Bookgirl, that was my problem with the temp. 2 degrees high for me, but normal for everyone else. But your breathing issues are the scary bit!
"Old" People Writing for Teens V
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Eh, they're slowly getting better. Except when I'm wearing a face covering, which technically I'm supposed to do whenever I'm at work. This is the down side to working in human services with very high risk clients.
On the plus side, I've been mostly working swings/graves, which means it's not quite as big of a deal since the clients are usually asleep for most of the shift. Also, working those shifts means I have almost totally uninterrupted time to write.
On the plus side, I've been mostly working swings/graves, which means it's not quite as big of a deal since the clients are usually asleep for most of the shift. Also, working those shifts means I have almost totally uninterrupted time to write.
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Hope you're both feeling better Bookgirl and Sage. Temperature is such a tough one because we all do run a little different there.
I feel you on quiet shifts, Bookgirl.I've been working all along, but most of my coworkers have not, so my room of 40 people (and like 80 workstations) has about 10 people in it. Lots of time and space to do my own thing, but very different from my usual work life.
JTR! Long time no see! Hope you're doing well!
I am still over here, trying to finish the MS. My home internet is out again, so I keep not-writing, with the idea that I'm going to fix it... that has not happened yet. But, I had a good Camp Nano, so I can't be too salty.
I feel you on quiet shifts, Bookgirl.I've been working all along, but most of my coworkers have not, so my room of 40 people (and like 80 workstations) has about 10 people in it. Lots of time and space to do my own thing, but very different from my usual work life.
JTR! Long time no see! Hope you're doing well!
I am still over here, trying to finish the MS. My home internet is out again, so I keep not-writing, with the idea that I'm going to fix it... that has not happened yet. But, I had a good Camp Nano, so I can't be too salty.
Other than exhaustion from working four graves, three swings, a morning, and three afternoon shifts in the past week or so, I'm feeling much better.
Isn't the best time to write when the internet's out? No distractions.
I'm trying to decide if I can afford to do the Writing and Illustrating for Young Writers conference this year. They're doing it online, which means I (probably) wouldn't have to ask for time off for it, since I usually work in the late afternoons/evenings, and most of the workshops and classes are in the morning or early afternoon. I'm not overly familiar with many of the mentors, but there are a few who I definitely know who they are. It could be a really good thing to do, but at the same time since we're going into summer and I'm going to be losing half of my income until fall.... I don't know. I was supposed to be saving for it, but things happen.
Isn't the best time to write when the internet's out? No distractions.
I'm trying to decide if I can afford to do the Writing and Illustrating for Young Writers conference this year. They're doing it online, which means I (probably) wouldn't have to ask for time off for it, since I usually work in the late afternoons/evenings, and most of the workshops and classes are in the morning or early afternoon. I'm not overly familiar with many of the mentors, but there are a few who I definitely know who they are. It could be a really good thing to do, but at the same time since we're going into summer and I'm going to be losing half of my income until fall.... I don't know. I was supposed to be saving for it, but things happen.
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I think it's been generally quiet hereabouts anyway, BG, so don't blame yourself, lol!
We've been having a heck of a lot of
days here since lockdown began. I know, right? The UK without rain? Practically unheard of! I even ventured out in my shorts for my daily walk today. And the advantages of social distancing? *Whispers* Nobody can tell you haven't waxed your legs for a couple of weeks.* 
*That has actually been remedied now, btw, in anticipation of more short-wearing in the days to come.
We've been having a heck of a lot of
days here since lockdown began. I know, right? The UK without rain? Practically unheard of! I even ventured out in my shorts for my daily walk today. And the advantages of social distancing? *Whispers* Nobody can tell you haven't waxed your legs for a couple of weeks.* *That has actually been remedied now, btw, in anticipation of more short-wearing in the days to come.
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I bought my new laptop today! It won't be here for a month, but it's purchased! A shiny new MacBook Pro!
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You didn't kill the thread BG! I was totally going to respond, and then got distracted.
Does everyone else write better without internet? I swear I can't write without it... It has my playlist, all my research, all my writing friends...
I'm very on the fence about online conferences. I feel like I don't do enough with them when I sign up. I have participated in a fraction of the events for WriteOn Con the last couple years, and every time I tell myself I'll be more active the next year.
