I really should be writing (with only five days left to my deadline, I REALLY should be writing), but I had to take pause & compose a brief tribute to the late, great Beverly Cleary, one of my favorite childhood authors.  She passed away today, at the age of 104.  A living legend gone to rest.

I should have known she was a cat person.

    Beverly Cleary books were staples on my bookshelf until I went to college & had to clean out my old room.  Cleary captured such perfect, universally relatable childhood experiences in her stories.  Of course Ramona was my favorite character.  I still remember relating to how Ramona cherished her new school supplies, her creative approach to book reports, & the balance of love & annoyance she felt towards her older sister. 

    Spinning such ordinary events into such memorable tales is nothing short of art, and Beverly Cleary made it look easy!

    I watched TV as a child, & I played video games.  But there's a feeling that I got (& still get) from connecting to a character in a book that can't be replicated in any other media.  So far as I can tell, Beverly Cleary spent a lifetime steeped in books, both as a writer & a librarian.  In my mind, that is a quiet, simple, & truly beautiful way to make the world a better place.

    Thanks, Beverly!  Rest in peace.

     You may recall from a couple posts back that I set myself a series of goals for this year around my writing.  The first goal?  Complete the first draft of my novel before the first of April.  I've been working on it literally every day, & I'm definitely in the final stretch.  

Here's my official update:

                Word Count: 90,562

                Chapters: 36

                Estimated Percent Complete: 84%

    To put that in context, the word count of my final draft will probably be quite close, or possibly even less, because when I revise there's a lot I will tighten or trim.  Final number of chapters is kind of irrelevant, but at the moment?  Based on what remains of my story outline, I'd say I have about 7 more chapters to write.  Hence the estimation of being 84% complete.

    Seven chapters in nine days.  That's...do-able.  I just hope I don't have any other plans this weekend.

Good thing I'm only aiming for a first, rough draft!