If you count NaNos and a couple of other odds and ends... I think, even including fanfiction, probably only two that I could fairly call a "finished first draft". (I have a fanfiction that's probably long enough to count, except I never actually finished it. ) I am very bad about starting a draft, getting frustrated, and starting completely over. I had grand plans of finishing another draft last year to give me a goal and something to be proud of once I was done, but... well, I have to make the same goal this year.

Ugh, I know the productivity struggle all too well - and then the experts will all tell you different things about what you should/shouldn't do. I try to find a balance between being disciplined and still enjoying the writing I do, but the pendulum always ends up on one side or the other. It doesn't help that it seems like my long period of not writing at all basically hit the rest button on knowing what methods do and don't work for me.

Were the screenplays you wrote also fanfic, or were they original? Either way, do you still like script writing or do you prefer novels? I've tried my hand at scripts, but I've never been particularly happy with the results. Then again, I'm never particularly happy with my prose, so there's that.

My friend here has recently got into Lego in her 50s. She tells me it's more expensive here, and asked if I could buy her some items while I am in USA. There is at least one biggish box she'd like, that I may buy and post over.

Minnesota friends, is it likely that I'd find basically all the box sets in most Lego stores? Or would the Mall of America one be unusual in its stock?

I'll admit, it's been a while since I've visited the MoA (I go there so rarely considering how close I live ), but they've got a pretty wide variety at there. I haven't been to a dedicated toy store in ages either, but from what I remember, they generally have an entire section devoted to Lego, so there'd probably be a good variety there, too.

My experience is mostly from big-box stores. They tend to have at least one aisle of Lego, if not two or three, and there's a wide range. I feel like there's a pretty big emphasis on licensed products (especially Star Wars) there, though. Then again, I think that's true of Lego in general these days, but that's neither here nor there.

Lovely to see you in the Town Square, Auntie!

"(I have a fanfiction that's probably long enough to count, except I never actually finished it."

Yeah, I really hate how many unfinished fanfics I have out there. Nothing long enough to be a novel in itself (I don't think), but long enough that I hate having abandoned them. I took some down but left some up because maybe, one day, I really would like to finish them. I'm optimistic like that. But I really try now not to start posting anything until I've got it complete. (I hate disappointing people who do read it, since I've read too many great unfinished fanfics myself, and it sucks.)

The tricky thing about productivity is that everyone has to figure out their own way. Some people need to spend time doing something else for their brain to work stuff out. I find that I need to actively work through a thing for me to figure it out. So it's hard to tell someone else how to do it.

"Were the screenplays you wrote also fanfic, or were they original?"

Let's see, I wrote ...
2 fully original screenplays
1 fanfic screenplay
2 spec scripts for TV shows (which is where you write an episode of an existing show, which makes it basically fanfic, except that's actually how it's done in TV writing when you're trying to make a portfolio)

The first original screenplay is the one I'm basing a novel series off of. The second, I might one day turn into a standalone novel, though I'll really have to take a look at it and see if there's enough there to make something good. The fanfic screenplay, I might turn that into an actual fanfic at some point. Maybe the spec scripts, too, if I ever get interested in that show again.

I don't write screenplays anymore. When I decided to focus on novels, I shifted completely over. There's just no reason to write screenplays unless you're willing to put in the considerable effort to try to sell them to someone. So, I can't really say if I like it anymore, since I don't do it anymore. I probably would, if someone wanted to hire me to write a screenplay. Though I love how much more in the heads of characters I can get with novels. Screenplays are so outside of the character (and you have to be really limited in what you describe, since you've got to leave room for actors and directors to do their jobs), it's just a very different thing. Fun in it's own way, yes, but really not rewarding at all unless you've got some way to sell it or make your own film. I actually posted one or two of the spec scripts I wrote on a fanfic site, and it got basically no reads. People just don't want to read anything in script form (it's about as exciting as looking at blueprints).

I'm kind of in the same boat of not wanting to publish things until they're finished, though for me, it's more because of how often I want to start over and change everything. But my brother and I are talking about starting a webcomic now, so... if I'm going to do that, I've gotta ditch that mentality. Granted, we're working on a couple of practice comics first so we're not basically our first draft out there. But at some point, I'm going to have to just commit to what we've written and move on.

Righting spec scripts sounds like it would be really interesting! (Come to think of it, I technically did that once. Oh, goodness, that was over 10 years ago now. I'm not sure I want to remember....) I hadn't thought about the loss of control of your characters in a script. They're my favorite part of writing (even if they're so difficult to wrangle!), I'm not sure how I'd feel about handing it off to someone else to interpret. Granted, maybe I should actually finish something before I get too concerned about that.

I'm glad to hear you're still getting some use out of your screenplays, though! At least having the story figured out must be so helpful for turning it into a novel. But I can see why you'd want to pick one or the other. It's not like either format is easy.

