Ten Writing Things I’m Thankful For

by Kelley Lindberg

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be full of reasons to be grateful. Here are some of the writing-related things I’m thankful for today:

1. Auto-correct.
2. Brilliant authors who inspire me.
3. Bad authors who reassure me.
4. Chocolate, for that tiny reward at the end of a long day.
5. Whoever figured out how to make decaf, for letting me have my ritual coffee while writing, even though I can no longer have caffeine.
6. Word processors. While I remember the days of writing by hand, typing the final draft, and using white-out liberally, I am incredibly grateful that I no longer have to write that way. Incredibly. I mean it.
7. Subplots that go nowhere. They teach me to be good at cutting.
8. Characters that visit me in the middle of the night and pull me into their lives.
9. Writing friends who don’t hesitate to say, “You can do better than this.”
10. Words, for being fluid, nuanced, lyrical, double-edged, harsh, lush, biting, gorgeous, elusive, ringing, frustrating, rhythmic, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys to play with.