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[mare]

I think Dee asked if I am or was a frick and frack girl and the answer is no lol maybe because I wasn’t a teenager when I started loving them. If I was, I probably would’ve been totally team frick and frack. Unfortunately though, even though the two of them together did produce a number of warm fuzzy moments. I used to find Nick at his most annoying when he was with Brian. Truthfully, I’ve always been a Kevin and Nick girl, which should be no big shock to anyone who has read my stuff. I also do enjoy Nick and Howie too.

I also saw an It Stays question somewhere? I think it was about scenes that you were excited to write. By far my favorite chapter to write was the one where Brian remembers carving MINE into Nick’s arm. I couldn’t wait for people’s reactions to that. It wasn’t my all time favorite anticipation scene though. That one was when the code is cracked in To Protect and Serve. I was really looking forward to people’s reactions to that too.

Hope everyone is doing well and your writing is thriving.

Happy weekend!

I’m getting my second Pfizer shot on Sunday.

[RokofAges75]

Those all make sense and they were really big moments in the stories! I haven't read AHTIM, but I can confirm that the gunshot destroyed me (as I mentioned when I read it).

I wonder if The Scenes become Signature Scenes if the readers are as excited about them as the authors or if it's something that gives a memorable reaction and authors tend to painstakingly craft our "The Scenes"? Because I would definitely call the choppage bombshell a signature scene for Broken.

Thanks!  Yeah, I think that's exactly why there is overlap between The Scenes and Signature Scenes, because they both tend to be big, memorable moments in the story.

Oh yeah, the tentacles in Signal to Noise! Alright, I clearly need to go back and do some reading at some point, lol. I feel like it's easier to cement a signature scene for a story when a bunch of people all react to it at the same time and/or continue to bring it up.

I reread Signal to Noise in its entirety a few years ago, and it still held up!  Great suspense story.   Yeah, the discussion of specific scenes in stories a lot of us have read definitely make them more memorable.  Otherwise I tend to remember stories I've only read once more generally in terms of the overall plot and how I felt reading the story, rather than specific scenes that stuck with me.

They will never know the struggle! I don't own the Collector's Edition because I didn't want to relive switching the discs (lol), but I would buy a 25th anniversary edition. I feel like Leo never does commentary, but he and Kate should just do commentary for a whole track. It would be beautiful.

Yes!  The Collector's Edition has three different commentary tracks - I think Kate is on one, James Cameron does one, and I can't remember the third... maybe James Horner, the composer?  I have watched them all once, but it's been a long time.  I would thoroughly enjoy a Kate and Leo commentary.

Apparently Man in the Iron Mask slipped my mind, because I also love that one (what is wrong with my brain? lol). I thought it was also really well cast. Django is good. I enjoy Wolf of Wall Street as well. Wait, what, a netflix movie?! I have been so consumed in Backstreet nostalgia that I am not up-to-date on my Leo news, apparently!

LOL I had to go to his IMDB page and look at the list before I answered because he has so many great movies!  More good ones than bad ones.  I liked Wolf of Wall Street too.  Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was great as well.  It's always nice to see Leo in roles that aren't so serious.  I enjoyed The Revenant too, but damn, that movie is depressing and hard to watch - and I say that as someone who generally enjoys depressing dramas LOL.

Yeah, he made a movie with Jennifer Lawrence for Netflix called "Don't Look Up."  They play astronomers who have to warn people about a comet that's coming to destroy the world.  Sounds like my kind of movie!  It's supposed to be released sometime this year, but they haven't announced a specific date yet.

[RokofAges75]

Well right now I'm at the point in 2011 where AJ gets married, and then it's going to be in 2012 because not much else happens in 2011.  In the beginning of 2012 there's not a whole lot of things going on... Other than Nick's sister passing away, Nick's solo tour and then in March or April it's announced that Kevin is coming back. So there's not a whole lot left of the story to go. I'm doing my best to fill in with the memories for one chapter and keeping the "current" events for another but it's been challenging for sure.

That's exciting that you're getting close to the end!  It is definitely challenging to stick to a specific format or pattern like that, where you alternate between two types of scenes or POVs.  Sometimes you have too much content for one and not enough for the other.  But you're doing a great job keeping it balanced so far!

