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[mare]

Were you always a morning person, Mare, or did you become one? Teach me your ways if it's the second one, lol. I need a million alarms to wake up or I'm asleep until some time between 8am and 11am and never know which one it will be.

I believe it was all the time and you were always surprised that we were all still up. At least for Rose and I, it was slightly earlier, closer to 2/3am and not Julie's 4am! Except for the few times when we were all up until it his 9am the next morning. Those were wild nights, lol.

This is all me except for that Sonic Bomb. My last effort alarm clock is my husband saying "your alarm went off again." And that doesn't always work. I can only fall asleep at 8pm if I'm absolutely dying. I don't even know what my natural circadian rhythm is because I inevitably end up thinking I'm tired, then lay awake in bed for hours.


These are all good points.

Also, what does everyone think, is it easier to write in an emotional headspace (sad, angry, whatever) when you're feeling that way yourself or more difficult?


This is why I try to avoid dead animal books, I'm always sobbing. Where the Red Fern Grows destroyed me in fifth grade. I even cry at sad animal commercials, or happy animal commercials. Really, if there's an animal in it, I'm crying. Even if they're cute dogs wearing bow ties. It's ridiculous.

Also, yes, Beth dying gets me every time. Even though I know it's coming!


But the Russian Doll being multiple people has given me hope that the Boys could all be on it together some day. They have some sort of costume, unmask them, and it's Nick in the crocodile suit, lol.


Being present for confrontations isn't my favorite either. Ugh, blurry Brian. I'd completely forgotten about that until it came up last time.

When was Kevin a complete mess? When he left? He's the only one I can't see being a complete hot mess.

How could you be a fan of boy next door Brian if you think he's a jerk? lol

I was always a morning person, even as a kid. I do tend to try to go to bed by 10 but it seldom works.

I think it’s easier to write emotional scenes when you can relate to the scene your writing. I tried to put myself into that situation mentally and it tended to flow pretty easily.

Those Russian Dolls sound like Hanson to me. I don’t hear a female voice at all! And I really can’t see the boys ever doing that together and I hope AJ isn’t the next one to do it. It’ll be like it’s always AJ going for Nick’s sloppy seconds.

I’m sure Kevin has been a complete mess at some point. Just because it doesn’t happen in public, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And I was never a fan of boy next door Brian because I’ve never really been a fan of Brian lol

[RokofAges75]

Wow! We are totally opposite! My sister is more like you. Her alarm goes off about ten times before she usually gets up and the level of loudness and noise varies depending on how late it’s getting. No matter how early or late I go to bed, I’m at early. I always wake up around 3 then it’s a waiting game until I get myself totally up. I sleep about 3 to 4 hours a night if I’m lucky. That’s with taking zzz quill. My sleep patterns also suck!

LOL Yes we are.  I had a terrible night's sleep last night... probably because I slept in too late yesterday and then stayed up too late writing and talking to you all, then couldn't get to sleep.  I took a melatonin at 9:30, which did nothing, then finally caved and added two Benadryl at 1 a.m. when I was still awake.  I didn't get to sleep until around 2 and then kept waking up every hour.  Then I still managed to oversleep ten minutes past my last alarm.  Ugh!  I am normally not that bad; once I fall asleep, I'm usually good at staying asleep or getting back to sleep quickly if I do wake up in the middle of the night.  Hopefully I will be tired enough to go to bed early tonight.  I don't know how you function on 3-4 hours of sleep a night.  I average about 6 on a school night, but then I am always exhausted by Friday and can easily sleep 9-10 hours on the weekend.

I managed to escape all the dead or dying dog novels in elementary school and up. I’ve never read the Red Fern but I was always able to tell when my students were reading it in class lol

You are lucky!  The worst sad animal book I had to read for school was The Yearling.  I hated that book!!

I’m glad they didn’t kill him off too. I feel like all the medical dramas felt like they needed to kill off characters to make a Covid realistic episode. I’m glad all the main characters were spared on both that one and The Resident. Let me know when you get caught up with Snow Piercer.

Yeah, I noticed that too.  I guess they couldn't do a Covid episode without some casualties, or it would seem like they weren't taking it seriously enough.  I was glad the nurse in The Resident survived too; I thought she was a goner because she wasn't a main character.  I'm hanging by a thread with that show; I have almost quit watching it several times, but then a good episode will come along and it sucks me back in.  I miss ER.

