Hello? Anybody out there?

[firehorse]

Hmm... If we hit a record high of users online earlier this week, we must be nearing a record low at the moment.

No Haskins teasing "The results are in..." thread?

No idle conversation to pass the time?

This is the first week I've stayed up (well, I'm catching up on taped TV shows). I'm not going to wait for the results, but I'll keep checking back in till I go to bed, so if anyone wants to weigh in...

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

I feel so alone. :Shrug:

[BlueTexas]

I'm here...and watching a terrible movie to pass the time.

[firehorse]

I'm here...and watching a terrible movie to pass the time.Which movie?

(Yay! Idle chatter! :hooray: )

[William Haskins]

evenin' ladies. so who gets the ax this week?

[brokenfingers]

I'm right here biting my nails with you guys.

I've got some serious money riding on this one...

[Birol]

I'll be on and off. I spent the afternoon sorting through papers. (BREAKING NEWS: Lori's computer is actually supported by a desk-like object and not by archival documentation waiting to be filed as previously thought) Now, I have to get today's writing done tonight.

[firehorse]

Definitely not you; only Melina knows the vote counts, but based on thread comments, I'd say you probably got the most.

After last week, though, all bets are off. Maybe we'll have another sudden-death tie. (I can just see William's eyes lighting up, "Death? Who said death?!")

Wonder how the voter turnout was this week.

[CACTUSWENDY]

:popcorn: OKAY...Sitting here waiting to see who gets to burn their brains this next week. :Coffee: I bet it will be another long night. Did Jenna ever say how her trip to Texas went? :Cheers: Well, will check in with you wonderful folks later. Be safe and chins up.:Jaw:

[Birol]

From the responses after last week's elimination, everyone seemed to think Pepperlandgirl was safe, too.

[firehorse]

I'll be on and off. I spent the afternoon sorting through papers. (BREAKING NEWS: Lori's computer is actually supported by a desk-like object and not by archival documentation waiting to be filed as previously thought) Now, I have to get today's writing done tonight.:roll: Mine is mostly in a pile behind my chair. It reaches up to the doorknob. Somewhere in my office is a shredder, but the pile is now too daunting, so I just keep piling it up.

Part of my desk is supported by a bunch of Rubbermaid containers, because one of the five legs (it's one of those weird-shaped Ikea thingies) is missing. And I almost vacuumed up my computer's A/C adapter tonight. Beware those super-powerful vacuums. Or maybe beware me around computers: I once set my laptop on fire by trying to plug a parallel port thingy into the serial port. There's nothing quite like seeing flames coming out the back of your computer.

[William Haskins]

i hate seeing anyone go. it's sucked every time the results have been posted. i've found myself empathizing with their disappointment before even feeling that rush of relief for making it through.

of course, i click the results thread every time expecting to see my name as the one to go.

i'm super-confident like that...

[firehorse]

From the responses after last week's elimination, everyone seemed to think Pepperlandgirl was safe, too.I had her pegged in the final three, no question in my mind. I felt a bit disillusioned with the voting, because she's such an amazing writer, and it didn't make sense. I know we're all good writers, etc., but she's really good. That's why I think all bets are off.

[brokenfingers]

I've gotta say that puzzled me too.

I thought pepperlandgirl was a consistent entrant. But it was when I saw all these other people say the same thing last week that I thought: Whoah....

[BlueTexas]

Firehorse: The movie is "Alone in the Dark" with Christian Slater and the requisite blonde. It's really really bad. Paranormal investigators vs. the monsters of an ancient civilization remarkably like the Aztecs.

[BlueTexas]

I was amazed that Pepperlandgirl was eliminated last week, too. I don't feel safe at all. I'm not even speculating about who will survive...

[firehorse]

Firehorse: The movie is "Alone in the Dark" with Christian Slater and the requisite blonde. It's really really bad. Paranormal investigators vs. the monsters of an ancient civilization remarkably like the Aztecs.Ah, I've heard of that, but I've never had the misfortune of watching it ;)

Trying to decide whether it would suck more to wait and see that I'm eliminated before I go to bed or when I wake up. Optimistic, aren't I? :Smack: And to think, essays are supposed to be my strong suit. (This is my attempt at magical thinking: if I assume I'll be eliminated, maybe I won't be.)

Okay, I have to be up early, so I'm going to try to sleep. I think Zach's message in the other thread may haunt me, though, so if I'm still wide awake in a bit, I'll check back.

Good night, all and good luck!

[brokenfingers]

OK, I don't normally do this but....

Firehorse, I have always felt you were in there with your writing, but I must say you definitely impressed me with your entry last week.

Ar first when I saw it was second person, I thought - oh, a gimmick! But as I read it, I entered your dream, your world. It worked - and that's the number one rule in writing.

When I was done - I said: Wow. That was from the heart. That was real.

What more can a reader ask?

But then again - I didn't receive a payment this week so all bets are off....