[RokofAges75]

I think Dee asked if I am or was a frick and frack girl and the answer is no lol maybe because I wasn’t a teenager when I started loving them. If I was, I probably would’ve been totally team frick and frack. Unfortunately though, even though the two of them together did produce a number of warm fuzzy moments. I used to find Nick at his most annoying when he was with Brian. Truthfully, I’ve always been a Kevin and Nick girl, which should be no big shock to anyone who has read my stuff. I also do enjoy Nick and Howie too.

You know, I actually agree with you about Nick being his most annoying when he was with Brian back in the day LOL.  That is one reason I wasn't a big fan of Nick back in the day.  He always sounded so dumb in interviews, and he tried too hard to be as funny as Brian and AJ.  Obviously my opinion of him changed as he got older and found himself.  I still love the friendship they had, but I enjoy Nowie and whatever we call Nick and Kevin too.

I also saw an It Stays question somewhere? I think it was about scenes that you were excited to write. By far my favorite chapter to write was the one where Brian remembers carving MINE into Nick’s arm. I couldn’t wait for people’s reactions to that. It wasn’t my all time favorite anticipation scene though. That one was when the code is cracked in To Protect and Serve. I was really looking forward to people’s reactions to that too.

Hope everyone is doing well and your writing is thriving.

Happy weekend!

I’m getting my second Pfizer shot on Sunday.

[nicksgal]

Well right now I'm at the point in 2011 where AJ gets married, and then it's going to be in 2012 because not much else happens in 2011.  In the beginning of 2012 there's not a whole lot of things going on... Other than Nick's sister passing away, Nick's solo tour and then in March or April it's announced that Kevin is coming back. So there's not a whole lot left of the story to go. I'm doing my best to fill in with the memories for one chapter and keeping the "current" events for another but it's been challenging for sure.

Yay, you're almost done! You've been working so hard! It's hard keeping two timelines straight. But I think you've got this. The flashback parts were adorable. I still need to catch up.

[nicksgal]

I think Dee asked if I am or was a frick and frack girl and the answer is no lol maybe because I wasn’t a teenager when I started loving them. If I was, I probably would’ve been totally team frick and frack. Unfortunately though, even though the two of them together did produce a number of warm fuzzy moments. I used to find Nick at his most annoying when he was with Brian. Truthfully, I’ve always been a Kevin and Nick girl, which should be no big shock to anyone who has read my stuff. I also do enjoy Nick and Howie too.

I assumed you weren't, I know you're team Kevin and Nick. I guess I can see why you would have found him annoying then, despite warm and fuzzy moments. I'm sure my Frick & Frack love is heavily tinted by nostalgia and being so young at the time. I found "annoying" Nick endearing, maybe I'm the only one! lol

You know, I actually agree with you about Nick being his most annoying when he was with Brian back in the day LOL.  That is one reason I wasn't a big fan of Nick back in the day.  He always sounded so dumb in interviews, and he tried too hard to be as funny as Brian and AJ.  Obviously my opinion of him changed as he got older and found himself.  I still love the friendship they had, but I enjoy Nowie and whatever we call Nick and Kevin too.

I am the only one, lol. Alas, I was so young and naive. Team Nick & Everyone!

I also saw an It Stays question somewhere? I think it was about scenes that you were excited to write. By far my favorite chapter to write was the one where Brian remembers carving MINE into Nick’s arm. I couldn’t wait for people’s reactions to that. It wasn’t my all time favorite anticipation scene though. That one was when the code is cracked in To Protect and Serve. I was really looking forward to people’s reactions to that too.

So MINE was one of your The Scenes. I hope you've enjoyed all the reaction to it in the past and that it's extremely memorable still. Do you find that your "The Scenes" are about imagining reader reaction more than your own enjoyment of the big moment?

I guess, does everyone else feel that way too? That the big moments feel big because they feel like they'll get a big audience reaction or is it more personal?

I’m getting my second Pfizer shot on Sunday.

[nicksgal]

I reread Signal to Noise in its entirety a few years ago, and it still held up!  Great suspense story.   Yeah, the discussion of specific scenes in stories a lot of us have read definitely make them more memorable.  Otherwise I tend to remember stories I've only read once more generally in terms of the overall plot and how I felt reading the story, rather than specific scenes that stuck with me.

Good to know! Do you often read old favorites? How well do they tend to hold up over the years? Have we already talked about this, lol. Same, general is usually what I remember too. I don't know if that's compounded by the fact that I didn't really think about fanfic at all for a decade or what.

