Quote by Ping

Quote by Tams
Thanks for the coffee set up, Larry.

Despite my botching of the english language (and yes, I agree there are far too many confusing words), Mrs Rambles has kicked off the first-line story challenge with a wonderful piece. Which can be found here: https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/micro-fiction/-the-invisible-girl-.aspx

I'm fighting some sort of cold. I'm fully vaxed but went to the walk-in clinic over the weekend, just to be safe. Tests came back negative for covid and the delta variant, so I guess there are still other viruses out there all vying for our attention. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have minded giving it to them. But now I can't help but wonder if every time I get sick, I will feel the need to get tested. Ugh...

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to the week!

Could only be one other thing… you’re pregnant.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

If it’s a boy, please name him, Verbs. If it’s a girl, please name her, Ping.

If you have one of each, or more, any variation of PinglyVerbs or VerballyPing will do nicely.

Immaculate conception. What a concept!


Just spent three hours in the dentist chair. A very old (probably older than our mother-to-be) crown broke. Lots of prep. But we’re good to go again until the permanent crown is made.

Toffee, gum, and anything sticky and chewy, please. I want to test my dentist’s proficiency.

Smile. It’s Monday. No more Olympics.

Quote by elizabethblack
This weekend has been very hot, sweaty and hot, humid and hot. Spent it with husband visiting a vast number of antique malls in PA. Not very good a/c in these old buildings and just walking and walking and every now and then saying "how about this?" To which his usual reply is "nah, we have too many of those". Nice motel though with thoroughly European feel. Only open a week and lacking a few things "that got delayed in the supply line". Lovely breakfast and more hours slogging through more antique malls.
Finally home and feet up for maybe a week.
Oh, and Verbs - welcome to my world. How does it feel being one above the Nationals? Sorry. Don't even get me started on why, why, why the trades were made to the Dodgers. Gnashing teeth every time I think about it.

Quote by DenimAngel
Hi everyone
A beautiful day here
A large coffee would be fantastic
Me and miss Molly the monkey are gonna help in the church nursery this morning.
Scott that's a good idea I'm sure each animal who visits have an idea what they like .

*Moving the old cookies to the emergency cookie tins behind the counter and filling the cookie jars to the tippy top with fresh cookies.*
In Big Bird we have pecan divines, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate orange cookies and snickerdoodles
In Cookie Monster we have ginger snaps, white chocolate supremes, chocolate covered cherry cookies and hot chocolate and marshmallow cookies
In Elmo we have lemon cookies, double chocolate hazelnut ,m&m cookies and snickerdoodles

*Giving the adorable critters fresh water and treats*

Off I go to deal with little humans
Stay safe everyone!

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by Verity
Oh my, Mr Mendalla. How could you think such a thing about a sweet old lady like me.

Never said it about you, just about that story. And if mine was in any way an influence, you are welcome. I don't think I have ever been cited as an influence (other than a bad one ) before.

Quote by Tams
I really like your idea Verbs, but I am (among other things) extremely tech-challenged. I want to avoid creating more work for the mods by having to help insert pics into the body of the story.

I also like Ping's suggestion. My fear (pun intended) is that Halloween is right around the corner and I wouldn't want to step on the toes of a possible future comp. I do like the thought of keeping the stories light and fun.

My idea is that I will throw down an opening line. So many fantastic stories start with killer first lines; Call me Ishmael...or...Mother died today, or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure. Not saying mine is killer, but it seems like it will be fun to see where each person takes the line.

Here is what I have come up with for rules:

- I will give a first-line prompt, every story must have that line as the open.
- From there you are free to take it where ever you'd like and in whatever category and length you choose.
- Please make sure to follow storiespace guidelines for acceptable content.
- Please include Inspirators as a tag. Make sure it is spelled exactly that way so when we click on the tag, it will isolate all of our stories on one page.
- This is just a challenge and all for fun, no prizes or awards will be given out.
- There is no time limit for entries.

Here is your first-line prompt...have fun with it!

"To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, bluejeans, and a red hoodie."

Quote by Tams
Morning All!

drums fingers on counter waiting for the coffee to finish brewing...decides to sneak a GF cookie for the wait

I'm having post-comp blues. The energy and buzz when those comps are active make it so much fun. Plus for some reason, my brain gets more active when there is a prompt to work off of. What if we did a friendly Inspirators story challenge thingy? Anyone have ideas for a prompt?

I tend to gravitate toward these categories(but I'm certainly open to anything):

- Thriller
- Horror
- Fantasy
- Romance

Just a thought...hope everyone is having a great day...and look at that, the coffee's done percolating.

Quote by Rumple_deWriter
Happy Hump Day to all Inspirators. The coffee pot has been rinsed and dried as has been the tea kettle. Today's coffee is from the Big Mamou Coffee Co. located near the fabled town of, Little Mamou. Water is from the nearby Atchafalaya River. Enjoy.

Some of the baseball teams Inspirators pull for won: Padres, Diamondbacks, Braves, while others such as the Mets Royals, and Nationals did not. Probably a great object lesson there but it escapes me.

Time to fill my mug, grab some of Sarah's cookies and wander over to the corner table to spend some time wool gathering.

Later, Inspirators.

Quote by rolandlytle


Jeff, you are going to love watching Baez play. He plays the game with the heart of a gladiator, the talent of a hall-of-famer, and the joy of a little boy. His defense and baserunning are gifts from Olympus. If you forgive him for his strikeouts, he is day in and day out the best in baseball.

Saw my brain doctor today, and he said over the last six months, I have shown only a minor decline in my tests. So I did not dare tell him I had not slept since Saturday night. I have had insomnia since high school. So I have been binge-watching 'Grimm.'

