Hey, it’s that nutty little monkey! C’mere and give me a big monkey hug.

Not much new going on today. Apartment shopping with youngest daughter later today.

I guess that Mets-Yankees game last night was one for the ages, though probably still too little too late for the Metropolitans. Wish I could have seen the game. I tried as late as 10 p.m., but it was still blacked out by ESPN. The Saturday game was blacked out by Fox. Sigh.

Time to write. Coffee would be swell.

Quote by magnificent1rascal

Quote by Ping

Has anyone asked about or commented on the missing word counts from poems and stories?

I briefly scanned the other posts. I may have missed it. Can anyone see word counts? If so, where are they?

Thanks.

I’ve noticed it but not mentioned it. Estimated read time appears to have taken its place, but I prefer word count for a number (ha!) of reasons. 

I'd also love it if they'd tweak line spacing, it's driving me bonkers: more space in paragraph breaks, less space in line breaks (within the paragraph).

Having an icon for RR and EP next to the title would be groovy too.   

Hey, everyone is getting me all wrong about the critique group! It was actually a big vote of confidence, from published writers (I'm kind of the newbie to the group). I was psyched. If anyone cares about the minutia: Chew is in chapters, each chapter has three POVs (it's here on SS in two parts). Their issue is that it's a cumbersome structure - the solution is longer chapters, one POV each. They actually dug all the content, it was about the format. And they noted how rare it was for a title to be a verb. 

Anyway. Not much else going on. Glad 9 frikkin 11 is over. Hate that day.

We are going to an art gallery later today, and then grocery shopping (an activity I quite enjoy for some bizarre reason). Until then: chill. Mets vs. Yankees tonight, which I normally love, but it's on ESPN, meaning I can't watch because I don't have cable. Way to build that fan base, MLB.    

Coffee please!

Quote by Ping

Quote by CuriousAnnie

Root canal ... I dream of root canal. 😕 Not really, just that lets just say I needed a blood transfusion after an emergency C-section Tuesday night. All is good now; baby got stuck and is well despite that, mother is improving 👌 

I am having trouble publishing a poem about late babies (or more accurately one late young man in particular) which I wrote Saturday. Cant work out if it is a bug or that I am stupid... Okay, don't answer that. 

But for all the mums out there I do have a question: How come second children are born? 

Oh Annie, that’s fabulous news. Congrats. Boy or girl?

Bigger question: Are you naming it Verbs or Ping?

But be careful. Tams immaculately conceived a little hybrid VerPing thingie of horror. How awkward  it would be if you two named your young ones the same thing?

Well, I’m off to a wet market in China. I’ve got some business to tend to. Don’t ask but vendors will probably start a bidding war for what I have to offer.

Or to paraphrase Quint, “The taxidermist’s gunna  have a heart attack when he sees what I brought him.”

Go Fernandez Go! 

Bring another Women’s US Open Tennis Championship to Canada for us!

Good weekend to all, especially Sir Rump if you can hear me. Hurry back, as soon as you can.

While the world is almost certainly a better place with Ping in it, and perhaps even with me in it as well, I'm fairly certain having two more VerPings around might be problematic. 

I fared pretty well in novel critique group. Meaning, they suggest I rewrite EVERYTHING, because they see some structural issues, and various other issues, but they like the characters and they LOVED the world-building (this is essentially the two parter here on SS, Chew). And they loved the title.

So, more work, but they think the general idea is sound. I tend to agree.

Anyway. Lazy night for Talia and I. Fine with me! I hate all this 9/11 anniversary coverage, so am staying away from televisions for the day.

A cookie please!        

Enjoy the weekend all!

Good morning all. 

Busy day today but I will pop my head in.

Novel writing critique group is tomorrow morning, and this week I am under the knife, so to speak. They are a good group, but a tough crowd, and I am a little nervous.

Anyone seen Vi around lately? I hope we didn’t lose her in the move. I was just getting to know her.

I also have great faith that Bill will be found and brought back into the fold. He is too well loved to be missing.

A coffee and a cookie would be the cat’s pajamas.

Quote by CuriousAnnie

Root canal ... I dream of root canal. 😕 Not really, just that lets just say I needed a blood transfusion after an emergency C-section Tuesday night. All is good now; baby got stuck and is well despite that, mother is improving 👌 

I am having trouble publishing a poem about late babies (or more accurately one late young man in particular) which I wrote Saturday. Cant work out if it is a bug or that I am stupid... Okay, don't answer that. 

