Well, my first contribution is a piece of advice. I was complaining to my writing group about how difficult outlining and plotting a novel was. Someone in my group said this: Let the first draft be your outline. Their point, I think, was not to slow your forward motion too much. Tell yourself the story in the first draft. Learn how to tell it to the reader in the second draft. Anyway, it's freed me up quite a bit.

Those Pim's things look pretty tasty.

Glad to see Rump is up and about, haunting us. Anyone hear from Roland?

Back on the horse. Did a thousand yesterday, and I know what I'm writing today. Beyond that, who knows? I have a guiding piece of new advice lately, but I'll put it on the writing group thread.

I built a little cardboard house for the cats. Needless to say, they're scared sh!tless of it.

Cold sunny day here today. No errands. Let's see if I can go 24 hours without leaving the house.

A coffee and a Pim's cookie please.

Quote by Ping

Comedy-Disaster. That’s how Netflix described it. At the very least, it was highly entertaining. It has a little of everything. But Jennifer Lawrence. Wow. She more than holds her own. She dominates the screen. Some amazing performances. Not the best movie, but very, very far from worst. The juxtaposition of metaphor is…I don’t know. I don’t have the words. It just saddens me.

I really liked this too. The comedy gets a little overly broad, particularly when dealing with Meryl Streep's president, but it's angry and powerful and moving and funny. And Jennifer Lawrence in total nerd mode is pure fantasy for the likes of me. Seriously dig those bangs. She can do NO wrong.

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a fine holiday. Ours was chill but cool. Good books, a couple Spaulding Gray DVDs, a remote control dinosaur, a glass globe with the solar system inside. What more could a 12-year-old boy want?

Lots of good leftover Mexican food too! An entire chicken enchilada casserole awaits!

Haven't written for a full week. Feeling a little rusty. The only thing to do is dive in, I guess.

Congrats on the sewing machine Sara, and thanks for the cookies. Coffee and a sugar cookie please!

How would we share work? There's no file share capability here. I'm open to this...

Really not making this up: On Boxing Day, I am picking the best 3 boxes and making a cat maze/gym/condo to play in.

Actually, first I am delivering some Pepto and OJ to my youngest and her boyfriend, who apparently got either food poisoning and a stomach bug during Christmas. Then, Big Cat Fun!

My fave present of Christmas is a hard-to-find DVD of Spaulding Gray's Monster in a Box. He was a performance artist best known for Swimming to Cambodia. and I'm a big fan (he died several year ago). That's our watch tonight. We watched Don't Look Up last night and quite enjoyed it.

Coffee and a cookie please! Sara, my request for cookies is, a cat shaped cookie!

The zombie novel is getting there Vi. My counts for the year: 80k of short story, 40k of novel. A little less than I expected, but still respectable. Your cake-tabulous Christmas Eve sounds delightful. Our day is DEEPLY chill. Making Mexican food for tomorrow, T busy with sopapilla cheesecake, me busy with white chili (chicken and green chilies). I think our meals today will be plopping random crap on chips for ersatz nachos.

And tonight, we’ll build the cats’ Christmas present—a cat tower—and watch Elf. I’ll video call my daughter to read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Then we’ll snuggle up and wait for Santa (not a euphemism).

So, thanks for all the cookies Sara, and for the use of your name in the zombie novel. Thanks for all the fine words and excellent stories this year Violet. Thanks for more fine words and the occasional brewing of coffee, Ape. Thanks for the insane technicolor cartoon nightmares Ping. Thanks for the bear stories James. Thanks for the updates on your life and parents, Gill - my heart goes out to you for all your caretaking. And thanks for your artistic work in dance and theater and words, Larry. Thanks for being friends and colleagues and comrades in writing, Red, Roland, Elizabeth, Elyse, Sugarcube, and, last but never least, Bill, the Original Rumpilator, who gave us this oasis (and others) so many years ago.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Quote by verbal
Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek

In both cases, the operative question is, which one?

I have never watched nuBSG all the way through so can't really put it on and the old series had too many clunkers (e.g. their string of episodes that were just ripoffs of old movie plots) to be more than a nostalgic favorite at this point. Though the few good episodes are really good and the cast was pretty solid.

Star Trek, I am fond of the original but TNG and DS9 are probably the two best in terms of story and writing.

