A good day

So far, so good.

Read the first two chapters of "Scurvy Dogs!" to Tori's class of fifth graders – plus 18 fourth graders she invited in – and they liked it. Some of them were a little put off by the lack of exposition, as I had feared. But that was the fourth graders. Most of them got it. My secret weapon comes through again.

And afterward, when I asked them, "How old are these kids?" or "Where are they?" they were able to answer. And when, at the end of the talk, when I asked if they had any ideas what happened next some of them came surprisingly close, even though pretty much all we'd done was meet four characters and see a little bit of action. One of them, Ricardo, was quite close, although Maggie doesn't die as he suggested. That's kind of dark for him, he's one of the cheeriest kids you'll ever meet. He just appreciates the drama, I guess, and the biggest Harry Potter fan I've ever met.

Anyway, we're launched on the story and the kids understand that their job is to let me know what works and especially what doesn't, so I can fix it. And they were absolutely thrilled when I let them know that when – not if, but when – the book is published, their names will go in the acknowledgments.

Today – 884 words. Total words to date – 2,013.