53.5K words through my revision. I think this will end up ~80K. Maybe closer to 78K. We’ll see how much I need to flesh out the final act of the story. I’ve added a few scenes, but I’m also trimming some of the fat as I go. I am keeping up a good pace (for those of y’all keeping track, that’s 19,000 words revised since last week). I have some trickier rewrites coming up that may slow me down — and I hope they do slow me down, I always seem to go too fast through scenes at the end — but it’s feeling really good. Especially because I am now at the “kissing” part of the book which is just good fun to write.
They run. They kiss. They try to overcome their trauma. What else do you want out of a young adult novel?
Here are my last sentences written from this past week:
- 8/18: Still, I try Riley and ask her if she’s heard from Mom.
- 8/19: “Don’t follow me,” I say hollowly and slam the door in her face.
- 8/20: I wish I never stopped running, but I did.
- 8/21: If Clarke isn’t going to be the best runner in the world, if she’s not going to even try, where does that leave me?
- 8/22: No, no, no, no—
- 8/23: Best of all, the whole place always smells like freshly baked bread.
- 8/24: When I start on my arm circles she draws the line.
With Love,
Natalie