Battlestar Galactica, the remake.

Star Trek the original.

Twilight Zone the original.

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Quote by Sugarcube

I am trying to recover from being ill and is inspiring me to write a horror story about it. Thank you to the kind gentlemen above. (((thank you))))

Trying best to stay positive and to getting better.

From what you have said you are surely working hard to be positive. Be well.

Thank you.

I don't have much to say except sad things and I won't. Too bad I don't care for Holiday things. I am already in uncharted waters.

Sad things are fine for the holidays. I spend a great deal of my Christmas talking to the ghosts of folks who are no longer here. Hang in there, and enjoy the coming days the best way you can.

A horror story about being ill sounds like a great idea!

Get better! Be well!

Quote by Violet_the_Verbose

It's nice to finally have time with my partner, but also not so nice to find myself bogged down and busy with work and everything that needs to get done before the New Year. Looking forward to keeping it low key. Getting out all the blankets, making a cake together, and lots of hot chocolate to keep the cold at bay. Hard to find time to write and finish stories. I mostly just want to chill (read: hibernate) and light some atmospheric candles as the short days of Winter continue.

Hope everyone here is able to find something to enjoy for themselves or find something to enjoy giving over the next few weeks.

Keeping it low key has been the key to our Christmas being chill and peaceful this year. Enjoy baking and eating cake with your partner. I'm making chicken enchiladas today! And I'm blowing off writing until after the fat man comes down the chimney.

Happy birthday drunk Ping! I didn't know! Looking forward to hearing of your drunk projectile vomiting at a booth in Denny's! International incident!

Chores to do, food to cook - I'll see you all soon. Enjoy the season!

A coffee and a cookie please!

Quote by Violet_the_Verbose
Adventure Time

Okay, I may finally try and watch this.

I'm adding Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek and Twilight Zone to my list.

Ooh, good lists!

Mary Tyler Moore (we’re rewatching it now)

Cheers

Seinfeld

Friends

Scrubs

Justified

Sopranos

Six Feet Under

Game of Thrones

Breaking Bad

ER

X Files

Larry Sanders Show

The West Wing

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Long day, and it’s barely noon. I’d love a mug of the strongest thing you’ve got, even though I suspect that is only coffee. A cookie would be a nice addition.

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps

4 sleeps til SANTA Claus comes:worship:

Pouring myself a cup of hot chocolate with a double handful of mini marshmallows in my favorite reindeer coffee mug and grabbing a couple of Christmas cookies and settling down in my favorite chair

No one has said a peep about all the Christmas decorations I put up

CHRISTMAS COOKIES tomorrow today got away from me

Giving the adorable critters fresh water and treats

Stay safe everyone

I LOVE the Christmas decorations you put up, and I look forward to tomorrow’s CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

I’ll have some cider and a Reindeer cookie please.

We're really digging Succession. Sadly, I'm scared to read ANYTHING about it, since I have to avoid two seasons worth of spoilers until I'm caught up.

Finished The Shrink Next Door. Very good, and Paul Rudd is excellent - best thing I've ever seen him do. He really disappears inside the character - every other time I've seen him he's playing versions of himself (I assume). Talia is listening to the podcast.

One more episode of The Outsider to go. Slow but well done.

Pingu, I think my advice was that "a bad writer blaming the reader is like a bad lover blaming his partner." But a good take on writing. I'm really finding that critique groups are helping me too, as you said. You have to find the right fit: a group that challenges you but doesn't break you. That's true of so many things. But I've found it very helpful. Not just for the feedback, but the support and comradery. Much like this place. Writing can be a lonely business.

I hope everyone is well. Still trying to wake up. I think today is the only day I'll write this week. Christmas is approaching quickly!

Coffee and many, many cookies please.

Termination Shock, by Neal Stevenson. Climate change sci-fi. He’s one of my absolute faves.

On deck: Megan Abbot’s The Turnout. She’s one of my absolute faves too.

Quote by AaronArcher

Unfortunately, no one seems to have much interest in discussing writing.

Dude, I will discuss writing until the cows come home! Watcha got?

Hit the snooze button only once this morning. It's a Christmas miracle!

Not much going on. No Talia Friday. Wah. We are going to a play tomorrow, one of T's faves: Cinderella. Wash the dishes, Cinderelly, mop the floor, Cinderelly! It should be fun.

