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be frank

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No brandy for you.

Wait ...

No soup for you.

My bad.

*confiscates mccardey's soup*

*replaces it with brandy*
 

WriterDude

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I don't know what a trapped nerve in the neck feels like but this thing that I am suffering hurts in the way I imagine a trapped nerve in the neck might. It really hurts, in a grown man crying sort of way.

I know exactly what the doctor will say,he will say 'have you taken anything?' And I will say yes. And he will say, 'good, take some more'.

Should probably stay home, but lots on at work, not that it matters any more, but I could at least apply for another job.

Ouchy ouchy.
 

WriterDude

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Pained eased a bit so I found myself pottering. Figured I ought to clothe the wee beast in my avatar.
 

cmhbob

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Heavy storms in the area last night. Spent 45 minutes in the storm shelter with 4 kids, 2 adults, a cat, and a large frightened dog who had to be carried down the very steep steps. Town and county took a decent hit, from probably an EF-0 or -1. We survived just fine.
 

Jan74

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I read a lot when I am stuck as well! Sometimes it helps me find new ways to approach a topic... and sometimes it teaches me more things I don't want to do because I don't personally like reading them. :) Congrats on the new idea!

I wish I wasn't so tired from my job all the time. It's very difficult when a job drains 100% of your creativity so you have none for yourself when you get home. I'm hoping this evens out a bit in the coming weeks so I have more energy to devote to writing.
Thnx! I hope things get easier for you over the next few weeks.

cmhbob-glad you're all ok! My kids still talk about the time I took them into the basement to wait out a scary storm(micro-bursts) I couldn't carry my dog down the stairs though he was too big for me. Sporadically I would come up and check things out, a pine tree was uprooted and landed on our dining room roof narrowly missing the window, trees were down everywhere. The storm passed and me and the kids ventured outside to check the damage, what great neighbors I have(my hubby was at work) instantly I had three men on my roof with chainsaws clearing the tree, hubbys aunt and uncle came over to check on us and my in laws arrived. That made me cry seeing everyone looking out for us since I was home alone with two little kids.

I wrote all morning and just stopping for a lunch break.

Someone needed soup....I make a deadly pea soup, it's all yours...um no brandy though, I do have wine and beer if you want.
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
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1.---------------------

WriterDude:

Not writing-related, but...does that "wee beast" in your avatar have a name? I am enchanted by it.

Did you make that yourself?

Those look like popsicle sticks used for an abode of some sort.

At first, I thought this wee creature was a gypsy, and that is what caught my interest. Gypsies appear in a good number of my stories.

2.----------

cmhbob:

I hope you are all safe.

I spent a few months in Oklahoma City a few years ago, for job training.

I was surprised that there were never many people around, whether in parks or shopping centers.

I always enjoyed when the women down there called me "hunny". :)
 

WriterDude

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What a day. Skipped work because of pain, captital ow.

Tootled on here for a bit, ventured in that thread for a bit. Had a snooze, watched the youngest draw number blocks. Got an invite to interview, punched the air, set my neck off again. Littlest flooded the bathroom, now there is a wet patch on the kitchen ceiling, but can't stay mad at the fucker for long, he takes everything to heart.

Now I'm cooking an awesome curry, planning my interview presentation and drinking lager.

Oh yeah, ballsed up the kids medication too. What a day.

1.---------------------

WriterDude:

Not writing-related, but...does that "wee beast" in your avatar have a name? I am enchanted by it.

Did you make that yourself?

Those look like popsicle sticks used for an abode of some sort.

At first, I thought this wee creature was a gypsy, and that is what caught my interest. Gypsies appear in a good number of my stories.