Yes!  The Collector's Edition has three different commentary tracks - I think Kate is on one, James Cameron does one, and I can't remember the third... maybe James Horner, the composer?  I have watched them all once, but it's been a long time.  I would thoroughly enjoy a Kate and Leo commentary.

James Horner would make sense, since the music was such a big part of the story and getting the modern tracks to match the feel of the historical music would be an undertaking.

LOL I had to go to his IMDB page and look at the list before I answered because he has so many great movies!  More good ones than bad ones.  I liked Wolf of Wall Street too.  Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was great as well.  It's always nice to see Leo in roles that aren't so serious.  I enjoyed The Revenant too, but damn, that movie is depressing and hard to watch - and I say that as someone who generally enjoys depressing dramas LOL.

Yeah, he made a movie with Jennifer Lawrence for Netflix called "Don't Look Up."  They play astronomers who have to warn people about a comet that's coming to destroy the world.  Sounds like my kind of movie!  It's supposed to be released sometime this year, but they haven't announced a specific date yet.

For shame. Kidding! I should have; my memory is clearly unreliable at best. I still haven't seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; we meant to watch it and then never did, but I keep meaning to. I enjoy him in less serious roles, it highlights his range. And yes! The Revenant was so depressing, but I'm glad it finally got him the Oscar he's deserved.

Ooh, Leo and Jennifer Lawrence in a melodramatic disaster movie?! Cool! I'm in.

[nicksgal]

Hope everyone is doing well and your writing is thriving.

Happy weekend!

Happy weekend! Overall, well. I had a sneak peak of my new job at work on Friday to fill in for one of the other Admins who was out and I was so exhausted by the end of the day (it probably didn't help that I was up at 4:30am panicking about getting to work on time to open the school, haha). I ended up in bed by 9pm and asleep maybe half an hour later after trying to fall asleep on my keyboard. But, I woke up fairly early this morning ready to write, so...

Writing has been going well! I finally came up with a funny Nick scene to finish out that chapter (it's Nick and a frog in case anyone was wondering), so that felt like it lightened my "stuck feeling" sitting in the back of my mind. And then I finished the other chapter I'd been working on today. So now I officially have four chapters written! Ten to go! I started the next chapter today and I did take the afternoon off to meal prep, then wrote for an hour, then ate dinner, then checked in here, but the chapter's been on my mind since I finished the first one, so it feels like I might chunk it out today or at least get a good portion of it on paper. Wish me luck!

Oh, I guess on a less exciting note, our washer made a leak in our ceiling, so that's been fun. We've still been using the old one that tried to catch fire since they wouldn't install the new one without installing the dryer too (which is backordered for two more weeks). Time for a laundry mat.

My writing has not been thriving for the last couple weeks, but otherwise I'm doing well.

You've got the end of the school year! That probably feels like a lot of more pressing things on your plate. But you've been writing consistently, even though it's just a little each day, so I believe in you! I bet school will end, you'll take a couple days to nap and prep for summer vacation and then write a million words. 

[nicksgal]

Ten to go! I started the next chapter today and I did take the afternoon off to meal prep, then wrote for an hour, then ate dinner, then checked in here, but the chapter's been on my mind since I finished the first one, so it feels like I might chunk it out today or at least get a good portion of it on paper. Wish me luck!

I was a little overzealous in thinking I would be super productive this evening and finish a whole chapter. But I did write 1,136 words of it today, which is about a third of the way finished, so that's a pretty decent chunk; plus over half of it was after my dinner break, so I'm pretty proud of that. Hopefully I get another wave of "feels like a good writing day" tomorrow too. I won't have to research rice paddy farming as much tomorrow (hopefully, having done it tonight), so it should go much quicker.

[RokofAges75]

I am the only one, lol. Alas, I was so young and naive. Team Nick & Everyone!

Aww, no, Mare and I are definitely in the minority.  Almost every other fan I know has always adored Nick.  I was just a late bloomer LOL.

I guess, does everyone else feel that way too? That the big moments feel big because they feel like they'll get a big audience reaction or is it more personal?

Absolutely!  Those scenes are usually big moments for the character(s) too, which make them exciting to look forward to and write, but a lot of that anticipation does come from imagining and hoping for the reader reaction, especially when they're meant to be shocking moments.