Haha Netz, I've been having social distancing outings with a group of my friends (we all bring snacks and sit on a big blanket far apart in one of the area parks) and we have noted every time that we are all pretty furry. It's like all the men who suddenly have full beards - a sign of the times.
Oooh new computer Sage? That's exciting!
Does everyone else write better without internet? I swear I can't write without it... It has my playlist, all my research, all my writing friends...
I'm very on the fence about online conferences. I feel like I don't do enough with them when I sign up. I have participated in a fraction of the events for WriteOn Con the last couple years, and every time I tell myself I'll be more active the next year.
Haha Netz, I've been having social distancing outings with a group of my friends (we all bring snacks and sit on a big blanket far apart in one of the area parks) and we have noted every time that we are all pretty furry. It's like all the men who suddenly have full beards - a sign of the times.
Oooh new computer Sage? That's exciting!
I go back and forth about how well I write without the internet. As long as I don't need to look anything up, I'm usually okay. I've made a point to keep a writing playlist downloaded either on my phone or my computer, so I always have access to it. When I have the internet, I always seem to get pulled into Facebook-land, or distracted by other lines of research that aren't directly related to my project.
I'm still on the fence about whether or not to do this conference. On the one hand, it could be nice, and one of the agents I'm planning on querying is involved in it. On the other hand, I do have other things I could use the money for, and how much am I really going to get out of an online conference?
And new computers are shiny and happy-making, as a friend of mine used to say. That's exciting!
I'm still on the fence about whether or not to do this conference. On the one hand, it could be nice, and one of the agents I'm planning on querying is involved in it. On the other hand, I do have other things I could use the money for, and how much am I really going to get out of an online conference?
And new computers are shiny and happy-making, as a friend of mine used to say. That's exciting!
I have a MacBook Air right now, and I love it. But it's 7 years old, and the battery's in poor shape, as are the USB ports (which is sad for my iTunes on my phone). I was looking at getting a new one in March, but I had writing deadlines and they said it'd take 2 days to transfer my data with both the old and new laptops at the Apple store, so I put it off...and then the stores all closed because of COVID-19. But my dad got me an external hard drive to try out, and it successfully backed up my computer, so we could buy it online. My parents are buying it for my birthday/thank you for shopping for them.
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Aw, that's a lovely and thoughtful present from your parents, Sage - it's nice to be appreciated for what you're doing for them! 
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I asked on twitter too, but since I have you all here.... a young one is in that "I finished a novel and it's a mess and how do I go on?" stage. I sent over my favorite links, but learning is so individual...
What's everyone's go-to new/young/learning writer advice link? (also, better believe I will save them all to use next time I get this question)
What's everyone's go-to new/young/learning writer advice link? (also, better believe I will save them all to use next time I get this question)
Read it through once, make note of the trouble spots, then give it a short break. But keep your source of inspiration handy to drive you back to the project again later (in my case, it’s my soundtracks)
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Yeah, that's helpful. I'll pass that along. Mostly, she's a kiddo, so 'it's broken and I don't know how to fix it' so I'm trying to find some strategy articles/posts to share.
Posting from my MacBook Pro! It came 2 days early, but it made no difference to me because the migration of data from the old computer to the new computer was so screwed up (mostly because it came early, which led to it pulling info from my MacBook Air via the cloud while I backed up the Air, causing it to get confused when I tried to use the Migration Assistant to put some of the same information on it, causing it to fill my storage with unaccessible data so that the new computer was useless) that I didn't touch it until I could give it a whole day to fix the problem. I had to erase the whole thing and start over this morning. My morning was literally getting this computer up and running.
Things I love:
- Touch ID!!!!! I miss it on my phone.
- The Touch Bar. I don't know how much I'll use it, but I've used it for volume and brightness and spelling, and it taught me a feature for Netflix that I didn't know I had, which is..
- Picture in picture for streaming. I'm fairly certain I couldn't do this before, but I can keep up Netflix/Disney/Hulu while I'm searching AW. Makes those slow pages on AW much more bearable when I can watch the show without switching tabs (which I've always suspected stalls a page anyway)
- Battery life - 3 hours unplugged and I still have 80% battery left? Including pretty bright screen when I was watching Netflix. Hallelujah!
