The chapter (? we’ll see. Still not to the point of arranging the book) will mark a turning point in Wendy’s relationship with the town. As I may have mentioned last time (https://ryan-publishing.com/one-tv-interview-to-change-hearts-and-minds/) the lost Cub Scout and the search is going to link Wendy and her new community to the outside world.
I’m drawing on my 13-year career in TV news (my first career; on my third and, if we include writing, fourth) for what happens next. Has your local TV news ever gone all in on a continuing story? When I was in Chattanooga, we had a story about a woman who was probably going to lose her house. She couldn’t keep it up. It was savable but not with her money. For some reason, this just caught everyone’s attention. We were on that for weeks. She got volunteers, she got help and repairs.
Well, an ambitious reporter feels she owes Wendy and sees Noisy Creek as a perfect crusade to repay her and help herself. There’s going to be mad fallout. Wendy will be a celebrity in a city an hour away. She can’t even watch their news. But it’s going to change a lot of things for the community, and have major effects on the split between Wendy-lovers and Wendy-haters. Our girl’s going to come out on top.
Speaking of which, I found an organic way for her to have sex with Rob. So yay! For a story about a girl who has sex with (secret) werewolves, she’s not getting a lot.
Huge Saturday writing. I rushed to get outside chores done before the thunderstorms, leaving me time to write, write, write while the rain fell.
We’re at 97,657 words.
Date Words (Draft)
6/6/2026 2546
Here’s today’s context-free quote.
The radio squawked again. Wendy wasn’t listening but Melissa jumped up off her stool. She grabbed the microphone and twisted the speaker knob all the way over.
“Say again, Team 12, say again, over!”
“Base, 12, we got him! He’s okay, repeating, he got him, he’s okay!”
Adan’s mother screamed and collapsed, her husband catching her on the way down.
Wendy looked over and saw Deanna look at Dave, who nodded. The reporter looked up at the ceiling and Wendy was pretty sure she mouthed, “Thank you.”
Seeing My Mistakes
One thing I’ve been noticing as I work are some of the mistakes I’m making with scenes and POV. This is because I’ve been listening to writing podcasts, which point out my weaknesses. It’s not discouraging, it’s just noting where I need to do more work in future drafts. If it was easy…
Who’ve I been listening to? So glad you asked!
I listen while I’m mowing the yard. I have 3M Worktunes, which I highly recommend. The noise reduction is good and the battery life is insane. I listen for 2 hours at a time, weekly in the summer, and after 2 years I’m down to 50%
I typically put on Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo. The recent episode (#249. 5 POV Mistakes That Pull Readers Out of Your Story on the web or get it from your favorite service) really hit me while I was writing a scene today. In fact, the scene today’s excerpt is from. Wendy was mostly observing what was happening. Once I realized that I tried to make her more active or at least more responsive, but it’s something I’ll need to revisit in a future draft.
Speaking of drafts, I’ve also been listening to Your Next Draft with Alice Sudlow. She’s more focused on the editing and revision process, but it’s good to know what you’re going to need to do later while you’re writing now. To borrow a golf metaphor, the closer you get to the pin on the first stoke, the easier the next stroke will be. And her 10 Productivity Tips to Finish Writing Your First Draft Faster can help you if you’re stuck.
One of those tips is accountability. That’s really what this blog is. I share my progress in the hope that I’ll write even if it’s just to have something to publish for you here.
Last time I mentioned wanting to review some Kindle Unlimited books. I read so you can skip the junk, that sort of thing. Still working on that. I want to do it right, so I want to organize my thoughts. Especially since the first review is not going to be an endorsement.