Sorry Barb, May the next email be a sale.

Drabble theme for today: blink ? How's that?

That's a good one. I was drawing a blank.

Gud, you *didn't* fall off a ladder, right?

No. I'm actually really safe on a ladder because of my phobia. I feel like I'm tipping backwards the whole time so I can't even get up the ladder unless it's really, really secure.

Chapter 17 and 18 are in the bag. I actually used a paragraph from my rough draft in 19, a rare event.

Sorry about the news Barb, I hope the next communication is more satisfactory.

Thanks, Gud. And glad to see that the ladder didn't claim you as a victim and that you're making some progress.

As far as the Rs, they are what they are. I also just found out today that an editor to whom my agent had submitted the manuscript was just let go from his house, apparently for creative differences. Which happens. We'll just find someone else at the house to submit to. I feel bad for one of my good friends, because this was her editor and he currently had her option book and was about to take it to committee, so now she's sort of back at square one until they decide who's going to be looking at his former work.

Would I be welcome to discuss my non-fiction writing in here? It doesn't really fit the thread description. But I'm embarking upon the long, lonely life of an independent researcher and writer, including beginning work on a book. I see my non-fiction writing very much as a craft. Also, I'm from a writing family - my father is a published non-fiction writer and poet, while my stepmother writes fiction and is working on getting her first publication. So I know quite a lot about the whole, long, soul-sucking process...!

Currently, I'm trying to get past the appalling writer's block that is stopping me from writing up my dissertation. Then I'll be beginning the book process. Am debating whether to contact publishers with a proposal, or write some chapters first. I think it will depend on how far the associated research gets in the first couple of months.

Sure, Seska. We talk about all sorts of writing in here and I, for one, would love to hear more about what you're doing. I agree that non-fiction writing is a craft with its own rules and parameters as much as any fiction writing.

Seska, I would love to hear more about what you are writing as well.

Blink drabble:

It all begins with a champagne toast at midnight. You blink, and you are buying candy hearts and chocolates for your sweetheart. You blink, and you are coloring Easter Eggs. You blink, and the days get longer. You blink, and you are eating ice cream at the beach. You blink, and you are carving a pumpkin. You blink, and you are eating a turkey dinner with your family. You blink, and you are drinking cocoa while watching the snow fall. You blink, and you are once again holding a glass of champagne. You blink, and another year has gone by.

Oh, sj, I like that a lot. Definitely a neat interpretation of "in the blink of an eye."