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I fixed myself a snack (sesame sourdough bread from a local bakery and some Italian dressing to dip it in) to get myself to write more queries this afternoon.

#WritersCoffeeClub What are your goals for the month, writing-wise?

I've been devoting most of my writing effort toward querying for a literary agent. The first 30 took the most effort, as I needed to construct new elements for each query. Now I've got most of those pieces in hand, so submitting each new query requires less effort. Next, I need to get a bunch of short fiction manuscripts that were rejected back out to "markets". After that, maybe I'll have a little time to write new fiction.

Languagehat talks about Polish influences on #Esperanto. https://languagehat.com/polish-in-esperanto/

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Captain said, retrieving the bottle from inside his cloak with a flourish. It was a large, clear, unlabeled bottle, crudely corked, containing a transparent liquid. "I offer you this rare #brandy."
The man motioned and the Captain approached and handed him the bottle. He accepted the bottle, quickly uncorked it, and took a swig.
"Ah!" he said with pleasure, wiping his mouth with the back of a filthy hand. "A fine year!" (3/3) #wss366

Pallets and crates were stacked up among garbage cans and piles of trash. Amongst them, a shadowy, unshaven figure reclined. He wore a boot on his head.
The figure emitted a wracking cough, then spoke in a booming voice. "Who approacheth the King?"
"Please accept the Captain and the Hero into your #august presence, Your Majesty," said the Captain, bowing.
"Ha-hmm," the man said. "And did you bring an offering?" (2/3) #wss366

"Well," said the Captain. "I guess it's time to go talk to the King." He opened his desk drawer, pulled out a bottle, and tucked it into his cloak.
"The King?" asked the Hero.
The Captain motioned and led the Hero across town.
"Isn't the castle that way?" the Hero asked.
"This way is shorter," the Captain said, leading him into a warren of narrow alleyways.
They eventually arrived in a dark space among the back side of buildings where the alleyways converged. (1/3) #wss366

The Henderson's Blues Band at the Amherst Summer Concert series. We're in the front row for this one. #WesternMass

After a day of heavy, warm rain, I saw some spectacular Syzygites mold growing on the bolete caps i saw earlier: https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/116896634404027285 #FungusFriday

*Bearly Believable* has been accepted for publication! https://stevendbrewer.com/bearly-believable-accepted-for-publication/

"And if I have?"
"If you put a dollar on 00, what's the payout?"
"Uh…"
"It's usually 36 bucks. If you won, would you let it ride?"
"What?"
"Would you let it ride and hope for another 00? You'd need to get 00 three times in a row to equal the chance of there being an effect."
"Oh," he said. "So there's no effect."
"That's what I said." (2/2) #wss366

"There's no effect," the scientist said.
"Do you have any #proof?" he asked.
"That's not how statistics works," she said. "You can't prove a negative. All you can do is reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis. That's not the same as proof."
"Do you expect anyone to believe that?" he snorted.
"Have you ever played roulette?" (1/2) #wss366

Having a salad for lunch.

I wrote a brief update on how querying is going so far: https://stevendbrewer.com/my-querying-journey/

"First," said the troll. "I'm gonna tear off your arms."
The Hero stood resolute.
"Then I'm gonna tear off your head."
The Hero said nothing.
"Then I'm gonna shit down yer neck," the troll jeered finally.
"Thinking about that gives you a #boner?" asked the Hero gesturing.
"What? No!" the troll said. He looked down and clutched his genitals.
The Hero sprang forward and struck the troll in the forehead with the pommel of his sword.
The troll made a grunt and fell backward onto his seat. #wss366

The NYT wants you to know they're doing their part to keep AI in the headlines so the bubble will keep inflating.

TheGuardian has a nice article up today about #Esperanto https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/28/nudists-peaceniks-freeloading-travellers-esperanto

"C'mon, Bro. Just let me launch this IPO and cash out, Bro. Just a few more months, Bro..." https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-the-singularity-agi-prediction-anthropic-nvidia-2026-7

I knew a guy one time who couldn't have a conversation. When you spoke to him, he would ask questions until he found something he could argue with you about, and then would spend the rest of the time arguing. I'll have to use him in a story sometime, but only as as secondary character. It would be very tedious to have someone like that as the protagonist.

"Open the gate!" it cried again.
No response.
"I'll huff! And I'll puff!"
Nothing.
But then something flew over the wall, struck the hobgoblin, and smashed it to the ground.
It laboriously dragged itself out from under the body of a griffon.
"I'll just come back later then," the hobgoblin yelled, as it limped back to the forest. (2/2) #wss366

A #hobgoblin stalked out of the forest. Carrying a long, wicked blade and chuckling maniacally, it approached the city gate.
The gate was closed.
"Open up!" the hobgoblin yelled, flexing its muscles.
There was no response. The hobgoblin listened and could hear distant yells and screams. (1/2) #wss366