The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Candy_Kane54]

It's a gray and cold morning and I feel like I may be getting a cold. On top of everything else going on with my health, that's all I need ...

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is hot. Just remember that the pot with the green rim is the decaf. There are cookies and danish on the counter. Due to a mix-up in the scheduling, we have 10 drummers drumming and 10 lords aleaping both here at the same time. It's pretty noisy but it is fascinating to see the lords keeping time with the drummers ...

I'll be over in the corner getting ready to start a final edit on my new story, assuming I can get over the spectacle going on around me. I managed to finish up the last scene yesterday and I'll be starting on my new story, a love story between an Air Force officer and a boogeyman ...

 

[old_prof]

It's a gray and cold morning and I feel like I may be getting a cold. On top of everything else going on with my health, that's all I need ...

I hope the cold fades quickly.

 

[ColtonWrites]

Oh, I don't know. There was a day when you couldn't walk down the residence hall without hearing some.

View attachment 2587778

By the gorgeous Wendy Carlos!

 

[ColtonWrites]

Maybe I wasn't paying attention but I swear I saw a significant jump in views on a couple of my stories over the last 48 hours? Like an extra thousand views.

 

[JGittes]

Sadly I am not.

Bird & Bull Press was a lifetime project by Henry Morris (not the creationist). He created his own paper and published books about bookmaking and associated things.

AbeBooks will list most of his output. Search Bird and Bull Press. Henry lived from 1925 to 2019 and ran the B&B Press until 2013. Damn fine run.

 

[MrPixel]

Oh, I don't know. There was a day when you couldn't walk down the residence hall without hearing some.

And I was one of those. That recording was revolutionary, to say the least. I already had an interest in synth when it was in its infancy, and then Carlos' recording came out.

Yeah, explains a lot.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I woke up to the sound of this and now I'm both excited and anxious because the day I've been waiting for over the past 26 years finally came, and things will be terrible before they can finally start to improve. Maybe I will finally be on the clear on to whether I'm still politically pursued or not. Only time will tell.

If anyone has figured out my location because I didn't hide it too well on purpose, I'm okay, and by the looks of it I'll be okay. Everything is contained to a city that is more than five hours away from my region. I didn't think I'd get to see this in my early 30s, but here I am.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I have that S.O.B. album

 

[calmlikeabomb]

Bird & Bull Press was a lifetime project by Henry Morris (not the creationist). He created his own paper and published books about bookmaking and associated things.

AbeBooks will list most of his output. Search Bird and Bull Press. Henry lived from 1925 to 2019 and ran the B&B Press until 2013. Damn fine run.

Thank you so much! I'll definitely look it up!

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I was awakened (awoken?) by the almost full moon in my face this morning, making me pause and wonder how many more full moons I'll see before I shuffle off this mortal coil. That number is getting depressingly smaller each year ...

For now, I've got fresh coffee brewing and the teapot is warmed up. There are donuts and cookies on the counter, and hopefully, a birthday cake in a couple of days. It's the eleventh day of Christmas, and after the kerfuffle yesterday, there are no pipers piping or ladies dancing today. The negotiations for tomorrow's entertainment is ongoing and will hopefully be settled soon.

I'll be over in the corner, psyching myself up to start on my next story. I'm torn between starting on Ray's next adventure, not wanting to leave my readers waiting forever to find out what happened, or start on the new story my Muse is begging me to work on ...

 

[sirhugs]

isn't the saying "always listen to your muse"?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

My muse says STFU

 

[ColtonWrites]

My muse has apparently gone on Christmas vacation and refused to come back.

 

[NotWise]

I was awakened (awoken?) by the almost full moon in my face this morning, making me pause and wonder how many more full moons I'll see before I shuffle off this mortal coil. That number is getting depressingly smaller each year ...

For now, I've got fresh coffee brewing and the teapot is warmed up. There are donuts and cookies on the counter, and hopefully, a birthday cake in a couple of days. It's the eleventh day of Christmas, and after the kerfuffle yesterday, there are no pipers piping or ladies dancing today. The negotiations for tomorrow's entertainment is ongoing and will hopefully be settled soon.

I'll be over in the corner, psyching myself up to start on my next story. I'm torn between starting on Ray's next adventure, not wanting to leave my readers waiting forever to find out what happened, or start on the new story my Muse is begging me to work on ...

Perk up, CK. You're just three weeks older than I am, and I don't expect either of us to leave here soon.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Nearly an inch of snow lying on the ground in shady places yesterday, so today is ice all over. Had to dig out the hot water bottle last night - they're saying it may reach -9 tonight. I know, not hugely cold for many of you, but in London this is the first time any snow has lain in about eight years. Our weather specialises in dancing above and below zero for a few days and nights, resulting in snow fall melting and refreezing into ice.

Or as the Swiss engineers called in to help British Rail with their ice problems put it, "you have the wrong kind of snow."

Managed to start writing a few things but none will be finished rapidly, and few destined for Lit. I think my muse is still drunk from Christmas.

 

[old_prof]

Tomorrow is supposed to hit 22 here (-6 in the civilized world) as a high, our first time anywhere near that warm in almost a week. But highs are above freezing every day after that for a while. That will be a nice break. Supposed to get upper 40's one day (say 9C).

Making amazing progress with my knee. Still need a cane and can only walk about 30 feet before it hurts, but that's not very different from where I was pre-surgery. Yesterday afternoon was a bit of retrenchment, but I think I pushed it too hard. 6 days out and I'm already past the two week goals. I have a call from the nurse tomorrow. Next Monday starts in person PT.

And I started my Valentine's Day story this evening. Pretty sure I will make it comfortably, although probably not for the opening day like I have for my other two contests. I think I will have both my WIP novels finished late this month or early February. So far, I still think my Pink Orchid story may be my best story ever. Time will tell how it's received.

