Anna may be feeling more daring/foolhardy than she might normally, under the circumstances. They'd try to get the womenfolk away from the fight, but she could creep up front to see what's going on, then she could see the lieutenant yelling things and contradicting himself and his soldiers looking scared and baffled. And Jack trying to hold up some sort of defense on the side.

I'm fascinated by Empress Josephine, and one of my books tells of her travelling to join Napoleon in Italy and nearly getting ambushed on the way. Her carriage isn't up to the stress of speed and loses an axle and they have to hide in a ditch for a little while.

Deb, I've said this before, but it bears repeating. It undoubtedly has been honed by excellent use, but you have a gift for choosing each word for the weight it will bear of description: mood, atmosphere, physical or psychic surroundings. Your writing could never be called spare, but you have no extraneous information, either. Every word chosen moves your story forward, while at the same time providing immersion in that story for the reader. It's a rare gift, and I feel privileged to be familiar with your work.

I've studied how you do it, and have come to the conclusion it can't be copied. I doubt you could teach it. It is truly a gift, and you use it well.

it can't be copied

Bev, that was a remarkably nice thing to say, but in re the copyhing aspect? Not sure there's anything to copy, or rather, that it's a matter of copying - it's the, what, technique? Lousy word, but all I can think of right now; climb out of yourself and channel the experience. Then come to your own body, your own consciousness, and write it.

Voice can't be copied, everyone's is completely different, but write it however it comes. If there's too much of it? That's what a really good editor or beta reader is for.

And I can't shut up about the sensory input--but then that's the way I live my life, and why I am not a happy extrovert.

My problem is that for a person with five functional senses, I tend to wander through the world not paying too much attention to the input I get from them. I'm verbal rather than visual, and abstract rather than sensory. So it doesn't even occur to me naturally to think of all those details that Beverly describes, and I'm just wanting to rush through and get to the next dialogue scene as soon as I can, because that's where my gifts lie. But since I don't want to limit myself to peaceful comedy of manners stories for the rest of my life, I have to get past it somehow.

I'll give it one more try and see how it feels from Anna's POV. If I'm still not satisfied, I'll make a note that it'll need serious editing and move on. I hate feeling bogged down like this.

Umph, I may have mispoke. I would never try to copy anyone else's voice. But the technique of, for lack of a better term, "illuminating brevity" is so foreign, so un-understandable for me that I hold it in as much awe as a bushman regards fire. How does she do that? And how do I go about learning how to do it?

Bev, speaking just for myself? It's a question of one word equalling many pictures: three words can provide the underpinning for an entire situation, if they happen to be the right three words for the job.

So they become visual portmanteaus, or possibly freight cars: very few words carrying a lot of freight.

Anyone have any idea how to cope when all your brain comes out with when sitting to write is white noise?

White noise, it turns out, makes it very hard to hear the story. It's like my "muse" is under local; she's there, but not feeling very much, and it's starting to piss me off.

I've never gone this long (about two months now) in this state, so I'm not sure what to do about it.

As you may have guessed, I brought a certain fluency to this week's drabble topic. He’s just sitting there...fucking talking, blah, blah, blah. Could you get to the point, please? Or not. I didn’t rent this video to hear *you*. It’d be so easy. Sharp object to the head...no, I’m too short. Or the chip he eats that gives me a moment’s pause could lodge in his windpipe. I could be a hero, or I could stop and smell the cyanosis...tough call, yeah. It’s such a pity how he talks about nothing and there’s non-verbal people in the world. Regretfully, I pause my video. “I’ve got to get going.” He’ll never know how close he came.

stop and smell the cyanosis

This line pleases me greatly.

Aw, shucks... It's what I have to show for 47,000 hours of watching L&O, really.