The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Rustyoznail]

605 miles driven today. I'm tired so I will check in tomorrow ...

That's a big effort. No wonder you're tired.

 

[filthytrancendence]

Good morning everyone,

I made some cherry danishes from the cherry tree in the front yard. Hurry and grab one! Coffee's out and Colplay's on!

We continue to be spared the worst of the heat. But don't worry, I'm going to Texas next week to see my family, so I'll join the misery soon enough. Last year when we went, I went out on my uncle's ski doo four days in a row and managed to sunburn the tops of my feet so bad I went to the hospital and couldn't walk for 3 weeks. This year, significantly more precautions will be taken...

I started the new project yesterday. I wrote a whole plot outline and got 1600 words into the draft. Which sounds good, except I'm an idiot and it's ostensibly for the Mickey Spillane contest, the deadline for which is in 6 days, so really the drop dead to get the draft done is probably 4 days. Which is just on this side of possible, there's just not a lot of wiggle room. But if it's done late I guess I'll just submit it and see what happens anyway. Point is to get it done, not to win.

It's unclear to me how far on the horror side it's actually going to end up. But it feels like the outlet I need for how I'm feeling. Noir is kinda a hard genre to successfully edge into horror, I think, because it's already expected to be pretty dark. All depends on how a particular character pans out. We'll see.

 

[NotWise]

Good morning everyone,

I made some cherry danishes from the cherry tree in the front yard. Hurry and grab one! Coffee's out and Colplay's on!

We continue to be spared the worst of the heat. But don't worry, I'm going to Texas next week to see my family, so I'll join the misery soon enough. Last year when we went, I went out on my uncle's ski doo four days in a row and managed to sunburn the tops of my feet so bad I went to the hospital and couldn't walk for 3 weeks. This year, significantly more precautions will be taken...

I started the new project yesterday. I wrote a whole plot outline and got 1600 words into the draft. Which sounds good, except I'm an idiot and it's ostensibly for the Mickey Spillane contest, the deadline for which is in 6 days, so really the drop dead to get the draft done is probably 4 days. Which is just on this side of possible, there's just not a lot of wiggle room. But if it's done late I guess I'll just submit it and see what happens anyway. Point is to get it done, not to win.

It's unclear to me how far on the horror side it's actually going to end up. But it feels like the outlet I need for how I'm feeling. Noir is kinda a hard genre to successfully edge into horror, I think, because it's already expected to be pretty dark. All depends on how a particular character pans out. We'll see.

The Micky Spillane event isn't a contest, so don't worry about winning. Just get the story done.

I have a story for the event that I started in March, 2022 and haven't edited since May, 2023. I like the story and all, but I wrote myself into a boring scene and haven't found a way to get out of it without loosing too much of the story.

I'm starting to see a pattern with stories started in Spring, 2022.

 

[MrPixel]

I made some cherry danishes from the cherry tree in the front yard.

Thanks. Any advice on how to get the splinters out of my tongue?

"Tagging" every chapter of the story I'm getting ready to upload is beyond tedious. Different things happen in each chapter, so I have to read the text for the thousandth time to catch what's different.

Last night's opera dress rehearsal was not nearly as tight as it was on Wednesday. No bad screw-ups (other than long passages of wrong notes from the trombones!), but anybody with stage performance experience will understand my saying it just didn't feel "right". I'm considering advising the director that a funny ad-lib breaking the fourth wall is maybe a little too jarring and changing just one word of the shtick would accomplish multiple positive things.

 

[GrantBricksly]

"Tagging" every chapter of the story I'm getting ready to upload is beyond tedious. Different things happen in each chapter, so I have to read the text for the thousandth time to catch what's different.

I was just dealing with this myself...I uploaded my 4th chapter today...it's been a month since I finished it...and I was struggling to remember what was and wasn't in it...So I had to skim through it to see...There are of course some tags that match for every chapter...but chapter 4 is the odd chapter, as it has basically zero sex...

