Continued reading Hired and Fired and got some positive feedback from the group. They liked the fact that the protagonist discovered gibberish inside the stories he was publishing.

Next Saturday is our Christmas party. I sat down to write a short humorous piece, but it didn't come out that way. I may not be the humorous type of writer.

Got a rejection the other day, and it also contained some advice:  "Thank you for submitting to Saw Palm and giving us the opportunity to read “Lieutenant Pedro Leon.” Regrettably, we have decided it is not the right fit for the journal at this time.
Many of the editors suggested focusing on the story in the diary, as that seems to be where the action is, as opposed to the discovery of the diary. We wish you the best of luck placing the story elsewhere.
Kind regards,"
That was the same story I had submitted to a local library contest who didn't consider it. Magazines have professional people looking at your work, not some locals who think they can judge good writing.
I was happy to have some advice along with the rejection and read the email to my writers group who thought that was a good thing.

I read something about writing a synopsis before starting the story. That way you know where you are going with it and can just start in writing. Perhaps I will do that in January with the goal of having it pertain to a novel instead of a short story.

Waiting for my dvd player to come today. Will watch Christmas With The Kranks which is taken from a John Grisham story titled Skipping Christmas. They are both worthy of your time.

Write today.
JH