I'm working from home these days (at least temporarily), which so far I'm actually really enjoying (if not the reason why). I like having a 30 second commute. I have been burning out towards the end of the day, and I suspect two causes. One, I'm pushing myself to work really hard so that I can hopefully convince my boss to let me do this again in the future, under better circumstances. Two, I've been mostly using my breaks to do chores, instead of just read/browse the interwebs like I was doing at the office, so I don't get as much relaxation time as I did before. So I may have to back off on that a bit.

Buuut, I also had one of the best creative weekends I've had in ages, I think because I had fewer chores to worry about when it came to my free time. I had to get my oil changed on Saturday (oh, the errands I wish I'd run two weeks ago!), and I forced myself to write while I waited rather than play on my phone. I think that kept me in a creative mood for the rest of the night. I was actually enjoying writing again for once! It was a great feeling.

Stopping by to express how much I miss those days here in Ditto Town. Comforting to know it is still here! That and Gorse would appreciate a visit from his old friend now and then.

Current events have kept me busy enough at work, yet not in an unbearable way.

Trusting everyone is well!

Good to see you, ceppault! I'm definitely keeping you in mind during these current events. But yes, the Square has been a bit slower of late, but now more than ever, I appreciate the place to visit with some of my favorite people.

It's been warming up, so I might have to talk a walk tonight. I know I'm not the only person in my housing complex to take advantage. I'm hoping that I can finish my walk before it gets too dark, and get some writing done (I know that the time of day doesn't affect my ability to write, but I just like writing better when I can see sunshine).

I was thinking of getting my walk in earlier, but my sister texted to let me know that my nephew wanted to talk to me on the phone, and... well, I couldn't exactly say no to that! (Why couldn't I walk and talk? I thought he might want a video call, since that's what we've been doing lately.) He's 7 now, and has recently begun to play Minecraft extensively. I'm not that good at Minecraft, but now he knows I'll play with him and talk to him about it, so it's nice to have that connection with him. Plus, I do find the game fun, just not by myself. So, it's a win-win!

Great to see you here, ceppault! These are unusual times indeed, and I've been thinking of you and others I know who are first responders or medical professionals.

It has been fun keeping in touch with friends via video chat (like Rya's niece and nephew) or just on the phone (like my mother, who is in a locked-down skilled nursing facility in one of the virus hot spots. Thankfully, she and others nearby remain well).

Spring is ready to burst forth here, despite occasional attempts by winter to hang on. Soon all will be green, which is quite pretty.

So lovely that you dropped by, ceppault!

*waves to Rya and stargazer, as well*

These are unusual times indeed, and I've been thinking of you and others I know who are first responders or medical professionals.

Hear-hear, indeed. Thank you for your dedicated work in this area, cep.

Sure glad you can video chat with your mother, stargazer. What a blessing that is, especially in a time such as this. Thankful she (and others there) are well.

Re walks, Rya, I hope you can get out on them periodically. So refreshing. My best time of day is very early in the morning, so this a.m., for example, I walked from 6 to 7:20, and witnessed a most beautiful dawn and sunrise over the rolling farm fields. I gave thanks to God for this glory: even in the midst of the pandemic crisis, He is Lord.

I have been enjoying Andrew Peterson's reading of the first book of his Wingfeather Saga every night at 7 (Central time) on his Facebook page. And then, once a week, we treasure being part of the Getty family hymn singalong—every Tuesday evening at 7:15 (Central, again). Both online events are about a half hour long, 'though next week the Gettys are doing a special Easter hymn sing, so I am counting the days until that evening. It's just them and 3 of their 4 girls (the 4th is already in bed), singing around their piano, so it's very casual and wonderfully meaningful, as thousands around the world join in song-praise from their homes.

Re walks, Rya, I hope you can get out on them periodically. So refreshing. My best time of day is very early in the morning, so this a.m., for example, I walked from 6 to 7:20, and witnessed a most beautiful dawn and sunrise over the rolling farm fields. I gave thanks to God for this glory: even in the midst of the pandemic crisis, He is Lord.

That must've been beautiful to watch. My grand plan has been to go on a walk right after work each night (if I go too much later the sun will start setting), but I've found that I often arrange to meet people online shortly after work, so that hasn't worked out as well as I'd like. Plus the nice weather hasn't held as much as I'd like, unfortunately.

Oh, the Getty hymn sing sounds wonderful! There are so many things like this happening that I hope continue even after the stay at home orders are lifted. I know some of these people simply won't have time once they can start making engagements again, but still. So grateful that technology allows us to continue sharing things like this.

I've been considering doing some serious spring cleaning now that I'm stuck at home, but there have been a couple of hurdles. One, finding the motivation to make one room a mess so I can clean another - when I'm going to be stuck in that house for a while - is hard. Secondly, I keep finding out all the cleaning supplies I don't have right now. For example, I'm out of vacuum bags, and the ones I ordered won't be here until May! I may have to find a store that carries them and just have two sets of vacuum bags once my original order arrives.

