Hello everyone! Glad you are enjoying the cruise, Ape.
Listening to the inauguration, as Talia sleeps beside me and the cats eye me warily. It’s -1, but it’s supposed to get up to 9! I have an eye doctor appointment today- I am bummed I have to leave the house.
I’ll sneak behind the counter and grab some day old coffee and maybe steal a lemon bar. Costco coffee and Zoomy Tail tea are abrewing! I brought some rice crispy treats!
Thanks for the treats Molly! And for a great comp.
Cold as f here today--single digits--and a ton of snow on the driveway. I'm going to shovel it in stages, and make it an all afternoon project.
Aside from that, call my aunt, who just got out of the hospital, outline the new chapter, and, of course, a little No Man's Sky at the end of the day.
Really excellent comp, and I am genuinely surprised to be on the podium, and to share it with two great writers here. Congrats to everyone who won, placed, and entered. It was among the best comps I have ever seen here! Thanks to Molly for an excellent comp theme, and for putting all this together.
I'm with you, Bear, in that spending the entire trip on the boat sounds fine to me. We're eyeing it.
Big Freezy Mega-Cold weather moving in tonight. We are setting in with leftovers and movies. Gonna get cold out there. And then comes Inauguration Day on Monday. We are hunkered down.
I miss Sara's treats too. Coffee please.
Quote by Ping
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I clock sheep?
Morning everyone. We are going out shopping today to prepare for The Big Freeze over the weekend. Dipping into the negative digits. Sigh. I am not leaving the house.
Sad news about Elliot Lacey. I am unexpectedly moved by it, and by the idea of the words you leave behind when you go. He has a bunch of crime stories here I didn’t know about. I will read some over the weekend.
And 42. 42? Sigh again.
Hug everyone you care for. Let them know.
Coffee and tea have already been made. I’ll have a cup.
Quote by Mendalla
Like, toy ones or the real thing? 😂 Because there are still dinosaurs around of the avian variety. Saw some pelicans in Orlando the other day and they are one of the birds that really brings that home.
Thanks for looking after the place Mr. Bear.
The real thing! We got him three velociraptors. They all escaped and are currently terrorizing the Great State of Colorado! Turn on the news! Lock your doors! Aaaaahhhh!
Knee doctor today. It’s much better but I still have some pain. Cold day out though. Other than that, a chill day. Still writing about eldritch doings in the cornfields of my childhood.
Hope the cruise is treating you well, Ape. I’m liking the whole book and and a deck chair vibe. Limitless horizon. The sea has no memory.
And Ping, I feel you lurking as I write this, you Magnificent Bastard.
Coffee and teas are up. I have brought cinnamon rolls, but no pictures, so you will have to use your imagination. But we are all writers! We have imagination to burn!
Coffee please, and a leftover spice bar!
Thanks for the coffee Bear, and the spice bars. I’ve already eaten two.
Nothing new here. My heart goes out to those in LA. I know a few folks out there, but Talia knows a ton. Scary stuff. Interesting times. Most peculiar, mama.
Coffee would be swell. Time to get up and begin the day.
Quote by WriterGirl
What a fantastic field of entries! I’m running away from home for a long weekend and gonna unplug in the Smokies, but best wishes to you all! This has been my fav comp to read thus far! ❤️
Unplugged in the Smokies sounds wonderful. Enjoy! It’s a great field.
And Ping is in! The Magnificent Bastard strikes again!
https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/flash-fiction/damaged-goods
The neurotic ramblings of a mad (and very angry) man...
Flash Fiction Hope you are enjoying your cruise Mr. Ape. A deck chair, a book, and a horizon of ocean don sound half bad right now.
Grandson birthday party yesterday. It was fun. He’s pretty cute. We bought him dinosaurs.
Warmer and sunny today. I slept well, so hopefully I will write well. I get to finally see a doc again about my knee this week. And, I am going to try eating healthier. Though I did have a cookie for breakfast. Don’t tell my wife.
Coffee please! And no cookies for me!
Before this thing closes, let me just say the level of the comp entries in this has been amazing. The one thing they all seemed to have in common is a strong emotional story, and with only 1000 words to tell it, the emotions just jump off the page. I think this theme and format really hit a chord. Proud to be part of this comp. Good luck everyone
Windy as all heck outside today. I kind of like listening to it howl.
I have never been on a cruise, though Talia and I keep threatening to take a whale cruise to Alaska. It sounds fun. Hang out on deck with eyes on the ocean all day sounds much more appealing than shopping in port towns. I’d head straight to a coffee shop. Or a bar.