I'll let you know when I catch up with Snowpiercer!  At the rate I'm going, it may not be until summer LOL.

[RokofAges75]

If Kevin was ever a complete mess, I'm guessing it would have been right before BSB came along, after his dad died.  I could imagine him feeling a little lost at that time, and he would have been right at that college kid age.  But he has always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, so I doubt it was much of anything compared to Nick and AJ LOL.

Random fun fact I learned from Kevin's Wikipedia page yesterday:  Did you know he was an extra in "My Girl"??  I had never heard that before, so I looked it up, and yep, here he is: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/57/ec/0f57ec28f9eac260ac16fe864d33b393.jpg  He's in the carnival scene.  How did I not know that??

[FrickingKaos]

Yes, I knew he was an extra in My Girl.

[nicksgal]

Wow! We are totally opposite! My sister is more like you. Her alarm goes off about ten times before she usually gets up and the level of loudness and noise varies depending on how late it’s getting. No matter how early or late I go to bed, I’m at early. I always wake up around 3 then it’s a waiting game until I get myself totally up. I sleep about 3 to 4 hours a night if I’m lucky. That’s with taking zzz quill. My sleep patterns also suck!

I was always a morning person, even as a kid. I do tend to try to go to bed by 10 but it seldom works.

LOL Yes we are.  I had a terrible night's sleep last night... probably because I slept in too late yesterday and then stayed up too late writing and talking to you all, then couldn't get to sleep.  I took a melatonin at 9:30, which did nothing, then finally caved and added two Benadryl at 1 a.m. when I was still awake.  I didn't get to sleep until around 2 and then kept waking up every hour.  Then I still managed to oversleep ten minutes past my last alarm.  Ugh!  I am normally not that bad; once I fall asleep, I'm usually good at staying asleep or getting back to sleep quickly if I do wake up in the middle of the night.  Hopefully I will be tired enough to go to bed early tonight.  I don't know how you function on 3-4 hours of sleep a night.  I average about 6 on a school night, but then I am always exhausted by Friday and can easily sleep 9-10 hours on the weekend.

Yes, same!  I lost my internal clock in college.  My dorm roommate had a double major, a full course load, a part-time job, and a boyfriend, so she was always really busy and would regularly stay up into the wee hours of the morning studying while I was trying to sleep before my 8 a.m. classes.  So I learned to sleep through just about anything with the light on.  I think that's what made me such a deep sleeper as an adult.

I don't know how you function on 3-4 hours habitually, Mare! The days I have Julie's Sunday-Monday sleep are so rough for me. Like two coffees to exist rough. My fitbit says I average 5-7 hours on work nights and 7-9 hours on non-work nights. I was guessing when you were on before and calling "5am" reasonable. If you were up at 3am though, we were all for sure up. That was only midnight for Rose, lol.

I hope everyone got some quality sleeping in since it's been relatively quiet here the past couple of days. Or that everyone is so inspired that they can't tear themselves away from writing or reading a great novel. 

My freshman roommate was like that also, Julie. If I am tired, I will sleep regardless of conditions. I miss being a high schooler. Somehow I was a pretty good 10ish to 6ish sleeper. Now I will call it 11/12ish to 5-7ish. Alas.

I managed to escape all the dead or dying dog novels in elementary school and up.

You are lucky!  The worst sad animal book I had to read for school was The Yearling.  I hated that book!!

Ugh, so jealous.

The Yearling was so sad!

This has nothing to do with dead animals, but my least favorite book from school related-reading was definitely A Separate Peace, lol.

sorry this came out looking so weird. I tried to do the quote thing but I do this from my phone so it’s not working properly. [\color]

The forum is both ridiculous and extremely slow on my phone as well. I couldn't imagine attempting the long quoting conversations on a phone, so I think y'all on your phones deserve some praise.

I see your issue though! You used "\" instead of "/" to close the tags? frames? what are we calling these things? Anyway, a very minor issue.

I think it’s easier to write emotional scenes when you can relate to the scene your writing. I tried to put myself into that situation mentally and it tended to flow pretty easily.

