Ask the Author: Sydney Strand
Answered Questions (3)
Sydney Strand
I'm so glad you asked! I'm working on the 3rd book for my His Favorite series titled His Favorite Distraction. It's about an assistive robotics engineer (the heroine!) and the concussed football player next door. On a New Hampshire beach. It's a pretty fun book (if I do say so myself). ;o)
Sydney Strand
My most recent book, Bad Mom Rents a Man: Glampfest!, is Book 2 of a series of four books. I conceived of a "bad mom" because doesn't every mom feel like a bad one some days? I conceived of renting a man because that seems like fun (Debra Messing did it in The Wedding Date, one of my favorite films!). And Glampfest? I have loved the idea of glamping for a long, long time. Pinterest is great at giving good ideas about glamping (especially for little girls' birthday party themes).
Sydney Strand
I don't believe in writer's block. (If I don't believe in it, I can't have it, right?) I do believe in:
-Feeling swamped and believing you have too little time to write. This happens sometimes. As in one day every few weeks. It can't be longer than this or the writing muscles atrophy. If you need to find the time, write a checklist for the next day. Be realistic, and put down "Write for 15 minutes" or "Write 100 words."
-Feeling overwhelmed by the story and wanting to curl up in bed with a week supply of Ben & Jerry's. If this happens, I put my work into divided chapters, using a product like Scrivener, and only work on one chapter at a time, not even thinking about the other ones. I give myself time or word count limits to make going forward manageable and not so overwhelming.
-Feeling lost. Sometimes, the story can overrun you. The plot is all over the place, the character(s) is/are schizophrenic. This is when I go back to my outline and write down what I wrote. Such as:
-Maggie is on the side of a deserted road at midnight
-A car pulls up, and two strange men come out
-She's happy
Right there, I can see where I've started to go wrong. Why is she HAPPY to see a car with two strange men on a deserted road at midnight? So not good. Revise, REVISE!
-Feeling like your story isn't good enough, either because you're having a low day or you've just read a bad review. I make sure to remind myself that I'm having fun. This isn't a bomb with 10 seconds left on it before it detonates and destroys the world. This is a fun book you sat down to write. Remember the fun. REMEMBER THE FUN!
-Feeling swamped and believing you have too little time to write. This happens sometimes. As in one day every few weeks. It can't be longer than this or the writing muscles atrophy. If you need to find the time, write a checklist for the next day. Be realistic, and put down "Write for 15 minutes" or "Write 100 words."
-Feeling overwhelmed by the story and wanting to curl up in bed with a week supply of Ben & Jerry's. If this happens, I put my work into divided chapters, using a product like Scrivener, and only work on one chapter at a time, not even thinking about the other ones. I give myself time or word count limits to make going forward manageable and not so overwhelming.
-Feeling lost. Sometimes, the story can overrun you. The plot is all over the place, the character(s) is/are schizophrenic. This is when I go back to my outline and write down what I wrote. Such as:
-Maggie is on the side of a deserted road at midnight
-A car pulls up, and two strange men come out
-She's happy
Right there, I can see where I've started to go wrong. Why is she HAPPY to see a car with two strange men on a deserted road at midnight? So not good. Revise, REVISE!
-Feeling like your story isn't good enough, either because you're having a low day or you've just read a bad review. I make sure to remind myself that I'm having fun. This isn't a bomb with 10 seconds left on it before it detonates and destroys the world. This is a fun book you sat down to write. Remember the fun. REMEMBER THE FUN!
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