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X-Files zine - reaching out to authors from the 1990s

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write every day

Write Every Day: Day 20

“The only question you need to be able to answer about your story is: Why today? Why this day out of your character’s life rather than all the other days? And the answer, it’s always Because this is the day that’s breaking the rhythm, the day that’s an aberrance, the day everything can change, if the character can just walk that tightrope to the last page.”
– Stephen Graham Jones

My day 19: Finished a flashfic (added about 800 words, edited the whole thing, posted). Read through another fic on my kindle and made notes of things to fix (still to apply). Worked on my Yuletide letter.

The tally
Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

luzula,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 19:

badly_knitted,

callmesandyk,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

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Tvmovie20in20 • Round 21

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Disney_20in20 • Round 14

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due South/C6D Big Bang Complementary Claims Open!

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💙💛 Sign-ups open! ~ Ryomina Exchange 2026 💛💙

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daily: check in

Check In: Day 19

Oooh, a new week is about to start.

Question for everyone: how ready are you to tackle your fic in the next days?

Poll #33739

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

View Respondents

Today...

View Answers

Words happened! (I wrote)
3 (37.5%)

Harsh decisions happened! (I edited)
0 (0.0%)

Day dreaming happened! (I thought abt my story)
3 (37.5%)

Planning happened! (I outlined/planned)
0 (0.0%)

Rest happened! (I took a break.)
3 (37.5%)

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write every day

Write Every Day: Day 19

"Sometimes [when we] talk about creativity, it can have this kind of feel that it's just nice...it's warm or it's something pleasant. It's not. It's vital. It's the way we heal each other.

In singing our song, in telling our story, in inviting you to say, "Hey, listen to me, and I'll listen to you," we're starting a dialogue. And when you do that, this healing happens, and we come out of our corners, and we start to witness each other's common humanity....

If you want to help your community, if you want to help your family, if you want to help your friends, you have to express yourself. And to express yourself, you have to know yourself. It's actually super easy. You just have to follow your love. There is no path. There's no path till you walk it." – Ethan Hawke, TED talk: 'Give yourself permission to be creative'

My day 19: Not much this morning. I started to plan my Yuletide sign-up, and I wrote an alibi sentence. This afternoon we went out for a late lunch (have to grab the opportunity when the sun comes out), took a bit of a walk along a stream, and saw Grace: a prayer for peace, a film about an Aotearoa / New Zealand artist (which is why this post is a bit late). Tomorrow I need to finish my flashfic.

The tally
Day 16:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 17:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 18:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

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Oz Magi: A Holiday Season Shankfest

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daily: check in

Check In: Day 18

Happy Saturday!!

How has writing gone today?

Discussion question: what has helped you with writer's block recently?

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Star Trek Holidays Noms and Sign Ups OPEN

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write every day

Write Every Day: Day 18

"I used to wonder if it wouldn't be better just to haul off and quit hoping. Just protect my own inner brain, my own mind and heart, by drawing it up into a hard knot, and not having any more hopes or dreams at all. Pull in my feelings, and call back all of my sentiments... and, yet … the pleasures, and the displeasures, the good times and the bad, are really all there is to me.

[They] are the yeast that always starts working in your mind again... and then, all at once, no matter what has happened to you, you are building a brand new world again, based and built on the mistakes, the wreck, the hard luck and trouble of the old one."

– Woody Guthrie, in A Race Of Singers by Bryan K Garman

My day 18: My routine falls apart at the weekend (which is fine). I wrote a short meta post for

sid_guardian and left a meta comment on it. That'll do. Having a quiet night tonight, too.

The tally
Day 16:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 17:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

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Doodle 4 Doodle 2025 - nominations are open!

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daily: check in

Check In: Day 17

Hello! How has writing gone today?

Will you tell me a story tonight

https://viridian5.livejournal.com/2283590.html

My fic site has returned!

+++

Oh, I don't owe my dentist money! I don't have a balance. Their computer system just sends bills out automatically sometimes and they don't always reflect the correct balance on file!

I'm so glad I tried e-mail first. If I drove all the way to Bayside to talk to them in person about this, since they refuse to discuss billing stuff on the phone, I would've been even more ticked off. Plus, this way I have an e-mail of them saying I don't owe them money.

