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Quote by Ping
Quote by verbal
Last day! And I think we're still awaiting entries from the Sensual Lady and from the One True Ping. I TOLD you all we'd break 10 handily!

I'm all caught up with reading them, until the last few come in.

When are results announced?


Ugh. I did it. OTP's story is in the house.

Sorry for the delay. Just such a busy time right now. I'll start reading the remaining stories tonight.


Yay! Looking forward to reading it. And it's horror!!!
The Second Coming (Yeats)

The whole God-damned world's gonna burn
I guess that people will never quite learn
The falcon can't hear
His beloved falconeer
And the slouchy old lion returns.
Last day! And I think we're still awaiting entries from the Sensual Lady and from the One True Ping. I TOLD you all we'd break 10 handily!

I'm all caught up with reading them, until the last few come in.

When are results announced?
Still oddly obsessed with the old Larry Sanders Show. Lots of cool old celebs and cultural references, some out loud laughs, and the darkest world view I've seen in quite some time.
Quote by gillianleeza


Canada seems set to lift its border restrictions in August so I can visit my son in Vancouver without having to quarantine. My husband could go before since he is Canadian, but I would need to quarantine, which wouldn't work. Then after that visit, we can hopefully go to Newfoundland to see my husband's extended family. This time we'll fly. Not sure I want to make that car trip to Newfoundland again. It's rather long.

Cheers!


Vancouver in August sounds lovely. Talia and I were actually re-opening the idea of a honeymoon train trip over the Rockies and up the left coast into Canada, but Covid is starting to raise is hellish head, and I fear we missed our window. Of course we still have to get married first. But that's just a fast trip downtown.

The Youtube reading went really well last night. Best ever, a few folks said (including the Mom who got offended by my use of the word nipple last year).

Anyway. Three new entries for me to read and comment on, including one by our resident Cookie Goddess and Braves Fan. Plus editing a little erotica - trying to find the actual story inside the mess I wrote a few weeks ago.

Coffee and competition-shaped cookies please!
Thanks for setting things up Larry.

I have Youtube reading tonight at 7 - if anyone is interested, I can throw you a link. Ping is even there sometimes, hoping against hope I will use the word nipple again (the last time I used it someone's mom was offended) (really). Hell, if anyone wants to READ I think she just had a cancellation. smile

Anyway. It's Wednesday, so Talia is working away from home. The cats and I are going to play a spirited game of cat-ball. Rules to be determined was we go along. I think there's a day game today too.

Rewriting all day today. The one about the coyotes and the one about the robotic geese.

A coffee and a small stack of Sara's cookies please. Time to get moving.
Quote by Violet_the_Verbose
What a cozy space you all have here.

I'll just have a cuppa while I try and get a feel for this place. I made an account recently after hearing about the almost closure of the site. I was really moved by everyone's passion to keep Stories Space going. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute to the survivor contest if I stop procrastinating long enough to finish my draft. I got a late start. The few stories I've read so far have been outstanding.

For those that think they know me from the dark side, I will say there's absolutely nothing filthy or obscene about me. I don't even know what the dark side is. Here, I keep it clean.


Yeah, it’s a very calm, chill vibe here. And the cookies rock! (Thank Sara for those.)

It would be awesome if you entered! This comp is attracting quite the pool of talent! Here’s to late starts.

Mets lost, ho hum. A tea (and a COOKIE!) and I’m off to bed. Pet the monkey for me if you see her.
I once again watched a baseball game til 2 in the morning. A crazy extra-inning Mets/Reds tilt that the Mets had no right to win (4 errors in the first two innings) but won anyway. Anyway, a bit bleary this morning.

Writing critique group went really well. This is the first one I’ve ever really been in, and I really like these guys. Supportive, but interested in the story, and how to improve it. No one gets offended or offensive. I really like it. And they liked my story!

I see more entries! Plus the Sensual Lady and the One True Ping. I look forward to reading and commenting. Really happy to be part of such a strong group of stories.

Okay. Time to put the words on the blank page.

Coffee and a banana cookie would hit the spot.
Quote by TheSensualLady
I will have an entry.


Yay! That's 10!
Quote by gillianleeza
The Nat/Padre game thing was very upsetting. My brother and his family were at the game. They didn't hear much where they were, but it was frightening for them.

