Research then Real-Time

 Three days after finishing my first draft of chapter one in my YA, the town of Moore, Oklahoma was hit by a category four tornado. It gave me the chills as I watched the Giant in action, the devastation left behind, and the interviews of the victims. The first paragraph of my YA, my main character seeks refuge from a huge twister that is about to strike. I did a lot of online research on tornadoes and shelters, but it was nothing like viewing real-time and listening to those affected. My heart goes out to all of them!

Chapter One Surfaces

Chapter One of my YA has finally surfaced. My editor has gained strength and experience from the turbulent seas of critiques and rewrites that I plundered through with my middle grade novel. A treasure and a curse. I sail back to the beginning of a sentence, fishing for stronger words whilst casting away others. Time escapes like a sea lion darting from a shark. Nevertheless, I stay the course.