Sunday Check-In

So, I just realized I didn't check in last week. I can't say I did it consciously...just forgot, is all. (g) Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, things have been super busy. I've been pushing through some tough spots in FI...it's going slow and steady. But a few blank scenes (blank in as I know what needs to happen, but I have no clear idea of how to get the dang scene on the page) are becoming clear. It's progress, tho...so that's good.

I've had an idea knocking around in my head for a while. It's a bit...different from my usual stuff. Much darker. And well, I have to admit I'm excited about it for many different reasons. (1) It's a challenge. A huge one. To tell a story that is very dark and very important. I feel a lot of responsibility to Get It Right. (2) It's a subject that has been covered many times over, but (I think) not quite in the way I plan to tell it. (3) It's a nice little outlet to stretch my writing muscles--without the pressure of knowing I have to send it in to DA when I finish. I'm free to write when/if I want...and there's no "turn in" when I finish. I just write. For. Me. It's lovely. (4) Being as it's a rather scary subject matter, I feel like I'll grow in different ways -- and in the end, it will be easier for me to take other stories _there_. Maybe not as far as this, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, with those thoughts in mind, I pounded out nearly 2K earlier...and very quickly. I honestly didn't know whether I could do that anymore. Guess I can, but not with FI. LOL. Gah, that just sucks. Ah well, I'm still making progress, and I feel better having written something significant in one sitting. I'm going to post it...just for the hey of it (I'm calling it STOLEN for now). I have only a quasi-feel for what this book will be in the end...some ideas, but nothing concrete. I think you'll know the gist of it all when you read it. Not that I think this book will be quite what people expect. My plan is to keep y'all guessing. I'm also posting this new wip because the current scenes in FI are total spoilers and well, I don't want to ruin the entire book! :)

Hope all is well with everyone...I also have some book reviews to post. Perhaps tonight.

What Would You Do?

I've been a little behind on current events. Happens when you work unbelievably long hours. (g)

Anyway, I nearly missed the whole MIDNIGHT SUN controversy. I'd heard about all the backlash regarding BREAKING DAWN, and I guess I figured it was all tied together somehow. Not so, apparently.

If you're not familiar, the gist is that 12 chapters of MIDNIGHT SUN, a retelling of TWILIGHT (by Stephenie Meyers) from Edward's POV was leaked onto the internet. And as with anything highly sought after, it spread like wildfire. Meyers hasn't revealed much about the leak, only saying it was given to trusted individuals and that she doesn't believe the original leak was done with any malicious intent. For the whole story (in her own words), go HERE, the August 28, 2008 entry.

Now here comes the truly sad part. Because of this leak, Meyers has postponed finishing the book -- indefinitely.

A lot of people are obviously bothered by this decision, but I must say that I can empathize with her. Imagine if you were writing a book, and had given it to trusted individuals. Now whether it was intentional or not, that book was released onto the internet. Gah, I don't think I would be too off base by saying that most of us would be fairly ticked off. And honestly, I would have a hard time trusting anyone from there on out. Would I be unable to finish the book? See, I don't know. I guess I couldn't really say unless I were in that situation, but think about it... those twelve chapters tally up to almost 300 pages of her book. Egads. Tell me that wouldn't upset you.

I think most of us would be devastated.

Meyers makes an interesting point in her post. For a writer, mood is everything. If you're not "in the right frame of mind," the book will suffer. This sort of contradicts the whole idea that writing is a job and that you should always push through, but I think it's somewhat true. If you're trying to finish a book that you know people have already read nearly half of...well, wouldn't it be hard for you to carry on? And how in the world would you trust anyone with your much loved manuscript again?

Anyway, she decided to post the chapters...giving in to a losing battle, I suppose. And well, who knows if she'll ever finish the book. Kinda sad when you think about it. Very unfortunate all around, but I can't say I really blame her...though I'm very disappointed.

Any thoughts?

Scene Chart...erm, List...uh, THINGUM? Check!

FI Stats:

Word Count: Hovering right around 80K, give or take a couple of thousand words.

Scenes: 56

Characters On The Chopping Block: 1 (I'm combining two, actually.)

Scenes On The Chopping Block: Hmm, hard to say, but several small ones will be combined with others or deleted altogether.

Total word count loss? Hmm, around 3-4K when all is said and done.

Scenes Left To Write: Hard to say exactly. I'd estimate around 10.

Scenes Left To Revise: Pretty much every one of them needs to be tweaked in some way. Especially since I eliminated one of the characters. Muhahaha. Man, I've got a God complex now.

My Next Move: Start from the beginning, eliminating/combining scenes, and move forward. Keep at least one active scene going at all times.

Estimated Time of Delivery (to Betas): I have no idea. A long time.