It's good to see a few more comp entries on the front page.

I'm tired but can't sleep. Family issues again, sigh, no surprise there, but some things exhaust me more than others.

I'll grab a handful of cookies to go.

I hope Monday is kind to everyone.

Cheers!


Did you see Tatis gathering up fans attending the game and ushering them into the dugout for safety? What a class act!

The comp is shaping up. Some really strong contenders - it's a little intimidating. And Tam entered! Yay! Looking forward to reading that one. And we all nervously await the twisted imaginings inside the brain of the One True Ping.

When do they announce winners?

Writer's critique tonight, and they are doing one of my stories. I'll try to stave off the feeling of Imposter Syndrome one more time.

Talia says hi. So do the cats.

Coffee and a cookie sounds perfect.
Quote by Mendalla
My entry has moved from Google Docs to a saved draft on here. Just want to take another go at it before I pull the trigger. However, have to finish some yard work first.


Drop that rake right now and submit! I finally finished mine! Now I get to enjoy my Sunday.

Fling that bottle over here. I’ll add some to my coffee to celebrate. God that sounds awful. Moscato and coffee. I take it back.

Off to read the Sunday paper, then ShyThespian’s entry.

Where, oh where, is the comp entry of the One True Ping?
Quote by Survivor



Looks like the coffee is ready. I'll have a cuppa.

It just occurred to me that the folks that we get to judge our contest may not be members and perhaps they will become a few new members after this competition.

It was a shame about the Nationals and the Padres game last night in Washington. Just a sad sign of the times in America.



That Nat/Padres shooting at the game made me sad. Talia actually had a friend at the game - she was uninjured and saw little.

Makes the Mets inability to buy a win seem a little unimportant. smile Ugly game last night.

It was, however, nice to wake up to so many nice comments on the comp entry. I've read all but one, which I'll read today. Gonna be a tough choice. And two big gund will still enter - the Ape and the One True Ping. Good luck all.

Hit with with a big cup of coffee and a cookie - off to read the Sunday paper.
And...I just clicked "Publish Story."

A limoncello would be a perfect way to mark this occasion.
Quote by Molly
CuriousAnnie has just added her story to the list.

Verity: We’ll Be Home By Christmas

Survivor: The Little Survivor

AnnaMayZing: Over The Top

KatarinaTechgoddess: I'm Still alive

CuriousAnnie: Broken Banns


I am anxiously waiting for more, but not at 11:59 PM. Yes, Verbal, I'm looking at you.



Hee hee. I’ll be ready Sunday morning. I have to get rid of 10 words after the last rewrite. sad

SO PSYCHED to see Curious Annie entering. She’s a top notch writer. Ping is entering too I think. And Scott. Molly, how about you?

EDIT: I've read the other entries so far. Really strong field. Where are you Scott and Pingly?

I'm ready to enter, but will still hold off until tomorrow so I can give the doc one last swoop.
Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Quote by Mendalla
Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Well, only if it comes with a glass of Moscato!


If it gets that bad, the glass is yours. I'll already have drunk the rest of the bottle.


Sounds like I might need to bring my own bottle and share with you! Lol!


4989 words! I'm ready to enter! At 23:59:59 on July 18, of course.

Pour me a glass!
Done. 5300 words. Guess I've got some work to do. smile

We have almost no internet. I was on the phone for an hour and a half with them yesterday, and am trying to avoid another hour and a half of pure frustration today. I'm even willing to FOREGO BASEBALL, since we don't have enough bandwidth to watch. I'm not going to sacrifice a sunny day for their lack of accountability.

I'd love a coffee and a cookie as I set out to find the real story inside this 5300 word mess.
Final push. I finish the story today, come hell or high water.

I'll post on Sunday night or Monday.

Still no baseball. I filled this yawning void in my life by watching Hamilton last night (I'm about to cancel Disney+ because Loki is over, gotta watch Hamilton first). Excellent, exciting piece of theater. I turned it on to give it a chance and listen to a song, and I couldn't turn it off. I don't know American history well enough to speak on the criticisms of the play, but I thought the "race-conscious" casting was a brilliant choice - you end up thinking about the reasons behind it all through the play.

