The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[NuclearFairy]

There's a good use for StillStunned's writing challenges. You can get that urge out of your system in 300 words or less and relax.

I have a hard time staying within the 300 words for those challenges. XD Either that or I get so caught up in thinking up something to write that I forget to actually write.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Have we noticed that we are posting on page 666?

Oooppps, gone bye-bye.

 

[NotWise]

I have a hard time staying within the 300 words for those challenges. XD Either that or I get so caught up in thinking up something to write that I forget to actually write.

Distilling the scene to essential elements is most of the exercise.

 

[NotWise]

That's not a bad idea!

What I do these days (and what I did this morning) is to just try to push the story towards something that doesn't make me feel that what I'm writing is pointless. It's a first draft so it's allowed to be bad. Some of the words are going to get cut, maybe some whole scenes. It's fine.

My own opinion of my writing has been my biggest challenge since I started.

The reason for writing prompts like @StillStunned's challenge is to get you to think outside your personal box and to develop new ways to express yourself. Most of the posts are experiments, and some succeed more than others. The challenges are their to serve your purposes, and not someone elses.

 

[NotWise]

I don't normally show up in this thread, but out of curiosity, this morning I did. About writing, I have been trying to write a novel for over two years. I think I am abandoning it. I can give facts, I can give what happens, but I can not do character development, and that is the basis for almost all written work. I can do tech papers, I can do analysis. I write my own seminar materials, and can and have beaten the IRS with my analysis of the IRS code and tax court cases, but none of that has anything to do with characters. It is frustrating

Have you considered developing your characters first and wrapping a story around them?

 

[MrPixel]

Whew! I managed to not post anything on Page 666! What a relief!

 

[TheRedLantern]

but I can not do character development

Can you tell us more about what you feel you can't do?

Do you mean you struggle to come up with the basics of characters (ie, "this is Bob. Bob is six feet tall and overuses the word 'nevertheless'. Since this is Lit, Bob has some complicated feelings about his stepmom."

Or do you mean you don't feel like your characters are compelling/fleshed out/three dimensional/differentiable?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Not anymore, we aren't. But while we were, I did get a twinge of darkness deep down, which made me want to do bad things.

Have we noticed that we are posting on page 666?

 

[NotWise]

I have two one-gallon jugs of cucumber spears that have been fermenting since early August. I think I need to spend some time canning them.

 

[Duleigh]

Just got an email from my publisher about my latest book, he can't find a way to format it in EPUB so it's probably not going to go
WTF???
I'm freaking out that he's dumping me because it's drawn up the same way as the other Nineteen Books that he's sucking royalties from. Just as I'm ready to tell him to get f-----d he texts me back - it's just the appendix he's having problems with, there's no code for tables in Epub. Simple fix - screw the appendix, They're just notes I take when writing.

 

[MrPixel]

We joke about '666'. I think @NotWise will probably recall highway US666 in northwest New Mexico, a connector to the former US66. It was renumbered to US491 in 2003, allegedly to "conform to new standards," but the reality was the road signs were constantly being stolen.

The highway itself was somewhat notorious for a high fatality rate, so it was a double whammy in being known locally as the obvious "Devil's Highway." Road improvements fixed the traffic problems.

I have a picture of the two of us with our little sportscar parked next to a big '666' road marker. This sign was apparently too big to steal.

 

[MrPixel]

it's just the appendix he's having problems with, there's no code for tables in Epub. Simple fix - screw the appendix,

Appendectomy?

 

[Duleigh]

It was renumbered to US491 in 2003, allegedly to "conform to new standards,"

In New York they're renaming roads to conform to OLD standards. Highway 219 was replaced with the 219 Expressway, so old 219 got renamed to the "Boston Cross Road " which it was called until 1950 something when it became Highway 219. It's called that because it connects North Boston NY, Boston NY, and South Boston NY. Combined the three villages have a population of 1,600 people.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I turned 36 years old today, and while I'm now closer to 40 than I am to 30, I'm not depressed about it. I have a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, and a great family (including my batshit crazy vegan Sis). And while my family isn't my blood relatives, they love me, want me, and took me in when I'd been battered and broken and abused. The same is true of my son, he isn't from my womb, but he's still my child. Happiness isn't a constant thing, but my happiness outweighs all of my sadness. This wasn't always true. But it seems like forever now, and all the bad is way back when, and a long way from where I am today.

So happy birthday to me, and a happy, happy week to all of you.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Whew! I managed to not post anything on Page 666! What a relief!

The Devil made you not.

We joke about '666'. I think @NotWise will probably recall highway US666 in northwest New Mexico, a connector to the former US66. It was renumbered to US491 in 2003, allegedly to "conform to new standards," but the reality was the road signs were constantly being stolen.

I-69 is sort of near to me.

Appendectomy?

Those aren't fun.

 

[Omenainen]

I turned 36 years old today, and while I'm now closer to 40 than I am to 30, I'm not depressed about it. I have a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, and a great family (including my batshit crazy vegan Sis). And while my family isn't my blood relatives, they love me, want me, and took me in when I'd been battered and broken and abused. The same is true of my son, he isn't from my womb, but he's still my child. Happiness isn't a constant thing, but my happiness outweighs all of my sadness. This wasn't always true. But it seems like forever now, and all the bad is way back when, and a long way from where I am today.

So happy birthday to me, and a happy, happy week to all of you.

A good reason to have cake, then. And coffee, since we’re in the coffee shop.

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!

 

[NuclearFairy]

So happy birthday to me, and a happy, happy week to all of you.

Happy birthday! And may your birthday meal be delicious.

 

[MrPixel]

"Boston Cross Road "

Just makes me think of the 2-way stop signs around here. You know, where the side road is to stop and the through traffic on the other route is unimpeded. They have a sign below the red octagon, "CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP."

How can you know the other drivers are mad?

 

[NotWise]

Happy Birthday, Millie! May you have many, many happy returns.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My father has always maintained that his birthday is just another day. And while he says that, he treats everyone else as a very big deal. In all honesty, this phrase is usually where most people tell a real whopper, but I'm not sure how I feel about my own. When I was a kid, living with birth folks, it wasn't much of a celebration. On my 12th birthday, I was destroyed by my birth father. However, had that never happened, I'd have never found my real family. So, honestly, I don't know how to feel about my birthdays.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

If it doesn't hurt, can you be sure you're still alive?

Oh, cool! I’ve always wanted to be that pale spectre haunting the upper gallery!

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Am I the only one who literally has no 'happy' memories?

Some may be less 'unhappy' than others, but still .....


And even those are tainted.

 

[_Lynn_]

Don't worry about it - being busted up is part of the game as we grow older and ranting can help dispel the pain. I'm desperately fending off a hip replacement and I'm bitching too.

I had the right hip replaced in April, knowing the right knee would be next. However, my heart decided to go into AFib again. So taking care of that -- again -- will come first.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Am I the only one who literally has no 'happy' memories?

Some may be less 'unhappy' than others, but still .....


And even those are tainted.

The only people I've personally in person known who could describe their life like that were clinically depressed. They weren't able to see the joy in life again until they got on the right medication.

If this is not true of you, then I hope that you can get away from the abusive influences in your life and make a life for yourself that'll leave you content.

 

[iwatchus]

turned 36 years old today

36 was one of my favorite years of my life. My son was born. I went back to grad school. I know neither of those are your destiny, but hopefully you can find your own magic this year. It really is a good age. Have a good one.