I need all of you to send virtual chocolate. :)

Miss Crabby Pants

A'yup. That pretty much sums up my mood today. I've been going through scenes in FI and nothing is reading well. Nothing. I decided I needed a nap and a shower, and next I will go outside and spend some time with the pups. When I'm done there, I'm coming back inside with what I hope will be a much improved attitude.

Why?

Because today is the day I'm pulling the book together to know what holes I need to fill. I don't know if I'll produce a "scene chart" but I definitely need a list of some sort--just to make sure everything is being tied up, or any new threads I've ended had an actual...yanno, beginning. (g) Ah, chunk writing.

I've got a lot of scenes that are 75-90% finished. Sigh. Must tackle those first.

Okay, outside I go.

Squeee!!

I'm having a _ridiculous_ fangirl moment. I'm talking RIDICULOUS!!

Why?

Because Hank Green, brother of YA author John Green, finally friended me on Facebook.

SQUEEEEEEEE! I really am excited. (g)

If you haven't watched the Brotherhood 2.0 vlogposts, you NEED to. Speaking of which, I haven't finished them myself. I think I have 7 or 8 months left, in fact.

Can't remember if I posted a Hank video or not, but here's one of my favorites, in which he pays homage to the one and only member of his "guilt-free three" list.

9/11

Today makes me extremely sad. It's like everything from that morning comes roaring back. I refuse to turn on the TV. I'm sorry, but I can't go through the hours of video again. Not this year. For once I'm glad to be working a loooonnng day.

Anyway -- let's all take a moment to remember all those we lost.

Ch-ch-changes!

I've changed the ending of FI...Again. Well, I guess it's still the same, only I've taken the scene a little further to better resolve this book, and of course, lead into the second. As it stood, I wasn't getting a real "to be continued" feel from it. Oh, all of the major items were resolved and all that, but this new ending gives a glimpse at book 2, which *fingers crossed* I hope will compel people to rush out to buy it. Ya gotta have a dream, people. (g)

Still working on that fabulous scene I started yesterday... Well, it's fabulous in my mind, anyway, even if it hasn't been fully realized yet. That ball of nervous energy is still in my belly...so yeah, I have to take that to mean I'm on the right track.

Dogs are home, exhausted. (Yay) Time to write.

Some Random Thoughts On A Tuesday Evening

JEN ON WRITING

I've made a decision about my "habits" as a writer. Over and over I've heard people say that they never share anything about their current wip because it makes them lose energy/enthusiasm/that certain mojo they have for it. Eventually, if they share too much, their writing comes to a standstill. Hence the reason they've learned to keep things on the downlow--plucking away at the keyboard in some obscure corner of the world, never really seeking or needing any kind of feedback until they're able to plop a full manuscript into another person's lap.

Hmmm, that sounds totally reasonable to me. Honest. In fact, that's what I've been trying to do. Ask anyone in my writing circle. Hardly any of them has read anything beyond that first 100 that I had to send into D.A. If they've read a full scene after that, I'd be shocked. Oh sure, I've posted small snips, but no one has seen a clear picture of where this new revision is going. Heck, I don't know all of the answers, so I'm absolutely positive no one else does.

And well, to be honest... I had to ask myself, Dr. Phil-style: "How's that working for you, Jen?"

To be blunt. It isn't.

Why? I don't know.

All I do know is that I get a certain level of energy from feedback. Writing, as we all know, is such a solitary venture at times, and I've begun to feel like a lost ship trying to make its way through a storm. Am I going in the right direction? Will one misstep on my part cause the whole thing to shatter on the rocks? Will anyone even care if I never succeed in reaching my final destination??

To sum it up. I need to know if what I'm writing is good -- and if people will want to read the blasted thing once I've put Madison through the damn wringer a bazillion times. And then back again. Seriously. I used to trust my instincts, but heck, who am I kidding? I've been humbled by these revisions. Where once I would've flown by the seat of my pants, I'm now second-guessing myself and fixating on every single line. Gah, it's frustrating. (g)

Anyway, to sum it up... Last night I had a late night chat with a friend (Jenna) and her enthusiasm over my ideas...some realized, some still works-in-progress..rejuevenated me. I'm still writing like a snail on valium, but tonight I got this nervous ball of excitement in the pit of my stomach when one of my scenes started to come together in my head. It was such a fantastic feeling, and one I haven't had in a long time. I was "there" -- in the scene, back where I used to take myself when I was writing. A place I haven't visited in a LONG, LONG time. And boy, is this scene a doozy. Maddy and I are both tied up in knots over it. It's pretty awesome. (g)

So yeah...all that to say, I need to share more often. To bounce ideas off of others every now and then. It's good for my soul. Therefore, hopefully ya'll will be seeing a little more of me on IM. I know I've been scarce.


