We saw Smile last night. Very, very good. Scary, and with some surprising realism, connecting the dots between trauma and horror. Perfect example of taking a premise and just following the string--no tricks, no wasted moves-- to a logical conclusion. Highly recommend it. Talia about ripped my arm off she was so scared.

I think providing both the positive and negative sides of religion in your world would go toward keeping it real, as well as adding more interest by exploring a really complex subject.

I've not done much world building, but I'm finding with the current WIP that the details are really best left to the second draft. Paint the world with bold strokes the first time around, then figure out what is working and what isn't. Then you can start editing and refining the world and its rules and its history when you tackle the next draft.

But I'm pretty new to all this, so I'm no expert, and mostly in learning mode on this one.

Nice contest, great turnout! Good job Molly, and thank you! I have read all the entries, and commented, and probably managed to hit the did-I-click-it-or-not like button about half the time. I really enjoy the conversation as writers read and comment on each other's work - the very definition of a writer's community. Proud and happy to be a part of it.

Hey all. Just got back from the cardiologist, where I was assured my black heart is pumping just fine. So let's get that heart rate kicked up with some coffee!

Big Mets-Braves showdown tonight!

Read em all, and commented! Great comp! I THINK I hit like on every one, but I am colorblind and can't tell when the little heart has been clicked! If I missed yours, tell me, I will go back and hit like.

I'm guessing being the last contestant entering means not a whole lot of views. The price I pay, I guess.

Holy carp, there’s no coffee!!! No fear, percolator is percolating, and tea water is hot, with bags laid out. There’s cookies somewhere.

It’s all comps, all day. Entered the comp here last night, with nary a minute to spare. Read a handful of entries, I will finish tonight. Excellent company, I wish I knew how to write poetry. Spending the day working on the comp for another site.

Mets have a one game lead, with six left to play. Then, the postseason. Wagers?

A coffee and a cookie please!

You have 21.

Enjoy the vaycay Ape.

I just submitted my entry, so my guess is by the time coffee is perking tomorrow it'll be on the front page. I don't think there's a minimum # of likes or views, but I am cutting things pretty close to the wire. So read it if you find the time. Now that I'm done I am reading the other entries and enjoying them.

A decaf please.

Holy carp! There's only two days left to the deadline! Where did the time go?

So. I'll finish tonight, submit tomorrow, and try to get everything read by deadline.

I guess I need some extra coffee! An inspiration-shaped cookie too please.

Loved the original Avatar Sara, and am deeply psyched for the Way of the Water.

Nothing new here. Comp entry writing day. Followed by a walk and a Mets game. Same ol same ol. You are right James, finishing a long project, whether a book or anything else, leaves an emptiness when you are done.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the setup James.

There is a blank spot in my head where the novel used to be. A book shaped hole. I'll be entering a couple comps this week--including the one here--though I am feeling a little rusty. So weird to live with something for a year and then just stop. I'll go back for a second draft eventually.

A coffee and a cookie please.

Quote by JamesPBear

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Hey Elyse! I just noticed a story in The Guardian – British newspaper – about Alan Rickman. I didn't know if you'd be interested, but thought I'd point it out anyway:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/24/alan-rickmans-secret-showbiz-diaries-harry-potter

He was a versatile actor, and an intriguing person.

And good afternoon to everyone else. I'd like a cuppa Red Rose, and I'll mosey over to Sara's corner and see if she shows up.

James, thanks for that article. Fascinating! I really love Rickman, though I suppose most people do. My favorite quote: "The trouble is writers write from pain and Harold has closed up all his wounds, so all he can write now are these small things.” (Alan Rickman talking about Harold Pinter).

Time for Lego and coffee and a Lego-shaped cookie!

Hey E, hey Sara, hey Ape.

The first draft of the novel that began its life at this very site is finally done! Huzzah! Send it out to a few trusted eyes, slap it in a drawer for a couple months, write some short stories. Today I'm gonna kick back, have lunch with my daughter, get a celebratory haircut, take a long walk, and go out for Mexican food with the missus.

I have 7 lines of poetry! Looking forward to reading the others.

I hope everyone has a FABU weekend. Sara, I hope your ribs quit giving you grief.

A large coffee and a coffee cup shaped cookie! How meta!