I am feeling so nostalgic. I'm working on designing an app and opened NarniaWeb for reference and presto, change-o, remodeled forum! It looks fantastic, Rose. Hope everyone's well! I don't have a whole lot of time to commit to a forum currently, but NarniaWeb and being a mod here gave me some of my most cherished middle and high school memories!

*bustles in with a tray of lemonade*

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer so far!

I feel like I'm hitting the doldrums a bit earlier than usual, but it's definitely a really odd summer for everyone this year, and additionally I'm rather mentally worn out after finishing the forum transfer and not sleeping well for two months. Thankfully doing better on the latter front, and starting to recover on the former.

One thing that's been interesting so far this summer: I gave up dairy and gluten at the start of May, just to see if I noticed any differences in how I feel. At this point I can't say that I do, and I really don't like unnecessarily excluding foods but the real test will be when I reintroduce either of them, since food sensitivities can become a lot more obvious then. So I'll probably be doing that at the end of this month and hoping and praying that I feel perfectly fine. It's been an interesting challenge, though, and I definitely have a lot of respect for celiacs and anyone else who has to go to great lengths to keep common foods out of their diet.

*waves to @sweeetlilgurlie *

It's great to see you on the forum again, and thank you! Honestly, really nice to hear you say that you feel nostalgic here on the new forum; that makes me feel like I succeeded at trying to balance the old with the new. It's been lovely seeing old faces reappear, and I hope you'll drop by again! Your app sounds interesting.

Hello everyone, from your Auntie in the southern winter! We're in midwinter, and have had a variety of rain, drizzle, damp, greyness, fog, sunshine, frost, and so on. No snow yet in my city, but some parts of the country have, delighting some families as school winter holiday has just started. (2 weeks)
I used to think I didn't have time to come to the Town Square, but in post-lockdown months I have a lot of free time as I'm not yet in a job. This means I spend plenty of time sitting in my lounge with the heatpump (AC), with a snoozing cat and a TV. Any day now I will prune my roses, and ask my semi-retired horticulturalist friend to prune my fruit trees.

sweeeeeeeet!!! (Okay, that was a few too many e's. ) Wow, SO good to see you here. For those of you who don't know, we had the great privilege at staying at @sweeetlilgurlie's parents' lovely house a couple of times when we traveled to their state to see The Lord of the Rings symphony with them. She has such gracious, fun, giving parents! And they have a wonderful daughter! I hope the app-designing goes really well.

Posted by: @rose

additionally I'm rather mentally worn out after finishing the forum transfer and not sleeping well for two months. Thankfully doing better on the latter front, and starting to recover on the former.

Rose , I am so thankful to hear that you are recovering after your untold days of work on the forum move. Thank you again! And sleep, hurrah for restful sleeps again.  

Oooh, @coracle, snow is so much fun when kids are on holidays. I leave my decal snowflakes up on our front door window all year long, because on days like this when it's 40C+ (not including the humidity), I think longingly of my favourite cooler weather. *takes many sips of that refreshingly mouth-watering lemonade*

I hope a suitable job comes your way soon, coracle.  

Nellie and I have been involved with the Joni Eareckson-Tada retreat camp in MI for a few years now, but with  COVID this year the camp was cancelled. A good friend of ours—and a leader at the camp—has headed out on a road trip this past weekend with her husband to visit and deliver gift bags to as many camp families as possible, who are so saddened by no camp this year. These are families who have kids (often with severe disabilities), and whose only long break all year is the camp. What a ministry! Everyone is already looking forward to next year's with much anticipation.

Welcome back to the forum, @sweeetlilgurlie! 🙂 It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces coming back!

Oh, Rosie, that lemonade looks amazing right now. How I wish I could taste it. The heat has definitely hit us up here. (I say "heat", but I mean high 80s. I'm Minnesotan, that's hot. 😉 ) But I absolutely get what you mean about this summer being so strange. I feel like my normal sense of what time of year it should be is completely thrown off.

And Rosie, I hope you get plenty of rest soon. You have definitely earned it! And I hope you're able to figure things about the dairy and gluten sensitivity. I can imagine that trying to figure it out by trial and error can be frustrating.

Auntie, we've been having a few rainy days ourselves up here, though right now a cold rain is a relief. How often do you get snow in winter?

Oh, jo, that's really a shame about the camp being cancelled this year. 🙁 It's hardly avoidable in times like these, but that's still such a disappointment. It's wonderful to hear that they're still reaching out to the families, though, as much as is feasible right now. 🙂 And here's to high hopes for next year! 🙂

I'm still working from home at the moment, and that will probably be true until August at the earliest. Circumstances regardless, I'm glad I had the opportunity to work from home. The days honestly seem to be going by faster right now. Or maybe it's just because I have no sense of time these days. One or the other.