The StoryMistress's Notebook

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Notes by The StoryMistress, in chronological orderNotes by The StoryMistress
Writing.Com 101 is coming along nicely. I'm going through every.single.entry in there and updating it, which is quite the task! 🤣 Back in 2010, online folks didn't know as much/weren't as tech intuitive, WdC was exploding with new tools, and we documented every single click/how to/where/why that we could possibly could when we came up with 101. JUST SO MANY WORDS. 😳 So now I'm going back through, simplifying everything, breaking it all up to be easier on the eyes, combining entries... and have I mentioned SIMPLIFYING? 😳

So, for what it's worth, 2010- apologizes to all of you. 🤣

Because 2026- is feeling the burn of parsing through every.single.word in every.single.entry to find what is absolutely necessary and what needs to be cut down and squashed forever. (Spoiler alert: lots of it)

Kudos to all of you who parsed through all of that documentation for the last 16 years. 👏❤️ So much love and respect for your patience and reading comprehension. 🤣
jeremy - I don't know how to parse on here, do you think there should be an entry for that in the 101?
schnujo - Well, you couldn't find it because I took every word in the english language and made sure it was in every entry I made. So not your fault. Totally mine. 🤣
cnasby
2010- says she's right on that.
2026- says hell no and tackles her old self to the ground and throws her laptop out the window.
• Edited
I'm just giving a HUGE SHOUT OUT - like from the top of every balcony, building, mountain, and pile of dirt I can find - to storymaster for this editor I'm writing in. The amount of work and writing (remember that I'm in the process of redoing ALL of the Writing.Com 101 right now) that I'm able to get done is RIDICULOUSLY so much easier and I want to cry with absolute joy every time I sit down to make a post, newfeed, comment, or edit an entry.

AHHHHH! THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH for sticking with that for so many years and not giving up on us! This was such a hard thing for you to figure out and YOU KNEW how much we needed that. YOU KNEW how important that was for the sustainability of this community and you kicked its ass finally. Thank you so much for all you do for us here. (I do not want to code to write or do my job. *Laugh* I mean, I did... and I would have continued to do that, if I had to, but I AM SO HAPPY I don't have to anymore!!!) *Laugh* *Pray* *Kiss* 💪

(I literally feel like this every time I sit down to work now.)


(Followed by this)
*Laugh*
I've been trying to figure out how I can best express my gratitude for StoryMaster... The simplest way is to just keep writing and maintain my membership *Smile*

Wow, you're tasked with redoing "Writing.Com 101"  *Shock2* I hope you have some eager volunteers to assist. I'd love to help, but I don't think I have the resources.
Fantastic changes. Thanks for taking care of us, SM
Like Max, I like that I can still reveal codes.

can hear you? *Laugh*
greenwillow - yes! It's 203 entries! LOL But sybaritescribe is helping me format the entries ahead of time, so that is helping! But with the amount of work and updating that SM is doing right now, it's hard to keep up! *Laugh*
• Edited
Ooooohhhh, new emoticons!

It's PIE for everyone!
All kinds of PI(E)!

*Pie* *Piechart* *Pi*

( pie, piechart, pi )


Thanks for stoland1999 for the original request in Suggestion Box!
Oooooh! I love *Pie*, *Piechart*, *Pi*
All three require *CoffeeToGo*.
kingscastle1 - Thank you for the Trinket AND the recipe!! *Banana**Pie*
kingscastle1 - Thank you for this delicious trinket!

💥 😃 💥 🤩 💥 😵💥

🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐
Augh!
*Runs away screaming like the Charlie Brown characters*
*Laugh* *Wink* *Silent*
I feel another improvement on the way...


