Yay, Annie's in! Looking forward to reading an entry from our resident James Joyce (Jane Joyce?).

Therapy today, which I generally enjoy. Other than that, done with rewrites, so back to writing new words today.

I think I sold a story! They asked for a "hold." We'll see - it's been a while. I'll let Talia speak for herself, but she's having some success in poetry-land.

Sorry you got hit with Covid again Gil. Take care,

Baseball games next week, even if they don't count!

Coffee, and that cherry shortbread sounds tasty, Sara.

Quote by sprite

i started out here writing fiction and then, at some point, it became therapy... writing this, i realized how much i missed writing the fiction - as for the therapy... there's not the suffocating, burning need to cleanse myself these days, so who knows, i may just get active again. thanks for the shout out. i really loved what i did for the comp - whether or not it does well doesn't really matter, to be honest. i feel like i've already won.

Looking forward to reading yours sprite, and thanks for your generous comments on mine. As for therapy vs. story, I never try to work out personal problems or issues in my fiction, but they ALWAYS find their way in. Like Tom Robbins once said: "Writing is like juggling. Whenever you spill something, make it look like part of the act."

Lazy day today. T is getting her hair done, and I am wrestling with an incalcitrant plot and playing fetch with the cat.

Enjoy your Sunday folks.

EDIT: RIP Richard Belzer. Loved that guy.

We'll miss you Larry.

I'll turn the lights on and get things going.

Hug those you love. As often as you can.

Quote by redwriter

Have to have yet another carcinoma cut off my ear on Monday. I'll have no ear left at this rate. I wouldn't care, the sun is being blamed but it doesn't shine that much here on the NE coast. Does anyone have a spare? I've been to the ear shop but they only had Doctor Spock or Mickey Mouse ears--and they would clash with the one I have. I could get a matching pair but they would clash with the shape of my head!

It's 13 hours since Sara was here so I hope the coffee is still hot--yes, a latte and--oh, only Valentines cookies (that's past) --still, they are made with Sara's flawless skill, so why not? Mmmm, scrumptuous!

Sorry to hear about the ear (there's a pun in there somewhere), Red. I've had nothing cut away yet, but a bit of colon (unnecessarily as it turned out). Now I have a semi-colon. Tip your waitresses.

Red, you should get antennas, like My Favorite Martian. That's dating myself!

No Talia Thursday. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, but will do my best to push through. Hope it's not a sign of actually getting sick.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Same old deal hre

I can't imagine ever getting tipped, but cool. Is it like cow tipping?

Huge snowstorm rushed in last night, and it's supposed to snow all day. I'm fine with that, I have no plans to leave the house. Lots of child drama yesterday, and I am tired, so hopefully I can put on headphones and ignore the world and get some writing done.

I hope everyone is well. A coffee and a cookie please.

blinks, gets the percolator perking, the teaolator teaing, all the cookies out on a pretty platter

There we go.

HUGE snowstorm hitting this afternoon. Like, up to a foot. We are preparing to hunker down. If you're gonna hunker down, Valentine's Day seems the perfect day to do it. Assuming, of course, you don't have reservations anywhere.

Editing day today. I tend to be lazy on editing day. On writing days I pump out 1000 words with regularity. Editing days I have no goal, and so tend to wander.

I have a love poem up for Talia here: https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/poetry/dentistry

Anyway. Happy Valentine's Day. Coffee and a cookie.

Good exciting game! Good halftime show. And now...it's Spring Training!

Can't write today - I have a dentist appointment, Wah. I'm going to rewrite these first 80 or so pages anyway: too much has changed plot-wise since I started and I want it all to match. I'm trying to take more care than I did last time. Mindful writing. BE the word....

That's all from me! Let's Go Mets! Braves and Jays and Nats and Padres too! Everyone's team!

A coffee and a baseball cookie!

Thanks for setting up.

I'm on drain-cleaning duty today. Smelly dirty work. But it will make Talia SO HAPPY.

I'm actually going to watch the Super Bowl this year. I like the matchup. Truth be told, I'll probably spend a good deal of the game playing video baseball. That's not irony, but it's close.

Spring Training starts tomorrow!!!

Wah! I have to critique all day, for critique day tomorrow. I wanna write. Boring day today.

Thanks for the set-up, James.