It depends.  In general, I would say I write best when I'm in a good mood and not stressing out about something.  But I have been known to channel negative emotions into positive writing experiences.  I started Secrets of the Heart after a shitty week at work, when I desperately just needed to think about something else over the weekend.  And I got on a roll with A Heart That Isn't Mine after my grandpa died, when I was also trying to distract myself.  I think it works best when I'm in that emotional headspace because of something I can't control, like grief.  There's nothing you can really do about grief; you just have to go through it.  But if it's caused by a problem I can and should solve, it's harder to focus on writing before I do something to fix the problem.

I think that's true. Even on the smallest level, you have to be able to envision how it feels.

Those questions I posted a while back, I never responded because I got stuck thinking of a life experience I often use in my writing and never came up with one, lol!

That's true too. I think there's a difference between in the moment thinking "I am feeling x, and I am writing a similar x" than "I recall a time when x happened to me, so character may be feeling similar." I also like writing to avoid (or work through) things I can't control. Avoiding things I can control is no good for my focus, like you said. I do probably write best when I have nothing on my plate except a desire to write.

Those Russian Dolls sound like Hanson to me. I don’t hear a female voice at all! And I really can’t see the boys ever doing that together and I hope AJ isn’t the next one to do it. It’ll be like it’s always AJ going for Nick’s sloppy seconds.

LOL That would be awesome!

We may have discussed this before, but which BSB do we think is most likely to be on the Masked Singer next?  My money's on AJ, but I think it would be a great moment for Howie or Kevin to shine.  I don't see Brian doing it unless it was something with the whole group, partly because of his voice and partly because he just doesn't like the type to do a reality show.  Right, Blurry Brian?

In hindsight, maybe he should have gone on Celebrity Apprentice back in the day LOL.

Same. I also feel like they're Hanson. Thinking the pig might be Nick Lachey and those are my guesses this season. My friend thinks the shell is SJP.

I enjoy seeing AJ on tv too, but I think he's gotta do a show first. I think at this point, Nick's just like "Monetize my life? Monetize my life. Cool." I'd say AJ would be more likely to do it than the others, but that's the perfect reason for Howie or Kevin to do it! It being the Masked Singer and all.

Were they not on Celebrity Apprentice? I thought they were. Have I added a tv appearance in my head that didn't actually exist?

I’m sure Kevin has been a complete mess at some point. Just because it doesn’t happen in public, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And I was never a fan of boy next door Brian because I’ve never really been a fan of Brian lol

If Kevin was ever a complete mess, I'm guessing it would have been right before BSB came along, after his dad died.  I could imagine him feeling a little lost at that time, and he would have been right at that college kid age.  But he has always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, so I doubt it was much of anything compared to Nick and AJ LOL.

Random fun fact I learned from Kevin's Wikipedia page yesterday:  Did you know he was an extra in "My Girl"??  I had never heard that before, so I looked it up, and yep, here he is: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/57/ec/0f57ec28f9eac260ac16fe864d33b393.jpg  He's in the carnival scene.  How did I not know that??

I guess I meant in BSB-time, but you're both right, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so he may be (or have been) better about keeping it private. After his dad died is probably a reasonable time to expect. I truthfully have just always assumed that he had his stuff together, but that may just be the 15-year age difference between us. Eleven-year-old me was like "Look at Kevin, he is so mature and well-adjusted." Meanwhile he was actually 26 and having been a 26-year-old, I'm like "Nah, 26 is only a little better than you were at 22, girl." Then at the same time: "I like this 18-year-old mess. He is so cute and charming. Oh? He's going to become even more of a hot mess? That's cool; ride or die, Nick," lol.

Mare always knew Brian had more going on than boy-next-door, lol.

I didn't know Kevin was an extra in My Girl! I'm going to be honest, I had an old age moment where I didn't immediately recognize the movie by title and thought I hadn't seen it at all. Oh Macaulay Culkin in the '90s.

(Okay, now I'm almost caught up. It took me a long time to respond to both of these, lol!)

[nicksgal]

That is fun!  I love when you wake up with words or pictures already in your mind, just ready to write.  Mine was this whole made-up anecdote about Kevin finding a baby bird when he was a kid, and it was exactly the kind of thing I needed to bookend the bird reference I'm planning to use at the end of this chapter, but I couldn't come up with anything that good last night.

Me too! It's a good place to start off from even if they're not immediately in the narrative. I really just wanted to draw it, but the horses would have looked so ugly, lol.