That is all I can say.
😉🙃🤐
 joycag
*Heart* SMS, Oh the excitement! Over what you imply but really can't say...yet!
I've been out of the loop for awhile... good to know I should be excited about something *Bigsmile*
*Whistle*
• Edited
Guess who has a 50th birthday today!
storymaster!
*Delight*

Today, we are celebrating this amazing man who built the Writing.Com community from the literal ground up. He started Writing.Com in 2000, which means he has officially spent half his life creating and growing one of the internet’s longest-standing writing communities. That is a crazy accomplishment, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

He works tirelessly and quietly behind his screens, surrounded by multiple monitors, constantly creating, refining, and tweaking the site so everything runs smoothly for all of us. I am beyond proud of and grateful for my husband.

Please take a moment to drop your birthday wishes below! Share a heartfelt message, a little note, or a favorite memory from your time at Writing.Com. And if you’d like to give him an actual birthday gift, consider purchasing some Gift Points from our store, that’s truly the best gift he could ask for… simply supporting our community.*Heart*

Happy birthday, storymaster
I hope your day is filled to the brim with happiness, love, and zero coding bugs!

*Partyhatb* *Candleg* *Partyhato* *Cakeb* *Partyhatb* *Candleg* *Partyhato* *Cakeb* *Partyhatb* *Candleg* *Partyhato* *Cakeb* *Partyhatb* *Candleg* *Partyhato* *Cakeb*
Happy Birthday one more time, storymaster!

You've had the privilege and gifting to create something truly amazing! Writing.Com is a safe place to express one's voice, and to grow as a writer.

50 is great! From my perspective you are quite youthful.

Truest Blessings Always!
Thank you for the only place I can go to really be myself. Happy birthday 🥳🎂🥳🎂🥳
Happy Birthday to our storymasterMail Icon!
It's been years, but you always know how to cheer us up every year!
Thank you for creating a site that truly we discover who really we are. God bless you more ! and your family!
and here's to many more years of friendship and more creative and more writeship. *Cake**Balloon*
Tonight's festivities will be posted closer to 1 AM! Just letting you know!
Just a quick note that we are currently on the road and the newest birthday festivities will be open at approximately 1:30 AM instead of midnight tonight! Just wanted to let everybody know!
Looks like the Story family took the celebration to the road! Wayyy to rock and roll! *Laugh* Kidding!

I am so happy it's late today cause I thought I was late. *Laugh*
I haven't heard anything about the kids in ages. How and what are they doing?
Have a fun and safe trip!


It's been a minute since I've shared an item, but WOW, do I love this one!
It made me cry. 🥲 I can totally picture this and I love how it's written. Thank you!

 
The Legacy We Wrote  [13+]
As golden as the Wattle, so too we celebrate 50 years into the future...


*Vignette6* *Vignette6* *Vignette6*

Written for an entry in "The Writer's Cramp"  - thank you!
storymaster, make sure you read this one.
Awwwwwww!
So glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the highlight. *Delight*
You are right. It is a wonderful story.


*TreePine* Merry Christmas! *TreePine*
To all of our wonderful Writing.Com community, however today looks for you and whatever your traditions, enjoy these moments with your loved ones! Every year is different and memorable, no matter what the circumstances may bring. We wish you lots of comfort, love, and health today.

Our little family is currently healing from a nasty stomach bug that ripped through our house at lightning speed, knocking us all down for a few days and erasing the normal Christmas joys we would have today... but we are shifting our Eve and Day to this coming weekend and looking forward to being healthy again. It's the little things, for sure!

*TreePine* Enjoy your day, WdC! *TreePine*
Get well soon. Christmas is in the heart. Celebrate all year.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! Hope you have a quick recovery! ❤️
Wishing you all a speedy recovery and a happy and healthy New Year!
Brenda
Today is storymaster's 48th birthday!! Please comment here with your well wishes and tell him why you love this amazing place he's created and kept going for 24 years! 🎂🙌🎊❤️🎈
I wish you a wonderful *Fireworks6* and well-written *Smile* birthday, storymasterMail Icon!

I thank you very sincerely for creating this community of wtiters, and for maintaining your dedication to it and to the writers who gather here.

A blank page can be very daunting, so I can but imagine what it was like when you looked at a blank reality and began creating Writing.com. I wish you many more wonderful birthdays and much ongoing success with this community.