FOR THE LOVE OF GABE!

I'm so not one of those writers who figures out what they're MC's favorite colors are...what subject they really hated in high school...who they had their first crush on. I'm sorry... that works for some, but I've never been one to hammer out all of those minute details before beginning a project. When I need those tidbits or anecdotes, they spring up... like Magic. (g)

Anyway, I've been listening to Pandora a lot...and Colbie Caillat is a new favorite of mine. I MUST get her CD. Anyway, I heard a song today, and it pretty much epitomizes Maddy's feelings for Gabe. It's kinda sweet. If you care to listen, have at it. SAP Alert (g):




THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

1. DOLE lime fruit bars. Yummmmmmm.

2. Pandora. My new fave station is KT Tunstall. It pretty much rocks. My new must-haves are anything by Colbie Caillat and Jack Johnson. Add 'em. You'll love them, promise.

3. A house all to myself. I'm getting a lot of writing time in, even with the dogs yapping at me every hour, on the hour. Tomorrow they go to doggie daycare. They should be so tired they'll sleep all tomorrow evening, leaving me time to write to my heart's content.

4. Growing as a writer. Can't you just jump for joy when you feel a scene begin to come together? To know you're stretching yourself and taking things to a bigger and better level? Even though I've been freaking out about tying up all the loose ends in FI, I took a moment to contemplate advice I've been given in the past. One tidbit that stood out for me today was Barbara Rogan's tip on tracing each subplot through the book, to make sure every one of them ties up. I sat down and made a list of my subplots...and brainstormed ways to combine things (this book is getting way out of control, word count-wise)...and voila, this latest scene started to form. It's actually part of a larger scene I've already written, but it's going to enhance it SO much. It'll take some reworking as a whole, but I'm so up for it. (g) Can you tell I'm excited? :)

5. The first signs of fall. Today it reached the high 60's with a light breeze that added just the slightest chill to the air. Mmmmmm. I love this time of year. Time to break out my fall jackets and sweaters. Soon Halloween will be here...yay.

Okay, time to hit the hay. Have a good night!

Rowling Wins Lawsuit Against Lexicon!

Read about it: HERE.

Thanks to the Smart Bitches for the linkage. I admit this case caused a lot of hooplah on the writer's forum I belong to. I always came down on Rowling's side...while others were pretty adamant that this whole lawsuit was a sign of Rowling's "paranoia" and "self-aggrandizing ego." Shrug. I predicted this outcome from the beginning, as did a couple of fellow law students. Hey, I actually took a copyright class during those three years of hell. (g)

Anyway, any thoughts on this? Do you agree with the decision?

As a writer -- and as a former law student -- I agree. Good on you, Rowlings.

Sunday (Er, MONDAY) Check-IN

Bad week all around. I was super busy and super tired. My family left for vacation, leaving the dogs for me to entertain. They are quite demanding. After taking them to the dog run yesterday, and giving them BOTH baths, I was exhausted and more than a little sick.

I have a tendency to _really_ enjoy cooler weather. So much so that I often make myself sick by not wearing proper clothing. So, I took today off. Slept in late, and now I'm feeling a bit more human. I'm working on a new scene in FI.. it's going, though slowly.

Writing progress last week wasn't the greatest, though I did some brainstorming for some "blank" spots in the book. So, I'm back to making steady progress again. It's coming together, I swear, but the more I write, the more I want to change things. Ugh. LOL. Oh well.

Oooohmmmmmm

I've just worshiped at church. My first time in what seems like forever. What...hmmm...when WAS the last time I went? I've been a very bad girl.

Tonight's take:

DELICIOUS by Sherry Thomas (I haven't even read her first book yet.)

SKINNY DIP by Carl Hiassen

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green (A bargain at $3.99!)

and

THE SECRET CIRCLE V. I (The Initiation and The Captive) by L.J. Smith

I don't feel fully at peace... maybe I'll make another trip this weekend.

Have I mentioned how wonderful it feels to have a Friday evening off?? It's been a LONG time since I've had one. Ahhhhh, bliss.

Random, But True

Apparently, I'm number 2 on google for "Thirty Reasons Why by Jay Asher."

LOL. I wouldn't mention it, but I've had a crapload of hits for this the past week or so. How can so many people have the title wrong??

Random, indeed.

(P.S. It's THIRTEEN Reasons Why... THIRTEEN... (1-3))

The Funniest Thing I've Heard All Week

My friend Jennifer on reading Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT:

"That woman has never met an adjective she didn't like!"

(BTW, she got to the last 20 pages and refused to finish it. In fact, she went and sold it to a used bookstore!! LOL)