Aww, what a sweet little anecdote to bookend another reference! That's awesome. I'm glad you slept on it and found the exact thing you needed.

That's great!  I wish more of these readers would leave comments, but at least there's people clicking on your stories.

Baby steps. Also, I get that it's harder to read somewhere, then go elsewhere and leave a comment. I figure as long as someone's reading it, then it was worth posting. (In addition to the many times I said it was worth writing regardless.)

Thanks!  Yes, your good writing day yesterday must have rubbed off on me today!  I wrote 3000 words, which is a lot for me in one day.

Good for you for getting to page 345, thereabouts!  How long do you estimate the finished story will be?

Ooh, 3,000 is a lot! I've been hoping to write whole chapters in a day, but it's been closer to 1500-2000 words for me, even when I was feeling very inspired. I keep taking research, forum, and/or "stare off into space and contemplate life" breaks, lol. Glad you had a great writing day! (Sorry your sleep suffered.)

PBox is about 442 pages, so I'm guessing at least that. Of "complete chapter chunks" the first 3/5th of PBox were about 251 pages and the first 3/5th of PNecklace are about 323 pages, so... I'm already about 100 pages ahead of myself, lol. PNecklace will probably be on the mid to high end of the 500s. This story is getting lengthy!

The Brian chapter I'm on right now is equally as chatty as his last chapter, so I'm thinking I have to stop giving Brian the POV, lol.

LOL I would probably be terrible at that, but it sounds like a fun thing to try sometime.  Maybe the competition aspect of it would help keep me focused and make me write faster.  As we've discussed, I can type quickly, but I don't write quickly.

Pre-planning one seems like a disaster, so we just have to all pop on when we wake up on Saturday or Sunday and say "I am feeling inspired." And if someone says "Me too," we sprint and see what happens, lol! I just want to try and see how much I actually get done in a sprint, since I wouldn't want to stop and look something up. I definitely gave up on describing those paintings and have some vague sentences that end with "and a Howie," if you were curious how lazy it got, lol. That first one though, that was so vivid that I'd hang up on my mantle. My point there was that a word sprint would likely also end up with many "and a Howie" moments to get something down in the meantime, lol.

(Okay, now I'm caught up.)

General writing updates: I'm about 1/2-3/4 of the way through this current chapter and then deciding if this arc needs one more chapter to round it out or if it's time to move on. I think I'll have a better idea once Brian stops being such a chatty cathy.

How's everyone else's writing/sleeping/life in general?

[mare]

LOL Yes we are.  I had a terrible night's sleep last night... probably because I slept in too late yesterday and then stayed up too late writing and talking to you all, then couldn't get to sleep.  I took a melatonin at 9:30, which did nothing, then finally caved and added two Benadryl at 1 a.m. when I was still awake.  I didn't get to sleep until around 2 and then kept waking up every hour.  Then I still managed to oversleep ten minutes past my last alarm.  Ugh!  I am normally not that bad; once I fall asleep, I'm usually good at staying asleep or getting back to sleep quickly if I do wake up in the middle of the night.  Hopefully I will be tired enough to go to bed early tonight.  I don't know how you function on 3-4 hours of sleep a night.  I average about 6 on a school night, but then I am always exhausted by Friday and can easily sleep 9-10 hours on the weekend.


You are lucky!  The worst sad animal book I had to read for school was The Yearling.  I hated that book!!


Yeah, I noticed that too.  I guess they couldn't do a Covid episode without some casualties, or it would seem like they weren't taking it seriously enough.  I was glad the nurse in The Resident survived too; I thought she was a goner because she wasn't a main character.  I'm hanging by a thread with that show; I have almost quit watching it several times, but then a good episode will come along and it sucks me back in.  I miss ER.

I'll let you know when I catch up with Snowpiercer!  At the rate I'm going, it may not be until summer LOL.

I have tried to take melatonin but it didn’t work for me. Unisom doesn’t work either. Zzz quill helps me sleep for at least 3 hours straight but Tylenol pm and two gummy sleep aids seem to work best. My sister insists I should just start smoking pot lol but... no!

I miss ER too. Did you see there’s going to be a reunion? That’s very exciting. I also love how in those shows, the doctors ask all these questions and they happen to mention the one time when they went to NC and suddenly the doctors look at each other and are like yes! I know exactly what’s wrong with you! You just have come in contact with the green tailed chinchilla! All you have to do is take two of these and you’ll be cured!! I wish real doctors appointments went like that. I saw a different neurologist today and she was completely unhelpful. 