My only issue, mildly PC: how come the women characters never rap? They sing, only men rap. It's oddly gendered.

The guy who played Jefferson ROCKED!

Okay. Time to get to the words THE END.

Coffee and cookies sounds like manna from heaven.
I think a conversation with a box of frogs sounds enlightening!
Quote by Ping
Quote by verbal
My vestigial tail is wagging: there must be coffee close by! A cuppa, please. I have video therapy in 25 minutes.


All vestigial tail pics and gifs were disturbing. This gif probably better represents your mood and expression.



You know, the one with the tongue hanging out is almost exactly what I look like in real life. Uncanny.

8 days, right? Next Thursday is the deadline. I am on this like Godzilla on Tokyo! Finish by Friday, edit during the weekend, submit. Jezz, it's gonna be hard to let go of a story with so little editing. Alsas, my own damn fault.

No Talia in the house today - me and the cats are gonna play MarioKart all day. They suck - no opposable thumbs!

No baseball either, not until Friday. I'm going slowly insane.

Okay. Read the newspaper, drink some coffee, then tilt at the blank page.
Yeah, I'll be there, but it will be last minute, mostly because I want to do a good job, which is in everyone's best interests, right? I'm also happy to learn I don't need 10 votes to qualify. That woulda been tough.

It is what it is. I'd like a ton of entries too, but writing is hard, and writing for a comp puts you under even more scrutiny. I understand if folks are hesitant to enter.

I'm guessing over 10 entries. And one will be mine.
Quote by Rumple_deWriter
en re: Larry's CT scan report.

WAHOO!!! (please pardon those last to ungrammatical exclaimation points -- I just couldn't resit, honest.;)

Yesterday was the birthday of Carl/Fuzzy) while Larry/Survivor got that great CT report. To celebrate both events, here's a little sports news from their neck of the woods.

Sports tidbit: Two high school baseball players from the stomping grounds of Larry, and Carl, who had been signed by my LSU Tigers, were drafted by their hometown team, the Kansas City Royals in the early rounds of the MLB draft. And while it is true that the school's cheerleaders are perky and and the Golden Girl dancers are most alluring money is money, especially when there's a gob of it available for going pro. Here's hoping they both make it to the majors and have great careers.

I was gonna brag on the slugger from Verbal's beloved Mets winning his second straight home run derby yesterday, but I forgot his name. (the hitter, not Verbal)

Thanks for the coffee, Larry. and big hugs for Sarah on account of her cookies. Think I'll take some of both and slip over to the corner table. And since I remembered to bring my rain hat, I'll sit under the leaky window A/c and ponder the imponderable, or at least the implausable.

Later, Inspirators.


Pete Alonzo, Mr. Bill, but sadly I missed the home run derby. I actually watch one live, the last time the All Star Game was in Denver, and I had a corporate job that allowed me perks like All Star Game tix.

Still, no baseball for 4 days (I don't count, and rarely watch, the All Star Game). How will I survive!? How will Talia cope with my need to be continually entertained!? I'm like living with a 5 year old child. Or, you know, Ping.

1500 words into the comp entry. Enough so that I'm likely to finish. Let's see, the contest closes in 9 days. Writing 1000 words a day, I should finish in 4 days. Edit for 2 days. 3 days to get 10 votes (no easy feat!). It's gonna be close, but I'm committed.

My vestigial tail is wagging: there must be coffee close by! A cuppa, please. I have video therapy in 25 minutes.
.
Quote by Mendalla
Quote by verbal
So today I begin to write a horror fairytale, which I don't think is even a genre.


Some of Tanith Lee's stuff kind of went there. And Gaiman at times. Charles de Lint got pretty dark at times. And a few others. I'm not sure it has ever been named as a genre, but it certainly exists though a lot of it tends to get tagged as "urban fantasy" rather than "horror".


Poppy Z Brite (it's a real name) is excellent at this particular sub-genre. It's giving me fits. sad

More coffee.
Good luck with the test, Larry.

I made a passing mention to the comp as well, though I'm not well known over there. Read the comp entries last night, and they are really good. My idea for the comp is dark and weird, and out of my comfort zone, but there's no time to think up another. So today I begin to write a horror fairytale, which I don't think is even a genre.

Quiet day, lovely outside, all is well with the world. Time to write.

