A Step Behind...Or Two

Well, I had the best of intentions to finish both MS's from my peeps...not to mention other reading...and plotting out that screenplay, etc. Ummm...yeah.

Didn't quite happen the way I had planned.

Why? Two Words: FOOD COMA.

I was in one for most of the weekend. I swear... Turkey Day is a diabetic nightmare! I'm lucky to have survived not one, not two, but THREE different kinds of pie. My family can eat, y'all. I kid you not. That, coupled with a bit of a family emergency -- well, a rather BIG family emergency that thankfully turned out okay, and my weekend was shot.

That said, I DID manage to finish one of the manuscripts and will hopefully get started on the second tonight. After that, I'm afraid the screenplay will have to wait...as will other books. I will be back at work on FI and hopefully gutting my way to the end. I'm feeling rather energized. :)

Hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Wouldn't You Know It...

As soon as I decide to take a week off to do some reading, lightning strikes. That's right.

On my way to work...DING DING DING DING.

It hit me. THE idea for a screenplay. The one I've been waiting for. The one that I THINK will work. And man, it's barking...in a MAJOR way. I've already got ideas about the big bad black moment...the stakes...the characters.. even the witty sidekicks. (It's a romantic comedy.)

I've been wanting to try this...now it looks like maybe I'll get the chance.

So, add this to the list for the week -- plotting out the major moments/plot points for this sucker. Yes, I'm pre-planning...sorta. That said, I'm excited to to get started! One good thing? A screenplay is about 90 pages...MAX. And most of that is dialogue. Whoot whoot.

Okay...simmering, simmering.

A Reading Kinda Week...

Well, it's Thanksgiving week...which means some legit time off for Jen. OMG. I'm really looking forward to it! Even these first few days have been scaled way back...so in a way, I'm already on vacation. :)

At any rate, I've declared this a reading week. I know, I know. I should be working on my book...and part of me feels guilty that I'm not. The other part says to heck with it! Take a dang break and regroup. The latter part won out.

I'm reading two manuscripts for my peeps. For Peep 1, I'm trying to find places for her to cut. It's a different kind of reading because I really just want to get lost in the story. Here I am, analyzing every scene...IS THIS NECESSARY?? LOL. The first day was pretty successful, though who's to say whether Peep 1 will take my advice. The second day, not so much. LOL. Must remember to put my analytical cap firmly in place tonight, when I hope to finish.

For Peep2, I'm doing a cold, first time reading of her manuscript. It's next after the slice and dice, so hopefully I can get back into "broad strokes" mode.

Other things on the agenda....OH EGADS. I have to write our next installment for the serial over at ATWOP. I'm fuh-reaking. No clue what I'm doing yet and I probably need to write it tonight due to the fact I'll be out of town until Friday. And well, my grandpa doesn't really get an internet connection. I HAVE finked from one of his neighbors before -- but who's to say if the connection will come through again. THAT said, yeah...I need to write it tonight. Which of course may push back my entire schedule as I sit here for hours, staring at a blank screen -- wondering wth to write. Dude, it's so gonna happen. LOL.

I'm also part way through a Maureen Johnson book -- THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD.

I'd also like to get started on Stephen King's new one -- UNDER THE DOME. I hear it's reaaaaaallly good. Not that I have a shot in hell of finishing it this weekend. LOL.

What plans do you all have? Turkey day plans? :)

If I don't have time later....HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

In Case You Hadn't Heard..

There's a movie coming out tomorrow that's been kept on the complete DL. In fact, I'd be surprised if any of you have even heard about it. Here's a little sneak peek:



Yes...New Moon. Out tomorrow, well...for those of you willing to trudge out at midnight to see it. Umm, I'm willing. (g) I bought my tickets WELL in advance--about two months ago--and will be jockeying with tweens to get the best seat in the house.

I'm preparing myself now for the squealing and sighing...and the overall teen angst. To be honest, the atmosphere is what I'm going for. The movie may or may not be worth it, but listening to 300 girls go all fangirl over Patterson is going to be well worth my ten duckets.

No, I won't be picking a team cuz I can't back either of these boys. I'm all about:

TEAM TY!!


Whoot...now he's worth backing!

I will be sure to report in on all of the Tweens Gone Wild. Let's see if I can get popcorn thrown at me again for giggling inappropriately (i.e. during the "serious" parts). (g) Anyone else trudging out to see it tomorrow night?

Bwhahaha!

This Sicilian thing between YA authors MUST end. At least before I crash the YA mansion. :)



Maureen Johnson...facing her fears...no...challenging her...no... It's more like she's dragging her heels and whining all the way to doing something she absolutely does not want to do.

PAPER TOWNS by John Green

Well, it's been a while since I've done any reviews--mostly because I have very little time to read these days. I DO listen to a ton of audio books, as you all know, but somehow I feel like that's cheating on the whole reading experience. But, you do what you gotta do. Since I can't read, I listen. (Erm, I CAN read, of course...but you know what I mean. lol)

Anywho...I'm back with a quick and dirty review of PAPER TOWNS by John Green.

PAPER TOWNS, Young Adult

Brief Summary: Quentin Jacobson is slightly obsessed with his childhood friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman. They're seniors in high school now, and run in completely different circles. That hasn't stopped his fascination with her--if anything it's made her more untouchable and perfect in his mind. Then one night, she knocks on his window and takes him out for a wild night of pranks--and then, disappears. He sets out to find her. Mayhem ensues.

