New Project

For the next three months, I'll be using this blog to report my progress on the first draft of a middle grade novel, as I participate in Theodora Goss's YA Novel Challenge (see post 1 & post 2).

I'll be writing a middle grade novel (I'm estimating 40,000 words) rather than a YA novel, as that's what's next in line for me, but I'm keeping the same June 1st - August 31st time frame. Working title is CLEANUP GIRL; it's a magical academy story with some deconstruction and twists.

Here's the structure of my personal goals, with commentary:

• 40,000 word draft by August 31st (subject to goal revision as the story develops)


• 3,100 words per week (progress posted to this blog Sunday night)


• 620 words per weekday (this works better for my schedule than every day, plus it allow me weekends to catch up when needed; I won't be posting wordcounts every day, only weekly, but need this level of breakdown to keep myself on target)

Ideally, I'd have done more prep and planning, but that's one of the tricks of an actual writing life: there's no outside prep time from some other life. So, here goes! Onward and upward, challenge writers!

(Sidenote: if you haven't yet read "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Theodora Goss, go check it out! I adored it.)