I fulfilled my "write for two hours" goal. Usually, for the sake of just getting the rough draft done, I’ve faked or passed over anything that I should have written with more detail because I don’t want to be held up by having to research–I just want to get the first draft DONE! But I found today that a dance term I used to know as a matter of course has slipped between my fingers. Research time. I have to be able to know the right words to describe the dance routine as they hit each mark, or the scene loses credibility.

Last week at the first writing group critique of the same book, several people made comments about the first couple of chapters that followed the same line of thinking: need more concrete images and details. These are the things that I tell writers all the time, of course. And I thought I had been, but I think that overall I need to allow myself to dwell longer in each scene, describing the park they meet in for early-morning cheerleading practice, describing what dance move she’s doing as she dives between her two teammates, what the name of that stupid s
tretch is I’m having her do to show off to her team captain that yes, indeed, she knows how to point her toes.

I knew all these things when I was on the dance team myself. Had you asked me five years ago I’d probably still know the terms. But right now as I’m trying to write it, I have to admit that I need a book for reference to help me remember the right names.

But hey, I am now at 24,297 words!