I'd go further, but I really don't want to spoil it.

What I will say can be summed up in two words:

LOVED IT.

Of course, that's not all I'm going to say! You know me better than that.

Again, John Green has totally delivered. His characters are so well-drawn, his writing spot on and funny, and the premise just so dang good. It kept me turning the pages, wanting to know...no, NEEDING to know what would happen next. Again, my favorite characters were his hilarious sidekicks with their funny repartee. No one, and I mean NO ONE does better sidekicks. I giggled throughout and just really enjoyed everything about this book. He has such a talent for capturing the life of teenagers...gah, I want that!

If I'm 100% honest with you, I didn't _love_ the ending, but yanno...I'm okay with that. LOL. It's only because I wanted things to turn out another way. That said, the journey to get there was so fantastically fun--and tense. Overall, a really great ride.

Buy or Rent? Buy!

Yo!

Been a LONG week and it's only Monday! I think this happens because I don't really get a weekend. (g)

That said, I'm trying to push through revisions of FI. I got a good chunk written today -- trying to tie some scenes together. Slow and steady wins the race, right? That's my new motto. :)

Exciting things happening over at ATWOP. Namely, it's Rachel's turn to give away a book -- contest ends THIS Friday. And this is it, folks. No more giveaways for now. Next week, we'll see what else we come up with for Friday's posts. :) So get your name in now -- she has three really kickass books to choose from. I kinda want them all. Have a feeling I'll be buying some of the books Kristen, Claire, and Rachel offered up. OH NO. What's a girl to do?

I have a new blogpost going up tomorrow -- on endings. Be sure to check it out. I have a few things I want to touch on over here, namely some book reviews. YES. I'm going to try to actually review some books one of these days. Have ya missed my reviews?? (g) Well, if not, too bad. LOL. I'm bringing them back.

That's all for now...long day. Need sleep.

Random, but....

...if I could make my books into movies, this would be the "roll credits" song at the end of one of them. Not telling which. :)

Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Ahhh...

Just finished a lovely worship session.

I'll be honest, I told myself I would go into church to get ONE book, and ONE book only. Namely LOOKING FOR ALASKA for Deniz (she won my book giveaway last Friday over at All The World's Our Page). Ummm, so yeah, I DID buy LFA for Deniz...only I picked up a few other books I wasn't planning on buying. Heh.

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins -- COME ON. I had to get this one. HUNGER GAMES was fab-u-lous. Had to. Moral imperative on this one. I'm surprised it took me this long to pick it up.

SOULLESS by Gail Carriger -- Cool cover and I heard it's really good. Vamps, Weres, and parasols. What's not to love?

THIRST by Christopher Pike -- I HAD to get this one. HAD to. Loved me some CP when I was a teenager. It's about vampires, too. Hopefully they don't sparkle.

THE ITALIAN SECRETARY by Caleb Carr -- O.M.G. I loved THE ALIENEST and THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS. This is a _Sherlock Holmes_ story. Okay, so I'm really into the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King (a series featuring an alternative Sherlock Holmes timeline/story -- after he retires), and I'm definitely in the SH mindframe right now. PLUS -- there's a Sherlock Holmes movie coming out soon. Talk about timing on this one! LOL. Anyway, I'm SO looking forward to this one...I do believe it's actually going ahead of CATCHING FIRE in the TBR pile.

BUT...they all must wait. I'm putting on my writing cap now. Off to work.

A Lightbulb Moment

I'm doing this and I may regret it later, but...

I'm officially declaring the First Draft of FAKING IT COMPLETE. Yes, yes I am.

Nothing has really changed since yesterday, but I realized I've been thinking of the book in terms of rewrites/revisions for a very long time now. But with the new completed outline/synopsis (YAY), there's been a switch in my head. I'm not rewriting/revising the original book...I'm rewriting/revising THIS draft. My first draft. Dang it, it's a DRAFT*, even if all the little holes aren't neatly filled, or if there are whole scenes that need to be changed. It's 85K (probably more...I'm not really sure anymore) of First Draft.

And to go along with my post over at ATWOP today, it DOESN'T ALL SUCK. Some of it does...some of it will be tossed...but it's DONE.

YAY.

I feel better.

*You must remember that I haven't really been in this place before. I queried my first draft of the original Faking It. And when I "revised" I added....didn't do much of that subtracting business...and polished, polished, polished. Drafts??

Productive Weekend

So, I'm super busy right now, but I vowed I would keep working as much as I can. And dangit, one of these days, I'm going to announce that FI is finished. Whether that will be SOON is another thing. I'm literally scraping the bottom of the time barrel to get any work accomplished, but it is moving FORWARD. At a glacial pace, yes, but forward nonetheless.

I spent a good chunk of this weekend going through and figuring out any changes I want to make to the MS. Yes, I did a summary of sorts...not really an outline, but a verbatim telling of the story as I see it at this point. It's running close to 10 pages right now, will probably end up with 2-3 more by time I'm finished. It's been a good exercise, though much hair loss has occurred at regular intervals. Especially when I'm at a loss for what should/would come next...or when I realize that a very large chunk of the book doesn't quite make sense with my "new vision." That said, it's all coming together regardless. I may lose a few things if I can't pound them in, but that's okay. Gotta do what's best for the book. The good news is that there are VERY large chunks that will stay pretty much as they are...with minor tweaks. For that I'm very grateful.

So...progress. YAY. Now if I could just find more time... LOL.

Happy writing, all. And good luck to any Nano participants!