[mare]

I don't know how you function on 3-4 hours habitually, Mare! The days I have Julie's Sunday-Monday sleep are so rough for me. Like two coffees to exist rough. My fitbit says I average 5-7 hours on work nights and 7-9 hours on non-work nights. I was guessing when you were on before and calling "5am" reasonable. If you were up at 3am though, we were all for sure up. That was only midnight for Rose, lol.

I hope everyone got some quality sleeping in since it's been relatively quiet here the past couple of days. Or that everyone is so inspired that they can't tear themselves away from writing or reading a great novel. 

My freshman roommate was like that also, Julie. If I am tired, I will sleep regardless of conditions. I miss being a high schooler. Somehow I was a pretty good 10ish to 6ish sleeper. Now I will call it 11/12ish to 5-7ish. Alas.


Ugh, so jealous.

The Yearling was so sad!

This has nothing to do with dead animals, but my least favorite book from school related-reading was definitely A Separate Peace, lol.


The forum is both ridiculous and extremely slow on my phone as well. I couldn't imagine attempting the long quoting conversations on a phone, so I think y'all on your phones deserve some praise.

I see your issue though! You used "\" instead of "/" to close the tags? frames? what are we calling these things? Anyway, a very minor issue.

I think that's true. Even on the smallest level, you have to be able to envision how it feels.

Those questions I posted a while back, I never responded because I got stuck thinking of a life experience I often use in my writing and never came up with one, lol!

That's true too. I think there's a difference between in the moment thinking "I am feeling x, and I am writing a similar x" than "I recall a time when x happened to me, so character may be feeling similar." I also like writing to avoid (or work through) things I can't control. Avoiding things I can control is no good for my focus, like you said. I do probably write best when I have nothing on my plate except a desire to write.


Same. I also feel like they're Hanson. Thinking the pig might be Nick Lachey and those are my guesses this season. My friend thinks the shell is SJP.

I enjoy seeing AJ on tv too, but I think he's gotta do a show first. I think at this point, Nick's just like "Monetize my life? Monetize my life. Cool." I'd say AJ would be more likely to do it than the others, but that's the perfect reason for Howie or Kevin to do it! It being the Masked Singer and all.

Were they not on Celebrity Apprentice? I thought they were. Have I added a tv appearance in my head that didn't actually exist?


I guess I meant in BSB-time, but you're both right, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so he may be (or have been) better about keeping it private. After his dad died is probably a reasonable time to expect. I truthfully have just always assumed that he had his stuff together, but that may just be the 15-year age difference between us. Eleven-year-old me was like "Look at Kevin, he is so mature and well-adjusted." Meanwhile he was actually 26 and having been a 26-year-old, I'm like "Nah, 26 is only a little better than you were at 22, girl." Then at the same time: "I like this 18-year-old mess. He is so cute and charming. Oh? He's going to become even more of a hot mess? That's cool; ride or die, Nick," lol.

Mare always knew Brian had more going on than boy-next-door, lol.

I didn't known Kevin was an extra in My Girl! I'm going to be honest, I had an old age moment where I didn't immediately recognize the movie by title and thought I hadn't seen it at all. Oh Macaulay Culkin in the '90s.

(Okay, now I'm almost caught up. It took me a long time to respond to both of these, lol!)

.

I don’t always function that great on little sleep. I’m always feeling exhausted.

I think the pig is Nick Lachey too and I think the crab is Bobby Brown.

The semester before I became an RA, my roommate was a party animal who didn’t go to bed until I got up for the day. She only lasted one semester lol I have to say it was pretty hard being a morning person at rock and roll university.

I loved A Separate Peace. I hated hated HATED The Scarlet Letter

[nicksgal]

I don’t always function that great on little sleep. I’m always feeling exhausted.

I have tried to take melatonin but it didn’t work for me. Unisom doesn’t work either. Zzz quill helps me sleep for at least 3 hours straight but Tylenol pm and two gummy sleep aids seem to work best. My sister insists I should just start smoking pot lol but... no!

Naps? I think naps are the solution.

Maybe if a doctor insisted it? I don't know if it's worth it just to sleep.

I think the pig is Nick Lachey too and I think the crab is Bobby Brown.

