And lo, two days before the official end of the write-a-thon, I came to the line that said “we’re done” (as opposed to the thing you thought was going to be the last line), and we have Achieved Draft.
A drafty, mangled, in dire need of rewriting draft, I admit. But I know what the story is about, now, and where it needs expanding and where it needs cutting, and what threads to pull forward and what threads to cut/tuck away. Which is what a draft is for, yes?
So, call it: 23,279 words of “Strong Earth,” in a little under six weeks. Yay!
And now, time to put this aside to settle, and back to the mystery I go. 14,100 / 70,000 words
[still no contract. Madame Agent is On It]