I have no idea where that came from today, but am very glad everybody enjoyed it.

Whoa, Amy.

Powerful stuff there, Amy.

A trick drabble (sort of)... this is from my NaNoWriMo story, though this will happen around Nov. 15th or so...

Miriam rushed into the room, slamming the door behind her. Breathing raggedly, it took her a moment to focus on the room. Hanging lamp, wobbly table, one rickety chair. Russell, smoking a long cigarette and grinning like a cat who had canary for the blue plate special.

“But… I thought… you were covering me! How did you get here before me?”

He reached out to crush his cigarette on the tabletop. Peeking from his sleeve, she saw the same mark as the demons, branded into the flesh inside his wrist. His laugh was liquid and black.

“Tricksy fellow, ain’t I?”

Presto

Psst! You, on the other side of the Valley of Death! Over here!

Wanna see a trick?

Seriously, it's wicked cool. I need someone from the audience - yes, you, with the brown eyes.

waves handkerchief

What? Just what you always did: apologise, justify, keep your wedding ring on no matter what, tell me she's your wife, reconcile, leave her again, come back readdicted, lay your head in my lap and weep while I sweat the pain out of you.

Now, here's the neat part. Ready?

vanishes in puff of regret

I can become invisible. Amazing trick, huh?

Abracadabra, darling.

Great drabbles. I have sort of an editorial type question... Yesterday I got this Breath...submission on my desk. It is a very sweet story, at least it's supposed to be, and she's got some skills, but it missed my heartstrings by miles and I'm not sure why. But maybe I've had my heartstrings amputated. I like to think I can read in many genres,though. Should I vote to reject? I want to give the writers a fair shot and I don't want her to pay because I'm "callous and strange", but it's not easy because there's not much wrong with it, just something indefinable that failed, so far, to be right with it. Or I could be a heartless bastard...how do I tell?

Maybe you should just say that -- technically, it's fine, but she didn't sell the piece to me emotionally.

Reading others work is alway subjective -- I rejected a lot of stuff that was well done on the surface, but didn't make me feel for the characters.

That's true.. well, I took this on so I'd know how They make these kinds of decisions...I guess I'm learning now!

Sometimes it really is that simple, you know? Someone may be a technically decent writer, but if they're not hitting where they've suposedly aimed, it doesn't matter. I've read three or four pages of very polished writing that made me large with the Not Caring about the story or the characters. A big part of writing is a hugely subjective that way, in my mind.

I realized that, on my first read, my big sexy brain filled in some of the holes...the next time through, I focused on the words on the page, not the images I could expand from what's there. On that basis, it failed, so I had to reject it. Because I'm not writing that story. She is, and I have no way of knowing what's in her heart if she didn't type it out and send it to me. But it was a tough call. I like my version, too, but I'm not looking to collaborate anyway.