Good to know! Do you often read old favorites? How well do they tend to hold up over the years? Have we already talked about this, lol. Same, general is usually what I remember too. I don't know if that's compounded by the fact that I didn't really think about fanfic at all for a decade or what.

Less often than I used to.  I've always been someone who rereads and rewatches books, movies, and shows I enjoy, and so I used to reread favorite fanfics often.  Now I only do if I'm feeling nostalgic or bored or looking for inspiration.  I started reading several of my old favorite suspense stories when I was working on AHTIM, but Signal to Noise is the only one I actually read all the way through.  I guess that means it held up the best, but that's not to say the others didn't.  I just don't have the attention span I used to for reading fanfic.

That said, there are definitely old fanfics that I loved back in the day, but look at now and go, "Wow, this is hot mess of grammar mistakes" or "This is so cheesy and unrealistic."  I still love them in the same way I love "Saved by the Bell" - I know they're not good, but they're still fun and entertaining.  But if I came across them for the first time now, I would probably not get sucked in the same way I did as a teenybopper.

For shame. Kidding! I should have; my memory is clearly unreliable at best. I still haven't seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; we meant to watch it and then never did, but I keep meaning to. I enjoy him in less serious roles, it highlights his range. And yes! The Revenant was so depressing, but I'm glad it finally got him the Oscar he's deserved.

Ooh, Leo and Jennifer Lawrence in a melodramatic disaster movie?! Cool! I'm in.

Definitely watch Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when you get a chance!  And yes... he had to get attacked by a bear, but he finally got his Oscar!  Well-deserved!

Yeah, it sounds awesome!  I love Jennifer Lawrence too.

[RokofAges75]

Happy weekend! Overall, well. I had a sneak peak of my new job at work on Friday to fill in for one of the other Admins who was out and I was so exhausted by the end of the day (it probably didn't help that I was up at 4:30am panicking about getting to work on time to open the school, haha). I ended up in bed by 9pm and asleep maybe half an hour later after trying to fall asleep on my keyboard. But, I woke up fairly early this morning ready to write, so...

Writing has been going well! I finally came up with a funny Nick scene to finish out that chapter (it's Nick and a frog in case anyone was wondering), so that felt like it lightened my "stuck feeling" sitting in the back of my mind. And then I finished the other chapter I'd been working on today. So now I officially have four chapters written! Ten to go! I started the next chapter today and I did take the afternoon off to meal prep, then wrote for an hour, then ate dinner, then checked in here, but the chapter's been on my mind since I finished the first one, so it feels like I might chunk it out today or at least get a good portion of it on paper. Wish me luck!

I'm glad writing went well for you this weekend!  You were productive!  Was that the mundane thing you were trying to come up with?  I hope it doesn't also involve a chimp... LOL.  How's today's writing going?

Oh, I guess on a less exciting note, our washer made a leak in our ceiling, so that's been fun. We've still been using the old one that tried to catch fire since they wouldn't install the new one without installing the dryer too (which is backordered for two more weeks). Time for a laundry mat.

Oh noes!  That damn washer is trying to ruin your house!  Time for the laundry mat indeed.  Hopefully you can get away with only going once or twice until your new washer and dryer come. 

You've got the end of the school year! That probably feels like a lot of more pressing things on your plate. But you've been writing consistently, even though it's just a little each day, so I believe in you! I bet school will end, you'll take a couple days to nap and prep for summer vacation and then write a million words. 

I hope so!  The streak is still alive.  Yesterday was not a great writing day, but I also did not follow my usual weekend morning routine.  This morning I did, and I ended up writing 800 some words and finishing my chapter!  So I'm feeling better about it now.  I think the next chapter will be easier to write once I get it started.

I also wanted to share that I tried the Comic Sans trick last night.  I only wrote 199 words, so I don't think it made a difference.  I did keep the story in Comic Sans until I finished my chapter today, but I think my success today had more to do with coffee and getting back into my morning routine than writing in a different font.  I promptly switched back to my usual Georgia when I finished the chapter.

[nicksgal]

Aww, no, Mare and I are definitely in the minority.  Almost every other fan I know has always adored Nick.  I was just a late bloomer LOL.

Young and naive me had a great time, lol. It's always been fun over here in the pro Nick camp, although his current cryptocurrency phase is not what I wanted to see when I decided to follow him on twitter and my phone says "Ah yes, you like Nick Carter, let's show you every single tweet he makes" and I think, oh dear... I've made a mistake. But I said that in the "all things BSB thread."