But for all the mums out there I do have a question: How come second children are born? 

That's worrisome about Bill, Larry, and thanks for the update. I hope to see him soon.

I woke up too early and I'm tired and a little grumpy. A new story awaits, though, so it's time to start flinging words onto the screen like spitballs and see what sticks.

Coffee and a cookie would improve my day greatly!

Two root canals!? So sorry, Gill. I have a real life horror story regarding root canals, but I'll not scare you with my own experiences.

Things seem to be coming along nicely with the upgrade. It de-emphasises the stories a little, but I imagine they can be tweaked into the forefront.

I have a new story up here: Magpie House. https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/supernatural/magpie-house  Kind of a Stephen King-ish vibe. Still in first draft land, and I'd be happy to hear any suggestions for edits/rewrites in the comments.

No Talia Wednesday. Haven't seen the cats yet today. That cannot bode well.

Enjoy your day all. A coffee and 12 cookies please. I'm hungry. 

I'd like to see the line spacing tweaked a bit, so that spaces between paragraphs are a little larger, and easier to differentiate from the spaces between lines within a paragraph. I'd apply this both to stories and to Forum text.

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by Welshdreamer42

I’m locked out of the other site 🤣

I knew I would be, I’m so rubbish with technology, lol 

Don’t suppose you could sneak me a beer, could you? 🍺

It's not you. I can't get in right now either. The site is still unstable from the upgrade, I think. My suggestion to all would be to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, the tech crew are working on the issues.

There's a couple cases worth in the bottom of the fridge. Emergency stock I laid in. It's Sleeman's. Good Canadian beer (even if the company is now owned by Sapporo).

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Sipping some tea while the rain disrupts my plans to swim with my neighbor. Had a great visit with my daughter this past long weekend, but her departure left me feeling melancholy. She is going through a tough time and it helped to come home to the beach where she could chill and have mom and dad pamper her a bit. But sending her on the road with tears in her eyes yesterday was heart-wrenching. She is strong, she will be fine, eventually. In the meantime, I think it's cruel that the magic wand I used when she was a child to make things better no longer works now that she is grown. 

Hey all.

Things seem to be coming along nicely at other sites. I took a peek of the Forums--in specific a particularly bonkers thread in the TT--and I like the way it looks, and works! The story presentation, IMHO needs a little tweaking, but there is certainly no shortage of folks there with opinions on what would work best. (My apologies for mentioning other sites, but I am assuming it's an unavoidable subject at present.) 

Mets took a CRUSHING loss last night. Sigh.

I really like the way the Magpie story turned out. My confidence is restored, though temporarily (it's always temporary! and should be). I may post it later.  

A coffee and a cookie please!

Quote by Mendalla

Don't have any cosmic horror lying around right now. The ones I have on here are too long. Will keep this in mind for the future, though. Cosmic horror is pretty much my favorite sub-genre.

They take "cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird" so you can still enter. 

Quote by Ping

Hmmm… my worm story, perhaps? How about the doll one I just sent you?

$100 buys a lot of motorcycle kilometres. 

I'm just passing this along. Cash prizes, no fee, a new contest every month, NOT limited to "cosmic horror." I can't vouch for these guys, but they look legit. I'm entering! (Let me know if I posted this in the wrong place, Bill usually posts this kinda stuff.)

 ___

https://www.cosmichorrormonthly.com/micro-madness/

Cosmic Horror Monthly  wants to find the very best cosmic horror flash fiction. SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT.

Submissions will be ongoing and open the first week of every month for that month’s contest. THREE stories will be chosen per month to be published the month after they were submitted. (If you submit a story on October 3rd and it is chosen, it will be published in November.)

Submissions are open monthly from the 1st to the 7th.

Submission close at 12 am (midnight) eastern standard time.

One entry per writer per month please!

No simultaneous submissions.

All stories accepted must be currently unpublished.

Once a story has been submitted, please no resubmissions!

We are looking for flash fiction (500 words or less) that can be classified as cosmic horror, dark science fiction, or weird. If you are unsure if your work qualifies, submit it and let us be the judge!