And Bren said, "Amen."
Happy Birthday, storymaster! *Heart* Thank you for creating WDC. I know that I can always come online and it's the only place that has been constant in our ever-changing life. It's our virtual home and a safe place where we can share and grow our writing throughout the years.
Happy 48th from across The Pond! And thanks for providing me with such a warm second family home for the past 22 years. WdC's personal touch is simply unique. Long may it stay in the family! *Cake2*
Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes! I appreciate that. My Friday 13th birthdays are always special when they fall on one and even bigger this year since I turned 50 on this one. Thank you, Writing.Com family! *Heart*
Happy Birthday Week! *Heart*
Happy 50th to you! *Heartp*
I really loved being 50. I finally felt like a bona fide grown up.

Hot topic ahead... AI and creativity. *Wink* With AI becoming more advanced and readily available at every angle this year, do you think it's going to stifle human creativity or enhance it? Obviously, we've all been using some form of AI since computers came around with spell check and such, but the AI *now* is not your parents' AI. *Laugh*

And I'm not talking about "here's my story idea, write the entire story for me, then I'll post it as my own." Because that is legit cheating/plagiarizing (note that initially I spelled that wrong and a red line appeared on my laptop, so I right clicked and changed it to the computer's suggested spelling *Wink*) and that type of use of AI is gross. And honestly, it won't read well anyway and will seem very mediocre, in my opinion. I don't think we are quite there yet with disguising AI as "good writing" without some form of human intervention. That is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking your own writing and throwing it into AI asking "where are my spelling mistakes?" or "find what doesn't work in my plot" or "give me two ideas on how to twist this angle for my character?"

Or what if a writer works with AI to lay out the entire outline of a story and uses it as tool to keep track of everything and double check all the work? Is that ok? What if a script writer uses AI to come up with a list of new plots and ideas for their next hit movie and then they use AI like an intern to just work back and forth while they write it? Is that acceptable in your opinion?

So what you do think? Yay or nay on AI and to what level are you each comfortable with? And why for either? GO!
jennybowden - We have actually played a fun game sometimes where we just come up with challenges for AI to create random art using our crazy prompts and it's HYSTERICAL. The facial expressions, the extra digits on their hands, the extent to which it can create these intensely detailed scenarios... it's really funny. *Laugh*
With AI, I come up with the ideas, and then it helps with m ideas to help enhance it. I write my own story. Would this be wrong? I ask questions when I have one in order to develop my story.
annamc.poet - Honestly, I think that's a great way to use AI. I like to brainstorm with her (yes, I've given her a gender and she's like my intern sometimes. She doesn't complain, I can tell her when she's right/wrong/on the right path/listening, etc... but I'm also really nice to her so she doesn't put me on her extermination list 10 years from now. *Laugh*) But yes, brainstorming is a perfectly fine example of putting AI to good use, in my opinion!

Anyone else following this thread: "Has anyone else taken a long WDC break?"   on General? I have to say that it's AMAZING to read through all of these members' histories of why they have or have not taken a break... and what brings them back each time.

I LOVE reading these. *Heart*

I was gone for a month. I had a bowel obstruction surgery and was on a breathing tube for 6 days and almost died. I had to go to rehab for a month and my Nook wouldn't let me on the web site. It was the worst month ever. I hope I never have to miss a month of WDC again. I live here.
Yes. But this looks like a good read. Good choice.
 jeff
I think I’ve taken fewer days off from WdC than I have from work at this point. *Laugh*
I mean, I won't say I want to win this bidding war, but currently storymaster's badge is higher than mine. So go *Down*... go now and bid on Package 13! 🤣

FORUM
The Snail Mail Auction  (13+)
Do you like snail mail? Always wanted a signed story or poem by a WDC author? Come on in!
#2104680 by kitteeMail Icon


(PS: I do want to win the bidding war.)


🤣

*Angelic*
Oh this is going to be fun to watch! A bidding war!
(Pops some corn and fluffs up cushion on ringside seat.)
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