I see why you'd think gypsies. The background is actually a homemade Toby the Tram I made for train obsessed boy. The figure is imaginatively named character materials test 1, but its meant to be Michelle the Match Maker from my urban fantasy. I got this crazy idea about self publicizing my book if I eventually self publish and wanted to see if I could achieve that in 1:24 scale with recycled bits and bobs and a five year old smart phone. I think I can, but I got more materials tests to do. I'm glad you like though
 

Brightdreamer

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Jan74 - Congrats on the breakthrough! Always a nice feeling, to feel the juices flowing again... (Slowly coming out of a creative slump, myself.)

mccardey - Sounds like a nasty bug, if it requires both soup and alcohol in copious quantities. Hope you're feeling better soon. (You know, this doesn't do much to change my American impression that all things Australian are, by their very nature, nastier than their equivalents in the rest of the world... The Oz tourist board will probably want a chat, when you're up to it. ;) )

WriterDude - A pinched nerve? Dang. But an interview's good.

Friday, and the weather's actually turned springlike and dry. Looks like I may be mowing the lawn tomorrow, after all. (Or maybe Sunday. It depends on what day we're doing a family thing. If we're doing a family thing. I'm technically family, but I'm always the last to know about things.)

Work was busy again, after two very light days. I found a couple oddities in the totes. One was a picture book, which I read and now have to write a review of (John Ronald's Dragons, by an author whose name I have to look up, a nice picture book about J. R. R. Tolkien's love of dragons and fantasy from childhood through his writing of The Hobbit. Nice book, with a bonus section at the end talking about Tolkien, as well as the artist's choices for illustrations - many details connected to Tolkien and his life in various ways.) The other was a folded sheet of paper on which the words "Potato Rage" were written in bold pencil lines. Is this an Idaho garage band waiting to happen, or what? (If not a garage band, maybe it's a knock-off or parody of The Grapes of Wrath...)

Oh, and I finally got the bowl of leftover stew for lunch that I'd planned to eat yesterday before the Great Glasses Incident. So I guess it was leftover leftover stew...

Off I go, to write that review and generally waste time before starting dinner. I'm half-tempted to call nuke-your-own-night again, but I did that yesterday.
 
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vicky271

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Working towards goals that must be completed by the end of June. At the moment, i'm cruising through some information. Trying to bring meaning and symbolism to my characters.
 

Jan74

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Vicky-What kind of characters, sounds interesting, I love symbolism etc.

Brightdreamer-You must have kids, why do they want to eat dinner every night, lol.

Tonight my boys are having a sleep over so I plan on relaxing, writing, catching up on Riverdale. That's what I'm doing.
 

Keithy

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Just getting sooo good at procrastinating. I should write a book about it.
 

vicky271

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Vicky-What kind of characters, sounds interesting, I love symbolism etc.

Roles aren't definite (minus the main character). This step will ensure that. Symbolism is difficult. Especially without the whole picture.

I hope your pursuits are succeeding! :)
 

Brightdreamer

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Brightdreamer-You must have kids, why do they want to eat dinner every night, lol.

No kids - actually, I'm the youngest in the household - but somehow it's fallen to me to make dinners. I'm still not precisely sure when or how it happened, looking back, but I tend to get snarked at if dinner doesn't appear, so I feel a vague obligation, if only to avoid the snarking. Or minimize it. Somewhat.

Just getting sooo good at procrastinating. I should write a book about it.

I'm sure you'll get to it one of these days... ;)

Need more soup. Still totally Rookwood. :(

Wow - so the brandy and the soup didn't do it. I suppose you've tried the venerated recipe of lime-enhanced coconut? (I know some people swear by laughter as the best medicine, but if you've got a headache or coughing it's just more trouble than it's worth. Then again, I can only afford the generic stuff...)

Roles aren't definite (minus the main character). This step will ensure that. Symbolism is difficult. Especially without the whole picture.

A word of random advice: beware of overthinking Symbolism and Theme, especially before you get a story and characters sketched in. These things work better when they arise organically out of the storytelling process, in my experience; forcing them leads all too often to unnatural stretches and leaps, plus it could lead to a few darlings that may be harder to kill for the greater good of the tale. Finding and enforcing symbolism seems more like a polishing step, like the detail work in a painting... but, then, I write mostly for story, so any theme or symbolism that appears in my works is most likely serendipitous.