Sorry about your friend Sara, and out thoughts will be with you on Saturday. Funerals, in my experience, are kind of comforting. I hope, that if you cry, it is soothing in some way.

Sunny and cold here. I'll keep a half an eye on the Super Bowl Sunday, but that Monday start of Spring Training is the real fun. I'm tired of playing video baseball.

Seize the weekend! A coffee and a cookie!

Thanks for setting up Ape. Sorry it's so wet and cold. Cold and snow flurries here, though the wind seems to be dying.

Trying to fill a major plot hole today. Like, major. Middle of the evening last night night it occurred to me. D'oh! No forward motion until I solve it.

No Talia Thursday. The cats and I will be constructing a balloon-assisted surveillance device, to float above the neighborhood and keep an eye out for any suspicious activities.

Seize the day, all. A coffee and a strawberry shortbread cookie. You are right about baseball season Sara - you can smell it in the air. I love that pitchers and catchers always happens around Valentine's Day.

Two more comp entries! Yay!

I slept 9 glorious hours last night! Woke up fully charged and ready to go. 1000 words and a revised chapter outline. Woo-hoo!

State of the Union was kinda nutty last night. Lotsa yelling and heckling! I used to run polling for a certain ex-President, and State of the Union was the craziest work day of the year, next to election day. I never miss it after that.

A coffee and a coo...OMG I'M STEALING ALL THE COOKIES AND RUNNING AWAY (though only to this little table over here).

Thanks for the set-up James.

A no Talia morning, but she should be back by afternoon. I am bogging down a bit on the WIP, though still churning out 1000 words a day. I hope a rejiggering of the plot isn’t on the horizon. I’ll give myself the same advice I give others - finish it first. See what you’ve got before you pull out the editing pencil.

I hope someone else enters the comp. Those two entries are getting lonely.

A coffee and a Bambi cookie please.

Thanks for the setup Sara, and thanks for the cookies. I’m so sorry about your friend.

Oh, I love me some Roger Miller. He wrote a Broadway musical about Huck Finn I’d kill to see.

I did a horror writing podcast yesterday. We talked like two hours! Two really wonderful writers did the podcast. Made me feel like a real writer. It was nice. Today, same ol, same ol. I have another difficult scene I don’t know how to write.

That earthquake in Syria sounds just awful. Thousands dead. Sigh.

Enjoy your day everyone. A coffee and a cookie from the QuickDraw tin.

I like to sing.

Talk radio or music radio?

Quote by gillianleeza

It was. I kept thinking the guy who showed up was going to be bad. I loved the episode, and I am a fan of Nick Offerman and was happy to see him in this role. I'm on a Linda Ronstadt listening spree now. My only worry is that future episodes will not live up to this episode.

Nick Offerman was SO good. I wonder how much knowing his previous character on Parks and Rec helped with this.

You're right, I don't know if the rest of the series can live up to this.

Quote by Mendalla

Guess that's the positive side of that balloon. A nice universal excuse for what ails ya. 🤣

Every time the internet slows I get scared it's an EMP device on that balloon.

BAGEL! I have one every morning, though I have to stop - too much white bread and butter.

Barefoot or slippers?

No sunroof in my minivan, but it has had my kids puke in it several times, and if the back seats get wet the smell is still lurking. Ew.

Writing today. No Talia. Trepidatious cats. Nothing new. Hitting a little imposter syndrome in the WIP. I’m blaming that Chinese spy balloon.

Thanks for the setup and the cookies. I’ll take a cup and a ginger snap!

Quote by Mendalla

Good morning. Putting on some Jamaican Blue Mountain for the coffee set. Teas are Irish Breakfast and Cream of Earl Grey. Hot water is on, as always, for hot chocolate or other teas.

Things are all set up for my new car. Just need to confirm how much the insurance is going to cost and when my broker can get it added to the policy and then I can finalize my pickup time. Yay, no more juggling my schedule around my wife's.

Story is happening but slowly. I've got a glitch in it that I need to sort out before I get too much further.

My boss is having nasty side effects from his second shingles shot. And guess who else is due for that? 😲

Have a nice one, gang!

The shingles shot is the one we got this week! The first one hurt like f, this one was fine for me (Talia had some pain).

Still writing slowly, trying to get through a tough bit. I'll stumble through today, like every other day. No Talia Tuesday. If I get blocked I'm going to teach the cats to cook.

