Waiting on Wednesday: Fast Fiction by Denise Jaden

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First Draft Novel in Thirty Days
by Denise Jaden
Published by New World Library
Expected Publication Date: February 11, 2014
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 Writers flock to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each November because it provides a procrastination-busting deadline. But only a fraction of the participants meet their goal. Denise Jaden was part of that fraction, writing first drafts of two subsequently published novels in that tight time frame. In Fast Fiction, she shows other writers how to do what she did, step-by-step, writer-to-writer. To insure success, her program begins a month before the month of drafting. This prep period is when plot, theme, characters, setting, etc. are thought through. Then Jaden provides day-by-day coaching for the 30-day drafting period. After reader / writers race to the finish, they are not left high and dry. Jaden’s "After the Draft" revision tips allow readers to determine if a draft is not just workable but compelling, so that they don’t waste months or years in development. Her camaraderie and skill allow Jaden to both instruct and inspire.

Why I'm Waiting 

 Not every reader is a writer, but I know that there are many of us who have a story in us that we want to tell. Some of us need a little help and this book offers step-by-step, day-to-day coaching to get that story out. It sounds exactly like what I need.

November and Expectations

I have high expectations for myself during the month of November.


Like so many others, I am giving NaNoWriMo a go. I've had a story that I wanted to write for so long that I can't even remember when I first wanted to tell it. I never started it because, like most of my writing, it is inspired by true events and I felt like I was in some way betraying those closest to me by telling it. Maybe nothing will come of it, and it might just be for me but it consumes my thoughts and I MUST get it out. I HAVE TO. I don't plan to talk about too much at Actin' Up with Books, because I want to focus more on actually writing it rather than talking about writing it.


I have officially declared this month "No Book-Buying November" - I have too many books. I have too many overdue reviews that I need to right and I am running out of shelf space. I will be passing my own books along through RAK in an effort to not buy any more. I have asked Ginger at GReads! and Amanda at On a Book Bender to keep my in check. But ultimately it is up to me to keep myself in line. 

I am participating in a couple of readathons. You would think this would help alleviate the situation above, but um, no. Here's why. The first readathon: 25 Hour Read-athon hosted by 25 Hour Books starts early and I plan to read my massive stacks of magazines. Yes, in addition to having too many books, I have a lot of magazines. Now I currently only have two current subscriptions, so I don't have many new ones coming in. Thank goodness. But that is all I plan to read.

The second readathon is the Re-Readathon hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. Like the names says, it is when you reread books you have already read. I'm excited for this one because I rarely reread my books and hold on to them because I want to and now I will set aside some time to do just that.

Do I even want to take about reviews? I've been thinking about them, so yes, I need to put it out there. I HAVE NOT WRITTEN A REVIEW SINCE JULY. JULY!!! I am not proud, and yes, I am trying to shame myself here. My head is hanging low. Low, low, low. So I want to write some way overdue reviews - my thought was to do this instead of NaNoWriMo, but peer-pressure, thanks Holly, persuaded me to attempt both. I have cut back tremendously on the amount of review requests I have accepted, NetGalley requests and Galley Grabs from Simon and Schuster. It is time to get real!!

Oh let's see, what else do I plan to do this month? Oh yeah, get my butt back to the gym. Since I started blogging, my gym time has diminished to nothing. This is saying a lot because before I would go at least three or four times a week. I'm not saying that blogging has prevented me from going or cuts into my gym time. No. It is just a hobby that I like more than going to the gym and I have made any excuse that I can to not go. I need to find some balance. I guess I will try to figure that our all month long. 

If you've stayed with me up to this point, THANK YOU. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has a lot going on this month whether it is self-imposed obligations or the expectations of others. I'd like to know what you have going on this month, so please leave a comment and tell me about it.