Sydney Strand

The confession behind this blog: Read here.     This is what my November looked like, as I think most writers' lives (those with a deadline or who were competing in NaNoWriMo) looked like. Writing in the kitchen, drinking hot chocolate Writing in the Starbucks, drinking a skinny hazelnut latte Writing in the bedroom, drinking up the words Writing in the dining room, drinking water Writing in the family room, drinking them in Writing in the office, at the desk, most likely drinking Diet Dr. Pepper Writing in the office, on the sofa, definitely drinking Diet Dr. Pepper All that writing and now you're done. DONE! Now, though, what should you do? -Put it in a drawer? -Put it on Amazon? -Put it in the mail to whoever that was who published JK Rowling? This one's easy. I'll give you a minute. Got the answer? Okay, here it is… … … … Put it in a drawer. Everyone . Enjoy the month that is Dec...

Basically, this is what my November is making me feel like: I knew this was going to happen when I decided "Hey, I should do NaNoWriMo AND revise a book. Cuz I'm bored and have nothing else to do but stare at walls." Yeah. I'm a silly ninnymuggins, to borrow an Elf phrase. Anyway, I've been chasing two rabbits. I still am. Actually, 10 rabbits, and two of them are on crystal meth. (The bunnies, sillies. Not me. I'm on Excedrin.) Anyway. It's November. You're a rabbit catcher when you're a writer and it's November. Keeping it short so I can get back to revising... Hugs! Kisses! High Fives!

The confession behind this blog: Read here.    This last week was filled with pumpkin strolls and hot glue gun burns as I finished making Halloween costumes. I also continued to Slog Through the Slogfest of Draft #3 of #TheRobotStory (aka, His Favorite Distraction). La Petite's Kitty Cat Pumpkin. The Kitty Cat pumpkin lit up along the stroll. Those costumes! All glue, velcro, and a teeny, tiny bit of my blood. I at least had a break from making dinner--we had a lot left over from our Christmasgiving on Sunday. Christmasgiving done simple--including soup can candles. Revision has been slow-going, but I've been using my Productive Procrastination skills to get side work done: 1) I finished the cover for His Favorite Distraction. (#TheRobotStory)  2) I used my Social Media Minions to decide on a cover for #TheRobotStory. 3) I brainstormed promotions (and set them up through BookGorilla, eReaderNews Today, Goodreads Giveaways and ...

The confession behind this blog: Read here.  This week, I had a major break-through: I DON'T NEED TO WRITE AN OUTLINE BEFORE I WRITE THE BOOK. Yes. That's right. The pre-writing tool we've been told must be done before we write anything? It has now become a post-writing tool. And I thank my years of teaching college English courses. What I Used to Do This was a majorly mind-blowingly development. I had always done (or rather, NOT done and felt guilty about not doing it) proper outlines and character interviews pre-Draft 1. I thought pre-writing was for anal idiots, and I was not an idiot.  I wanted to jump into the story. Feet first, of course. (Because I was not an idiot.) This is not to say I write by the seat of my pants. I always need a plan, a Pinterest Board, a Polyvore collage.  I just don't want a 100-pages of outlines and character notes. Or, as I call it. The Book Before the Book. And yes, I would write an outline of s...

The confession behind this blog: Read here.  This week sortakinda stunk noogies in terms of productivity. In terms of birthdays and walks and overall procrastination, I was a rock star. Exhibit A: Playing Lego Trains. Or rather, watching Le Boy Bebe play Lego Trains. Exhibit B: I was the best flower waterer while procrastinating. Exhibit C: The cat got good pets due to procrastination Exhibit D: Walks and errands = great procrastination. Exhibit E: Birthdays had to be celebrated with M&M's and 2.5 cans of icing. Exhibit F: Obligatory cat pic of Cat 1. Exhibit G: Obligatory cat pic of Cat 2. I just couldn't get my act together. I felt like I was paddling against a current that was keeping me in one place and, worse, moving me farther from shore, aka, a healthy future.  Luckily, I do this thing where I keep track of my progress (or lack-of). I noticed something. My "Unproductive Week" actually yielded 5 Revised Chapters. ...

I'm a little late with the post this week. But I had a good reason. I PUBLISHED A NEW BOOK!!! In a bit, I'll go into detail about the birth of this particular book. But let me tell you, the timing for the launch got a little sticky. When you have a book that's ready to launch, it's interesting to look at dates. The date around this launch was September 11. I don't know about you, Dear Reader, but I don't even buy bread that's dated September 11.  The best post for 9/11. Credit: Adam Shankman/Instagram And so I held off. And I did my usual Mom thing this week. I took La Petite Adult to a birthday party along the bay (lucky duck--my childhood birthday parties were usually within view of the McDonald's ballpit and a tumbleweed or three). Ugly, isn't it? And Le Boy Bebe and I went back to the post-strike Market Basket. Mums and pumpkins made the early September feel like it was truly fall. And the $.89 2-Liter ...

Note: If you are wondering about the story behind Mom Novelist with a Deadline, click here for my Confession. I'm still in the middle of finishing up my Fourth Self-Published Book. For the last month, my Saturdays and Sundays have looked like this: Where can I get this? Seriously. Dust bunnies the size of The Easter Bunny are everywhere. The toilets are a week overdue in needing to be cleaned. I wish I was bionic sometimes. But I have not been slacking. I've been putting in time at The Day Job, time at The Momming, time on The Treadmill, and time at Writing/Revising/Drafting/Rethinking. The Post-Draft 4 Checklist The Pre-Draft 6 Checklist "Procrastinating" by creating covers The revision food. That I consumed way too quickly! What exactly does the writing process look for like for me? I broke it down: Fast-Writing (July 11-15) I fast wrote this story, thinking it would be an 8,000-word story. I wrote 6,000 words. (I try to...