Starbucks or Sludge?

Usually I'm pretty good at telling my Starbucks from my sludge. Which words are keepers and which ones should be tossed down the drain.

Feedback from moi comes after letting the words sit in the pot for a few days. If (after a cooling off period) I can pour myself a cuppa, and the aroma is evocative, I can fall in love with them all over again. If, however, there's a grungy film sticking to the side of my cup, they need some attention . . . or deletion.

Once everything's been filtered properly, I'll ask trusted critiquers to sample my brew.

But even then . . . I've been known to become unreasonably attached to a scene, a paragraph. Even a phrase or a word. Some things are worth fighting for. Some aren't. If something enhances the scene, or the plot, or a character, and without it a crucial element will be lost, I'll fight. If not, I'll stick it back in the pot to simmer a few more days . . . and usually dump it out.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out. ~Ray Bradbury



Currently reading: Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz.

It's all better with friends.