A coffee and a banana chocolate cookie please.

They’re talking about rebooting Six Feet Under on HBO. Grrr. It would make irrelevant perhaps the greatest finale in television history. The show was a little uneven, but when it worked (as in the finale) it was perfect.

I gotta get that booster. We were all over the original shots, but we've been lax on the booster.

Nice day out, and my youngest's birthday! It'll be a chill but fun affair. I'm pushing for Thai food. We may well end up with pizza.

Not much else going on. Only hit the snooze button once this morning. Progress!

A giant coffee and one of those FABU cookies from Sara.

Nice cookies, Sara! (Not a euphemism.)

Hit the snooze button twice AGAIN today. I don't know what is wrong with me. Still, got my words in, got a birthday cake for my youngest, and survived the INSANE wind of earlier today.

Christmas shopping and Christmas prep is DONE. Gonna relax into the holidays from here no in.

I'll take a coffee and one of those delish cookies.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

I have submitted The Nurses. Probably not happen though. 🙄

Good luck. They mention something about providing a critique, so at the very least you might get some good feedback.

I got nothin, though.

Coffee stat! Cookies too! I can't wake up. Wah. Hit the snooze alarm TWICE!

Writing a little today, but lots of chores and lunch with youngest, so I won't get much done. And tonight listening to a video horror reading that has some friends of mine in it.

Nothing else to say, my brain isn't working. Should be a chill day. Everyone enjoy the season!

This rarely happens. The Berkley Open Submission Program (Penguin/Random House, one of the big publishing houses) is allowing writers to submit a ten-page sample of their completed manuscript, NO AGENT NEEDED. "We’re looking for commercial and genre fiction in the following areas: romance, women’s fiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, science fiction, fantasy, and horror."

Here's the link. It's a REALLY short submission window: Dec 7th, 2021 - Jan 9th, 2022

https://sites.prh.com/berkley-open-submission-program

___

Submissions must include a 1-page synopsis, the first 10 pages of the manuscript, an author bio, and a query letter with links to social media platforms, if applicable, and any other information you wish the editors to consider. A query letter is an introductory one page letter that tells an editor something about the story, something about the writer, and why Berkley should publish the book.

Got a ton of presents wrapped. Christmas prep--albeit WAY reduced from previous years--is nearly done.

It's been out a while, but The Outsider is really good (based on the Stephen King book, also good). A little slow, it feels a little padded, but it's thoughtful and grounded and takes its time to show you the characters.

It appears I have to avoid Succession season three spoilers for the foreseeable future.

Gotta work! Started late! Coffee and thirty seven cookies please!!!

Survived critique group Saturday. Two and a half hours, all spent on the first 50 pages of the new thing. They ripped it apart and suggested ways to put it back together, but in a very constructive way. As the leader-ish guy said, “We wouldn’t spend two and a half hours critiquing it if we didn’t really like it.” So I came away happy, but knowing there is a ton of work to do in the second draft.

They also all urged me to not go back and rewrite yet, but just finish the Damned Thing. So I will. Current prediction: end of May, 2022.

Chilling and wrapping presents today. Maybe watch something that doesn’t need my full attention. Hello, Lost in Space!

A coffee and a cookie please.

Quote by redwriter

Quote by verbal
This is my first Christmas with no kids in the house. Meaning, for the first time in decades, I can sleep late on Christmas morning! Also didn't have to hang lights or put up a tree.

I must be out of place in here---I still believe in Santa Claus!

Just a hot chocolate, I think. No cookies--I'm slimming.

And he believes in you! He's thinks I'm a hoax, though.

I will be less Scrooge-y next year, but it's just so dang refreshing to have an easy Christmas; for years it was always so much work! The year 2021 is the year I get to finally chill and take a breath. Next year maybe I'll take a more active role.

Larry, I guess saying Break A Leg for a dance doesn't make too much sense. I hope things turn out well. How's that?

Skies are dark. Snow is imminent!

From my favorite Christmas album, the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble's Gifts

Ping, you are introducing them to foreign films but have yet to show them the original Gamera vs. Gyaos? Cretin!

I am beginning to understand all the hoopla around Succession. It's pretty frikkin good.