Payment

1st place: $100

2nd place: $50

3rd place: $25

Make all submissions to . Paste a cover letter with your information, publishing history, and word count into the body of the email. Attach the manuscript as a word document (.docx).

Thank you and best of luck!  

Quote by IMPURETHOUGHTS

I AM finally relaxing after a very productive Sunday. 

Sorry for all the Covid deaths in your town, Sara. Glad you're feeling better, and bringing us cookies though.

*STEALS ALL THE COOKIES*

Thanks for the set-up, Ape. Another glorious lazy day before the work week resumes. We are threatening to go see a movie this afternoon, but as we nearly always blow our movie plans off, who knows? 

We watched the movie Oliver! last night! It was the first play I was ever in! Really fun, I love those old musicals, especially the big show-stoppers, where they keep topping themselves and raising the stakes until the BIG FINISH.

*FEELS GUILTY, RETURNS ALL COOKIES BUT ONE FOR MYSELF*

Enjoy the day everyone! 

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

I finally have my body pillow so now I can have all the full body snuggles I want. One half of my bed is literally just Jane now.

j  

Quote by rolandlytle

Hi, everyone! 🍷

Sorry for my long absence. After the news of my father, My brain was pretty messed up. I had more than a week of bonkers and many bad days after that. I fell and broke a tooth which had to be pulled. I have an irrational fear of dentists, so that was a real struggle. My doctor found a suspicious mole on my neck that I will soon be excised. All of this may seem bad, but the real problem is the progress of my LBD. It has multiplied any real issues. I have had a hard time getting to SS.

My LBD has made the transition to the new site difficult. My whole life runs on a set schedule and routine. Dealing with change is difficult, yet I am trying to get used to the new format.

I have sorely missed your companionship in my daily life. I continue reading your stories, though slowly.

BTW, I have shaved off my rather large 'Santa Clause' like beard, and my youngest grandson took almost a week before he recognized me. It was pretty funny seeing everyone's reaction to the appearance of my face. I certainly hope it was not fear or disgust. 😀

I hope you all stay healthy and happy. ❤

We've missed your friendship as well. Hope to see you back and around soon - you were able to post this, you should be able to start coming around here again.

And while LBD may stand for the disease, I am now picturing you standing around in a Little Black Dress, thanks to Ping. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I bet you look stunning! And those pumps are to die for! 

You were right about Baez, man, he's exciting to watch. Our playoff chance have dwindled to near zilch, but he's so exciting to watch, particularly the fielding and baserunning.

Double header today. And no plans. Proof of a loving God.

A coffee and a cookie! Enjoy the day all! 

Quote by henrietta_fielding

Sharon, you are an angel to be cookie stand in while poor Sara is sick! 😘

I'll grab a nighttime ginger and lemon tea. I have a new romance ebook out tomorrow so that's exciting! 

Yeah, fall was in the air yesterday for us too! Cooler and rainy today. I love it.

Finished the crow and magpie story. It might be good. I've gotta find the actual story in this first draft and cut away all the unnecessary BS and find out.

Three day weekend, and we are dedicated to a long weekend of lazy indolence. Maybe a movie. Maybe grocery shopping. Definitely grilling! Salmon, steak, sausage, peppers, corn.

Getting low on cookies Sara. If you email me the recipe, I'll attempt to fill the cookie jars myself, but it would be much easier and tastier for you to grace us with fresh treats, when you feel able.

Coffee please. I'll limit myself to a single cookie.

Quote by ladysharon

Hello, everyone. Life is good, and I had a great few days ending August and am ready to tackle Blogtober on my website. The little one is in preschool and recently turned four and it seems like she was just born yesterday. 

I see the site has a new design and I'm feeling it. I'm going to have a look around and get some writing done. I hope to have a new original piece up soon.

I won't discuss politics here, but I've spent the last two hours talking down a friend of mine over the new abortion law in Texas. We live in very troubling times.

I'm a tad upset. So, I'm gonna put pencil to paper, just like Sharon, and write my frustrations and fears down on paper as fiction. Coffee and LOTS of cookies please! 

Quote by rbo

HELLO EVERYONE!

one thing that a lot of people who write on here wish is to be a published author someday.

(everyone who writes on here is an Author)
To physically hold your book (or see it on a Kindle) is an amazing feeling.