Just wanderin' through again. Got another book review to write - I finished off the Kindle title after dinner. (Swords Against Death, the second collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, by Fritz Leiber - classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy, in the vein of Conan, with a lighter feel and some poking fun at the genre.) Will probably polish off the one on my Nook (The Wee Free Men, first of the Tiffany Aching series in the Discworld universe, by Terry Pratchett) over the weekend, too. Also need to get back to a half-finished paperback before the end of the month...
 

vicky271

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A word of random advice: beware of overthinking Symbolism and Theme, especially before you get a story and characters sketched in. These things work better when they arise organically out of the storytelling process, in my experience; forcing them leads all too often to unnatural stretches and leaps, plus it could lead to a few darlings that may be harder to kill for the greater good of the tale. Finding and enforcing symbolism seems more like a polishing step, like the detail work in a painting... but, then, I write mostly for story, so any theme or symbolism that appears in my works is most likely serendipitous.

Just wanderin' through again. Got another book review to write - I finished off the Kindle title after dinner. (Swords Against Death, the second collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, by Fritz Leiber - classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy, in the vein of Conan, with a lighter feel and some poking fun at the genre.) Will probably polish off the one on my Nook (The Wee Free Men, first of the Tiffany Aching series in the Discworld universe, by Terry Pratchett) over the weekend, too. Also need to get back to a half-finished paperback before the end of the month...

Thanks for the advice. Symbolism, at the moment, is linking the meaning of the character's name to the role they play at this time. Researching colour, and number meanings, etc. Simplicity.

I'll try not to over-think it :)

How was the book? :)
 

Brightdreamer

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Thanks for the advice. Symbolism, at the moment, is linking the meaning of the character's name to the role they play at this time. Researching colour, and number meanings, etc. Simplicity.

I'll try not to over-think it :)

How was the book? :)

Ah, yes, character naming... don't be afraid to stick in a space-filler (i do them in ALLCAPS - I find it easier to search/replace an ALLCAP name without accidentally removing parts of other words, using the "Match Case" feature, plus it's easier to see if you missed one when skimming) if a meaningful name proves elusive on the first draft or so.

As for the book, I enjoyed it. A bit dated, of course, but entertaining and imaginative little adventures. I find Leiber's characters more engaging and readable than what I've read of Conan; not so stiff and broody and overly serious. Plus the eBook was discounted when I got it, which is always a bonus. Which reminds me, I still have to write the review. (Got distracted by a Macgyver rerun; I am a child of the 80's, after all, and we have our obligations. ;) )
 

WriterDude

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Been searching for gothic inspiration, also been shopping, but all roads lead back to the couch. Time to start cooking soon, mood food I think. A massive stack of variously seasoned chicken bits and complementary carbs, and beer, all ready in time for the new Dr Who.

Its a slow day to be sure, weekend chillin time, no pressure, some of us aren't even dressed yet.

Mild compulsion to write, it'll pass.
 

vicky271

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Ah, yes, character naming... don't be afraid to stick in a space-filler (i do them in ALLCAPS - I find it easier to search/replace an ALLCAP name without accidentally removing parts of other words, using the "Match Case" feature, plus it's easier to see if you missed one when skimming) if a meaningful name proves elusive on the first draft or so.

As for the book, I enjoyed it. A bit dated, of course, but entertaining and imaginative little adventures. I find Leiber's characters more engaging and readable than what I've read of Conan; not so stiff and broody and overly serious. Plus the eBook was discounted when I got it, which is always a bonus. Which reminds me, I still have to write the review. (Got distracted by a Macgyver rerun; I am a child of the 80's, after all, and we have our obligations. ;) )

Space-filler?
I love it! How do you motivate yourself to write a review? Do you find you like the books you choose?
 

Brightdreamer

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Space-filler?
I love it! How do you motivate yourself to write a review? Do you find you like the books you choose?

I write book reviews on (almost) every book I read, mostly as a way of organizing my own thoughts and reactions. (I'll admit to a few that I haven't reviewed - usually picture books I read during down time at work that just plain don't stick with me enough to merit the effort.) Aside from the odd request (very infrequent), I pick my own reads - all of them chosen with the belief that I'll enjoy them. It doesn't always pan out, unfortunately. I used to make myself finish and review them anyway, but a few years back I hit one so utterly atrocious I had to delete with prejudice. Now I only feel obligated to finish if I post it under the "Currently Reading" section of my review blog, with the rule of thumb being "ten percent or it didn't happen," though I've been known to go further and still give up. I only review books I've read to the end, though - no partials.

