The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Rustyoznail]

It either means they've been doing a good job, or you're paying them too much.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I've had the same G.P. since I retired from the Air Force and he is younger than me but looks older than me now. I'm afraid he's going to retire before I pass on so I'll have to find a new G.P. It's almost like outliving a favorite pet ...

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is full and hot if anyone wants a cuppa. There are donuts and muffins on the counter for those having a snack attack.

I got some more writing done and am actually looking forward to spending some time pounding on the keyboard.

 

[NotWise]

I'll start planting gladiola bulbs this afternoon when the outdoor temperatures are more tolerable. I'll plant seven a week for seven weeks to fill one bed, and others here and there.

They've been hanging in mesh bags in the garage all winter. I took them out to clean them and sort them. From the fifty-five or so I planted last year I probably have seventy five now. There were only four that were starting to sprout, so those plus three medium-sized bulbs will go in the ground now.

I ordered a dozen new bulbs to get a little more variety. They were ordered in February, shipped from Holland last week and won't even be in the country until mid-month or later. I guess those will go into late plantings.

Now back to the WIP, which gets messier every time I add something.

 

[MrPixel]

Good morning afternoon, all. Given the turmoil over the past couple of days and its personal impact, I wasn't sleeping well. At 0500 I realized that I had not taken my (very mild) sleep aid, and did so. C was incensed when I finally rolled out of bed at 11:30.

Rain, rain, and more rain. Starting Thursday morning with few breaks, so far nearly 4", with another 1.5" expected tonight. Frog-choker downpours last night had flooded our main streets. I was concerned about the storm drains around our studio property, and ventured out to check. On the 1.2 mile drive from the house I was amazed but not surprised by the number of vehicles being hooked up to tow trucks, having stalled in the water. It wasn't like it was that deep - I was making it through just fine, just slowly with minimum wake - these clowns had evidently been plowing through making huge rooster tails, having seen several doing exactly that. Water getting sucked into engines is kind of a big "oops".

Having fun with my writing. I started a chapter yesterday that will be three installments away. In this story the MMC's protege has been passed his master's mantle of "neighborhood Lothario". He just "christened" housewife number #2 and - he doesn't know it yet - #3 and #4 are standing by in the wings. Fun to be had by all!

 

[ChloeTzang]

Extra strong coffee on the menu today..... been down with a nasty bug for the last week and a half and just got back on my feet. Yikes! Hasn't happened to me in forever. Can't have been drinking eough medicinal coffee.

So I was sitting on my laptop last night and going thru a couple of old USB's that were sitting in my glasses case (does anybody else use their glasses case for storing USB's? and I found one from way back 2015 when I first started writing here with a collection of half done stories - and when I looked thru I was like, wow, those are some good story ideas LOL. So now I have a huge pile added to my backlog and it's big enough now..... anyhow, it was one of those "hey, this is great, I'd forgotten I wrote this" moments, so now I am fired up in caffeine and whacking away....

 

[vanmyers86]

biscuits and gravy is one of the ways I have become more West Virginian than Californian since I moved. and there's a state wide chain called Tudors whose biscuits are absolutely sinful!!

If you live near Charleston, stop in at the Swiftwater Cafe downtown and try one of theirs. Not as large as Tudors, but the ratio of crisp outer crust to soft inside is exactly right. I'm working in Charleston right now, and try to stop in once a week. Delightful!

 

[_Lynn_]

Finally completed all the appointments required for my surgery. I just need to borrow a walker. Then I can relax.

If my brain would cooperate I could do some writing. Maybe soon.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Finally completed all the appointments required for my surgery. I just need to borrow a walker. Then I can relax.

If my brain would cooperate I could do some writing. Maybe soon.

I feel for you. I was off sick all last week, I had the time but my brain was mush and I'd look at my laptop and my brain just refused to engage. The flu medication stuff sure didn't help with that. Got a really good nights sleep last night, at last, and that really helped.

Hope you get back into the writing soon and all the best with the surgery.

 

[LexxRuthless]

I've been struggling to get back into the story I'm currently writing. Got caught up in some details, and took the entire thing off the rails. After taking two days off to think it over, I wound up cutting 42 pages (in Word; basically 6 full Lit pages) to start over from where it digressed from my original vision. Now I just can't seem to get back into it. Super frustrating.

The bright side is that all that extra development has given me a much stronger feel for the three main characters. Downside is that I have to keep scrolling back up. "Wait; did that happen in this version?" The characters can't know something that occurred in an alternate universe version of their story. The really shitty part is that the longer, off-the-original-track version isn't a bad story; it's just not the one I sat down to write.

I exchanged a few messages with my beta readers, so I'm hopeful that with some strong coffee I can find my way back.

 

[NotWise]

I've been struggling to get back into the story I'm currently writing. Got caught up in some details, and took the entire thing off the rails. After taking two days off to think it over, I wound up cutting 42 pages (in Word; basically 6 full Lit pages) to start over from where it digressed from my original vision. Now I just can't seem to get back into it. Super frustrating.

The bright side is that all that extra development has given me a much stronger feel for the three main characters. Downside is that I have to keep scrolling back up. "Wait; did that happen in this version?" The characters can't know something that occurred in an alternate universe version of their story. The really shitty part is that the longer, off-the-original-track version isn't a bad story; it's just not the one I sat down to write.

I exchanged a few messages with my beta readers, so I'm hopeful that with some strong coffee I can find my way back.

