A Writer's Thanksgiving Menu

All around the country today, millions of Americans will belly up to the dining room table and scarf down gallons of gravy and tons of stuffing. But these common holiday foods have a double meaning to writers . . .

GRAVY
Royalty checks.

RAW TURKEY GIZZARDS
The first draft of a novel.

MASHED POTATOES
What all the ideas for a story look and feel like inside an author's brain.

CRANBERRY SAUCE
A returned critique of a manuscript if the editor used a red pen.

STUFFING
What an author would like to do with all the 1-star reviews on Amazon--stuff them in the trash.

MINCEMEAT
When a writer misses a deadline.

DESSERT
Typing "The End."

THE "AAAH" AT THE END OF THE MEAL.
A fan letter from a reader.

Happy Thanksgiving from me to you!