Thursday, April 14, 2005

Who's Counting?

Imposed word counts annoy me. Especially when I under- or overshoot them. Of course, due to my debilitating fear of someone falling asleep while reading my stuff, it's usually the former.

Hey, wake up.

To be more specific, I've written a story that's 1,997 words—words that I am perfectly happy with, by the by—and I've found a place for which it's suited (at least in the alternate universe known as VerWorld) in every way except that said place is asking for a minimum of 3,000 words. Coming up with 1,103 words is no small task for me. The only reason I'm considering it is because someone I trust read the story and liked it, but said she wanted it to be longer. So. How to proceed? One superfluous, awkwardly placed flashback? Blatant adverb abuse? Or maybe I'll comb carefully (ha! how's that for adverb abuse?!) through my trusted reader's feedback because—what a lucky duck I am—she generously pointed out the spots she felt might benefit from, well, more words.

I'm going for 100 words a day, each a jewel. Wish me buena suerte...

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