Sydney Strand

The confession behind this blog: Read here.    I had a horribly unproductive three weeks. They were filled with the paralysis of "Too Much to Do!! Where Do I Start?" And let me back up briefly--I don't believe in Writer's Block. It's sort of why I don't believe in pacifiers either. I always feel there's a REAL reason behind not writing, just as I believe there's a REAL reason for a baby crying. Find the reason and you'll start to write again. Find the reason and you'll stop the baby crying. The thing is, you need patience for both. You may not have written or revised for weeks (me!). And yes, the baby may be crying for hours (been there!). In both situations, I truly feel what's happening is happening because we haven't figured out what is wrong (yet). After all, there are so many "wrongs" to choose from: Why is the story not working? -Bad motivations? -Wrong setting? -Ineffective villain? -Lukewarm romance?...

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.  I've been seeing a lot of NaNoWriMo peeps thinking they're jerks for not meeting word count. Some have dropped out, some are in the midst of panicked self-flaggelation. Welcome to The Real NaNoWriMo Today is Day 10, which means the words should be at about 17,000. So let's take a look at me, shall we?  -I'm behind on my revisions for the November-Book-That-Has-Turned-Into-The-December-Book. -I'm behind on my NaNoWriMo word count (11,300 out of 17,000 for The Tenth Day).  -I'm behind at refreshing book covers and innards for a sale I'm having Thanksgiving Weekend and an author panel I'm part of 12/6. -I probably didn't proofread this blog to perfection. I could say that I will double down--create MORE words revise MORE chapters and think myself a failure while doing so.  My motivation for such a crazed act would be this: But as I wrote and revised and worked on The Writing Life at...

I'm NaNoWriMo-ing this month , and as such, I'm committed to 1700 words per day. This shouldn't really too taxing, mainly because just this summer, I was putting in 3000-word days without breaking a sweat. So why is it that the 1700-word days now are kicking my butt more? Because I'm revising as I go, unlike this summer, when I word vomited all over the place.   Which is better: writing a free-for-all mess with no stopping OR revising as you go? I've written both ways, multiple times, because I'm a scientist of the written word. The analyst of the time suckers. A dunderhead when it comes to making a definite decision. (I'm also pragmatic and self-reflecting.) I've seen the benefits and the negatives of both types of writing styles. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each: Word Vomiting Pros -I can write 2,000 words in an hour. -I give myself leeway to write crap. -I can finish a Word Vomit story and start a new on...

The confession behind this blog: Read here.  So remember how I had waxed on about working on other stories during NaNoWriMo? That I wouldn't be a slave to "50,000 Words in 30 Days!" arbitrariness? Well color me arbitrary. I started a new story for NaNo. And I planned it in two days. And it's pretty darn-near well-planned, too. But first I enjoyed the last days of what I like to call Fall with a Little Bit of Summer in It: Lapsit in Maine, where we dressed up as bees, lambs and Olaf Ghost windsocks made with soup cans festooned our burning bushes Olaf and Anna going in for candy. And notice the half door! Just like the door in my newest story. Celebrating my friend and critique partner's latest book at Barnes & Noble It is now what I call Fall with a Lot of Winter in It. The heat is on, the thicker scarves are around my neck, and I'm wearing mittens to bed. Yes, I'm a wuss. (But I'm a warm wuss!) Now back to NaNo an...

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 ...

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 ...