Those two Mardi Gras comp entries are getting lonely, folks! Someone else enter!

A coffee and a cookie please!

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Coffee, tea, or whatever your beverage of choice might be…

All drinks are on me today! ☕️🫖🧋

January was apparently a successful writing month for me here on SS. I managed to snag a top author and a top story badge overnight. My back is feeling well patted and I appreciate my friends here who have read and liked my stories. Thanks!! 😎

Hubby comes home today, YAY! I’ve slept so poorly this past week. I predict I will sleep like the dead tonight. 😴💤

Hope all y’all have a great day. I’m off soon to take my brother to the eye doc.

Congrats! Where do top authors/stories get posted? I don't see anything on the front page.

Thanks for the set-up James.

Boring day, though I guess that's a good thing. Snow is melting, temps are WAY up. We got vaccine shots yesterday, I am fine, but Talia's arm is kinda achy.

I ground out 1000 words yesterday, but I am mired in a hard section of writing right now. No distractions today, I just have to write my way out of it.

Sigh. Time for a bagel and then time to write.

A coffee and a goalpost cookie please.

Good morning everyone.

Talia and I are off to get vaccines today. Fun! Actually, it won't be unpleasant - it's the pharmacy at a grocery store, so we can get congratulatory donuts after.

I've got a comp entry up, if anyone is interested. It's a true story! I even called up my buddy I was in jail with to check details! Anyway, a snapshot of my misspent youth. Young and Dumb in New Orleans, a play on George Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris. https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/general/young-and-dumb-in-new-orleans

Writing another difficult scene today.

A coffee and whatever is in the Quick Draw McGraw cookie tin.

No spoilers, but The Last of Us last night was incredible.

Good morning, and thanks for the set-up, Ape!

I am putting finishing touches on a comp entry. It's sorta left field, but most of my ideas come out of left field. I'll play with the details during the day as I work on the big project.

Other than that, a pretty chill day looms. Snow has stopped, but it covers the countryside, very pretty. It's 2 degrees outside, I'm not leaving the house until I have to. Talia and the cats are fine company.

The Last of Us was frikkin amazing last night.

A coffee and a butterscotch marshmallow cookie, pretty please?

Quote by Molly

Non-fiction is allowed, Just no mico, flash, poetry, song, or play.

The word limit is the standard 10,000-word limit that the site has.

Thanks Molly. This memory might be a tad more exciting than I had first remembered it to be.

Okay, I am taking a shot at telling my non-fiction adventures in NO today. Two questions: is non-fiction allowed? And is there a word limit? I looked and couldn't find answers to either.

Ooh, cinnamon sugar treats! Gimme gimme!

Thanks for the set up Ape.

Two comps in the air, and I wanna enter both, but I gotta write my stuff too! So much to write, so little time. I guess it’s a good problem to have.

No real plans, for today or the weekend. Really should finish that Friends Lego with Talia soon.

Cheers everybody. A coffee and a cinnamon and sugar thingie please.

No coffee? gulp

Okay, I've got this does all the coffee and tea stuff

It's not pretty, but it will suffice.

I got an email from the Dems - there are over 20 people running for city council.. They suggest: Fire Protection Board, Parks and Rec Board, Water District Board. I would, but I have NO expertise in those areas. I wouldn't vote for me!!! So, it appears my running for office is a thing of the past.

Reading went well. Therapy, writing, and grocery shopping today. Mild fun.

Coffee please,

Hope your migraine eases Sara. Those’re tough.

Ape, thanks for the setup, and good luck with the doc.

I’m reading a story I am fond of tonight online. It’s about raising daughters in a time of monsters. If you are interested, DM me, I will send you a link. Other than that, a pretty chill day.

No Talia. Wah. The cats are restless.

Digital, sadly. The paper newspaper was was one of my great joys, and I read it daily for decades. Until…I didn’t.

Ride a horse or surf a surfboard?

Nice cup of coffee Ape.

Day two of Talialessness (she does come home at 5). The cats are resentful. I am restless. She popped her head in here yesterday, and I think she might submit something soon.

I tried to write a murder scene yesterday and it didn’t go well. It was hard to get the tone right. I’m gonna toast up a bagel and pour another cup of coffee and then take another run at it. Wah.

Coffee and a yummy cookie please.