Well, it's Saturday, and a little cloudier than advertized so far - which means I should probably get out and mow the lawn before it warms up, as it's supposed to today. Assuming I can get the mower started, that is... and assuming the unmown grass and weeds haven't achieved sentience during their months of rain and neglect. I'll probably delay my Saturday room-tidying until after mowing, as tracking lawn clippings over a freshly swept floor kinda defeats the purpose.

Away I wander. (And, on cue, there's the sun... so much for getting out there while the cloud cover held...)
 

Brightdreamer

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And it's later.

After some Issues with the mower (that seemed to be resolved with a little fuel additive), I finally got what I could reach of the lawn mowed. Parts are still too swampy, and others are too overgrown after all the rain making things go nuts. (Gotta be careful about pruning this time of year, too - we're reasonably sure there's at least one hummingbird nest on the property, and probably more than one robin nest, not to mention sparrows and wrens who turn up in unexpected places.) But I got what I could done. Then I swept and mopped my room, 'cause it was past due for a quick mopping... which reminded me why it was past due, when the mop fell apart toward the end. (Really need to get my own mop; the other one's just a piece of junk. Need to remember to get at least one spare mophead to go with it, though, as they keep changing models and you can never get a replacement when you need it.) And I got the hall vacuumed, though I still need to dump the dust canister. Then I ate lunch and finished reading another book. Which brings me up to here, sitting around websurfing and wasting time while waiting for the last bit of my room to dry out, so I can put my rug back down and finish putting the place back together.

Off to write yet another review, then I'll probably goof off in a game; hindbrain's still chewing on story stuff, so I need some white noise activity.
 

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Well, I went to put away groceries and realized something was amiss. We left 5 tuna steaks thawing in the sink when we left (they're vacuum sealed, and we had them floating in water) but when we got home there were only 3 steaks in the sink, and one was on the floor...so then where's the fifth steak?

After a few minutes of hunting, we find the package in the corner of the spare room--empty. Both cats are looking at me with all the innocence in the world, but once has a very, very round belly. The other has long fur so it's hard to tell when he's looking like a chub. I pick them up and sniff their mouths and sure enough, the spoiled brats managed to rip into a vacuum sealed package and devoured an entire tuna steak!! Bad kitties.
 

RLGreenleaf

Ummm, just one more chapter...
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space-filler: I use three consecutive question marks (???) when I cannot think of a name, or a city, or the right word to use. Then I continue writing, and come back later, search for all "???" characters, taking my time replacing them with the right word or name as they occur to me.

Well, I did not think the first novel in my "pirate" trilogy would take more than 10 chapters, but then the characters all starting fighting amongst themselves, lying to each other, stabbing each other in the back, and doing all sorts of delicious things like that, and before I knew it, the first book had 60 chapters and one epilogue, with a nice 150K words total.

There was a minor character in that first book (1700s England): a ten-year old boy named Michael, who became one of the main characters in the second book. He returned to London from his sea adventures, only to find that his best friend, Molly, was gone. He learns that someone murdered her father and is now trying to kill her as well, and he (Michael) spends the rest of the 60 chapters trying to save her, tracking her all the way to the mysterious castle in County Cork, Ireland.

There was a minor character in the second book (a pirate), who was an orphan and had grown up working in a large mansion just outside London, where he had barely escaped with his life after he discovered some criminal goings-on. But now, in the first chapter of the third book, he discovers that his mother is still alive, and is in secret hiding, and that his father was killed by the very man who owned the mansion where he had grew up. So now he is out for revenge.

In fact, all three books are about revenge, which is a nice topic for trilogies. :)

Well, I finished the first chapter of the third book, but am researching England of the 1700's, in order to make the story more historically correct.

And in the meantime, I am trying to finish a collection of short stories, which read something like Hans Christian Andersen tales.