the pots (Earl Grey and Peach today), HOT water is in the kettle for hot chocolate or other steamy beverages. And I've got the fireplace going (hey, it's a gas insert, you just flip a switch) with the chairs moved in close. There's some cozy blankets for them what needs 'em, too.

And I started a story that might work for the comp, though I don't have the New Year's Eve element completely worked out for it yet.

5006

Quote by verbal
EDIT: Just hit 50,000 words on the novel!!! Pour me something highly illegal.

Wow. Of course, how much of that will survive editing? If it was me, it would probably still be 50K words but a different 50K words. 😨

Good evening, all. Omicron continues to whump my team's ass. Had a guy go home to isolate after finding out his roommate had tested positive (from his landlord, not the roommate). Another guy is staying home as a precaution. A sick kid tested positive on a rapid test but he himself is asymptomatic and has tested negative twice. This is like the third time in a month he's been in this position, which reminds of how lucky I am my kid lives half a province away now. If this had happened when he was in school, I'd probably have had the damn bug by now. I caught basically everything he brought home from colds to flu to norovirus (oh yeah, that one was fun ... not).

5004

Something new and a bit different from original Nightwish lead singer Tarja Turunen.

Quote by Ping
Verbs, I disagree with Ape. My experience with healthcare out in the great white western provinces of Canada is accommodation. Any concerns we’ve had about anything from acne to hemorrhoids and all bumpy things in between, the medical service for me and my family have been exceptional, including end of life care.

My experience has been that a lot depends on your doc and local system. I've had doctors who were on the clock and doctors who actually gave a shit. I've had doctors with no backup and doctors who had partners who backed each other up. Maybe Alberta Health is running things better than we are, but our experience of late (even pre-pandemic) has been a real mixed bag. Even went South one time rather than sitting on the waiting list for a diagnostic (that was more than a decade ago). Detroit isn't far from us, after all. /end rant

Quote by Ping
Fair warning: My comp is dark.

And in other news, water is wet. After your last comp entry, I am fully expecting that your re-do brings about the Apocalypse or turns the protagonist into a hideous monstrosity or something. Definitely looking forward to it.😈

Quote by Sugarcube
I am feeling better finally myself.

Good to hear that you're recovering. You and Gil should start a COVID survivors club or something.😉

Quote by verbal
Ah, American health care.

Trust me, in Canada they wouldn't have taken the shoe off either unless they could bill OHIP for it. Medicare keeps people from racking up huge bills and ensures you get service regardless of ability to pay but it does not ensure speed or quality of service. I am going private for my cataracts, else it will be next summer at the earliest.

Woo hoo, there's a story up in the comp now! Writergirl gets the balls rolling.

Coffee is brewed. There's Peach and Red Rose in the teapots with other teas, both bag and loose, available. Hot water is ready for those teas or the hot chocolate crowd.

Cold and flurries with high winds here. Winter seems to have finally arrived in our neck of the woods after a rather warm December.

I have not given up on this comp but damned if I can come up with a story for it. Maybe this coming weekend.

And the image is finally up on the front page!! No more ugly grey blank spot!!

😊

Congrats, Writergirl on being first in!! Still trying to figure out what the hell to write myself. None of the ideas that are perpetually kicking around in my head are a fit for this one.

Quote by DenimAngel
Today was LIBRARY DAY!

Sigh. Ours announced they are going back to holds pickup only.

Quote by verbal

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal
I must remember to SHOW, not TELL, with this section.

Telling has its place, though. Sometimes things just can't be easily shown. I think I have come to the conclusion that it is not so much "Show, don't tell" as "Do what works best but if both are options, err on the side of showing". I also try to do the exposition through dialogue or other means that are more engaging than just an infodump.

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid the infodump, which is what I really want to do, just vomit it all up for the reader. But I'm denying my worst impulses, writing specific situations and trying to let the details just leak out. It ain't easy.

I used to be bad for infodumps but have managed to get out of that mindset over time (and with nudges from writer friends like Bill). Now I will still write the infodump on first pass, but then I figure out how to break it up, convey the information in other ways, etc. Sometimes I even realize some of it is not needed in the story and is just colour that can be lost if it isn't really working.

