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Whether you're looking for an adult beverage, some coffee, or just some chit-chat, I'm opening this topic for random discussions. Memes and gifs are welcome. No links please as per our regular rules.

*raises her glass of vodka* Here's to being an Indie Author!

It's already been a rough day; does it show? lol

Since you say memes are welcome, one I was "forced" to make recently while reading an e-book.

Anyway, *sips tea*

I had a vanilla coke this weekend - it had been a long time since I'd had one and it was AMAZING.

And I love the meme :)

And what kind of tea?

Also, congratulations on 5 months!!!

If that was on me - I have a wide taste - earl grey, green tea, mint, herbs, rooibos,...
In this particular case, earl grey it is.

What about green jasmine tea? I have a friend from Taiwan who used to bring me the most amazing green jasmine tea!

Ann wrote: "What about green jasmine tea? I have a friend from Taiwan who used to bring me the most amazing green jasmine tea!"

I love all kinds of teas- green, black, white, mint, chai... the list goes on! Would love to try that green jasmine though!

He just brought me some green tea that was actually grown in the mountains - it's potent and delicious as well!

I am a member of this group and am writing a novel, but have not published a book. I've only published articles on a paying website. May I be allowed to join this discussion? Hugs

Alex, Congrats on your 5 months. Hubby is a Coke fan and likes cherry, but they don't produce it regularly. Hugs

Sam (Rescue Dog Mom) You are welcome to EVERY discussion. But hold on. . .my martini is looking sad. Be right back. . .and what?? our little store right down the street ALWAYS has cherry coke.

Alex,
My novel writing is slow going because I'm writing for the other website more to try to raise money. We're drowning in medical debt (my fault) and I'm not selling much on my website. However, I'm writing, so I consider that working on it. Hugs!

Ann,
Thank you for allowing me in this discussion. I'm a Pepsi drinker myself and they don't offer that in cherry often in my area. I'm also a whiskey gal. Enjoy your martini. Hugs!

Ah, I like rum with fruit punch or fruit juice every once in a while.

Off to feed the furry family. Hugs to All!!

Rum is excellent - Sailor Jerry's is the bomb. As well as Kraken. But I am drinking Titos Martinis tonight.

We had a soap sud crisis today and a purple pen crisis today. I have earned this drink. Maybe I'll get some editing done. . .but the adult interaction is enough lol

I've been editing this book for around 6 months. I'm so tired of not writing. . . :( Just remember that you're STILL a writer. I keep reminding myself. . .

Tomas wrote: "Since you say memes are welcome, one I was "forced" to make recently while reading an e-book."

I am a proud barbarian, then.

I just sent a short story to the SIA short story contest and want to thank you for sending me the information so it could be included. Cheers to that.

You’re welcome! We enjoy reading all the short stories!

Joy is the key to living a happy life. I'm still grateful.

Anybody else here a coffee achiever? Do you remember the coffee achiever commercials? Or are you a young little whipper snapper that needs to stay the hell off my lawn?

. . .dammit. . .but I'm not a young whipper snapper *points to gray hairs* but I don't remember that!

Dwayne wrote: "Anybody else here a coffee achiever? Do you remember the coffee achiever commercials? Or are you a young little whipper snapper that needs to stay the hell off my lawn?"
No I don't, but I'm not from USA or Europe so it's like I don't belong to this world anyway :)

I apologize if this is not something to share in this topic, but today, I have a reason to raise a glass (though it'll be tea as I despise alcohol).
I've finished the first draft of book three of my to-be trilogy. Yay! After more than 15 years since the first ideas, I finally know how the story ends.
Now to spend some time making the story reading-ready with countless edits...

Wishing our moderators and all the members a ( belated ) Merry Christmas , and also a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year ! God Bless .

Tomas wrote: "I apologize if this is not something to share in this topic, but today, I have a reason to raise a glass (though it'll be tea as I despise alcohol).
I've finished the first draft of book three of m..."

Congratulations, Tomas! I've always been curious as to how or when a writer knows that a manuscript is going to be a trilogy or series. Is it determined based on the size of the manuscript or some other reason?

Pamela wrote: "I've always been curious as to how or when a writer knows that a manuscript is going to be a trilogy or series."

The simplest answer would be: if it's too long for a single book. While I can't offer a general guideline, I can offer my experience. Yours (or that of other people) may differ - and if people want to discuss that, we can make a separate topic for that.

I knew the plot of my WIP fantasy would play over the course of several years. It's not like discovering your newfound powers, mastering them, getting up to speed with your enemies and eventually defeating them can be done in a short time - at least not with the kind of story I am trying to tell.

When I finally knew it'll be a trilogy? When I was nearing the end of book two and felt quite sure that one more book will be enough to wrap it all up without being way longer than the previous two.