Wow! That's big cut. Maybe you can pull parts of that back into the story to build up your momentum.

 

[LexxRuthless]

Wow! That's big cut. Maybe you can pull parts of that back into the story to build up your momentum.

I saved it, of course, but that actually turned into more of a distraction. "I could take these six paragraphs and put them back in, only it's Friday instead of Wednesday now. Oh, wait. That means I have to go back and grab those three paragraphs and insert them or it doesn't make sense." After a couple hours of that nonsense, I decided to move the entire original version to my "Discards" folder and force myself to write it from scratch. Have to stop looking back, you know?

But my mindset was right there with yours. "It's too much work to throw away!"

EDIT: And by "write it from scratch," I meant starting at the end of page 26, where I made the incision and removed the remaining two-thirds of the story.

 

[LexxRuthless]

Fresh coffee up for the night shift writers.

https://media.tenor.co/images/f3fa8ba83771a95802012b9f22f572f2/raw

It seems to be working for me. Finally making some progress, and this reads like what I had in mind when I started last month.

 

[MrPixel]

Fresh coffee up for the night shift writers.

Thanks. 12:30 a.m. and I'm trying to finish a challenging scene... staging an FC "pulling a train" in the context of her loving, respectful, and supportive extended swinger family and their closest friends. Two more gentlemen to go.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Another morning, another soggy backyard after four straight days of on and off rain. The Ohio River is going to be running about 10 feet over flood stage in the Cincinnati area along with the Licking and Kentucky Rivers. Glad I'm living on high ground although the depression in my backyard tells another story ...

In any event, there's a fresh pot of coffee brewing for the morning shift to indulge in (I put extra grounds in to make it strong). The teapot is hot and there is a selection of teas to use to make a cuppa. The Irish Breakfast is pretty good for those who like a mulled taste to their tea. Constant Comment is one of my favorites with citrusy aftertones but Earl Grey will always be my favorite. There are donuts and danishes on the counter and a selection of soft drinks in the cooler.

I got some more writing done and hope to get some more done today. I think I'm ready to get into the meat of the story (the actual crime) after getting all of the interpersonal stuff out of the way ...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Nice choice of teas, but permit me to donate some lapsang souchong for the 'single malt' crowd.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Another morning, another soggy backyard after four straight days of on and off rain. The Ohio River is going to be running about 10 feet over flood stage in the Cincinnati area along with the Licking and Kentucky Rivers. Glad I'm living on high ground although the depression in my backyard tells another story ...

In any event, there's a fresh pot of coffee brewing for the morning shift to indulge in (I put extra grounds in to make it strong). The teapot is hot and there is a selection of teas to use to make a cuppa. The Irish Breakfast is pretty good for those who like a mulled taste to their tea. Constant Comment is one of my favorites with citrusy aftertones but Earl Grey will always be my favorite. There are donuts and danishes on the counter and a selection of soft drinks in the cooler.

I got some more writing done and hope to get some more done today. I think I'm ready to get into the meat of the story (the actual crime) after getting all of the interpersonal stuff out of the way ...

Bec loves Irish Breakfast tea (goes with the red hair, I guess), but I prefer Earl Grey as well.

All comes second to a good coffee, though.

 

[Duleigh]

I like my hot tea just like my ice tea, black as cola and as thick as road tar. I just can't get into light weight teas with just a hint of flavor and a guess at color. My current favorite is Chrysanthemum Puerh tea, and not the first soak. Give me the second or third pot from those leaves now that you woke them up please.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've been writing all morning. Haven't even had a coffee break. Well, isn't someone going to offer me a cup? What's a person got to do to get a drink around here? Play Marching Through Georgia on a banjo?

 

[Duleigh]

Here Millie, have a cup of this tea - thick, black and hot. Add any jokes you want to that, but it's still damn good tea.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Works for me. Darjeeling?

Here Millie, have a cup of this tea - thick, black and hot. Add any jokes you want to that, but it's still damn good tea.

 

[Duleigh]

Works for me. Darjeeling?

Pureh. It's really an incredible blend

 

[MrPixel]

Iced tea for me this late evening/early morning. Yeah, it's Constant Comment Decaf - don't hate me - but lightly sweetened it's been a great way to quench thirst and suppress cravings for my prior midnight go-to, chocolate milk. The calories were showing.

Surprised myself today, wrapping up a really fun chapter in the big series, mentioned a couple of days ago. The secondary MMC has taken up with the remnants of a years-ago neighborhood coffee klatch the primary protagonist used to service. Was a little shorter than I originally envisioned, but a hilarious recollection of a scene - my wife laughed hard - was too good an ending to pass up.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I managed to write two pages of my story. I've finally gotten out of the funk and am feeling it again!

There's a fresh pot of coffee brewing, especially for @MillieDynamite, and the teapot is hot for those who want a cuppa. There are treats on the counter too numerous to list for those who want a bite to eat.

I'll be over in the corner pounding away on the keyboard. I have a glut of words that need to be put to paper ...

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Pureh. It's really an incredible blend

Since digital tea is like digital coffee, Millie can imagine it's her favorite and tell you she loves the new tea without actually lieing. Since imaginary coffee and tea have no actual flavor, perhaps that's the best solution!

 

[LexxRuthless]

Since digital tea is like digital coffee, Millie can imagine it's her favorite and tell you she loves the new tea without actually lieing. Since imaginary coffee and tea have no actual flavor, perhaps that's the best solution!

Brilliant! Love it.