The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[MrPixel]

C is out in the driveway brushing the dog fur out of the upholstery in the car we're about to trade in. I'm going to hit it one more time with the leaf blower (really!) and it'll be ready for trade-in for the new wheels tomorrow. As soon as the deal is done I'm going to run the new one to our mechanic for his inspection.

Lousy, lousy timing. I have 7 calendar days to accept/reject, and wouldn't you know it, it has to be Thanksgiving week with its 3 business days. Shit. Shit shit shit. I do assume it will be okay, but one never knows about such things.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Lousy, lousy timing. I have 7 calendar days to accept/reject, and wouldn't you know it, it has to be Thanksgiving week with its 3 business days. Shit. Shit shit shit. I do assume it will be okay, but one never knows about such things.

Kinda makes one miss the days when they used to say five business days.

 

[MrPixel]

The "calendar days"... I don't blame them. Especially around holidays. I'm sure they get petty scammers who treat it as a cheap rental for the holidays, put 2K on the clock to visit Grandma, and "reject" it on returning home. There's a $700 shipment fee regardless, but I expect in a mileage-plus situation the faux buyer comes out ahead.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Makes sense.

 

[NotWise]

Oh no! Hotel, or TSA?

Rental car.

 

[iwatchus]

Rental car.

Can the rental company send it to you? Can your daughter pick it up from then and send it to you?

I just discovered tonight I seem to have my credit card at a restaurant on Friday. They don't think they have it though.

 

[NotWise]

Can the rental company send it to you? Can your daughter pick it up from then and send it to you?

I just discovered tonight I seem to have my credit card at a restaurant on Friday. They don't think they have it though.

I'd cancel that card. I left one on the table at Hard Rock Biloxi and canceled it from the road as soon as I figured out it wasn't with me. It turned out that the restaurant had the card, but I was glad not to wait.

I haven't reached the rental place yet. My wife took the receipt to make the call, then put it away somewhere when they called our flight. I don't know where she put it and now she's asleep, so it'll wait.

 

[iwatchus]

I leave a card at some restaurant about once a quarter. I'm watching the charges on it right now. My hope is that it got stuck in the pile of paperwork for the monday morning business person to sort through. If it doesn't show up by then, I'll cancel it. I've given this number out to a couple of people for auto-billing and I'm not sure if they will change the number on it, meaning I need to track down who has the number now. For convenience, I'm hoping not to have to do that.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I just noticed that I have a story, or rather part of a story, with eight votes and a score of 4.88. This amuses me far more than it perhaps should.

 

[Duleigh]

My second Winter Holiday story went live today, A Christmas Carol Revisited.

Same old story told a thousand times before, Grandma was the worst grandmother on earth. It took five ghosts and a swamp witch to pull her head out. For Christmas she got her sons love back, her husband back in her bed, and an AA sponsor. Hallmark channel stuff.

 

[Statius]

I just noticed that I have a story, or rather part of a story, with eight votes and a score of 4.88. This amuses me far more than it perhaps should.

Yeah, I have several like that. I have one that has 9 votes, perfect 5 rating. Although part 1 gets reads currently, and votes, good votes, part 2 does not get read. Odd.

 

[TheRedLantern]

"First Drafty" is my word for the day.

I took my V-Day story as far as I had it written in my head. I have two ideas for the next two scenes, and I think it can wrap up with a steamy sex scene. Then, I will have a First Drafty mess of disjointed ideas and inspirations that I will love and hate in equal measures.

 

[sirhugs]

just a bit envious of those able to write to contest deadlines...

 

[Z_TheWriter]

just a bit envious of those able to write to contest deadlines...

Pick a recurring one. Think how far ahead you might need, double it. Then if it still doesn't work out, now you have an entry for next year.

 

[TheRedLantern]

just a bit envious of those able to write to contest deadlines...

I'm using the contests as goals,

inspired by Chloe's "What events are you planning to participate in next year?" thread, I picked out a few contests and events that I want to prioritize. Valentine's Day is one because I want to practice writing romances and steamy romances.

 

[iwatchus]

I need to be very goal driven. It's kind of in my DNA. This year my goals were pretty straightforward: start writing and keep writing. I managed to get into three author events and two contests. I want to at least double those in 2026. Probably fewer total stories, though.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Pick a recurring one. Think how far ahead you might need, double it. Then if it still doesn't work out, now you have an entry for next year.

I've vowed that my 2023 April Fool story will get submitted in 2026...

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

My goals are:

Eat.

Sleep.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

My goals are:

Eat.

Sleep.

I also have two these days:

1) Don't die (anytime soon)

2) Eventually stop having depression

Everything else is in service to that right now, including my writing.

 

[BryanRichardson]

just a bit envious of those able to write to contest deadlines...

If you don’t have any standards or expectations you can sometimes get two or three stories for each contest…

(In case it isnt obvious I’m talking about myself.)

 

[Candy_Kane54]

@sirhugs - if I miss the deadline, I just save it for next year. No pressure unles you want it.

It's a beautiful sunny morning with the sun glinting off the thick frost, indicating that it's cold outside. I expected it since the sky was clear last night and a beautiful crescent moon low in the evening sky.

There's a fresh hot pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is steaming. There are fresh-out-of-the-oven muffins on the counter and a jug of apple cider from the pressing of the last of the apple crop.

I'll be over in the corner working on another scene of the holiday story. I still plan to have it ready for the contest deadline but it's going to be close ...

 

[Duleigh]

I'm using the contests as goals,

That's what contests are there for - to pull you out of the real world and plunk you at your keyboard and get you writing. Goals are great! Writing for a contest gets you ready for your future life as a top selling author; sweating deadlines, looking for inspiration, trying to avoid plagiarism suits, dealing with editors...

Choose your contest wisely, write what you love to write, but look for a challenge to flex your chops.

 

[TheRedLantern]

gets you ready for your future life as a top selling author;

sweating deadlines, looking for inspiration, trying to avoid plagiarism suits, dealing with editors...

 

[MiaBabe23]

A couple of ideas for trying to tackle writer’s block, that can be applied to a piece your working on, or something very random:
- Write with your non-dominant hand. Use the different sensation to write from a different perspective. If you’re ambidextrous - try using your foot! If you’re always typing, use a pen
- Write a scene focusing on one sense only, especially one you write least about. What can your character smell, taste, hear?
- Combine the two above to really enter a discomfort zone!

 

[MrPixel]

Hmm. Contests. Deadlines. I got me one real bad attitude about deadlines. "Deadlines?... We don't need no stinkin' deadlines! We got... retirement."

I understand contests and the inherent due dates to nudge contributions to genres TPTB want to promote. However, since I write for myself on topics of my choosing and don't get too excited about building a following, I simply smile and wish everybody "good luck".

Entered one contest this year that more or less coincided with something on a back-burner, so I finished it up and submitted. Reads are one of my highest, but in the bottom third of my library for score. One story is obviously not statistically significant, but the divergence from my usual stuff indicates to me that being on a contest reading list does not necessarily draw an appreciative audience when writing niche categories.