There are other factors as well, such as the presence (or absence) of climactic moments that can close off a book. Usually, that means that at least one side of the conflict takes a nasty hit.
There might be more but it'd be for a longer discussion so I'll wrap it up here, for now.

Savita wrote: "Wishing our moderators and all the members a ( belated ) Merry Christmas , and also a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year ! God Bless ."

Thank you so much!

OMG, if I drank I would be doing it right now. It brings tears to my eyes...
It took one year and nine days... but it finally came!!!!!
MY FIRST REVIEW!!!!!
*spins on the floor while only stopping to drink water*
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! I'm so happy I can't stop smiling!!!!!

Yay!! Happy dances all around!

*raises a mug of green tea* Gratz, I'm happy for you!

Hi there. I'm currently working on the forth chapter of my first novel. I'm about ten pages in so I'm nearly halfway finished with it.

Outstanding. And may there be many more. Best to you.

*group hug to Tomas, Alex and J.B.* Thank you, guys!

Haru wrote: "OMG, if I drank I would be doing it right now. It brings tears to my eyes...
It took one year and nine days... but it finally came!!!!!
MY FIRST REVIEW!!!!!
*spins on the floor while only stopping ..."

Congratulations! It's a great feeling. If I could bottle it up and sell it, I'd take Bezos' spot as richest person alive.

Outstanding. Congrats. One year and 9 days from now, you will say I picked up my 55th review. Best to you and your writing.

Hailey wrote: "Hi there. I'm currently working on the forth chapter of my first novel. I'm about ten pages in so I'm nearly halfway finished with it."

KEEP GOING!!!

Dwayne wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Hi there. I'm currently working on the forth chapter of my first novel. I'm about ten pages in so I'm nearly halfway finished with it."

KEEP GOING!!!"

Thanks Dwayne! I started my college classes today so while I won't have as much time to work on it, I'll try to work on it at least a little bit at a time.

Hailey wrote: "I started my college classes today so while I won't have as much time to work on it"

*Giggles*
I feel like I've done the most when I used writing as my main procrastinating tool from uni stuff...

Now, that's like a bar confession from me, right?

*makes Phillip and J.B. join the group hug* Thank you very much!
^_^

I've reached a very metal milestone: 666 hours of writing and editing done* on my current WIP.
Hell yeah!

* that's what MS Word says in file properties.

Very Metal Milestone lol!! Love it!

Only 666,666 to go!

0.0 You keep track?!

MS Word keeps track of it for you. However, if you're like me, the number is misleading. I tend to keep my manuscripts open a lot, even when I'm not working on them, which means Word is counting work minutes when I'm probably goofing off on Facebook, playing Minecraft, twinking around on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ...

Huuh, I didn't know that. It wouldn't be useful to me since I write my stories in separate chapters/sections/scenes and then copy/paste them into one, and also I write in notebooks/stray papers if I'm not near the computer.
I AM pretty sure that I did spend 666 hours editing each novel, though *rolls eyes*

Yes, the number is potentially misleading. I usually close the file if I know I'll be away from it for longer than refilling my tea or a toilet break. Not to mention the moments I've blankly stared at the monitor with no words coming to me. And, when editing, I usually take five-minute breaks after every chapter or two.

I won't lie, I had several sessions when the clock was ticking and I was doing something else - like the time I checked Wikipedia for almost all large felines and their habitats to choose the proper base for the "custom feline" for my story.

On the other hand, if there was a way to track the amount of time I've spent thinking about it, that would probably be a few thousand.

Tomas wrote: "I won't lie, I had several sessions when the clock was ticking and I was doing something else - like the time I checked Wikipedia for almost all large felines and their habitats to choose the proper base for the "custom feline" for my story."

That's research. That counts as part of the writing process. So, you weren't doing something else. You were writing.

Also, as I mentioned the time, something from my notes:
First draft of book one: 308 hrs (235k words, current draft down to 185k)
First draft of book two: 192 hrs (233k words) - which means the second book took me some 62% of the time despite the (almost) same length. Learning curve? I hope so.
First draft of book three: 113 hrs (176k words). Harder to compare as it's shorter but it's 75% length but ~60% of the time compared to #2 and ~37% compared to #1. Seems that beginnings really are hard and slow, though I still feel almost as clueless as I was when I began. At least I am clueless faster. *giggle*

No doubt. I'm much faster and efficient than I was a year ago, needing a lot less editing, but I feel I still have a lot of potential to develop. No doubt that means you've improved... especially considering the huge amount of words you've written.

Also, to Dwayne: the line between research and looking up useless trivia is very thin. It's hard to say whether I needed to look up all felines for my purpose, or if the most likely would be enough. It's just as hard to guess if it was still a part of research looking up some of the creatures that comprise their diet. When I started to wonder whether or not their skin could be worth something, that felt a bit off-topic considering that fact would not be anything more than a side note.