Good morning everyone. It’s exciting to be living in the US this year. We have weekly “once in a lifetime” events occurring now. I swear we are living in a computer simulation.

I am TOTALLY sucked in and addicted to a video game: No Man’s Sky. It’s very rare for me to get very deep into a videogame, but this is so immersive, and plays into my childhood love of space and exploration. I feel l a little kid playing it.

Sara, I am writing about the Braves! Specifically the Mets/Braves 1999 NLCS. You guys won it but I still went to two of the best games I’ve ever seen. If you like I will send a link tomorrow when it goes out in the newsletter.

A coffee please! And three cookies!

Good morning everyone.

“The world is too much with us” is the only Wordsworth I know Cora, but it is apropos. Poe I’m pretty well acquainted with. I look forward to reading your poem.

Didn’t sleep well. Sigh. No big plans today, so that’s good. It’s supposed to be warm, with afternoon showers. Lately I live for those afternoon thunderstorms.

Baseball is back after four days of absence. Hoping for a fun second half of the season.

Tractor cookie! And a coffee!

Hey everyone.

We got actual rain yesterday! It was pretty cool. What's better, it happened during my walk. It was a warm rain, and felt refreshing, and I was able to duck into a shelter for the heavier bits.

I'm pretty confident when writing a story, but this book stuff is the opposite: I've never written a good one (after 4 tries), and I'm not sure I have one in me. The only way to find out is to keep writing.

And on that cheery note, I'm off. Coffee! What's the cookie de jour, Sara?

Quote by Mendalla

Glad it's your election and not mine. Our boy is having his problems but anything happening up here pales by comparison with your shitshow. Have fun.

Sorry I wasn't in to prep this morning. Will do better tomorrow. Hopefully.

Question: How long should chapters be? I mean, I am working on this new fantasy story that is going to be long so I am looking at doing it in chapters. It's the first time I have started out with that as the intent so I am not sure how to approach it. First chapter is c. 3200 words. Second and third are in flux for plot reasons right now but are clocking in a bit shorter, 2000-3000 words.

I am sure the correct answer is going to be something vague like "as long as they need to be" but thought I would try.

I struggle with this too. I think chapters should all be about the same length, so find the natural rhythm of your book. It's looking like maybe 3000 per?

I'm currently settling in on 2500 words for mine, but I'm only a couple chapters in.

Dance Hall Days is a prefect needle drop in The Idea of You

Good morning all. Things have cooled off here finally.

I have been getting DEEPLY into the videogame No Man’s Sky. It’s a space exploration game. There’s a story, but most of the joy is in the literally infinite open world you can play in. Really well designed, wildly original. I just love this game. I a playing game on Nintendo Switch.

The MRI story is still broken. I am thinking of expanding it into something long, if for no other reason than having something big to escape into during the coming election season. It’s going to be brutal.

And with that cheery thought, I am off. Coffee and a cookie!

Good morning all. Did sleep well so I am dragging a bit.

Things are cooling off a bit here. Sadly, I have therapy today at 4, so I will miss my walk today. I should probably a big wind of time to write in.

I tried to watch the Home Run Derby last night but just got bored. No real baseball until Thursday!

Coffee and cookie!

Hot everywhere, huh! It’s in the low 90s here.

Staying away from the news today. The United States is overheated and so am I.

I still can’t get that MRI story to work. I’ve got critique today, so I will try to solve it as I read other people’s stories.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Really enjoying the remake of Presumed Innocent on Apple. I hope the killer is different than who it was in the book.

Also, we saw a great little sci-fi movie called Significant Other. Talia has a tiny crush on Jake Lacy. I thought it went on about 10 minutes too long, but otherwise, VERY clever plot.

Quote by gillianleeza
Have you watched the latest episode? I love that the show combines serious themes with humor, and the cast is great.

I haven't seen the latest one, we'll watch it this weekend. The cast is SO good. And yeah, they combine humor with some pretty deep discussions of religion and spirituality.

Yeah, hot as heck here too. In the mid-90s today. I doubt I will even walk, though I am all but add to my daily walk.

Not much else going on. No plans for the weekend. MRI story still blows. I may just throw it away. Major imposter syndrome today.

Those cookies look swell, Sara. I’ll have three and a cup of coffee please.

Good morning all. I’ll have some of that delish coffee. And I promise not to bug Sara for more cookies since she is pooped from her great time in Phoenix.

Still messing with the MRI story. The ending is…<searches for technical term>…dumb.

I grad from acupuncture. 13 sessions. I would say a 10-20% improvement. Works for me!

Hot as hades out now. I will probably skip my walk. Stay cool everyone!

Same old thang. Enjoy the day everyone!

Quote by DenimAngel

In beautiful Mesa it's 98 degrees

The game was freaking awesome . One of the people I came with caught a home run ball ... but It was a DBack ball so I didn't bribe him for it lol

It was a freaking awesome game. We had right field front row bleachers seats .

Food was expensive as all get out.

Got a few souvenirs. But didn't get a Baxter bobcat stuffed animal wasn't paying 35 .00

Lots of Brave fans where we sat

Still had a voice when I left (barely) I cheered loudly ..

A large Pepsi would be great .

