I did it! I completed the first draft revision of Willow Lake, the finale of Cleodora’s story. It came in at 42,600 words, a good length for middle grades.

There is still a part of the ending I’m not happy with. The antagonist faces a reckoning there, and I feel it lacks drama. I could re-write it, bringing it more to a climactic moment, like in movies, where the bad gal screams and their head blows up. Very dramatic! However, both of the novels have been very much NOT heads-exploding content. So it might be sort of the expected thing, but it wouldn’t match the story as a whole.

We’re planning a short trip this week. Perhaps I’ll print out those pages and take them with me. The drive time should give me a chance to ponder some possibilities.

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