wojelah

Good news: not as tired today!

Bad news: extra stress at work and otherwise!

Today's writing

I did manage to write a few paragraphs, but it feels like I'm just treading water right now. I really need to make some progress over the weekend; the next deadline is fast approaching ...

Tally

( Days 1-20 )

Day 21:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 22:

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 23:

china_shop,

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

siria

Wound Care
The Pitt | Robby, Gen | ~1400 words | Thanks to

sheafrotherdon for betaing. Episode fic for 2.03.

(Also on AO3)

( Mrs Kovalenko was nothing like his grandmother, except for how she reminded Robby of her all the same. )

settiai

Back before the holidays, I didn't stay up to watch the very last episode of Critical Role for 2025. Despite knowing damn well how hard it is for me to catch up if I don't watch the episode as it airs, I figured that I was going to have almost a month until the next episode and would be off work for a decent chunk of that time. It would be fine. I'd definitely find the time to watch one single episode before the next one aired.

... yeah, that didn't happen. 🙃

The show picked back up last week, and I couldn't watch live because I still hadn't watched the previous episode. And then last night I couldn't watch because I was two episodes behind by that point. So I now have three episodes to watch, which is a whopping 10 hours and 17 minutes (plus an additional 30 minutes from the Cooldown for the two episodes that have one).

This happens every time. I don't know why I'm remotely surprised. There's a reason that I intentionally fuck up my sleep schedule every Thursday, because I know myself well enough to know there's not a chance in hell that I'll actually watch the episode before the next one airs if I don't force myself to stay up and watch it live. And then I end up 2, or 3, or 5, or 7 episodes behind and have to work my butt off to catch up.

On that note, I'm going to do my best to set aside some time this weekend to watch at least two of the three episodes that I'm behind on (and maybe even part of the third if I can manage it). I'm pretty sure that I won't be going into the office next week, so hopefully I'll be able to watch the third episode here and there between phone calls at work if I'm working remotely all week like I expect.

Current Mood: thoughtful

tielan

Usually when someone goes reading through my work, they go through multiple fics in a single fandom, kudosing all the way. (It's a nice feeling.)

I've just had someone who's kudosed a single story each of SG1, Firefly, Merlin, JLU, Harry Potter, and Atlantis, and two stories of The Bourne Identity.

Now I'm wondering how the others just didn't hit their buttons...

Also, the stories in each were "oddball" - not the major or popular pairing in most cases, and often not one of my more popular stories.

For instance, the Merlin fic they kudos'd was Merlin & Gwen, modern AU, which is not even close to common for the fandom!

trobadora

I'm incredibly tired again today for no discernible reason. *sighs*

Today's writing

Still slowly working on things. Still not gaining any momentum, but haven't thrown in the towel either, so there's that?

Tally

( Days 1-20 )

Day 21:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 22:

china_shop,

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

settiai

I've made this post a number of times without any luck, but I wanted to try again just in case I have better luck this time. Would anyone be interested in any of the following Nintendo Switch games?

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (example on Amazon)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (example on Amazon)
TemTem (example on Amazon)

If you're not interested but know someone who might be, please point them my way. I'm about $70 shy of being where I need to in order to cover bills after that vet trip yesterday, so it would help a lot if I could manage to sell any of these games.

For payment, I have CashApp ($Settiai), PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (nancy.lynn.foster@gmail.com).

Current Mood: hopeful

tielan

( for later consumption, or now consumption if you prefer )

settiai

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

Current Mood: drained

twistedchick

I think FOTUS is trying to get Greenland in order to impress his dead father. Where's a shrink when the country needs one?

trobadora

61% of respondents find shorter fic easier to write than longer! And the majority of respondents mostly write stories between 1 and 10k words. Interestingly, the 10-50k range seems to be the rarest!

For me, I find longer fic easier because I can much more easily come up with ideas for longer stories than shorter. Self-contained small things? I wish I could write them more often! But most story ideas I have want to be longer, alas.

I used to write more shorter fic, but I've mostly lost the knack, possibly because my current fandoms lend themselves to that less? Or it may be me that's changed. *g*

Today's writing

So far I'm failing at gaining any kind of writing momentum this month, but I'm still working on things. A little progress.