 

[Duleigh]

Oh, I don't know. There was a day when you couldn't walk down the residence hall without hearing some.

View attachment 2587778

The big thing was "Hooked on Classics" where someone tried to turn everything into disco, from big band swing to Mozart.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

The big thing was "Hooked on Classics" where someone tried to turn everything into disco, from big band swing to Mozart.

Disco? I still shudder. Sequins, shiny pants, disco balls - if there was a need for overkill across the board, disco found it.

 

[_Lynn_]

I was awakened (awoken?) by the almost full moon in my face this morning, making me pause and wonder how many more full moons I'll see before I shuffle off this mortal coil. That number is getting depressingly smaller each year ...

For now, I've got fresh coffee brewing and the teapot is warmed up. There are donuts and cookies on the counter, and hopefully, a birthday cake in a couple of days. It's the eleventh day of Christmas, and after the kerfuffle yesterday, there are no pipers piping or ladies dancing today. The negotiations for tomorrow's entertainment is ongoing and will hopefully be settled soon.

I haven't had a birthday cake in so many years I would probably pass out if I got one. (And I think I'm older than you, too.)

 

[JGittes]

Nearly an inch of snow lying on the ground in shady places yesterday, so today is ice all over. Had to dig out the hot water bottle last night - they're saying it may reach -9 tonight. I know, not hugely cold for many of you, but in London this is the first time any snow has lain in about eight years. Our weather specialises in dancing above and below zero for a few days and nights, resulting in snow fall melting and refreezing into ice.

Or as the Swiss engineers called in to help British Rail with their ice problems put it, "you have the wrong kind of snow."

Managed to start writing a few things but none will be finished rapidly, and few destined for Lit. I think my muse is still drunk from Christmas.

Is the snow a remnant from Friday morning's storm?

We still have a little unmelted snow and the ice, but we didn't receive very much on Friday morning. We're a few miles south of Gatwick, and the radar showed we were on the southern edge of the storm.

We had reservations for afternoon tea at the Shard and were worried the trains would be disrupted, but they weren't. Snow and ice weren't a problem around London Bridge, but one wouldn't expect it to be.

We're only down to -5, so toasty warm in comparison.

 

[JGittes]

My muse has apparently gone on Christmas vacation and refused to come back.

Sam Scribble was an author here at Lit who also wrote for mainstream publishing. I found his advice invaluable and kept a file of the more salient ones. This one is a little on the long side, but it has gotten me through fallow periods more often than I can say.

"Jul 11, 2021

In my world, novels are first and foremost about characters and character. Some novels require a tight plot, others not so much.

In the novel which I am currently writing, the three main characters are anchored by a location: a cottage on the sea shore. In as much as the novel is a story, it is the story of one of the three main characters. I knew her story before I wrote a single word. The other two principal characters are her former lover and her current lover (who is also the narrator).

By the time that I reach the end, I expect to have introduced another 20 or so other characters. Some of these secondary characters I already know well. Others I expect to reveal themselves as the story progresses. A couple of them are already surprising me.

I have two main ‘rules’ as I write. The first is to continually answer the question: What happens next? The second is to ensure that each character remains ‘in character’.

I am pretty disciplined in my work habits. I aim to produce at least 500 more-or-less finished words a day. Some days I produce a thousand or more. I aim to tell the story, initially, in about 70,000 words. After polishing, it will probably grow to about 75,000 words. But that’s all. I don’t do doorstops.

And, as EB says: don’t be daunted. Get on with it. Good luck. "

Emphasis mine, and sadly, he died shortly after TxRad last year.

 

[HyunnaPark]

When I read advice from some of these authors who are no longer with us, I feel like I missed a lot and I wish I had found this place sooner (also, I would be a WAY better writer if I had started publishing here years ago).

After graduating college, I moved back to my hometown. The guy I dated then played roleplaying games with his friends, all older guys. I joined them a few times. I got along with one of his friends really well. He wrote beautifully, and we had similar perspectives only his were much more thoroughly developed (he was about 30 years older than me). I had made a joke about writing erotica at one game, and I remember him defending erotica as legitimate writing & storytelling. He was the person who put the thought in my head that a lot of writers start off writing erotica and use this as a way to get lots of eyes on their work very quickly.

Anyway, he passed away during COVID and it makes me wonder if he posted here. A lot of the writing advice I see from the more long-tenured writers here reminds me of things he'd say.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

We've got sun this morning and it's supposed to get into the 50s today. The moon in my face woke me up again. Despite the aches and pains, I'm feeling better today.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is steaming. There are donuts and cornbread on the counter. Negotiations ended in a compromise, so today, for the twelfth day of Christmas we have six pipers piping, six drummers drumming, six lords aleaping, and six ladies dancing. Hopefully, next year, we'll get the contract straightened out and do it properly.

I'll be over in the corner enjoying the show and working on my new story. I decided to start working on Ray's next adventure with the caveat that I could switch to the new story my Muse is on me about whenever I get bogged down ...

Tomorrow is the Epiphany and my birthday. Your tributes of chocolate are expected and appreciated.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Up at 5am. That's the new normal now for work. The dog looked at me like I was crazy. He seems to have forgotten he usually woke me up earlier to go out for a pee.

It's going to be a multi coffee day.

 

[Duleigh]

Tomorrow is the Epiphany and my birthday. Your tributes of chocolate are expected and appreciated.

There's got to be family puns about three wise men and Candy_Kane all showing up at the same time. Share!

Today is the 12th day of Christmas. I do not have a drum, nor am I a salesman so this day is completely useless to me.

(Note: drummer is a very old slang term for a salesman or 'pitch man' (like the shamwow guy) could that be the drummers drumming in the original version of the countdown?)