Whay I need is somebody to read the whole honkin' thing--I think you only got half--and point with scissors: "Here, here, here, and here. Make them gone. Now make it tidy."

And I could do that, willingly, gladly. I've also been advised to lop it into two books. Which is a bare possibility, I'm not sure there's enough actual story there for two books. But I've also been told by various members of my group to add sex, remove violence, add magic. I backed off long enough to realize that each of them was advising from the POV of their own reading preference, and shelved all those suggestions, along with the ms.

It's no wonder it's been in a drawer for a couple years. Maybe that's where it should stay.

But just by the way? You are nowhere a moron, ma'am. And I love you for the compliment.

No, I really am a fantasy moron. It's so completely alien to me that it might as well be in another language. Example: a few years back, my MIL (who loves fantasy and reads it voraciously) gave me magazine piece to read. I dutifully read it, lifted an eyebrow, and made a polite noise.

It was a satire. Apparently, it was an over-the-top parody.

I couldn't tell it from the real thing.

Fantasy moron am I.

bwah...in this, Deb is me.

I get fantasy, but I'm not a good big picture editor. (Yet. Maybe going through it a time or two on my own work will change all that.) I'm better at line edits--polishing sentences, catching little continuity glitches--and strengthening scenes.

Bev, fantasy is my genre and I'd love to help, but I just can't realistically commit to it right now. I already feel terrible about the fact that I didn't finish my beta for Deb in time for her revision process, and I don't want to screw up a second time.

t feeling overwhelmed and guilty

Don't be overwhelmed on my account, sweetie - I always factor in the fact that real life time constraints are going to hit half my beta readers, and I got feedback from about half the people who asked for it.

And the half was good solid feedback, and it worked.

No guilt, Kristin, please. You're busy molding young minds--no better occupation! Plus, you have your own opus.

Susan, I'm pretty much detail girl myself. I'm pretty good at the microscopic, but the big picture isn't my strong suit, either. Actually, that maps pretty well onto my physical vision, as I have very sharp sight up close, but past the end of my arm everything's just a big multicolor blur.

From the depths of the World's Worst Cold, I bring you this week's drabble topic!

Drabble #22 (bells) is closed.

Drabble #23 comes from Connie: under the bed. Make with the drabbles!

Drabble

Slow Sunday. Cleaning the bedroom. Go into Indiana Jones mode, take a deep breath, hang my head over the edge of the bed and look underneath.

Missing shoe, good. Library book so overdue it'll be cheaper to pay to replace it. Empty diet Coke bottle. Plural. Socks.

Reach underneath and feel around. Should have gotten the flashlight, but then I'd see the junk.

Dust bunnies. Dust puppies. Dust pandas.

Fuzzy. Oh, god, not a plate ...

Fuzzy and sharp? Twin green glints catch the light.

"Dammit ... Cat, get out of there."

Shadow slithers out and sneezes accusingly at me.

Shadow slithers out and sneezes accusingly at me.

Connie, I love that.

Also, thank you everyone for the reassurance.

Deb, book-related post in F2F thread for you.