Tally

( Days 1-15 )

Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

cornerofmadness,

luzula,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 19:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 20:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 21:

alightbuthappypen,

trobadora,

ysilme

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

settiai

First of all, relax! I'm far from being picky, and I can pretty much guarantee that I'll love whatever you decide to create for me. These are nothing but guidelines, for you to take to heart or ignore to your heart's content. Also, hey! You're writing me fic or drawing me art! That's automatically a good reason for me to love you, no matter what. So, please, keep that in mind. Trust me, you can pretty much do no wrong. ♥

( More details under the cut. )

Current Mood: thoughtful

trobadora

What I did during my lunch break: assemble Ikea shelves \o/
What I didn't do during my lunch break: write /o\

(And then the entire afternoon was non-stop meetings until smoke came out of my ears.)

Today's writing

A little more than an alibi sentence, but not much more.

WED Question of the Day

Poll #34101

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 18

View Respondents

I find ...

View Answers

shorter fic easier to write than longer fic
11 (61.1%)

longer fic easier to write than shorter fic
4 (22.2%)

something else (see comments)
3 (16.7%)

I mostly write ...

View Answers

drabbles and ficlets (<1k)
2 (11.8%)

short fic (1-3k)
5 (29.4%)

medium length fic (3-6k)
4 (23.5%)

longer fic (6-10k)
4 (23.5%)

long fic (10-20k)
0 (0.0%)

very long fic (20-50k)
0 (0.0%)

epic fic (>50k)
2 (11.8%)

I often write ...

View Answers

drabbles and ficlets (<1k)
9 (56.2%)

short fic (1-3k)
12 (75.0%)

medium length fic (3-6k)
8 (50.0%)

longer fic (6-10k)
7 (43.8%)

long fic (10-20k)
3 (18.8%)

very long fic (20-50k)
1 (6.2%)

epic fic (>50k)
3 (18.8%)

Tally

( Days 1-15 )

Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

cornerofmadness,

luzula,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 19:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 20:

china_shop,

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

settiai

I've been trying various new foods from Aldi (and experimenting with ways of cooking them in some cases), and I've found my new favorite comfort food for cold winter nights.

A bowl of their creamy curry bisque with toast made with bread, butter, and their shredded swiss & gruyère cheese is absolutely delicious. I've found it works really well for when I want something relatively quick and filling that's not too heavy.

I've also found a yummy way of using up russet potatoes that are starting to go a bit wrinkly or getting too many eyes on them, which I have happen way too often since it's just me eating them and even I struggle to make it through an entire small bag of potatoes before they start showing their age. I'll peel one and chop it up into something resembling cubes, toss it in a teaspoon or so of olive oil, and then add garlic power, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Then I dump it in my air fryer on 400°F for twenty minutes, shaking them halfway through.

The potatoes are great by themselves with some sour cream/ketchup/ranch/whatever you want to use, or they work as a side dish for breakfast or dinner either one. I especially enjoy them with an over easy egg and a slice or two of bacon (which I've also started making in the air fryer since my microwave here in the hotel is on the fritz again).

Current Mood: thoughtful

trobadora

In the first draft poll, 30% of respondents usually produce a first draft that's very close to the final draft, and no one usually produces first drafts that barely bear resemblance to the final draft. And most respondents (57%) at least sometimes produce a first draft very close to the final draft. *g*

For the "usual" question, slightly more people have too-wordse first drafts (25%, compared to 20% for too sparse), whereas in the "sometimes" question, too sparse is more common (38%) than too words (23%).

(70% of respondents believe that tickyboxes know no such thing as overkill, btw!)

As for me, it differs wildly - I used to produce very clean first drafts that didn't get changed much during editing/betaing, but for the last several years now it's been much more inconsistent. The more I struggle with either writing or finding time/energy to write, the worse my first drafts get - because sometimes I just have to get something, anything, down first, or I won't get anywhere at all. But it's pretty frustrating, so I want to get back to how I used to write, and I need to figure out how to do that with less time and energy than I used to have ...