 

[iwatchus]

I uploaded my 4th chapter today

Let me know when it posts. I am looking forward to reading it!

And fresh cherries are the best, even with a few splinters. @MrPixel us oldsters need more fiber in our diet anyway.

Sounds like you just went through this, but editing 120K is a bitch.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I had some peaches on my tree a few days ago. I tried one and they weren't very good (kina of off taste and bitter), so I left them. Today they're all gone.

 

[MrPixel]

@MrPixel us oldsters need more fiber in our diet anyway.

That made me laugh in recalling the time I was living with mother-in-law to assist with house issues. She had a very prolific cherry tree, so I was harvesting cherries by the bowl full. She didn't bake, so I ate a lot of cherries. I discovered that who needs additional fiber when your diet is largely cherries? (Also high in fiber.)

I had some peaches on my tree a few days ago. I tried one and they weren't very good (kina of off taste and bitter), so I left them. Today they're all gone.

Was it a "volunteer" tree grown from a peach pit? Eatin' peaches are usually from grafted trees. The peaches from fruit varieties usually produce seeds of the root stock.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Going to be in the same area for a couple days so once I get settled in, I'll be on-line for a bit ...

Had a great time at the Blueberry Festival in Marquette today ...

 

[NuclearFairy]

I just got a PM from a bot wanting to sell me art. Weird.

 

[iwatchus]

Is it AI generated art? Have the bots started self promoting?

 

[SmilingLez]

I just got a PM from a bot wanting to sell me art. Weird.

I got something similar and just deleted it.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Is it AI generated art? Have the bots started self promoting?

Yup, and trying to get you to pay for it to boot.

I got something similar and just deleted it.

Same here, I just thought it was weird.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I keep staring at the screen blankly with my fingers positioned over the keyboard and the scene I want to write out playing in my head on repeat, but I just can't get my fingers to move on typing the story. Even going back and rereading isn't helping.

 

[filthytrancendence]

The Micky Spillane event isn't a contest, so don't worry about winning. Just get the story done.

I have a story for the event that I started in March, 2022 and haven't edited since May, 2023. I like the story and all, but I wrote myself into a boring scene and haven't found a way to get out of it without loosing too much of the story.

I'm starting to see a pattern with stories started in Spring, 2022.

Fuckin' spring of '22. Now I've got the noir detective voice in my head and it ain't goin' away on account of I'm 4500 words into the draft now. It's coming together.

I forget how good constraints are for me until I re-impose them. Not sure how I always manage to forget that. Probably because more than half of me hates them. That's just the half I have to tell to shut up more often than not.

Also, how have I not written anything noir ever before now? This is so much fun, and I feel like I know enough about the genre conventions to constantly play with the tropes and not stumble over them.

I think if you've got to lose a lot of it, then you've got to lose a lot of it. If you like it, it's better to cut off both its legs and figure out how to regrow them than let it sit forever in the draft folder.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

It's a beautiful morning and the sun is rising over Lake Superior. Heading up to Copper Harbor today. If you've read my story "Throwin' Pennies in the Bay," you'll know why ...

 

[NotWise]

I keep staring at the screen blankly with my fingers positioned over the keyboard and the scene I want to write out playing in my head on repeat, but I just can't get my fingers to move on typing the story. Even going back and rereading isn't helping.

Is that a scene you don't want to put in words? Is it not time to write the scene? Is something missing in the setup for the scene so you can't get started? Does the scene require more attention than you can give it right now?

I write sequentially through stories. On a few occasions when I couldn't deal with a scene when I got there I left a synopsis in its place and moved on. I dealt with it later.

 

[filthytrancendence]

Good morning everyone,

Coffee and doughnuts are out. Nothing too crazy today.

I updated my story stats sheet last night and I'm really scratching my head about why a particular story seems to have some staying power in terms of getting decent views long after publication. It had an abysmal debut, only got about 2500 hits the first day, but it's been slow and steady ever since and is about to break 6000. That's definitely not the usual pattern I've seen and I'm not sure what to make of it.

