Blogging Elsewhere

I'm over at YA Outside The Lines, blogging about marketing--the time it didn't exactly work out as I'd planned. You can read the post here: http://yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com/2013/05/when-it-doesnt-work-sydney-salter.html

Setting Your Dream Aside?

Are you procrastinating? Maybe setting your dream aside for later, you know, when you have more time, or [insert excuses here]. Watch this--it might get you going.

Blogging Elsewhere

Today I'm over at YA Outside The Lines, blogging about beginnings... You can read it here.

Advice & Giveaway with Jessica Brody

Please welcome Jessica Brody! I'll be giving away a copy of her new release UnRemembered to one lucky blog commenter. 

What's your best advice for fellow writers?

Don’t be afraid to write badly. Every first draft is crappy. But you can’t know what needs to be revised until you finish that crappy first draft. So don’t let “fear of being bad” stop you from writing. Just write. You can always fix it up and make it pretty later.

What popular writing advice do you never follow?

The other day I saw a piece of writing advice from Stephen King that said, “Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.”

Well, apparently there are exceptions to this rule because I use the thesaurus all the time. It’s my very best friend when I write. Mostly because my brain is mush and I can never remember the word I’m trying to think of. So I think of a similar word and thesaurus search until I find it.

Where do you do most of your writing? 

I find that I have a really hard time writing at home (too many distractions!) so I have a few coffee shops/tea houses that I rotate through and I write there.

What's the best book you've read lately on the craft of writing? 

It wasn’t recently that I read it but it’s by far my favorite book: Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. It saved my career! I actually teach the method now to fellow novelists.

About The Book

The only thing worse than forgetting her past...is remembering it.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find a single survivor; which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating amid the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe. She has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories…period. As she struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is, every clue raises more questions. Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Set in a world where science knows no boundaries and memories are manipulated UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody is the first novel in a compelling, romantic, and suspenseful new sci-fi trilogy for teens.

About The Author

Jessica Brody knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples and electrical tape. She is the author of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, My Life Undecided, The Karma Club, and now, Unremembered. Her books have been translated and published in over 15 countries. She currently splits her time between California and Colorado. www.jessicabrody.com

Please leave a comment to win a copy of the book! 

Contest Winners!

Congratulations!!!

Jade won a copy of Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman.

Deborah won a copy of Lucienne Diver's Fangtabulous.

Procrastinating?

I'm two-and-a-half chapters from the end of my novel--so close--yet I'm dragging my heels. I could spend hours analyzing my reasons procrastination, but I really, really, really just need to finish the darn story! 

Two strategies I've used to prevent procrastination:

1. Trap myself with my laptop--outside my usual workspace--for a limited amount of time. For me this means driving both ways for soccer carpool on Fridays. After I drop the girls off, I drive over to a fancy-schmancy market, buy a big peppermint tea & write at a table overlooking the store.

The other parents are incredibly grateful, the soccer players love the fresh-baked cookies I buy, and I usually manage to write about 900 words in 90 minutes, plus I get my grocery shopping done! 

2. Write with others. Sometimes it's hard to put down a good book, turn of the radio, or stay offline when I know I'm going to be alone with that blank page. About once a week I meet with friends to write. We chat, write furiously, chat, write a little more, eat lunch, and chat some more, sometimes writing a bit more too. Despite all the talking--which I crave--I manage to get a lot of words down when I'm typing with friends. 

This week I combined #1 with #2, meeting fellow writers, Anne Bowen and Wendy Toliver, at the Snowbasin ski resort lodge. Beautiful views, great food, fantastic conversation, and another 1,000 words. 

I will finish this thing!!! 

Sticking With It.

Writing takes the kind of persistence and perseverance that is measured in years and decades. Often we watch others succeed, sign contracts, work with enthusiastic editors, show off pretty book covers, schedule book signings, etc. while we labor to fix yet another rejected manuscript.

Last week a longtime writing friend sold her first picture book after years and years of writing, attending conferences, making connections, and all that waiting and rejection. YAY!!!

I also found out that Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, a longtime conference friend, is a finalist for Tu Book's New Visions Award. Please check out her blog post here.

If you're in that dark writing place where the dream seems so far away, please stick with it. You'll have your glorious moment!