• odd, strange, or unusual noises
• lights turning off or on by themselves
• things are moving when they shouldn't be
• some things disappear or can't be found
• shadows that don't match the surroundings
• weird symbols or writing
• animals are sensitive to something unseen
• children or pets react to people only they can see
• something touches you but nothing is there
• unexplained cold spots

Does this list worry you, or do you feel like writing a great horror story about a spooky old house now?

Non-fiction writers are not praised and remembered the way fiction writers are. Yet, it is important to have both.

From a grocery list, a technical manual, a journal/ biography, an editorial, self-help/ how-to, text book, legal document, recipe, or a political speech, they write about reality. As do fiction writers in their way. But people would rather read the truth with the idea of it being fiction. Rather than reading about the truth, cold, hard plain, facts. People don't really want to know the truth when it isn't what they want to hear.

So fiction is celebrated and honoured while non-fiction sits on a shelf getting dusty, if noticed at all.

I wonder if fiction could exist without non-fiction? How would fiction writers find all their facts to spin into stories if it weren't for those non-fiction writers keeping track of the world?

There isn't much left of The Sixty Second Writer now. Just the few pages saved at the Internet Archives. It was a site I liked for writing inspiration. She was also on the old Alltop site (in the writing category) when I was with WordGrrls. Maybe she also got burnt out and felt disappointed about writing online. I was sorry to see Alltop taken over and all the categories turned into big, popular, news sites everyone who cared already knew about. All the less known sites, like mine, were dropped. It was sad because I had actually been invited, chosen, to be linked (RSS feed) by Alltop. Anyway, as you know, nothing lasts forever.

I tried to find the Sixty Second Writer online now. I think it is Sarah Bragg. The Sixty Second Writer blog was written by S.P Bragg. So, its possible. I didn't find anything else that seemed likely. The original site on Blogspot was taken down. So, there isn't anything for the Internet Archive to archive now, just the bits it had before the site was gone.

This is one of the posts I could still find. Not the original post I had linked to, that one was unfound.

You are a chocolate buyer for a high end department store and it is your job to taste every one and then choose which chocolates would be perfect for your store. Focus on flavor and appearance...

Wouldn't this be an awesome job!!

Writing about chocolate is not easy for me to do without thinking about how much I'd like some chocolate. I think I would like plain, but very good, milk chocolate as much as any other. A gooey caramel centre would be good. Maybe a few toasted pecans, like a Turtle. (Not an actual turtle).

The first postcard was (probably) a hand-painted design on card sent by the writer, Theodore Hook in 1840, to himself. The image was a caricature of workers in the post office. He was known for his practical jokes.

Not all postcards are sent from vacations or travels abroad. Many are still used as sales promotions by businesses.

What do you write on a postcard when it isn't about marketing...

• personal news
• something you have done or seen that day
• a short journal with thoughts and feelings
• interesting, motivating, or inspiring quotations
• flash fiction (very short story)
• information, like an address, a phone number
• a recipe
• holiday or seasonal greetings
• gossip
• drawings or cartoons
• mail art
• encouraging words
• interesting facts
• a coded message
• review a book, movie, etc.
• a hand drawn map
• riddles
• share a joke
• an invitation
• an anonymous love letter

Pick out a postcard and send one to family, a friend, or someone else on your mind.