Absolutely!  Those scenes are usually big moments for the character(s) too, which make them exciting to look forward to and write, but a lot of that anticipation does come from imagining and hoping for the reader reaction, especially when they're meant to be shocking moments.

I think I enjoy it more for the big moment for the characters aspect, that's what makes them big for me. I feel like I thought more about audience reaction in the moments I was more worried to write than in the ones I enjoyed and anticipated.

Less often than I used to.  I've always been someone who rereads and rewatches books, movies, and shows I enjoy, and so I used to reread favorite fanfics often.  Now I only do if I'm feeling nostalgic or bored or looking for inspiration.  I started reading several of my old favorite suspense stories when I was working on AHTIM, but Signal to Noise is the only one I actually read all the way through.  I guess that means it held up the best, but that's not to say the others didn't.  I just don't have the attention span I used to for reading fanfic.

That said, there are definitely old fanfics that I loved back in the day, but look at now and go, "Wow, this is hot mess of grammar mistakes" or "This is so cheesy and unrealistic."  I still love them in the same way I love "Saved by the Bell" - I know they're not good, but they're still fun and entertaining.  But if I came across them for the first time now, I would probably not get sucked in the same way I did as a teenybopper.

I am also a "re____er." 9 times out of 10, I would rather revisit something I know I'll love than try something new, but every now and again, I'll find something new and adore it. The Good Place comes to mind immediately as one of those, but here I am giving into HBO Max and rewatching the Big Bang Theory, lol. I think I've said it before, but nostalgia is a powerful emotion... though it either gets underplayed or overplayed and there's no happy medium for it.

Did you try to read all of them in one sitting? Like one after the other? I think that would make it hard to stick with them all.

Aww, Saved by the Bell. I loved that show. I own it on DVD, but yes, it definitely makes me think about how ridiculous some... (most?) of the plotlines are, which was made painfully obvious by the reboot, which, unfortunately, does not quite capture the good feelings of the original.

Definitely watch Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when you get a chance!  And yes... he had to get attacked by a bear, but he finally got his Oscar!  Well-deserved!

Yeah, it sounds awesome!  I love Jennifer Lawrence too.

Will do! I'll start dropping subtle hints to the hubs that an at-home movie night would be fun, lol.

[nicksgal]

I'm glad writing went well for you this weekend!  You were productive!  Was that the mundane thing you were trying to come up with?  I hope it doesn't also involve a chimp... LOL.  How's today's writing going?

It was the mundane type thing. I'll be honest, I was thinking about when Mare had Nick fall out a window and borrowed inspiration from it. So, Mare, thanks? Hope you don't mind. If you mind, I can change it; I have until the beginning of September for edits. And no chimps, just a frog. (I just looked up what I think you're referring to and I am horrified, also confused that I'm just finding out about this.)

Today's writing is going great, but I feel like it could have been better? I woke up and was like "Yes, this is what happens next in the chapter, then this, and here are two amusing parts and a line that sticks out." But, we were getting lunch with a friend for their birthday, so I hurriedly wrote down these ideas in note form and hoped that post-lunch I would still feel the inspiration. And I did and finished up the chapter, but I feel like I could have kept chugging along into the next one if I'd just been able to sit down and write this morning. Oh well! Finishing a chapter is still great progress!

Five down, nine left to go! I'm also almost halfway to my word count goal, so I'm feeling fairly productive. (Although, I think I need to up again, since my leftovers are only about 8 chapters worth.) I'm following my little outline pretty faithfully (I guess I was correct on how much space the events in this arc would take up), so I only have two or three more chapters until it's finished, then pop back to the other one. Though I think I may be ready to pop back after this next chapter's cliffhanger so I can get them both to the same spot in time.

Oh noes!  That damn washer is trying to ruin your house!  Time for the laundry mat indeed.  Hopefully you can get away with only going once or twice until your new washer and dryer come.

It really is. So frustrating. I'm thinking of just buying new clothes to circumvent the issue, lol.

I hope so!  The streak is still alive.  Yesterday was not a great writing day, but I also did not follow my usual weekend morning routine.  This morning I did, and I ended up writing 800 some words and finishing my chapter!  So I'm feeling better about it now.  I think the next chapter will be easier to write once I get it started.

