Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company! discussion

Not on a regular basis, but I've done it before. I replaced the ST in the word "stupid" with a D. It's the same word, just spelled differently.

TPBM has a lot of reading to catch up on.

Not anymore. I used to feel that, but now that I know I will be dead long before I catch up to it, I no longer feel compelled to chase my reading: I let it come to me, and read what intuition and the vagaries of life send my way.

TPBM likes it when a story idea or element is echoed in real world events that happen around the same time they are writing it.

I wrote "Ambush Alert" around the same time as the uproar in Ferguson, Missouri over police brutality, so yes, I can appreciate that sentiment, Guy.

If TPBM has pets, he or she would consider using them as characters in a story regardless of the genre.

Yes. As I spend a lot of time with my Jack Russell I frequently get inspired while on an adventure with her.


TPBM wants someone else to make their dinner.

My step-dad Dale makes me dinner all the time. He could write his own cookbook and make millions off of it if he wanted to.

TPBM believes living life is an art form since it’s just like being a three-dimensional character in a novel.

Absolutely agree with you Garrison.

TPBM is the person who always makes awkward eye-contact with strangers across the room with they turn their head.

Depends on who the stranger is. If it's a pretty lady, then yes, I'll take a few seconds to ogle her. But only a few seconds will do. Any more than that and it gets creepy.

TPBM has at least one male character in their stories named Orlando.

No, I do not, although I worked with an Orlando and life, being a story, and my life being my story, means that I do. And don't. Now I'm confused.

TPBM has found that many of the simple truths s/he grew up on have been shown to be false.

"Just tell the truth and you won't be in trouble." Nice fantasy!

TPBM is close to paying off his or her college loan.

Ha, hardly. I'll be a senior next year so I'll have to start paying for college soon.

TPBM is planning to do a lot of cleaning today.

Yes!!!! Tody actually right from d morning i hd it planned and soon i expect to get it done




TBPM is planning on a date with some
One

No, I've never been on a date. And am content to wait until I find the perfect person to go on one with. Yes, I know, I will be waiting a long time.

TPBM thinks that perfection is a worthy goal.

As long as it doesn't become an obsession. Very few things are ever perfect and it's just a source of stress sometimes.

TPBM doesn't really see the point in re-reading books.

Au contraire! I find that I am not interested in books that do not warrant at least two reads and preferably more.

TPBM has more than 4 books that they have started to read on the go at this time.

Yes. Interestly I have exactly four at this time. Sometimes it is more, but never less than two.


TPBM is glad that nothing is perfect because that means they don't have to be either!

I'd rather be me than be perfect, so yes, I can agree with that.

TPBM once had to explain to someone that Pink Floyd wasn’t a person, but a group of people.

No but I'm surprised I haven't had to do that.

TPBM hates it when someone uses the word "Literally" for something that isn't literal.

(I literally have heard this a million times! :D)

It's stupid but not infuriating.

TPBM can cook but not bake, or vice versa.

I'd say I can bake and I am slowly learning more how to cook.

TPBM has an original recipe they are proud of!

I can't say that I do. I mostly depend on my step-dad Dale for cooking and baking.

TPBM has Ronda Rousey’s memoir "My Fight/Your Fight" either in their possession or on their wish list.

Not at all. I've never heard of her either.

TPBM knows at least one person who is graduating this year.

My niece Reina is graduating from elementary school. She's going to a charter school in Tacoma next year. She's growing up so fast!

TPBM wonders why Bruce Lee makes chicken noises when he fights.

I've never thought about it, but maybe he's channeling his inner rooster. Frankly, those birds are scary as heck sometimes.

TPBM doesn't actually know that words to any nursery rhymes, just their melodies.

Seeing as how I'm turning 30 in June, nursery rhymes are a thing of the past for me, despite the fact that I still play with Legos and watch cartoons. Naturally, I wouldn't know the words either.

TPBM refuses to watch reality TV shows where those in charge scream and cuss at the competitors and get away with it (examples include WWE Tough Enough, Hell’s Kitchen, and Dance Moms).

Yeah. Though I do watch Hell's Kitchen sometimes I don't classify it as one of my favorite shows. The constant bleeping from cursing is so gratuitous and irritating!

TPBM has a physical bookshelf in their house full of books.

Yes, but they're my family's books. I get books from the library or sell the ones I buy when I'm done.

