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  • 17-MAY-2025 | Excerpt from “Dimension of Miracles” by Robert Sheckley

17-MAY-2025 | Excerpt from “Dimension of Miracles” by Robert Sheckley

Author

Dan Bogachek
May 17, 2025

You glance at your watch.

It’s 6:28. You’ve been at it since 3.
Crap. Your hot date is at 7. Running late. Sink shower it is.
Nowhere close to done editing…

“…at least all the ideas are laid out, so there’s that. Did I miss anything? I don’t think so? Ok, but how do I make it flow? I need to get the final draft to Stacey for design asap, team cutoff is at noon Thursday…”

You’ve spent dinner completely distracted. Your date just took off. You go home exhausted, plod to your desk, and flip open the laptop.

Or… what if:

5:41 — you’re out of the shower and lip-syncing.
6:17 — dressed to the nines and zenned out.
7:03 — the sunset glints off your aviators as you smile hello.
8:36 — it actually feels like you’re hitting it off. Not just hot, funny to boot.
Next morning, 9:27 — final draft ready in your inbox.
10:31 — Stacey messages back, “thanks, looks good!”

The difference?

Copygloss handled it. Before you left for the date, actually.

For help with editing, email Dan:
[email protected].

Excerpt from “Dimension of Miracles” by Robert Sheckley

It had been a typically unsatisfactory day. Carmody had gone to the office, flirted mildly with Miss Gibbon, disagreed respectfully with Mr. Wainbock, and spent fifteen minutes with Mr. Blackwell, discussing the outlook for the football Giants. Toward the end of the day he had argued with Mr. Seidlitz — argued vehemently and with a total lack of knowledge — about the steady depletion of the country’s natural resources, and the remorseless advance of destructive agencies such as Con Ed, the Army Engineering Corps, tourists, fire ants, and pulp-paper manufacturers. All of these, he contended, were responsible in varying degrees for the spoliation of the landscape and the steady obliteration of the remaining pockets of natural loveliness. 🏁

The general rule of thumb is to avoid adverbs. But Sheckley uses them to great effect here, for illustration, a pleasing repetition, and humor.

Almost like a different color light filter for each shot in a scene.