Quick 5-minute writing spark:Your reflection in the mirror stops copying you. Instead, it starts telling you the one secret you've been hiding from everyone—even yourself. What does it say? Write the first line of dialogue (or the whole short exchange) below.

Hi everyone! I had a conversation with one of my alpha readers (aka critique partner) around a sentence from my novel. Please see below. "I’m tidying up the last things before heading out. One final look at my inbox, then I grab the trench coat, and switch off the Sonos." According to my alpha reader, grabbing "the" trench coat is not grammatically correct, and the sentence should read "I grab my trench coat." Not having defined the trench coat or not having given enough context doesn't warrant the use of a definite article. Basically, we don't know anything about it, so it cannot be called THE trench coat. If, for example, I'd said "I look for something warm in the wardrobe. I grab the trench coat and leave", that would have worked, because we are already in the realm of clothing and the character is looking into a wardrobe. Now, I can totally see where this is coming from, but to me it feels there's enough context? And I struggle to see how it becomes a plain grammar mistake. The character is clearly heading out, and performs a number of actions typical of who gets ready to leave the office, including grabbing a coat that can just assume is his. I do trust my alpha reader, who is a linguist and a translator, but I wonder whether the precise, academic grammar might have got in the way of what we can and cannot say in fiction? Or I am simply plain wrong, which is equally fine, but I'd like to know why :D What do you think? P.S. I know this is an easy fix and not a biggie at all. At this point, it's mostly an intellectual curiosity for me :)

What’s the one thing stopping you from finishing your current WIP right now? Procrastination? Perfectionism? That endless research rabbit hole? We are have something - share yours below.

A question for you guys: How plausible does a high concept thriller need to be? ALL Dan Browns books cross the line and are not speculative? So are many other best sellers. Does Gone Girl have an improbable plot? Is Girl on a train is far fetched and highly coincidental? And, Where the Crawdads Sing…I mean, really? But it works great doesn’t it?! So is it ok the cross the line a bit with an exciting plot? And does the reader care? I’m asking for a friend!!!

I wonder if others have specific routines to get in the right frame of mind for writing. I have drill books used by junior children for learning and memorising Chinese characters and idioms. Fifteen minutes or so usually does the trick for a couple of hours writing.