Bobby Brown is a good guess.

The semester before I became an RA, my roommate was a party animal who didn’t go to bed until I got up for the day. She only lasted one semester lol I have to say it was pretty hard being a morning person at rock and roll university.

Crazy! Was she like Julie's roommate or just gone?

I loved A Separate Peace. I hated hated HATED The Scarlet Letter

Boo! I'm kidding, I just really hated it. The Scarlet Letter is... okay? I don't hate it, but I don't love it.

I miss ER too. Did you see there’s going to be a reunion? That’s very exciting. I also love how in those shows, the doctors ask all these questions and they happen to mention the one time when they went to NC and suddenly the doctors look at each other and are like yes! I know exactly what’s wrong with you! You just have come in contact with the green tailed chinchilla! All you have to do is take two of these and you’ll be cured!! I wish real doctors appointments went like that. I saw a different neurologist today and she was completely unhelpful. 

LMAO! Well thank goodness those doctors know there are green-tailed chinchillas in North Carolina, lol. I wish real doctors were like that too. Sorry that neurologist was unhelpful.

[RokofAges75]

I hope everyone got some quality sleeping in since it's been relatively quiet here the past couple of days. Or that everyone is so inspired that they can't tear themselves away from writing or reading a great novel. 

How's everyone else's writing/sleeping/life in general?

I haven't gotten more than about 5 hours of sleep any night this week... ugh!  I have managed to keep up my daily writing streak, although the more sleep deprived I get, the less I'm able to write in a day.  I did not even have the mental energy left to reply to any of these posts last night LOL.  But I have maybe one or more paragraphs left to go in Chapter 13, so I'm hoping I can muster enough energy to finish that tonight.

Were they not on Celebrity Apprentice? I thought they were. Have I added a tv appearance in my head that didn't actually exist?

They did make a guest appearance on one episode, but I meant as a contestant.

Aww, what a sweet little anecdote to bookend another reference! That's awesome. I'm glad you slept on it and found the exact thing you needed.

I like how you assume it's a sweet little anecdote and not a horror story about the time Kevin was caught decapitating baby birds so he could collect their skulls like a serial killer in the making.

Pre-planning one seems like a disaster, so we just have to all pop on when we wake up on Saturday or Sunday and say "I am feeling inspired." And if someone says "Me too," we sprint and see what happens, lol! I just want to try and see how much I actually get done in a sprint, since I wouldn't want to stop and look something up. I definitely gave up on describing those paintings and have some vague sentences that end with "and a Howie," if you were curious how lazy it got, lol. That first one though, that was so vivid that I'd hang up on my mantle. My point there was that a word sprint would likely also end up with many "and a Howie" moments to get something down in the meantime, lol.

Good idea.  I'd be curious to see how much I could get done if I didn't stop to look stuff up or contemplate my word choice too.

[RokofAges75]

I have tried to take melatonin but it didn’t work for me. Unisom doesn’t work either. Zzz quill helps me sleep for at least 3 hours straight but Tylenol pm and two gummy sleep aids seem to work best. My sister insists I should just start smoking pot lol but... no!

I miss ER too. Did you see there’s going to be a reunion? That’s very exciting. I also love how in those shows, the doctors ask all these questions and they happen to mention the one time when they went to NC and suddenly the doctors look at each other and are like yes! I know exactly what’s wrong with you! You just have come in contact with the green tailed chinchilla! All you have to do is take two of these and you’ll be cured!! I wish real doctors appointments went like that. I saw a different neurologist today and she was completely unhelpful. 

I'm glad you found something that works for you.  LOL My sister has also tried to convince me to take up pot now that it's legal in IL.  She's more into edibles than smoking it.  She gave me a pot gummy bear to try, and it did nothing for me.  Plus it tasted gross.  I'll stick to regular, delicious gummy bears, thanks.

I am SO EXCITED about this ER reunion!!!  And yes, I agree about the doctors in medical dramas just mysteriously knowing so much more than real doctors.  They also seem to specialize in everything.  The Resident is terrible about that; I don't even know what kind of doctor Conrad is supposed to be, but he can treat anything!  At least New Amsterdam is better about differentiatin g between the different departments and specialties.

I'm sorry your neurologist wasn't helpful this week.