I also wanted to share that I tried the Comic Sans trick last night.  I only wrote 199 words, so I don't think it made a difference.  I did keep the story in Comic Sans until I finished my chapter today, but I think my success today had more to do with coffee and getting back into my morning routine than writing in a different font.  I promptly switched back to my usual Georgia when I finished the chapter.

Glad the streak is still alive and you finished your chapter! Now you can get past this montage section, I hope, and back into more dramatic good times. I feel you on the routine. I think it helps a lot. Hopefully you can get back into your routine groove this next week.

I wonder how much you would have written without comic sans. We need more information to test the theory! lol I think coffee and routine are bigger indicators of productivity too. Stick with georgia.

Alright, time to dinner and then see if I can at least start one of the scenes from the next chapter! I beleive.

[nicksgal]

Julie, how do you get productive post nap? I was exhausted and took a nap this evening, then tried to get back into writing and made myself a hot chocolate and it's going, but it's going so slowly. Like I sit and contemplate each line, then I type it, then I think about it, then repeat. But then I feel like if I hadn't taken a nap, I wouldn't be typing at all, I would just be a zombie. Are you really productive post nap usually or also kind of ruminating?

[RokofAges75]

I think I enjoy it more for the big moment for the characters aspect, that's what makes them big for me. I feel like I thought more about audience reaction in the moments I was more worried to write than in the ones I enjoyed and anticipated.

I can definitely see that too.  A lot of my Scenes involve bad things happening to the Boys, so there's always that fear of, "What are the readers going to think about this?"  I have learned by now that readers generally enjoy bad things happening to the Boys, just as we enjoy making them happen, so I really shouldn't worry about their reaction, but I still get that nervous feeling when I post a big part like the choppage or the gunshot.  When it's a happy moment, like Nick and Claire finally getting back together, then I look forward to the reaction, but I'm also happy for the characters.

I am also a "re____er." 9 times out of 10, I would rather revisit something I know I'll love than try something new, but every now and again, I'll find something new and adore it. The Good Place comes to mind immediately as one of those, but here I am giving into HBO Max and rewatching the Big Bang Theory, lol. I think I've said it before, but nostalgia is a powerful emotion... though it either gets underplayed or overplayed and there's no happy medium for it.

LOL This is like me renewing my Hulu last year as a pandemic gift to myself, only to use it to watch old episodes of ER instead of catching up on The Handmaid's Tale like I intended to.  And I own all 15 seasons of ER on DVD... but damn, it's so much easier to just click through Hulu then get off the couch to change the DVD LOL.

Did you try to read all of them in one sitting? Like one after the other? I think that would make it hard to stick with them all.

Oh no, definitely not.  I didn't even read Signal to Noise in one sitting.  But I guess I got what I wanted out of them because my writing went well.  I tend to read less when the writing's going well and more when it isn't.  I guess that's why I haven't read very much in the last year.

Aww, Saved by the Bell. I loved that show. I own it on DVD, but yes, it definitely makes me think about how ridiculous some... (most?) of the plotlines are, which was made painfully obvious by the reboot, which, unfortunately, does not quite capture the good feelings of the original.

I watched the first episode of the reboot, and yeah... I didn't think it was terrible, but it wasn't good enough to make me want to watch more.

And no chimps, just a frog. (I just looked up what I think you're referring to and I am horrified, also confused that I'm just finding out about this.)

Yeah, it is horrifying!  And after Nick tweeted that video out, there were fans going, "I wanna be the frog to your chimp!"  Effed up.  I think that was during your hiatus, 2011 or so.

Today's writing is going great, but I feel like it could have been better? I woke up and was like "Yes, this is what happens next in the chapter, then this, and here are two amusing parts and a line that sticks out." But, we were getting lunch with a friend for their birthday, so I hurriedly wrote down these ideas in note form and hoped that post-lunch I would still feel the inspiration. And I did and finished up the chapter, but I feel like I could have kept chugging along into the next one if I'd just been able to sit down and write this morning. Oh well! Finishing a chapter is still great progress!

Plans with friends are fun, but do interfere with writing.  As an introvert, I sometimes have to force myself to break out of the writing bubble and be social because I would rather just stay home and write.  But I usually end up having fun when I do go out with friends.  I hope you enjoyed the birthday lunch!  And even if you didn't write as much as you thought you should, at least you finished a chapter!  That is definitely an accomplishment .