TPBM wonders why Overdrive lets you burn books to a CD/Mp3 player when there's no way to make sure that copy is destroyed...

I can't say I relate to that since I don't use Overdrive for anything. Then again, I don't listen to audiobooks at all since I do all of my reading with physical copies.

TPBM keeps a to-do list of creative projects and has a lot of items on that list.

No. Maybe I should. I come up with ideas and quickly forget them.


TPBM wants to take a nap, but thinks it is to close to bedtime.

Pretty much. I exercised and then ate a big meal, so I'm drowsy.

TPBM looks at pinterest fails and thinks they could probably do better.

I don't browse pinterest, so I can't relate. The main sites I browse are Good Reads (of course), Deviant Art, Blogger.com, Face Book, and Inkitt.com.

TPBM watched Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex when it was on Cartoon Network and had a hard time understanding the plot.

I've never watched Ghost in the Shell.

TPBM goes to a library with a subscription to Freegal Music.

I have no idea what Freebal Music is. Sorry!

TPBM uses a lot of psychological energy just to write a short story or a chapter to a novel.

I do not. I actually find the process of writing short stories and chapters to be invigorating.

TPBM likes to make their own peanut butter.

I wouldn't know how to make peanut butter even if I wanted to.

TPBM has read over a hundred books in his or her lifetime.

I wish I could, but alas, that is a talent I do not possess. My aunt does, and I love her home-made peanut butter.

TPBM is busy with all WSS activities instead of studying or working.

@ Garrison: I have read over a 1000 books, so yes.

@ Ruthie: nope. I am busy here instead of getting ready for bed.

TPBM prefers reading text books to Harlequin romances.

Amen, Brother Guy. You just made my night with that one. Hehe!

TPBM knows better than to rush into self-publishing a novel before it’s 100% polished and edited.

Oops! I guess, I missed Garrison's entry. (My answer to that one is definitely over a hundred.)

Another entry from Garrison: I've not published anything yet, so I wouldn't know. But maybe double-checking would be better than rushing.

TPBM had written and published at least one book for the last 10 years.

I've written many of them, but they're all self-published and, I'm not proud to say this, they've been published prematurely. This is me saying, "Do as I say, not as I do."

TPBM screams obscenities at his or her computer whenever it’s malfunctioning.

I've long accepted that computers will inevitably act up. When all else fails, turn it off and on again.

TPBM knows that peacock only refers to male peafowl and that peahen is used to refer to females.

I didn't know it before, but now that I do, consider my mind blown. Thanks, Angie!

TPBM celebrated Memorial Day with a barbecue dinner.

We don't have Memorial Day in the Philippines. But I did celebrate Golden Week in Japan (with one week work). :)

TPBM likes almonds and chocolates, both separately and together.

Ruthie! Kamusta? :)

Yes, I like Almonds--chocolates, not so much.

TPBM likes to check out the free ebooks available on Amazon daily.

No, I prefer to read in hard copy. But free is a word I'm generally attracted to. :)

Nadia, you forgot to do a TPBM afterwards. Oops! :)

Actually, I've been having a good couple of days when it comes to writing. I've finally written chapter 11 of "Watch You Burn" and I've written a short story for this week's prompt called "Thunder Zell".

TPBM thinks mosh pits are fun.

Mabuti naman, Leslie! hehehe.. :) Nice seeing a kababayan here.. :)

Anyway, I am terribly afraid of large crowds, so mosh pits are a big no-no for me.

TPBM likes to collect things related to insects.

In the same way Ruthie is afraid of big crowds, I'm afraid of small insects, especially the kinds that can bite and sting. I always fly into a screaming frenzy whenever I'm trying to get away from a wasp or a bee.

The male characters in TPBM’s stories have serious anger management issues.

I am indifferent to insect-ables, except for bites, which I'd rather forgo.

TPBM has on one of their books-read list, an encyclopedia on insects.

[And Guy wonders if it is a fushigi that earlier tonight, for no particular reason, Guy was thinking about that book of insects he read when he was in high school shortly before reading Ruthie's insect TPBM.]

One of my male characters has a jealousy problem which sometimes translates to anger. Does that count Garrison?

No, I can't say I've added an insect encyclopedia to my list.

TPBM thinks it's cool that there's a type of fly in Africa whose bite can lead to an infection that causes blindness in humans.