[nicksgal]

I haven't gotten more than about 5 hours of sleep any night this week... ugh!  I have managed to keep up my daily writing streak, although the more sleep deprived I get, the less I'm able to write in a day.  I did not even have the mental energy left to reply to any of these posts last night LOL.  But I have maybe one or more paragraphs left to go in Chapter 13, so I'm hoping I can muster enough energy to finish that tonight.

According to fitbit, I'm at 3 days around 5 hours and 2 days between 7-8 hours (early start days versus later start days), so we're about in the same boat, I suppose.

Glad you kept your writing streak up! I saw you on and then saw you didn't reply and was like, "Ah, Julie must be drained." I get it. I've been there for sure. Good luck on your last paragraph today!

I have also kept up my streak, but was utterly useless yesterday. I don't know what it is about update days, but I never write much after them, no matter whether I can update earlier in the afternoon if I like or have to update in the evening. Afterward, I tried to hop between two different in progress points and just barely anything came out... I was hoping today would be better, but it's just as useless feeling right now. I think I also wish I could just make this chapter a movie montage, lol.

They did make a guest appearance on one episode, but I meant as a contestant.

It's been so long since I've seen it that I couldn't remember if they were contestants or guests, to be honest, lol. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't a crazy person and had made up their appearance on it.

I like how you assume it's a sweet little anecdote and not a horror story about the time Kevin was caught decapitating baby birds so he could collect their skulls like a serial killer in the making.

I just figured with how much we all said that we hated reading about dead animals in general, that decapitated baby birds was out of the question, lol. If you hadn't specified baby birds, I may have asked if it was sweet or horrific.

Good idea.  I'd be curious to see how much I could get done if I didn't stop to look stuff up or contemplate my word choice too.

I was thinking about doing it now on my own just to see if I could force myself out of this blah feeling for even just fifteen minutes of focus since I have a general idea of what to write, but I'm just feeling meh about writing -- it might be the snow. I'll let you know how it goes!

She gave me a pot gummy bear to try, and it did nothing for me.  Plus it tasted gross.  I'll stick to regular, delicious gummy bears, thanks.

lol I am also team "regular, delicious gummy bears."

[RokofAges75]

According to fitbit, I'm at 3 days around 5 hours and 2 days between 7-8 hours (early start days versus later start days), so we're about in the same boat, I suppose.

Glad you kept your writing streak up! I saw you on and then saw you didn't reply and was like, "Ah, Julie must be drained." I get it. I've been there for sure. Good luck on your last paragraph today!

I hope we all can catch up on sleep this weekend!  Sounds like it's much-needed for everyone!

Thanks!  It actually ended up being seven paragraphs LOL, but I just finished the chapter!  Now I will be forced to start a new chapter on a Friday night to keep my streak alive... no pressure LOL.  Hopefully I can come up with a good first line tomorrow morning in case I'm brain dead by tomorrow night.

I have also kept up my streak, but was utterly useless yesterday. I don't know what it is about update days, but I never write much after them, no matter whether I can update earlier in the afternoon if I like or have to update in the evening. Afterward, I tried to hop between two different in progress points and just barely anything came out... I was hoping today would be better, but it's just as useless feeling right now. I think I also wish I could just make this chapter a movie montage, lol.

I know that feeling.  I have to either get my Saturday updates ready to post late on Friday night or wait until Saturday afternoon because if I get up on Saturday morning and do that before I try to write, I probably won't be productive either.  Do you write your author chats in advance, or is that part of your update day routine?  Because that takes time and mental effort too.

It's been so long since I've seen it that I couldn't remember if they were contestants or guests, to be honest, lol. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't a crazy person and had made up their appearance on it.

LOL I would have started watching that show much sooner if any of them had been contestants.  The one episode they were on was the first episode I ever watched.  But then I tuned in to the first episode of a later season that featured one of Illinois's many crooked governors, Rod Blagojevich, just to see what a train wreck it was.  I got sucked in, and I'm ashamed to admit Celebrity Apprentice was one of my guilty pleasure shows for its last few seasons.  I refused to vote for Trump just based on how obnoxious he was on that show, and that was nothing compared to his whole presidency.

I just figured with how much we all said that we hated reading about dead animals in general, that decapitated baby birds was out of the question, lol. If you hadn't specified baby birds, I may have asked if it was sweet or horrific.

LOL Have I mentioned that the story I'm writing is really depressing?

