Hannah watches Ben, eyeing him carefully – taking in his every look and trying to remember every beautiful feature about him – as she loosens the straps of her rucksack and unpacks her sleeping bag.
He turns to face her and sees her gaze. He feels the need to broach conversation with her; to develop a rapport. He longs for more than a exchange of glances, the holding of hands and her warm embrace. He wants to know her and to share her thoughts and her dreams. He wants more than the inane conversation of the relationship and not just the time-specific, subject – orientated discussions of friends.
Current wordcount: 60,197
Current pagecount: 219
I have discovered today that it is almost exactly one month since I last wrote in Blood & Fire. In that time I have been busy at work; I have been busy at home – decorating and laying new floors; I have been busy on Project NellyTM learning about me – how I work – and how other people work with me. Yesterday soulsong asked me “whether [my] characterisations change in [my] novel as a result of project nelly […] since [I’m] gaining more understanding of conversational style and body language.”
I think, probably they are. My understanding of Ben, and how he sees the world is changing. He is possibly somewhere on the Aspergers scale himself now I think about it – highly intelligent but not really understanding human relationships – fixed to his very scientific, rule-driven view of the world – I don’t know. I’m sure exactly where this novel is going, but I feel that there is going to more of Me in this book than I first thought.
