To that I say, it’s about time.

No weekend plans for me yet. Maybe some fireworks. Maybe a trip to the beach (even though it will be crazy crowded).

If you need some great reading material, I highly suggest picking up Rachel Vincent’s new release, PREY. I devoured this yesterday, and it’s the best book I’ve read in the series so far. It is suspenseful and heartbreaking, and the stakes have been really raised for the rest of the books. Faythe has grown so much in this series while still staying true to who she is. I’m amazed at how strong she can be in the face of so many obstacles. Her character arc over the entire series is amazing, and I cannot wait to see how she grows in the last two books, SHIFT and ALPHA.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

So, I got a lot of writing done this weekend.

I’d been feeling a little stuck all week after hitting 40k. I really don’t know what it is about that point in the story that makes me feel overwhelmed and like everything I’ve written so far is pure crap. So, on Friday, I downloaded some writing software on a free 30-day trial. I actually want to write an entire separate post about it later, so all I’m going to say is that I love it.

I spent several hours on Friday organizing my thoughts, my ideas, the world, the characters, everything. A lot of what I knew I wanted to do with the last third of the book was up in my head, parts scribbled down in a notebook and parts scribbled down in various Word files. It felt good to get it all organized.

I have this thing about organization. If the desk where I work is cluttered, I cannot concentrate enough to get anything done. I actually have a lot of things on my desk, but every single thing has a spot and is exactly where I want it to be. My post-its have a spot. My Wolverine glass has a spot. My coffee cup has a spot. And if there are things on my desk that are not supposed to be there, they must be moved.

Anyway, after my day of organizing, I was able to pound out 5k words that night. Then, yesterday, I wrote 8k more words. I was on a roll, in the zone, whatever you want to call it. I don’t think I’ll be able to write that many words in a day again anytime soon.

So, I’m estimating about 15k more words to go until The End. And while I’m feeling very excited about finishing this book, I’m also a little sad about it being over soon. I’ve really loved writing it. At least I’ll have revisions!

BONE DRY: First Draft
53,263 / 70,000 Words (76.00%)

Anyway, I thought it would fun to start video blogging for real this time. I have a whole Writing Vlog Series I’d like to do, and this is the first installment. And if anyone has any suggestions for vlog topics, please comment and let me know! What do you like to see? Random babblings, writing craft videos, book reviews, something different, zombie spoofs?

Anyway, here it is. Please be kind. I’m a bit of a dork in this, but that’s just me!

For my latest WIP, I’ve been trying something new. I’ve been calling them “Character Sketches” but I think “Character Writing Assignments” would be a more accurate description.

Usually when I come up with a character, I store most of her (or his) backstory in my head. I do have a spreadsheet where I list certain qualities like appearance, personality quirks, relationships, etc. But the deeper stuff, the “how this person became who they are” information is all up in my head. Or even anything longer than a short description in an Excel column to explain personality quirks. I do know why they have them, for the most part. I just haven’t fully explored or explained on paper.

Sometimes I do this in the actual novel, but there’s a whole lotta story for many characters that don’t get explained on the page if not relevant to the particular story. And for this WIP, one where so many characters have an important backstory that got them to this place, I wanted to explore those stories in more depth. One day, I’d like to write some companion books in this world, but I don’t know when I’ll do that.

So, I’ve started writing mini-stories for each of my important characters in this WIP. By mini-story I mean this: About two pages, written in first person POV of that character. It’s sort of like a school writing assignment: Write about an important event in your life. It doesn’t have to be a major event, just something that character remembers about his life that he feels shaped him or affected him in some way.

It’s giving me a chance to learn more about my characters, really get inside their heads. Most of this stuff isn’t going to go into the actual novel, but I do feel it’s helping develop them on page. Making them come alive because I can better understand how and why they would react or act in a certain way.

Plus, I’m having tons of fun doing it.

Anyway, I’m still sick but feeling better today. Hopefully, I’ll be back tomorrow or next week with more interesting and substantial posts.

Meanwhile, I leave you with TIGER BEAT rocking out at Books of Wonder during BEA week.

So very excited. The last couple of scenes have been some really great writing sessions. I’m halfway through, still loving the story and so excited about what’s coming next. And I’m also halfway through my outline. I absolutely love my main character. I actually love all the characters, even the Bad Guy, and writing this story has also made me want to tell the story of my MC’s best friend. But that is at least a whole other book, and my MC has several books of her own she wants me to write first.

BONE DRY: First Draft
35,053 / 70,000 Words (50.00%)

But as I see their work coming together, I have to admit the sidewalk actually does look nicer. They might have to tear up the entire thing to get to that point, all the while driving a girl who isn’t a morning person crazy. And…

Well, in my before-coffee haze, I was going to try tying this into writing or revising somehow, but all I can think of is: Sometimes the best writing or the best revisions require tearing up what you had before, whether it be words written, process, expectations…or something to that effect. (I’m starting to think I should have coffee before writing blog posts!)

Which brings me to my progress on my WIP right now. I’m at 28k, and my goal is to get to 30k (or more!) by the end of today. This will put me firmly in middle-land. I’ve written a few books now, and I’ve come to expect something of middles. And that’s for them to be difficult, for me to have to slog through and desperately wish I’m to the point where writing the book is fun again.

Well, I’m not going into it with that attitude this time. I think low expectations of your own performance can end up crippling you. If you think that’s how your work is going to go, then likely it will. Instead, I’m going in with guns blazing (or fingers poised over the keyboard?). I’m not going to let my Dreaded Middle slow me down. In fact, I’m not even going to look at it as the Dreaded Middle. I now dub it the SuperAwesome Middle where lots of fun things happen.

But first? Coffee.

BONE DRY: First Draft
28,029 / 70,000 Words (40.00%)

First up was the Teen Author Carnival at the NYPL Jefferson Market Branch where I met up with internet friends, Shana Silver and Dan Faust. The line-up was crazy! So many authors were there. I met and chatted with Sarah Cross, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jessica Burkhart and Libba Bray. All so nice and friendly.

I got several books while I was there. I’m so excited about reading this:

Then, Friday night was Tiger Beat band at Books of Wonder! Tiger Beat is Libba Bray, Barnabas Miller, Daniel Ehrenhaft, and Natalie Standiford. We also got to hear a dramatic reading of the Spice Girls by authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. David also sang a highly entertaining song titled, “Oh Libba Bray.” Great stuff.

After that, Shana, Michael Northrop and I headed over to a party. There, I met a lot of awesome writers, editors, bloggers, and librarians, as well as a random guy who claimed he was one of the filmmakers of Slumdog Millionaire. Yeah, I didn’t believe him for a second.

It was a really great time. I had so much fun meeting everyone and chatting about books and the industry. The one thing absolutely everyone was talking about was CATCHING FIRE. A couple of people I met had snagged an ARC earlier that day. Me = jealous.

Also, I collected bookmarks for some upcoming novels I’m very excited about reading.

According to the random number generator, we have a winner:

Congratulations to Ruthanne!

Please email me your mailing address to jen [at] jenhayley [dot] com, and I’ll get this in the mail this week.

And thanks again to Sarah Rees Brennan for stopping by for the interview!