Things I'm uncertain about:
- The screen is soooooo big. Those extra 2 diagonal inches seem to make this screen so much taller than the old one. It's been a long time since I had a laptop this size
- I need a skin, and I haven't decided which I should get
Things I don't like:
- Setting it up was a nightmare, and the guy on the Apple Support chat was an idiot (but the gal who helped me on the phone today was great)
- I had to get a new Scrivener version, and I hate all the changes I see in it
- My power cord is so short
Things I love:
- Touch ID!!!!! I miss it on my phone.
- The Touch Bar. I don't know how much I'll use it, but I've used it for volume and brightness and spelling, and it taught me a feature for Netflix that I didn't know I had, which is..
- Picture in picture for streaming. I'm fairly certain I couldn't do this before, but I can keep up Netflix/Disney/Hulu while I'm searching AW. Makes those slow pages on AW much more bearable when I can watch the show without switching tabs (which I've always suspected stalls a page anyway)
- Battery life - 3 hours unplugged and I still have 80% battery left? Including pretty bright screen when I was watching Netflix. Hallelujah!
Things I'm uncertain about:
- The screen is soooooo big. Those extra 2 diagonal inches seem to make this screen so much taller than the old one. It's been a long time since I had a laptop this size
- I need a skin, and I haven't decided which I should get
Things I don't like:
- Setting it up was a nightmare, and the guy on the Apple Support chat was an idiot
(but the gal who helped me on the phone today was great)- I had to get a new Scrivener version, and I hate all the changes I see in it
- My power cord is so short
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It's always such a pain getting used to a new computer and setting things up on it to how you like it. It always seems to take longer than you anticipate to do this, too! I hope you settle in with it easily in the next few days and that you and your MacBook Pro have many long, happy years together, Sage.
Hey guys! A little nervous about returning after so long. I had to create a new account because the email address I had with the last one is long gone, so it looks like I'm a newbie again. I was mellymel on my old account. It sounds like there has been lots of good news in these parts which is awesome. I have been on a long hiatus from writing but trying to get back into it. Writing was more a part of my life when I was a SAHM but once I went back to work, it became really hard to find the balance between work, husband, friends, and my twin babies (who are now 14 years old WTH?). I'm a 1st grade teacher in south florida and this past year has been a whirlwind. Obviously. Somebody asked about what other creative ventures you can involve yourself in while taking a break from writing. Well, for me it's been baking. Got very into cupcake making and decorating and now I'm doing cookie decorating. Not doing it for money at this point, but it's so much fun and has definitely given me a great way to release my creative juices. However, I'm on summer break now and have been getting back to a few of my unfinished MSs I had been working on. It's a bit overwhelming to get back into a good groove, so right now I'm just rereading to regain the feel of the stories. I really do love them. Still. So that's good.
I was mellymel on my old account. It sounds like there has been lots of good news in these parts which is awesome. I have been on a long hiatus from writing but trying to get back into it. Writing was more a part of my life when I was a SAHM but once I went back to work, it became really hard to find the balance between work, husband, friends, and my twin babies (who are now 14 years old WTH?). I'm a 1st grade teacher in south florida and this past year has been a whirlwind. Obviously. Somebody asked about what other creative ventures you can involve yourself in while taking a break from writing. Well, for me it's been baking. Got very into cupcake making and decorating and now I'm doing cookie decorating. Not doing it for money at this point, but it's so much fun and has definitely given me a great way to release my creative juices. However, I'm on summer break now and have been getting back to a few of my unfinished MSs I had been working on. It's a bit overwhelming to get back into a good groove, so right now I'm just rereading to regain the feel of the stories. I really do love them. Still. So that's good.
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back, Melksan/mellymel! Decorating cookies is a new one on me. Do you decorate them with icing? (I think it's called frosting over there, isn't it?) How fancy do you make them?Hi Netz!
