- Words Written: 49,788
- Scenes Drafted: 29
- Total Progress to Draft 1 Completion: ~57%
The jar now contains 48 beads (18 silver for Act 1, 30 moonstone for Act 2) and 8 diamonds. My office now contains a box fan with a MERV13 filter duct-taped to it, too, so it's been a productive week.
This week has been a whirlwind, not just for myself, but for a lot of the United States and Canada being impacted by recent wildfires. A lot of my drafting this week has been done in my DIY clean room with the aforementioned filtration system in place. While writing is usually my escape, I couldn't help but reflect on the almost dystopian state of the world - and the way those anxieties keep surfacing within Tandem. I've spent the last few days disappointed and concerned with the world's state of affairs. This morning, however, was a small relief: Michigan's AQI dipped to below 100, so I was able to step outside. The baby birds who live in a nest in my back yard survived the wildfire smoke. Things can be good sometimes, too.
Back to writing: What do the following actions have in common: nodding, glancing, heel-turning, and gazing? Better yet, what do the following phrases have in common: painfully aware, practically, and 'with that'? Well, I'm excited to announce that I've discovered this week that these are Aven McVie Specialties (tm). That's right! I discovered this week that when I don't know how to describe the physical presentation of emotion, I fall back on these old faithful phrases. My ship is made of bobbleheads with a penchant for being painfully aware of their glances and gazes. Not to worry: a giant pink post-it note now lives on my monitor as a reminder of my shame. But hey - it's what first drafts are for!
Also discovered in this week's manuscript audit: the word 'you' appears 1,248 times in my draft. It's nearly tied with 'I' for second-most-common word in the book. This... is not normal for most books. This is, however, by design for Tandem. I will explain no further.
As for a Tandem teaser... I've discovered the actual title of the novel! I'll save it for a bigger reveal later, but those of you reading might enjoy chapter 28, specifically...
Next week, I'm going to singlehandedly ruin my characters' lives. Can't wait!
With love,
Aven