6600 words on the new novel. This one feels good, so much so that I even built a word counter in Excel for it.
Comp is looking good. I have AAnna’s to read.
A coffee and anything sweet please.
Good morning all, and thanks for the setup Mr. Bear.
Big snowfall last night, and it snowing pretty hard now. So my day will be shoveling the driveway and sidewalk, and perhaps the neighbors as well, if they haven’t beaten me to it.
Solved the plot problem yesterday, got my thousand words, and should be able to get them today too. Cosmic horror in Iowa cornfields. So far, I like it, but that never lasts long.
Anyway. Coffee would be swell. No treats lately, maybe I will try to bring some. Anyone heard from Cora? Sara? Red?
Seize the carp!
I’m had a rough night with an unusually upset stomach, but I am doing pretty well now.
Hung up on logistical b.s., like 3000 words into the new novel. I’m bummed I’m tripping over plot holes this early into it. The only good thing about being awake feeling nauseous is that you have a lot of time to think about the story.
Anyway. With the able help of Talia and the cats, I am feeling better, and off to write.
A coffee would be swell.
I got nothing this weekend. We might go see that Dylan movie. We might not get past the front door.
Day 2 of novel writing today. It’s pretty boring so far. I will spend the weekend with big sheets of drawing paper look for a coherent plot.
Right now, cat on my lap, Talia on my shoulder. I am content.
Except for my lack of coffee. I need coffee!
Good morning all, and thank you for the setup Ape.
Comp is going strong. Really great set of stories so far. And it’s not over yet!
Back to the writing grind. I didn’t write a huge amount during the holidays (3 flash, 2 micros), but I am on day 2 of a novel now. I don’t have a great track record with finishing novels I start, so I hope this turns out well. I have written three novels, none of them good. Just keep trying.
A coffee and a cookie please!
Okay, I may have had a bit too much to drink last night. I had a Manhattan! Plus champagne and a little bourbon. Good food.
Nice evening though. I am happy heading into 2025. I haven’t written much during the holiday break, but I will write today.
Peace everyone. Coffee would be a dream come true.
Happy New Year’s Eve to everyone (New Year’s Day to Annie!). I hope 2025 treats everyone well.
We have NO plans. Take out Thai food and maybe start season 2 of The Wire (I have seen it before, not Talia). Lazy r us,
Anyone have resolutions? I am going to try to write a horror novel this year. I haven’t figured out the bones of it yet, but I know the general vibe. Cosmic horror in Iowa cornfields.
A coffee and a cookie please!
Quote by WriterGirl
I’m being honest when I say this is the best writing I’ve seen in a comp in a while. Y’all are always good, but the level of writing seems elevated in this one. Maybe this theme just hit everyone in a way that brought out their best. 😊 I hope a lot more entries are coming!
I agree! This is an excellent comp! Not over yet….
Quote by gillianleeza
I hope the movie lives up to the hype. I am tired of being disappointed by movies.
I'm having a hard time dealing with holidays without my mom, and my father now thinks I am his dead sister all of the time. It feels strange, but I am grateful he has adjusted so well to the memory care unit. We thought he would be belligerent and angry and try to leave, but he is calm and docile. I am grateful for that, but it is strange because he was very antagonistic to my brother and me. I'll take it as a win for now.
I am so pleased to see all the comp entries coming in. Now, I need to read them all. However, I have found it difficult to concentrate enough to read all the books I got for Christmas. Stress has gotten in the way of many things.
I hope everyone has a good week and a great start to the new year. Cheers.
It lives up to the hype. I won’t spoil anything, but it’s worth seeing in a theater, all big, without distractions. Ms. Depp is good (and kinda hot).
Oh those memory units, Gill. I feel you. Trippy places. So full of complex emotions, and extremely simple ones too, like love and regret. Someday I will try to set a story inside one. Not sure I have it in me.
So I finished off my writing for the year with three flash and a micro for here and other sites. Most of that I wrote when my knee went out. Nice to know it wasn’t just wasted time.
A coffee please. Any cookies?
Okay, I'm in. I just submitted. I figured if I sat on it any more I'd just mess it up by over-editing. I went sci-fi on this one. My last story of 2024.
https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/flash-fiction/sixteen-minutes
We are off to see Nosferatu today! Almost sold out, we had to get tix in advance. I'm psyched.
Coffee please!
