As Thanksgiving approaches, people all over the nation are feeling the urge to give thanks for good fortune, friends, family, and health. As writers, we are feeling thankful as well—especially when the occasion coincides with a large and tasty meal. We think most of you will agree that forehead-to-the-ground praise be given for:

• The beautiful, fabulous “undo” function. You know, that life-saving device that gives you a second chance when you’ve accidentally changed your entire manuscript to Wingding font or, worse, made it disappear entirely. It’s kind of like a cosmic do-over button.

• The almighty spell-check function. Who wants to look up “perseverance” ten times?

• Backup disks. Need we say more?

• Coffee. Tea. Frappuccinos. Low-fat, double-shot, tall, pumpkin lattes. And more coffee.

• Editors and agents who use the Paula Abdul method of rejection rather than the Simon Cowell school of ego-bashing. Our self-esteem thanks you fine folks.

• Writers groups, forums, and beta readers. We are grateful for those who share in our struggle to become published authors and for the support we give each other.

• For the older writers of the group, we give up a cheer for bifocals, the “zoom” function, and ergonomically designed office equipment.

• The number-one writer-friendly invention: the Internet. With e-mail, online dictionaries, and research-made-easy, the Internet saves time, trips to the library, and even postage. Google a list of agents, search Yahoo! for online submission requirements, and get it all done from the comfort of your home office! (Or on the subway, at the park, at Starbucks?)

Here at Writer’s Relief, we are most thankful for our wonderful writer clients. Oh, and we’re also grateful that we’re not turkeys.

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. —Albert Schweitzer