Jul 04, 2022
To:VeeValory
Thanks for taking the time to give such detailed feedback! This is way outside my usual wheelhouse, too, so I appreciate it.
You've hit the nail on the head with the "too economical" part, I think. Trying to hit that balance of snappy and to the point without making it skeletal is proving to be a difficult target to hit, especially when I naturally lean toward being too wordy and plodding. As a result, the beginning isn't as strong as I'd like. Definitely some "bonjour, I am le plot-relevant set-piece" going on, haha. I knew YA and middle-grade adjacent format was hard to write, and it's still harder than I thought.
As of today, I'm drafted up to around chapter 11, and trying to relax a bit about word count and let it breathe, since we can go up to 75k. We'll see if that tanks the pacing in the opposite direction! Brevity is the soul of wit, but my brevity needs more practice before it's very witty.
Again, thanks for taking the time to time to read and share your impressions!