Cookies as soon as I'm functional.. brain still foggy .

So cool! What an excellent game! 9th inning comeback and extra innings.

Food at ballparks is SO expensive. Still, a hot dog and a beer are required, at minimium.

Glad you had fun! I love live baseball games.

It hot here, Ape, but it’s not THAT hot. My condolences. We’re in the 90s today.

Not much going on. Talia is I are getting more serious about taking a cruise/train/plane trip somewhere soon, maybe this winter. I wish we could visit Cuba. Any suggestions for a winter vacation?

Today? I actually finished the demon in the MRI story, so it gets a polish today. I’ll walk, I’m getting seriously into No Man’s Sky on Nintendo Switch, so I imagine I’ll get a couple hours of play there too. Plus, baseball! Playing the Nats.

Coffee please! And a cookie!

Congrats Thespian and Bear! This was a really fun contest.

Quote by DenimAngel

Coffee good !

On my mini vacation (3 days /2 nights) in Phoenix . Shopping and a VA appointment and then BRAVES BASEBALL tonight !!!!

Hotel is comfy! Hotel breakfast needs sprinkle donuts and marshmallows

Cookies tomorrow !!

That sounds fun! Enjoy the game tonight! I’ll be keeping an eye on the score and rooting for you.

Congratulations to the winners of the Buzzy competition! That was really fun! Thank WG for putting everything together!

We had a pregnant (I think) deer in our backyard nearly all day yesterday, chilling under a tree. It was raining softly but warm out. I was reading up about what to do if she gives birth (nothing!) and we were getting kind of excited, expecting the possibility of fawns, but then around dusk she moved on. Still, it was nice to spend ti em with her on a rainy Sunday.

Enjoy your day everyone! I would love some of Gill’s Frozen Margarita Mousse!

Quote by gillianleeza
The casting is excellent, and I agree that Demon Kristen is very hot.

It's that tongue.

We are getting heavily into Evil (the show, not the topic in general). Sadly, we just got caught up. I have a small celebrity crush on Kristen (and especially the demonic Kristen - OMG she is hot).

We are compensating for the lack of Evil with binging X Files - a really similar structure. Plus I get to watch X Files all over again! It holds up surprisingly well over the years

We finally got power around 5. It didn’t affect us too much, we could still grill.

Played a little catch in the street with my daughter and a neighbor, and Lord, it was good for the soul. Played a ton of MarioKart too. We didn’t really bother to look at fireworks, other than the ones we could see from the deck.

I hope everyone had a safe holiday. I’m sure all the dogs in the neighborhood are glad the 4th is over. Out cats clearly don give a s**t.

No plans today. Works for me.

5.5 hours without power and counting

Happy 4th, and Happy Canada Day! God bless North America!

Our power is out. Supposed to be back up in a few hours. Luckily, you can grill without electricity. Just have to keep the fridge shut as much as is reasonable.

So, just chilling now. We have a ton of batteries for the phones so we can still surf the web! Sorry about round two of COVID, Gill.

Whole-heartedly a fan. She's a mesmerizing performer, and I love her songwriting. Having daughters who loved her helped make me a fan.

Well, I followed my own advice and wrote crap all day yesterday. Staring at 600 words I'm about to dump right into the trash.

I'm rested though. Dragged by butt through the entire day yesterday, but got a good 8 hours of sleep last night.

Buying burgers and brats today for a small cookout tomorrow, bur other than that it's the same old day.

Coffee would be swell. Sara, what cookies do we have coming in? I'll stick with a rocket for now.

Sorry everyone is feeling so blocked. My cure for writer's block is just to write badly for a couple days. There's usually a good sentence or two in there. Delete the rest. I'm about to waste a bunch of words on the MRI story, since I don't really know where it's going.

Woke up INSANELY early today, around 5, awakened by thunder. I'm not tired yet, but expect it to hit me hard later.

A LOT of coffee please.

Quote by gillianleeza
Paul Tremblays's newest, Horror Movie.

I bought it, but haven't read it yet. He's so good!

Quote by Mendalla

O Caaaaaaanadaaaaaaa!

Good morning and Happy Canada Day!! For today, everyone is Canadian while they are here in the cafe.

We've Timmy's Dark Roast coffee, and Red Rose and Canadian Breakfast tea. Hot water is ready for other beverages. Iced tea and lemonade are mixed up fresh and waiting in the fridge. Boxes of Timbits are on the counter for your sugar fix.

Funny, I don’t feel Canadian.

Happy Canada Day, all.

Strange doings in the U.S. this morning.

Back here at home, things are fine. Same old day today. I have no ideas for the contest on another site, so I will stick to the MRI demon story (which whispers to me that the could be a novel).

Coffee please. And a sugar cookie.

In writing don’t merely adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”: make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please, will you do your job for me?”

C S Lewis

I will try to remember to keep adding more rules. I think there are 36 in all. They are so good.

Quote by JamesPBear

It's also very good.

Thanks Mr. Bear.

Well that was unpleasant.

Hot day today, and not much planned. Write/walk/baseball. Still pounding away at the demonized MRI machine story.

A coffee, please, and a GRIMACE cookie! How did I miss those?