With regards to cookie decorating, it's called royal icing (which I make with powdered sugar-AKA confectioners sugar or in the U.K. and Australia, "icing sugar"), meringue powder, and extract. Frosting is what I use for cupcake decorating. I've mastered American Buttercream, Swiss merengue buttercream (my fave), and cream cheese frosting. Wish I could share pics, but there's no way to attach them it seems. I'm thinking of making ice cream cone cupcakes for father's day. Trying to figure out what flavor to do. My husband loves chocolate and orange or chocolate and raspberry combo, so I'll probably do one of those. If I do the raspberry, I'll probably make a raspberry puree and fill it in the center of the cupcake. Mmm...getting excited.
For cookies I did the cookies for my friend's baby shower which was twinkle, twinkle little star themed with white, gold and silver colors. I did onesies, bottles, and stars. I've also gotten into airbrushing on cookies, so that came in handy for those. I've also done tie-dye which were quite popular and summer themed (palm trees, sunglasses, flip flops, and flowers-which I'm also doing right now, I'm teaching one of my girls how to do it). I'm still learning a lot. Cupcakes are much easier for me. My most popular/famous ones are my Biscoff cupcakes. I've done SO many different cupcakes. Party in my Mouth is also a popular one. It's vanilla cupcakes with an Oreo at the bottom of it, sprinkles in the middle, and pink and blue cotton candy flavored frosting with pop rocks sprinkled on top.
With regards to cookie decorating, it's called royal icing (which I make with powdered sugar-AKA confectioners sugar or in the U.K. and Australia, "icing sugar"), meringue powder, and extract. Frosting is what I use for cupcake decorating. I've mastered American Buttercream, Swiss merengue buttercream (my fave), and cream cheese frosting. Wish I could share pics, but there's no way to attach them it seems.
I'm thinking of making ice cream cone cupcakes for father's day. Trying to figure out what flavor to do. My husband loves chocolate and orange or chocolate and raspberry combo, so I'll probably do one of those. If I do the raspberry, I'll probably make a raspberry puree and fill it in the center of the cupcake. Mmm...getting excited.For cookies I did the cookies for my friend's baby shower which was twinkle, twinkle little star themed with white, gold and silver colors. I did onesies, bottles, and stars. I've also gotten into airbrushing on cookies, so that came in handy for those. I've also done tie-dye which were quite popular and summer themed (palm trees, sunglasses, flip flops, and flowers-which I'm also doing right now, I'm teaching one of my girls how to do it). I'm still learning a lot. Cupcakes are much easier for me. My most popular/famous ones are my Biscoff cupcakes. I've done SO many different cupcakes. Party in my Mouth is also a popular one. It's vanilla cupcakes with an Oreo at the bottom of it, sprinkles in the middle, and pink and blue cotton candy flavored frosting with pop rocks sprinkled on top.
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They sound fab, and they're making me salivate, lol. Yeah, it's a shame we can't see pics of them.
I find it really hard to continue writing. I've been going back and reading what I had written, but that mojo is not kicking in to help me continue. I have 3 stories I love that have no endings. And they are all different. One is a stalking story, one is a horror/thriller, and the other is a contemporary. I open the doc, start reading and fixing little things and then when I get to where i need to continue the story, I draw a blank and close the computer. LOL For any of you who have gone on a writing hiatus, how did you get back into it? I feel like I was way more involved when I was beta reading and critiquing but I see that SYW thread is not very active either. :/ I'm also trying to get back into reading as I took a hiatus from that as well (when it's the school year it's really hard to have the energy to do anything--excuses maybe??).
BTW, they were able to merge my accounts, so I'm back to being mellymel.
BTW, they were able to merge my accounts, so I'm back to being mellymel.
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I'm glad they've been able to merge your accounts for you, mellymel.
Maybe you could read some books on writing to get you back in the zone? Maybe you could write some short stories about the characters? It seems that the endings are where you're getting stuck, so maybe you could brainstorm ten different endings (no matter how outrageous they are, lol) and see if that sparks your creative juices. There are probably random idea generators you could use for writing prompts/endings.
Maybe you could read some books on writing to get you back in the zone? Maybe you could write some short stories about the characters? It seems that the endings are where you're getting stuck, so maybe you could brainstorm ten different endings (no matter how outrageous they are, lol) and see if that sparks your creative juices. There are probably random idea generators you could use for writing prompts/endings.