One thing's remained the same, though: my first drafts are generally too sparse, which is why they always grow - sometimes considerably - during editing as I flesh them out and add in all the things that I had in my head but didn't put in the actual text. *g*

Today's writing

Again not as much as I'd like. I need to actually sit down and finish something, but it's hard to find the energy.

WED Question of the Day

Today I don't have a poll, but instead a request for advice: when you're low on energy, do you have any strategies that make it easier to write? Or to get started writing, at least? Because I often find myself just staring blankly at a page for way too long until I somehow get going, and I'd really rather not. *g* When I have more energy, I can usually get there much more easily, which is really unfair. :p

(I want to be writing! I feel better once I actually get started writing! But getting there is such a pain on some days. *grumbles*)

Tally

( Days 1-15 )

Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

badly_knitted,

chanter1944,

cornerofmadness,

luzula,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 19:

china_shop,

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

trobadora

Rushed post again - time keeps getting away from me!

Today's writing

Not as much progress as I'd have liked ... see above re: time. *sighs*

Tally

( Days 1-15 )

Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

tielan

Snake beans from the garden. Garlic, black bean chilli paste, soy sauce, and some water to steam. Add salt before the end.

So good!

twistedchick

I mentioned the other day that my cousin Don had been diagnosed with rapid onset dementia, after a fall in a bathroom and a trip to the hospital.

He died two days ago, in the hospital, with his daughters there. His son was at home, dealing with the aftereffects of a small kitchen fire (apparently some wiring fizzed and went up; they lost one cabinet but other things need repair and also the insurance man.)

I remember Don all the way back to when I was small. He and his older brother, Walt, rode their Indian motorcycles down from Ottawa to Rochester to visit my mom and meet me when I was maybe 2 years old. I remember them from then as being very tall and kind; as I grew up they continued to each be very tall and kind. In the summers as I was growing up Mom and I stayed at Don's place or Walter's place or their older sister Joan's farm for a week or two every year, so Mom could visit her wider family of sisters and nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and so I could get to know everyone.

Some of it blurs a bit -- how many back yard picnics? -- but I remember Don and his wife, Jean, taking me up to a cottage they had in Quebec once so we could go canoeing on the lake there, listen to loons calling and just glide over the beautiful clear water. I remember putting my hand in the water in a certain way and a fish just coming to rest inside it for a moment as if it were seaweed. I didn't grab on and catch it, but I could have. Later on, the two of them canoed up the St. Lawrence River for a good distance; it took them a month or more. I asked Jean what it was like, and she made a face and said it was "like walking uphill on your hands". But she did enjoy it.

All the memories are good. I do wish I could have seen him again, but I have him in my mind firmly and that will stay. And 91 years is a good run. He got to see his children married, and play with his grandchildren, and even (I think) one or two great-grandchildren. He loved listening to Irish music, any time it was available.

Hail the Traveler, Donald Hugh McKenna!

twistedchick

Thoughts on the Epstein files, frozen water in Minneapolis, and the cost to all of us if we pamper FOTUS's ego and take over Greenland.

staranise

What a week, up and down the whole time. I hope I don't have the flu because I'm supposed to be starting painting classes tomorrow.

I unfortunately have to ask for money again; here's the gofundme campaign.

trobadora

fandomtrees reveals have happened! I received two excellent sets of cooking/food icons from

holyscream and

peasina and a Zhubai ficlet from

facethestrange. :D

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to finish things myself ...

Today's writing

I wrote a little this afternoon (new, much better beginning for one of the fics), then had a vertigo attack and had to take a break. (Seriously, what's wrong with this week?! I would like a refund!) Planning to write a little more later today, and tomorrow hopefully I'll actually finish something ...

WED Question of the Day

In honour of my icon:

Poll #34092

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22

View Respondents

My first complete draft is usually ...

View Answers

very close to the final draft
7 (33.3%)

a bit sparse, but otherwise close to the final draft
4 (19.0%)

a bit wordy, but otherwise close to the final draft
5 (23.8%)

structurally messy, but otherwise close to the final draft
1 (4.8%)

messy overall, but with the important pieces in place
3 (14.3%)

so different it bears little resemblance to the final draft
0 (0.0%)

something else entirely (see comments)
1 (4.8%)