Grrrrr, I hope I’m not one of the f bombers. If so I do apologize.
I do wonder if part of the proliferation of swearing in current written works is directly proportional to the proliferation of swearing in the “real world”. I do know that it is much more prevalent in today’s professional world than it was 10 years ago.
I’m obliged to make the world as easily understood as possible. “It’s just like reality” is an incredibly convenient short-cut for that. I hoped that such a well established alternate reality as the Dickensian Scrooge/Marley would’ve been as close to ubiquitously understood as “real life”, but I totally get that some would prefer that I was more adventurous in this regard.
PS did people notice our first “re-used” character?
Personally, I thought it was a pretty genius way to test the waters outside that box.
I assume the Rog character doesn’t count, b/c he was ripped from the pages of real life. Obviously. But after that I am flumoxed – guessing this is a character from the pre-GR era.
gr
Are you taking bets this year?
That is exactly our plan! But I won’t be able to share any particulars, of course, for fear of tipping the scales.
I can be persuaded to propose genre/plots to ensure they will NEVER be selected.
Okay, wife and I have run our genre analyses and our bets are laid in. I am so going to win this time!
Vic-k has dibs on shape-shifting aliens being hunted and eaten by cats then a final confrontation with “mom and dad” shape-shifter. You know he’s a lock for this year…
Hey!!! That wasn’t me, y’ muffin-brain. That was Lunk, the Scandi knucklehead. He seem to be veering t’wards a Startreck-Star wars-Alien-Bladerunner amalgamation. He already inhabits his own Universe.
Probably goes late-night Wormhole cruising … the guy’s weird!
Lunk only started the “cat roams a building” part. I added the shape shifters. You had the parental confrontation. You own it now.
One of yoos two, had the cat, eating child/alien inhabitants of all the rooms, en route to the last room, wherein resides Mom&Dad Alien. I only pointed out the inescapable fact, that it had terrible potential for 'Mom&Dad slaughter kids in cat … or, kids in cat slaughter Mom&Dad, scenario, but purely from the emotional and psychological perspective … unlike yoos two sickos, all out for blood and gore 
That would be me. But you took it to a dark place… a very dark place.
Not if the cat is now an alien-kid-cat , and Alien Mom is a cat lover. Could turn into a Intergalactic Easey Rider Road Trip Story
Dad-Mom-Catkid; youtube.com/watch?v=egMWlD3 … gs=pl%2Cwn
With this level of creativity I still hold that the last chapter is all yours.
Careful y’ don’t drop it, cos it’ll be a long time a-coming. 
I believe the gracious Ange would help us pin you down until you delivered!
How is the real boss doing these days? Been a while since we socialized publicly.
The real boss is, very, very, very, very busy, helping very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very busy, youngest daughter and son-in-law, move into their new house. It’s been a hectic couple of months for them, but thankfully, they are at the stage where they can all sit back and enjoy the fruits of their endeavours. All the indications point to them being extremely happy there.
Fingers crossed 
Congratulations on
someday I hope to demonstrate the same level of success.
Changing the subject slightly…
How do people feel about having expositional elements in their chapter briefs? I’ve tended to write off story ideas that have required any material level of exposition, but maybe I’m too sensitive?
Eh… If you have too, but part of the fun is reading the non-sense we’ve created with minimal input.
But I’m not the norm. Ever.