20 Days, 52,000 words to go

Yeah, that's right. The number of days has gone down; the number of words has gone up.

Don't worry, this is the good news!

I met my husband for lunch today at one of our favorite cafes. I arrived before he did so I took out my notebook and wrote down "what has to happen next" along with the number of words I had to accomplish it. By the time the huggy hubby arrived, I had ordered our meals and worked myself into a frenzy. There is no way I can write the rest of this story in 30,000 words.

I took out my iPhone and pecked out an email to my editor (cc'ing my agent).
HOW MANY WORDS CAN I STRETCH THIS MS. TO? I asked her.

Then I waited. And ate my fries.

A few seconds later I heard the "bling" of my phone, indicating I had a new email. I opened it. Sure enough, my editor had sent back a reply.

HOW MANY WORDS DO YOU NEED?

The fries were really good, which meant I was in a pretty happy mood. So I wrote back:

250,000.

I giggled as I added: (ARE YOU BREATHING??) followed by: 100,000??

O, Happy Day! The reply came back: A lot of historical novels run up to 120,000. Try not to go over.

So now what you see if the new goal. I may or may not get to 120,000, but now the feeling of sheer panic is gone.

Meanwhile, I dressed one of my characters in this dress today. It's called a "dressy suit."

What do you think?