erika, I think when you're in a professional situation, it's always worth it to do the revisions. There's nothing wrong with having a conversation about it first, if you like, but when you're writing for magazines, online or off, it's always going to be part of the process.

Or, you know, what Scrappy said.

I'm really not sure my plot will work on the smaller scale he seems to want... Which means writing a different story unless I come up with some "Hoke-eats-the-cans-of-salmon" shortcut thing.

erika, how long do you have to turn this around? Can you give it a day or two to digest? Sometimes when I get editorial suggestions, I have the knee-jerk "NOOOOOOOO" response, but then after a couple of days, it subsides enough for me to think things through, and that's considering the lizard brain is also generally at work on it as well.

He didn't say. But I guess I don't have to rush.

I wasn't online, so this is the drabble from the original topic. 100 words exactly, not including the title. As always, I welcome suggestions.

not yet

I ache a little, sometimes, to see the beauty of an autumn dusk. High desert: the geese and hummingbirds cross paths. "Not yet, not yet," they cry, "but soon."

Soon the northern clouds will gather snow. Soon the maples blush, sap thickening, slowing, in their veins. Soon ice and fires and hot drinks on cold nights. Not yet, but soon.

The sun has gone, the sky's yellow with its memory. Smoke from the wildfires drifts languorously across the pines. We stretch and realign ourselves, reconciling with the coming darkness.

And the dusk whispers, "Welcome to the night."

Oh Liese, that's gorgeous.

Liese, that's lovely-- it's got a very poetic feel and cadence.

This isn't very good, but I decided to post it anyway just to get myself to write more.

The road is long and quiet. We feel the worries of everyday begin to slip away. When we arrive, the waitress greets us with a smile of recognition, "Are you staying at your mom’s this weekend?" I answer affirmatively as she leads us to our table. The menu is filled with foods from my childhood, simple, hearty, and comforting, made with love. There is no need to ask for the better quality alcohol in your drink because that is all that is used, and the results are always delicious. Dinner is neither rushed along nor painfully slow. Welcome to vacation.

Oh, sj, that's lovely. I can feel every word, and heartfelt writing is the best.

Thanks, Sail!