Coffee and hundreds and hundreds of cookies, please.
Quote by Ping
Well, got my wish. Awesome drama at Euro. Poor England. I thought they showed magnificent ball control (Verbie The Love Bug is tittering), but alas, they lost 3-2 in penalties. So much pressure. So much history. Love it.

Speaking of history, now there are three active tennis greats with 20 major championship victories. Unbelievable. US Open will possibly break the tie.

Next Up: The Open Championship. The pandemic cancelled last year’s event. This one will be emotional. Great tournament, as always. And then, I think I’m done with sports for a while. The Olympics, unless something absolutely astounding happens, will be a lessor event. The Olympics is about bringing people from around the world together to celebrate athletic achievements. It should have been postponed one more year. But that’s the old sports and recreation administrator in me talking. The other voices in my head have no opinion on the matter. One says get some limoncello. A couple say cold brew coffee. And yet another says get the chainsaw and hockey mask and scare the neighbours later this evening.

All three sound pretty good.

McLarry of the family Green, my daughter starts her acting/dancing/singing camp tomorrow. Ballet is done for the year. Decided none over the summer. So, her musical camp will be her sole focus. I know you appreciate those that participate in the performance arts. She’s also a little sketchy, and by sketchy, I mean artist.

Last night, the neighbours had a party and kept us up to around two. Long story. I’m still pissed. Even after I yelled at them at the top of my lungs to shut the f’n music off. They tried to apologize this morning. I said I can’t hear you.

Anyway, while being kept awake, my daughter drew this amazing scene with multiple winged demons descending upon their home. I wish I could post it to show you, but she reminded me that that would be a copyright infringement.

Sheesh. Who’s raising this kid? 🤣🤣🤣


Verbie the Love Bug. Heavy sigh. I guess it's better than Sprite's Furball (rhymes with Verbal) (and herbal) (and gerbil).

I got a couple paragraphs down, so I think I have an entry. I love the first two sentences. But the first two sentences do not a story make. I'm write it this week, and if it does not suck, I will post it.

I have totally by accident turned grilling fish into something that is easy and foolproof. I've always been scared to grill fish because it's so hard, but we bought a screen mat that you lay over the grill. Get a good piece of salmon, season lightly, oil the fish, oil the mat, oil everything, get the grill HOT and then cook, with cover down, skin side down. 8 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, and eat! Foolproof and really good. Crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside! Just like me.

Last baseball game of the first half. Watching it now on a time delay, and the Mets are winning handily. SO SORRY to hear about Acuna's injury Sara. It's awful to see such a talented star go down for the season.

A non-alcoholic limoncello please. Any cookies left?
Quote by Mendalla
Eleven, count'em, eleven days left to get your story in. Mine is just about there. Just trying to stick the landing. Who else is going to join our wonderful trio of Verity, Survivor, and AnnaMayZing?


QUIT RUSHING ME! smile

I'll be there.

EDIT: AND...we have an opening sentence!!!
Quote by elizabethblack
Quote by verbal
THE COOKIE BANDIT IS RIGHT HERE!!!

Finished writer's critique group today, and for once I did NOT feel like an imposter! So that's an excellent way to start the day.

20 days to get a comp entry in, right? Sigh. I promise to read all of them, but not before I get an idea - I almost slole Larry's by accident!

The rest of today: edit the geese story. Grill. Watch the Mets double header (playing the hapless Pirates). Roland, sorry about your Cubbies. They lost 11 in a row and look to be on the cusp of a fire sale. I'm guessing we'll end up with Bryant. And his contract.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Coffee please. And ALL THE COOKIES! HAHAHAHAHHA!!! (That was a maniacal laugh.)


I may be too late to help with the goose story, but found a couple:






Thank you for contributing to my nightmares, Elizabeth! smile

Glorious Sunday here. We'll do a little shopping and grill tonight (chicken, fish, green beans). Last baseball game FOR A WEEK!!! I don't know how I'll survive.

So I guess, as Scott tell me, I only have 2 weeks to write this comp story. I may read some entries and try to get an idea. I find it so hard to write to a specific theme. My mind just goes where it wants to go, and the words follow, as I wander off into my own interior world. In medical circles this is referred to as Pingbrain.

Coffee and many, many cookies please.