The first sentence of this story flowed out of my
pencil onto a yellow legal pad with no conscious effort at composition.
I looked at it for a minute, and then the first part of the story, when
Lucy leaves the first time, flowed out like I was in a trance. I
was going to quit there, but both critical readers I consulted thought
it should continue. The remainder of the story did not flow out without
effort. This is equivalent to War and Peace in length for my writing.
When I thought it was finished, I sent it off to Jane
Urquhart and Crimson
Dragon to criticize. Both of them thoughtfully took the time
to read and evaluate the story, and both offered suggestions and insights
that I incorporated in the final draft. I thank both of them for
their generosity in taking the time to help. Both are excellent writers
with their own web pages here at asstr. Click on the names above
to go to their sites.