[sgtsdaughter]

Firehorse, and the rest of ya,

I think that ya'll have the classic fear of being discovered . . . no, not of hitting it big. Rather, you continually fear that someone will discover that you have no talent and that you have been frauding the public.

Grad students most commonly fight this evil syndrome, and writers are the next largest group.

Me, I deal with it everyday. That is why I've developed voices in my head to chair the discussion. The only problem is they never let me lead it--I'm always the peanut gallery.

Shhh . . . let me write, let me . . .

[sgtsdaughter]

I just re-read my post, and I realize that my humor may sound a little nasty . . . really, not so. Just making a joke that's all.

Seriously, ya'll produced some good writing . . . .

[CACTUSWENDY]

:popcorn:

[Birol]

Didn't sound nasty to me, sgtsdaughter. Made me think of the bio I often include with my work, which ends with "In her free time, Lori... begs the voices in her head to be quiet so she can sleep."

[sgtsdaughter]

Didn't sound nasty to me, sgtsdaughter. Made me think of the bio I often include with my work, which ends with "In her free time, Lori... begs the voices in her head to be quiet so she can sleep."

Thanks, I got parnoid there . . .thinking that cyberland might delute my humor.

And, yes, I too have something similar in my fiction bios. Seems we must be on the same strains of wavelengths tonight . . .

A.

[BlueTexas]

I just re-read my post, and I realize that my humor may sound a little nasty . . . really, not so. Just making a joke that's all.

Seriously, ya'll produced some good writing . . . .

I don't think that sounded nasty at all....

I overcome that nasty voice by envisioning myself ten years hence still making a living as an optician...the voice tells me "You suck" and I tell it "At least I can suck prolifically" because, sneakily, I know that the more sucky writing I get out, the closer I get to good writing.

How bad is it when you're playing mind games with yourself?

[JennaGlatzer]

I love that, Blue. I have arguments with my inner critic quite frequently, too. I also send her to the time-out corner when she's being really, really bad.

[sgtsdaughter]

That is a very, very good self-mind game. Mine usually result in boughts of daredevil adventures . . . I'm a a strange, strange woman. The last one--Montauk Point, NY and swimming in those rocky waters. Not a feat many will lay claim to, but it did clear the head and let me write (so to speak).

[BlueTexas]

That is a very, very good self-mind game. Mine usually result in boughts of daredevil adventures . . . I'm a a strange, strange woman. The last one--Montauk Point, NY and swimming in those rocky waters. Not a feat many will lay claim to, but it did clear the head and let me write (so to speak).

I used to do things just to see if I could--I once went skinny dipping in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in November. The Atlantic Ocean is very, very, very cold in November and those buddies who say they'll be right behind you...yeah, they ain't comin....

[BlueTexas]

I love that, Blue. I have arguments with my inner critic quite frequently, too. I also send her to the time-out corner when she's being really, really bad.

When mine gets really bad, I go read fan fiction at one of those sites in the UJ thread.

I also pull out unfinished stories from ten years ago, and confront the nasty voices with those. The fact that they were awful is beside the point--it's that voice's fault that they're unfinished--I won't have any unfinished ones for that reason ten years from now!

They can be unfinished because it was a bad idea, or bad writing, but not lack of self-confidence :)

[firehorse]

It seems like there's a cottage industry of books about silencing our inner critics (people know a captive market when they see one). One book stands out: Wrestling with Your Angels. Then again, lotta good it's done me ;). Seriously, though, it's a good one.

I often comment that while some people are hospitalized for hearing voices, I'm lucky enough to get paid for it. Except that's for the other voices, not the critic voice.

Brokenfingers - thank you. A) I appreciate your vote, and b) you've been so supportive to all of us all along. Thank you for that.

[CACTUSWENDY]

:popcorn:

[DJP]

I'm not going to have any nails left if we don't get the results soon!

[firehorse]

I'm beginning to wonder if Melina's okay. She hasn't logged on since Friday (though Jenna may have given her an invisibility cloak ;)). Has anyone heard from her?

[Birol]

She's fine, Firehorse. The mods heard from her. No need for alarm. No need for everyone to recast their ballots or anything extreme like that.

[maestrowork]

I'm not going to have any nails left if we don't get the results soon!

There must be a story in there somewhere. Nail-less writer typing out her masterpiece....

Sounds painful.

[rhymegirl]

I used to do things just to see if I could--I once went skinny dipping in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in November. The Atlantic Ocean is very, very, very cold in November and those buddies who say they'll be right behind you...yeah, they ain't comin....


Hey, Pawtucket is where I lived for many years! But I never did any skinny dipping. There once was a girl from Pawtucket....

[mommie4a]

i hate seeing anyone go. it's sucked every time the results have been posted. i've found myself empathizing with their disappointment before even feeling that rush of relief for making it through.

of course, i click the results thread every time expecting to see my name as the one to go.

i'm super-confident like that...

I call it the writer's metronome.