Have a great week, my friends.

Quote by Tams
Wow... So many talented writers and so many excellent stories! I'm honored to be sharing the podium with Verbal and Thespian. Everyone who entered deserves a round of applause.

Thank you to everyone who read my story and especially those who scored and left a comment.

If I know Verbal, he's already blown his winnings on Godzilla posters for the ceiling above his bed.lnC56bNT9RFzfSo7 So, a round of sarsaparillas on me!

Quote by Mendalla
Reading a graphic novel series called Once & Future. Basically, what if King Arthur's return was horror rather than fantasy. Arthur is what we would call a "lich" in D&D, basically an animated skeletal monster commanding a "round table" of similar horrors. Merlin just showed up but seems to be something else entirely. Arrayed against Arthur's evil are Bridgette Macquire, an elderly monster hunter who is supposed to be living in a seniors' home, her grandson Duncan and a historian named Rose (who kind of got sucked into the story by dating Duncan).

The underlying idea seem to be that it is not so much people coming back to life as their stories, with many variations possible on those stories. Beowulf has made an appearance, and the last chapter that I read (I am partway through volume 2) ended with the appearance of his foe Grendel. Beowulf is sent against Duncan and Bridgette by Arthur who describes them as "monster and mother", creating an allegory for Grendel and his mother. Not sure how Grendel is going to fit in, yet, but he is currently outside Bridgette's home. Good stuff. The last volume is up for a Hugo (one of the most prestigious sf and fantasy awards) this year and the series has picked up other awards and nominations as well.

Author is Kieron Gillen, a British comic book writer, and the art is by Dan Mora. Both creators are multiple award-winners.

Quote by rolandlytle
Hello everyone

Congratulations to all of the entries to the contest. Every story was excellent. I would have pulled out every hair on my head if I had to make those choices.

Sometimes, when I read a story, I can not think of a single thing about that story that has not already been said, and I wind up not commenting. I read every story in this competition, and everyone was excellent, but I did not comment on three of the stories. Two of those three non-comment stories won awards. Either that was a big coincidence, or the judges must think my praise is negative towards grading.

A couple of cookies and tea, please.

Bryant (SFG), Baez (NYM), and Rizzo (NYY) all hit home runs in their first game for their new clubs. I wish them well.

Have a great day, my friends.

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal


Drinks are on me! And while no alcohol is allowed in the coffee shop, I hear a rumour that Ping is passing out limoncello shots from the trunk of his car out in the parking lot. It's that 1979 Monkey-sh1t green Ford Pinto out there. No, wait, that's my car!

Quote by Molly

Quote by Ping

Quote by Survivor
We have been suffering under a heatwave that appears to be ready to break tomorrow. The highs have been in the 90sF/30sC degrees. When it gets down into the 80s/20s we may have a break. Rough on the little critters.

Iced tea with a blast of limoncello solves all heat problems. I left a pitcher of this good mix in the fridge.

Lovely Fryday to you all!

Quote by Tams


Morning, fellow storiespacers...

Did you all know that yawns are contagious? It's true. Next time you are in a crowd, let out an unsuspecting yawn and see how many around you follow suit. NOTE: I've yawned three times while writing this!

What's the antidote? Thank you for asking! It happens to be some of Rump's fine brew. I'll take a cup, if you don't mind, kind sir.

Happy Thursday everyone...hold strong, the weekend's within reach!

Quote by Ping
https://youtube.com/shorts/QNf6yC6A7AQ?feature=share

Okay. Okay. I’m not a Tik Toker, but this lady and her hubby make me laugh. She’s from Montreal but I think they live in Boston. Parents of two. She sings and is an ‘influencer’. He’s a lawyer. He never shows his face but is known as the Real Indian Dad. They both of Indian descent but he uses a very thick Indian accent for his character. It started out as him heckling her off camera while she played piano and sang, while preparing a future video post.

Sooo sooo funny.

RID: Did you hear about the two guys that stole a calendar?

DM: No

RID: They each got six months.


Iced tea, please. Some seed for the bird man of Colorado.

Quote by Ping

Quote by CuriousAnnie
This comp has been a favourite of mine, the friendliness and community is so strong here and that brings out the best in us all.

Darn upload limitations. I have a funny penguin gif where one smacks the other to the ground. I wanted to juxtapose the tuxedo’d pairing. Penguins & Nuns. I sense a very hot South African catholic school story in the making or a very chilly one from Antarctica. But I don’t think there are any catholic colonies on the big berg.

Good comp. I concur. At the very least, we learned that Verbs was raised by wolves.

Quote by WriterGirl

Quote by verbal


Hey, when are comp results supposed to be announced?

It says August 1 in the Site news forum.

Quote by Rumple_deWriter
Is it still Moanday? it is? In the immortal words of Winnie-the-Pooh, "Oh bother."

Larry thanks for the set-up and for giving WG proper recognition and greetings.

I was a bit 'off my feed' this weekend. Just felt punky and out of sourts. On the other hand, it let me stay piled up in bed knocking off a couple historical mystery novels.

Next up could be an in-depth analysis of the news that the universities of Oklahoma and Texas will probably be moving from the Big-12 conference to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) wherr teams such as Alabama, Georgia and my beloved LSU Tigers roam. Yep that could be next up except most Inspirators don't care and I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing.

With a second mug of coffee in one hand while the other is filled to overflowing with Sarah's cookies, I'll go over to the corner table, sit in a dry confy chair, and speculate on just what in the heck-e-darn is speculative fiction.

Later, Inspirators.