Anyway, another day of furious writing ahead hopefully. I hope everyone's goes well, too!

 

[NuclearFairy]

Is that a scene you don't want to put in words? Is it not time to write the scene? Is something missing in the setup for the scene so you can't get started? Does the scene require more attention than you can give it right now?

I write sequentially through stories. On a few occasions when I couldn't deal with a scene when I got there I left a synopsis in its place and moved on. I dealt with it later.

I did eventually manage to write most of the scene, and then I hit a spot that once I started trying to write it didn't make sense. So I think it was my subconscious trying to look at the scene differently.

 

[MrPixel]

Opera performance last night - the producer/actor did not use my suggestion about the word change in the fourth wall bit. It was minor, but it was one of the little things they did that (I think) cheapened the production and reminded everybody that these were college kids running the show. The professional sitting next to me in the orchestra pit is very familiar with the work, and when he wasn't singing some of the roles to himself, grumbled "Oh, that's bad!" at some of the deliberate deviations from the script.

Performance was well-accepted by the audience. There was a "raise your hands" poll by the director for those not having experienced a live opera performance. About half the audience of ~250.

Rinse and repeat for this evening.

 

[NotWise]

Not a bad crowd. "The Magic Flute" is often performed as an introduction to opera. It was probably a good choice, and none of the rest is very surprising. It's a way better choice than some of the heavy, stupidly-dramatic operas--Rigoletto comes to mind--or the ones too lavish to be produced (Aida).

 

[MrPixel]

This is the first "true" opera I have played, there being few (i.e., no) opportunities in our market up to this point. It seems not a lot different than musicals (many) where I've been in the pit, although the music is a lot fussier and very difficult to count for entrances. I missed a few last night, though certainly many fewer than I did when rehearsals started.

I'm going to admit that I don't care all that much for stage performances - plays, musicals, and now an opera. Just seems too much of a fuss. My wife ran the venue (pole-barn-with-a-stage) for a few years, and all it did was reinforce my notions of the art forms. (Her skill set is visual arts. This "cultural society" spans many creative fields. Writing's not one of them, tho'!)

 

[iwatchus]

I have never been able to really appreciate opera. My SO and I both enjoy musicals and stage presentations in general. We both worked tech theater during our school days and we have a very high expectation for the stagecraft. Well done, it can be amazing. In a past life, we had season tickets to the American Repertory Theater for several years, which had some fabulous productions. I still remember a production called Civil Wars. Philip Glass wrote the music and I forget the playwright, but it was stupendous. On the other hand some of the traveling professional troupes are awful, just way too sloppy. We generally prefer local amateur productions to them.

 

[MillieDynamite]

It's Saturday afternoon in OKC. And I'm busy not doing housework, yardwork, or entertaining my son or wife. I'm having a cup of real Irish Coffee with a generous double shot of Jamison, and being entertained by my wife, son, and Cat, my cat. I should get back to writing, but perhaps a second cup of double Irish!

 

[NotWise]

I have never been able to really appreciate opera. My SO and I both enjoy musicals and stage presentations in general. We both worked tech theater during our school days and we have a very high expectation for the stagecraft. Well done, it can be amazing. In a past life, we had season tickets to the American Repertory Theater for several years, which had some fabulous productions. I still remember a production called Civil Wars. Philip Glass wrote the music and I forget the playwright, but it was stupendous. On the other hand some of the traveling professional troupes are awful, just way too sloppy. We generally prefer local amateur productions to them.

I'm not an opera fan, but I'll admit that there are some arias, taken on their own, that are truly beautiful. Butt (as TxRad would say), I don't want to sit through the whole thing to hear one song. I also dislike musicals. My wife loves them and plays them constantly in the car.

Plays are OK. Ballet I like, but ballet suffers from the same "over-dramatic" disease that hurts opera. Silvie Guillem (important, now retired French dancer) once had a web site where she gave a very brief summary of every ballet libretto. They were all, "she dies," "she's already dead," "she's going to die," "she died and came back," etc. It was hilarious.