This week: Even Less Stress Edited by: Waltz Invictus  
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We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.
—David Mamet, Boston Marriage
To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.
—Leonard Bernstein
I was a little excited but mostly blorft. "Blorft" is an adjective I just made up that means 'Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.' I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.
—Tina Fey, Bossypants |
The WDC newsletter editorial schedule is generally a four-week cycle. That is, for most of the year, you get to read my words of wisdom once a month; however, at least once a year, I'm stuck with two in a month.
December of 2025 is one of those months.
This is not usually a big deal. A four-week schedule is, at least, pretty chill, especially considering I've been doing a daily blog entry for nearly six straight years. But... it's December. While not as bad a month as February for me, February at least has the decency of being two or three days shorter. But December is dark and dreary and damn cold, and full of stuff I want no part of, such as holiday songs in retail establishments.
You know how I deal with that? I don't go to retail establishments in December. The world continues to demonstrate a stubborn reluctance to change for me, so I find ways to cope.
One of those ways is to turn my brain off. This usually works.
Not this year, though. Going into the holiday season, I'm usually preparing to hibernate, doing the bare minimum. So what happens this year? I get not one, not two, but half a dozen quarter-baked story ideas digging holes in my head. I barely even write fiction these days, even at the best of times, and December is very nearly the polar opposite of the best of times.
All of which is to say, everything in the Comedy editorial I wrote around this time last year still holds true: "Stress-Free Holidays" .
In summary, you don't gotta do anything. Me? I might tell myself I "gotta" do two Comedy newsletters (and one Fantasy) this month, but really, I could take a break if I wanted, though it might disappoint both my readers.
I'm still going to do it, though. For both of you. But only because I want to, not because I have to. |
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Last time, in "Curses" , I talked about cussing.
S🤦♂️  : I was talking in front of a group of adults for a workshop on writing fight scenes. The youngest member of the group was early 20s, the oldest was me, and I let slip a couple of swear words, which passed by with barely a ripple of acknowledgement.
Or so I thought.
One woman came up to me at the break and told me that swearing made me look like an oik, less intelligent and not to be taken seriously.
Without thinking, I said, "Well, fuck me!" Those who heard the exchange burst out laughing; the woman left and did not complete the workshop.
Was that rude of me? Sure. Was it funny, though? I think so, and so did the rest of the group.
And me! I actually laughed out loud.
🌝 HuntersMoon  : Thanks for including my inspirative poem.  Now, as for using (expletive deleted) cuss words, there's a time and a place. I try hard not to use them within earshot of kids. I only used them at work when I was quitting. OK, that last one isn't totally true. But, at the end of the day, they're just words. We use words, as writers, so we should choose every word we use to convey what we want the reader to understand and feel. If that happens to be an expletive word, so be it.
I agree. Sometimes the situation calls for it. Sometimes it doesn't. This is no different, in my view, than choosing other words based on the intended audience. You don't write corporate jargon into a children's book, unless the book is intended to indoctrinate the kids into the wonderful world of corporate jargon.
Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008 : For me, I try not to write using curse words..but if the story requires it, then sure, as long as it's not overpowering the story
Everyone has their own level of comfort with this sort of thing, and you gotta do what's right for you and your readers.
So that's it for me for now! I'll see you again at the end of the month. Until then, give yourself a break and
LAUGH ON!!!
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Comedy: December 03, 2025 Issue [#13478]
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