Stormy and rainy here too, Ape.

Expecting to finish the rewrite today. I feel a good mental tailwind behind me, and woke up itching (figuratively) to start.

And I have the first line of a poem! I will try to write it this weekend, and then peruse the others.

I hope everyone is well. Sara, I haven't heard a peep from you about the Braves (sorry Red, I'm obsessive).

Coffee! A cookie! A visit from the muse!

Good Lord yesterday was a crappy day. Thank God it's a new one today.

Nice to see all the poetry entries. I won't read any til I submit - I actually have an idea, after my first attempt was so bad.

Outside chance of finishing the edit today or tomorrow. That's something to focus on. Should be a nice chill day.

Coffee and one of Sara's delish cookies!

Here's my poem: where's the frikkin coffee?

It doesn't rhyme.

Hope everyone is well. I'm a tad grumpy.

No chores - editing all damn day. That is all.

I hope everyone is well. Coffee and a cookie please!!!

Made my first attempt at a poem. It sucked.

Going to the doc today, no biggie, just a checkup.

I'm almost exactly halfway through this edit of the book, after which I'm putting it away for awhile. I'll write a story about tentacles in the basement while I get some reactions. I'm tired of editing. I want to write new content.

Coffee and cookie please!

Quote by gillianleeza

Moonfall on HBO Max. It was bad, a mash-up of themes from Independence Day, Armaggedon, and 2012. I'm not surprised it was a huge box office flop. I love watching Halle Berry, but she couldn't save this mess.

Oh, it's awful. I still liked it though. So weird and bad I couldn't look away.

I'll have a big cup

of that hot perking brew

my poetry sucks

I haven't a clue

Yet I'll read all the entries

And proffer my best

And know that the winner

Has passed a great test

Just saw Barbarian in the theater. Really good strong horror movie. And the preview for Smile looks scary a f.

I can't even think how to start writing a poem! But I'll enter! Promise.

Annoying errands today, and I didn't sleep well, so I'm a tad irritable, but nothing I won't get past. Releasing the novel into the wild this week, just the shaggy first draft, to a intrepid group of beta readers with a high tolerance for half-baked sci-fi.

Mets are back in first place, albeit by the skin of their teeth. Sorry Sara.

Back to the salt mines. A coffee and a cookie please!

Broke a tooth yesterday, and had to go to the dentist today, so I am irritable. Grrr.

We are having dinner on the patio at out fave restaurant before the first cold front of the Fall hits - 30 degree drop!

Thanks for the cookies Sara! A London Bridge cookie please! Plus the obligatory coffee.

I'm a day late and a dollar short, Elizabeth, but HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!

Red, I'm not a real poet either, but I will submit 45 lines of poetry-adjacent doggeral.

No Talia Thursday. I've got therapy in an hour, plus a chip broke off a tooth last night, so I have to go to the dentist. Again. Wah. No pain at least.

Braves and Mets are fighting for first place. Fun to watch!

Coffee and 45 cookies please, one for each line of poetry.

I just finished watching Marathon Man for probably the 5th time. What a great movie.

Yay!

Hey, the new contest sounds cool, and the graphic rocks! I am a horrible poet, but I will enter just to support the cause. I'm gonna bug Talia to enter too.

I read the stuff about the site getting fewer stories and reads. I'll try to do better in my reading.

Lazy day today. Double header for the suddenly dreadful Mets, and some work on a Noir story for another site. I understand Rumps has been seen about! Hope he stops by here!

A coffee please, and a hot dog cookie.

This sounds swell. Thanks for all the hard work in making the site better, Molly and everyone else who helps behind the scenes. Looking forward to seeing how it works!

My first wife (man, it's weird to use that term) loved Whose Line is it Anyway. Drew is a natural doing that kinda thing. I loved his old show (and his old TV show song, Cleveland Rocks!)

More editing today. I'm nearing the end, though, of this draft. Then, a couple short stories are knocking at my brain's door (including an entry in the Noir comp on another site). I'm gonna try a new novel at the beginning of next year, if I can get rewrites done on this one.

Braves are breathing down the Mets' necks after the Nats kicked our butts. Gonna be a fun finish! Good luck Sara!

I'd love a tiny BBQ grill cookie please! And a coffee!