50,135 / 50,000 (100.3%)

First word: Students

Last word: belonged

Random sentence: Before he was halfway down the red carpet, he was swarmed by the crowd, congratulating him, patting him on the back, saying how proud they were of him.

47,670 / 50,000 (95.3%)

First word: Grandchildren?

Last word: reality

Random sentence: His frustration at not being able to read faster was tempered by not wanting to reach the end of the story.

46,002 / 50,000 (92.0%)

First word: The

Last word: leave

Random sentence: His dad went into the kitchen and brought out two beers, handed him one, clinked the long necks together. “Happy birthday, boy.”

44,227 / 50,000 (88.5%)

First word: After

Last word: cute

Random sentence: She said, “Nice room,” but she wasn’t really looking, she was tugging his shirt over his head.

42,563 / 50,000 (85.1%)

First word: He

Last word: buildings

Random sentence: Etiquette may have gone out of style for most of the planet, but Laura Elliott, nee Mahone, still subscribed to it.

Cracked 40K! After the slog that was 35-40K, I finally feel like this is doable.

40,830 / 50,000 (81.7%)

First word: neither

Last word: listen

Random sentence: Then, he stopped, and over his shoulder, as if it was an afterthought, when clearly it wasn’t, clearly it was the whole point of this encounter, he said, “Hey, Gabriel wanted to know if your sister’s okay.”

One week to go!

39,112 / 50,000 (78.2%)

First word: That

Last word: yes

Random sentence: “I thought you were gone. When you didn’t answer, I thought it had happened again…”

37,536 / 50,000 (75.1%)

First word: Laura

Last word: revealed

Random sentence: She went over to the low bookshelf that ran along the wall under her window, and plucked off a fat, beat-up paperback, the kind you find in used bookstores, with a broken spine, waterlogged cover, and yellowing pages.

35,721 / 50,000 (71.4%)

First word: He

Last word: lady

Random sentence: Behind her, Mahone looked on with the smug expression of a sibling who knows everyone else is up shit creek, except for her.