+++

So my Gas Guru app is no longer in operation, and I switched to Gas Buddy, which is a massive downgrade. They list so many stations with no pricing. Even if you give me an old price and tell me it's a few days old, like Guru would've, that would be better.

https://viridian5.livejournal.com/2283590.html

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "No More Nightmares" by Dead When I Found Her

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Will you tell me a story tonight

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write every day

Write Every Day: Day 17

"Because in the age of likes and follows, we have confused the reward of creating with the reward of being praised for creating, and why wouldn’t we? Our culture has never celebrated aspiring. Our culture celebrates markers of success. You meet a writer at a party. Oh, have you ever been published? When we could ask: what are the stories that inspire you? What is the story you most want to tell? We have to rewire the way we talk about art, the way we think about artists. The job of the artist is not to skip to the good part. The job of the artist is to make art when no one gives a damn, when no one likes or follows, when we are not being comforted by compliments and praise."

– Leigh Bardugo, via TedX

My day 17: I added 617 words to my flashfic. The story is supposed to be a little missing scene about time travel. Perhaps inevitably, given one of the characters is a deposed king, politics has reared its head, so it's still going. Oops! Not to worry, I still have plenty of time to finish it.

I also slightly tweaked a gift fic. I was thinking about the question of how to portray emotional beats/responses, showing without telling. In tandem with that, I started wondering if my POV characters have been tending too cerebral lately. Do you prefer characters to think through the implications of things or just to gut-reaction? (Does it depend on the character?) How do you express emotional beats? Are your descriptions primarily physiological (pulse, breath, etc) or something else? Do you have a technique for conveying feelings as they arise, or is this just something you do instinctively?

As well as writing, I went with Andrew (partner) to our favourite outdoor cafe (which is being forced to close down in a few months, oh no!) and sat in the blustery northwesterly, then did grocery shopping. This evening our friend is coming over for the last two episodes of Kdrama Low Life, and I'm making enchiladas.

The tally
Day 16:

china_shop,

badly_knitted,

trobadora,

sylvanwitch

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

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daily: check in

Check In: Day 14

Howdy! How's writing been going?

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write every day

Write Every Day: Day 16

Welcome to Write Every Day! I'm

china_shop, and I'll be your host for October Part 2! (Much, much thanks to

cornerofmadness for sharing the month with me. ♥)

For the regulars who have been doing this a while and just want the details: I'm on NZDT (UTC+13), and I plan to post between 4pm and 6pm local time, which should line up pretty well with

cornerofmadness's posts. Please comment on the most recent post, and specify what day(s) you're checking in for.

( For everyone else: what is Write Every Day and how does it work? )

I go to London Writer's Salon Antipodean Writers' Hour on weekdays, and that usually starts off with an encouraging/inspirational quote. Here's one someone shared a while back.

"When you go mountain climbing, the first thing you’re told is not to look at the peak, but to keep your eyes on the ground as you climb. You just keep climbing patiently one step at a time. If you keep looking at the top, you’ll get frustrated.
"I think writing is similar. You need to get used to the task of writing. You must make an effort to learn to regard it not as something painful, but as routine."
–Akira Kurosawa, via The Script Lab

My goals and check-in
This morning I wrote 1,028 words of flashfic for the current "Brilliant" round of

fan_flashworks. I'll finish it tomorrow, and then... has anyone seen Bon Appétit, Your Majesty who'd be willing to beta? :-)

Writing goals for the rest of month include not stuffing up my arms, so this afternoon I walked along a local mountain-bike trail, through the trees, then met up with my partner for hot drinks and chocolate brownie by the sea. The weather has been cold, wet and windy lately, but yesterday and today the sun finally came out. Yay!

Other goals for the next 16 days: finish my flashfic, finish a treat I started for

guardian_wishlist, sign up for Yuletide, and write something for the next (amnesty) round at

fan_flashworks. Other than that, I'll see where the spirit takes me.

How about you? Did you write today?

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daily: check in

Check In: Day 15

Hi all! How was writing today?

Gotta ask for the giggles: besides fanfiction, what is your favorite type of fan media?