I came on here a few years ago and published a few stories and was very happy.
I decided to try and take it to the next level and I am pleased to say... I made it.

My book was taken on by a small Americal publishing house and will be published on the 4th of September.

.

(find me on Face book https://www.facebook.com/byrlstevens/ )

.

Lowenna.

.

Washed ashore with no memories,

Lowenna pieces Together bits of her past.

Dreams catch her unaware, sending her to strange and terrifying places that may or may not be real.

Her quest to find answers reveals her powerful magic and creates lifelong friends.

She is Lowenna the last of her Kind.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB097Z2SNF2%2Fref%3Ddbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0fEnwlGoX1KMxN1FqCelRoOX6m6-I_yiQskrcdCq-AIYd-4kpXqvCtMMM&h=AT3yHIXQh-2pkbRnQ79nsdQmq_xvWBRhHF1wUOO1q1ssXiYcmX9xs3Hkuormbb2oFtqu2r24MPWyt5tw1vTfhQ-qoFGR7toBlx3tgUgu_V0CWh73-qArLdG-es6zLeaiQKvM&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3dYHt1XGM3z-mN2Ejr7pPwV5vUfnRGuVFLsRJvmEqmfjP8WDXdPfRXUeL8pWJ5cM14Vns6dCblZJae3cdIa6vaTSjnMZiGsKlv4VzJJWV_RfD-omsqA9QMabLEudssF_Xq3N90is9so_NfdiZQGY6UtqcgNHXyVd-ag13FxgImJxES07MBdr_IehU245hSjNKYa9mf

Thanks for the set-up Scott. I need coffee badly.

Feel better Sara! We have an emergency stash of your cookies hidden in the back of the freezer, we'll thaw them out until you are up and baking.

I LOVE Niven - Ringworld alone gets him in my own personal hall of fame. Plus, he was my introduction to the idea of the multiverse and alternate timelines. I was a sucker for all that hard sci-fi in high school.  

Still fighting Imposters Syndrome. Haven't written a good story in awhile. I need a good one under my belt.

But hey, the Mets swept a double header yesterday, and it's a sunny day, and all is good with the world. It's No Talia Wednesday, so me and the cats are gonna learn to tap dance!

Hope everyone enjoys the day.       

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps

A large ginger ale would be welcomed 

 Feeling awful today . 

There are leftover cookies in the cookie jars and in the cookie tins behind the counter

Fresh cookies when i don't feel like I've ran over by a big truck 😷🤧

Gonna go hibernate now 

 

Stay safe everyone.

I'm expecting a slow day today. Drink coffee, write and edit, lunch with one of the daughters. Grill some salmon for supper. Yum!

I'm not writing well, and I don't know why. Keep at it I guess.

I hope everyone is well. 

Coffee and three of Sara's day old cookies please. 

Finally got around to reading stories here on the new site last night. Lotsa new writers and stories here. Nice to be back in the groove. Easy to vote and comment here. And change votes - I'm happy for that, I have clumsy fingers. 

Still having trouble plotting well. I basically threw away my latest story without even a second draft, and I'm hoping the current one isn't listing in that direction. I'm a little worried I'm psyching myself out.

The Mets sucked slightly less than they usually do this weekend.    

Coffee and a raindrop shaped cookie please.  Enjoy your day all!

Thank you Gav, for years of putting up with such an unruly crew for so long. We appreciate all the thankless hours you've pu in.  

Quote by Violet_the_Verbose

I've just realized I can copy-paste directly from other people's stories, not just the story preview. I know previously, this wasn't possible.

Quote by magnificent1rascal
Hi everyone!

After spending the day at a writers conference, I’m stopping in to unwind before heading home. What a wonderful spot this is!

Ten words? How do I tell a story in ten....

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal

I REALLY wanna go see Candyman this weekend. I love every piece of movie DNA in it, from Barker and the original story to the excellent first movie and Peele being involved in this iteration. The trope of repeating some name into a mirror scares the F out of me. I won't do it. I wouldn't let my kids do it (they did anyway, I've since learned).

I wrote one of my best stories ever about it.

Anyway.  Enjoy the day everyone. Coffee and ten thousand sugar cookies please. 

  

Strange as it seems, I never saw the first Candyman. Love the original story and Barker in general. Part of it is, I think, that the original story is so good, I don't really care if I see it adapted.