Quote by verbal
I must remember to SHOW, not TELL, with this section.

Telling has its place, though. Sometimes things just can't be easily shown. I think I have come to the conclusion that it is not so much "Show, don't tell" as "Do what works best but if both are options, err on the side of showing". I also try to do the exposition through dialogue or other means that are more engaging than just an infodump.

Welp, my neck of the woods has gone hardcore again. Non-urgent surgeries cancelled, indoor dining closed, stores at half their rated occupancy, and more. Including a work from home if possible. I'm in the office today since I had a new staff member starting but I guess I'll go remote after that.

Here in Inspirations, though, everything is normal. We can take as many people as can fit in and you don't even need a mask. We have some fine Ethiopian coffee, Russian Caravan and Irish Breakfast in the teapots, and hot water in the kettle for other hot beverages.

I suspect that will be "on the list" already but count me as a seconder for that request.

Oo, me bad. Did not pick up on that at all.

Here is the latest from the government of New Brunswick.

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/ocmoh/cdc/neuro_cluster.html

Just what has been reported in the Canadian media, which is more than that. It has been a while so there should be some good science out or coming soon on it. Will check around.

LOL. So 2021 is just over and Bag of Bone Press is already wanting us to write horror stories about 2022. And they encourage us to NOT use COVID ("We don't want one hundred stories all about coronavirus though, so think outside of the box"). 20% of the take goes to children's charities in the UK so your story could support a good cause, though.

Bag of Bones Press - Submission Calls

This week's Authors Publish has a list of 45 calls for submissions for a diversity of publishers and other channels. There's children's publications, queer publications, furry publications, even a call for s-f about kitties.

Oh, and for those who enjoyed last year's Inspirator's challenge (where we were given a first line and had to spin a story from it), there's this: The First Line Literary Journal: It all starts the same but....

Some of these are getting kind of close to the deadline, I notice (Flame Tree Press has only a week left on one of its calls) but others have a fair bit of time remaining or are "open" (ongoing).

» 45 Themed Calls for Submissions for January 2022 (authorspublish.com)

Quote by Ping
Regrets? I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention. I think that’s a lyric of some sort.

Damn you, G-man. I did not need a new earworm. 😳 And I like this one far less than Square Hammer by Ghost.

Quote by Ping
Have A Groovy First 2022 Monday!

Hey, I'm still on holidays (office normally closed on Saturday so we got today for New Year's) so it is groovy and happy indeed. Same to you.

Quote by WriterGirl
You know, Scott, it might be cathartic for you to write about something you personally relate to ... just make sure and give yourself a happy ending

You read my Christmas story, right? Do you realize how close that came to being a horror story, or at least a lot darker? Yeah, my mood is incredibly variable right now, almost bipolar. I was depressed most of yesterday, today seem to be back on my game but not that interested in writing. But, yeah, the right story might just help me work through some of this. Happy, or at least not-unhappy, endings are almost inevitable with me save in horror stories. I am not fond of grimdark.

With my crappy sense of balance, neither might be the wisest choice, but being a good Canadian boy I did learn to ice skate so I guess that.

On a rink or natural ice?

This is not our first snow, but it is the first to last. Previous snowfalls this winter were usually followed pretty quickly by warm spells or rain so the snow did not stay long. This time it looks like it could last at least a week.

Good morning!! Coffee is brewing and there's Red Rose and Irish Breakfast in the teapots. Hot chocolate and other teas are available for them what want 'em.

Quote by gillianleeza
Thankfully, everyone in my family is feeling better and off quarantine.

Good to hear. After what you went through last time, I was a bit worried when you said you had the bug again. Get well.

This comp has me stymied. Should be a breeze but I am just not sure how to play it. And the whole "redo" thing may not be entirely healthy for me since regret about some of my past decisions (e.g. career and education choices) has been part of my recent mental health struggles. Still, I'm not abandoning it, just need more time with it. I'll work on something else meantime just to keep writing.

Stews. More robust and filling. Even my favorite soups are kind of stew-y.

Skiing downhill or cross-country?

(guess what weather we got last night?)

And here it is ... The moment we have been waiting for...

5000

4998

(You have a typo in yours?)

4996 Didn't quite make it, but close. I was busy most of the evening.