I was thinking about doing it now on my own just to see if I could force myself out of this blah feeling for even just fifteen minutes of focus since I have a general idea of what to write, but I'm just feeling meh about writing -- it might be the snow. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ew, snow!!  Snow in April is just wrong.

Yeah, for me it would definitely have to be on a weekend when my brain is well-rested.  By this point in the week, I'm usually pretty "meh" about writing too.

[RokofAges75]

Here is today's Camp Nano Care Package:

"'I write every day at the same time! I write ten pages everyday! I set myself deadlines and stick to them! I only ever write in the bathtub!' — said no one ever, and yet, somehow, every writer.

When we read about other writer’s practices, we often forget that they are that writer’s practice, and not universals. There is no one way to write a novel, and for the novel that you are writing now, the way you are doing it is just fine, thank you very much."

I know we've already talked about writing routines and rituals on here, but are you consistent with the practices you follow every day that you write, or do you change it up open?  What are the more rigid requirements you have for a successful writing session, and what can you be flexible with?

[nicksgal]

I hope we all can catch up on sleep this weekend!  Sounds like it's much-needed for everyone!

Thanks!  It actually ended up being seven paragraphs LOL, but I just finished the chapter!  Now I will be forced to start a new chapter on a Friday night to keep my streak alive... no pressure LOL.  Hopefully I can come up with a good first line tomorrow morning in case I'm brain dead by tomorrow night.

Tomorrow's a late start for me, so I'm hoping! That or waking up and feeling immensely inspired to write with my morning.

Glad you're done even though it was six paragraphs longer than you expected! lol Just saying, if the new chapter's not coming, could be a good time to write a scene out of order for the good of the streak. I'm sending you good vibes.

I know that feeling.  I have to either get my Saturday updates ready to post late on Friday night or wait until Saturday afternoon because if I get up on Saturday morning and do that before I try to write, I probably won't be productive either.  Do you write your author chats in advance, or is that part of your update day routine?  Because that takes time and mental effort too.

I think it's the feeling of being "done." I did today's thing, so now I don't have to do things anymore today. Which is a bummer, because sometimes I'm really into the writing earlier in the day. I do write my author chats in advance 95% of the time. The funnier, more eloquent, and elaborate that they are, I wrote them ahead of time. If they're kind of rambly and/or shorter, then I wrote them after (or just prior to) updating.

This week's was funny if anyone missed it and likes listening to me discuss things I've researched with great love at one point or another. Here's an excerpt:

Or the slightly newer [reason] where [Isis] needed the magic to re-create a certain missing body part for her dead husband after Set played a game of “Whoever fits in this sarcophagus wins!” “Oh no, our pharaoh Osiris is dead! And chopped into tiny pieces! And now we need a new pharaoh of all of Egypt?! Who could have possibly seen this coming?! Guess it’s me unless some more legitimate heir miraculously comes along! (Good luck procreating with your dead and dis-membered husband.)”

I was running out of things to talk about that seemed interesting, so I went with my old reliable "mythology," lol.

LOL I would have started watching that show much sooner if any of them had been contestants.  The one episode they were on was the first episode I ever watched.  But then I tuned in to the first episode of a later season that featured one of Illinois's many crooked governors, Rod Blagojevich, just to see what a train wreck it was.  I got sucked in, and I'm ashamed to admit Celebrity Apprentice was one of my guilty pleasure shows for its last few seasons.  I refused to vote for Trump just based on how obnoxious he was on that show, and that was nothing compared to his whole presidency.

Same. A Backstreet Boy as a contestant on some show? I am there. It's why I watched DWTS twice, after all, lol. I think if you relate to or recognize the celebrity, it's easier to get sucked in, whether it's the Boys or a crooked governor. I ebb in and out of watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette just depending on how likeable or horrendous the contestants were the season before.

LOL Have I mentioned that the story I'm writing is really depressing?

I mean, yes. But I just also can't picture Kevin decapitating baby birds on top of sad dead animals, lol.

Ew, snow!!  Snow in April is just wrong.

Yeah, for me it would definitely have to be on a weekend when my brain is well-rested.  By this point in the week, I'm usually pretty "meh" about writing too.

It's fairly common here? You get used to it.

I just finished up this week's training that I'm doing right now and it might be another meh day for me, unfortunately.