Nadaness In Motion: Gearing Up for Writing Time by Lida Sideris

Today, I'm exciting to feature an author, who every time she has a blog tour, I'm backed up but will one day read her cozy mystery books. J

Join me in welcoming…. LIDA SIDERIS!

I previously hosted Lida Sideris with a guest post titled The Magic Behind Success. Today, I'm re-featuring Lida with a guest post about writing and finding motivation to write. It's what keeps her going and what has probably contributed to the writing and release of her new book Murder: Double or Nothing, book 3 in the Southern California Mystery Series.

Gearing up for writing time, a guest post by Lida Sideris

First some book info

Book: Murder: Double or Nothing
(A Southern California Mystery, 3rd in Series)
Author: Lida Sideris
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Level Best Books
Publication Date: 22 July 2019
Print Length: 285 pages
Digital ASIN: B07VMB2DSN

Synopsis:

Corrie Locke, newbie lawyer and daughter of a late, great PI, is learning the ropes at the Hollywood movie studio where she works—and where things are never what they seem. Life imitates art when a fictional murder attempt turns real—right before her very eyes.

With more than a little help from friends and a crazy movie legend, Corrie trips down a trail littered with wisecracks, mysterious messages, and marginally legal maneuvers to track down the killer. Meanwhile, clues keep disappearing and Corrie makes an enemy whose deadly tactics keep escalating. Will her impromptu sleuthing skills be enough to catch the mysterious assailant before he takes her down?

About the Author

Lida Sideris is an author, lawyer, and all-around book enthusiast. She writes soft-boiled mysteries and was a recipient of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America scholarship award. Murder: Double or Nothing is #3 in her Southern California Mystery series, published by Level Best Books. Lida is also the author of The Cookie Eating Fire Dog, a picture book for ages 4 to 8. She lives in the northern tip of SoCal with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens.

On to the Guest post

Gearing Up for Writing Time by Lida Sideris

(Exclusive to Nadaness In Motion)

There are times when I don’t feel like writing. I drag my feet, stay away from my writing desk and just plain waste time. But ultimately, I know if I don’t write, I’ll feel lousy, dejected, and dissatisfied. Not writing is NOT an option.

When my kids were little tikes, they weren’t too interested in going to sleep at night. So we created a pre-bedtime routine. We’d play a quiet game, read a gentle story and soon, they were nodding off. When I don’t feel like writing, I take a few minutes to find sources of motivation. It’s part of my pre-writing routine.

One simple means is picturing myself after I’m done writing – what a feeling of accomplishment! Plus, once I’m finished, I’ll have time to read, garden, and do whatever I please.

If visualization doesn’t do the trick, I’ll read from the pages of one of my favorite authors. That usually ignites a fire inside of me, making me jump up and get started on my own writing. I love the power of words to create images and page-turning stories. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll hunt down stories of really big authors and how they wrote some of their greatest work in conditions that were less than favorable.

Take Robert Louis Stevenson, for instance. He wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde one sleepless night when he was suffering from advanced tuberculosis. In his aggrieved state, he wrote the book in three days! How is that even possible?

Unhappy with the first draft, he ripped it apart, literally, and rewrote the whole shebang, again in his ill state, in three more days. That’s 64,000 words in six days! I have to pause right there because even in my well state, I can barely imagine writing as he did. Mr. Stevenson wrote more than 10,000 words…a day. Most writers consider 1,000 or even 2,000 words per day an accomplishment. At my best, I wrote 2,500 words a day for two days to complete my first short story. I do know that at least that much is possible.

What Robert Louis Stevenson showed us is that:

- All we need to do is try;

- Anything is possible if we set our minds to it; and

- Never, ever give up no matter what the circumstances.

These days, when I sit restless in my chair, and distractions are shouting out my name, I think of Robert Louis Stevenson and stay put. Thank you, Mr. Stevenson for showing us what we’re capable of accomplishing.

Connect with Lida Sideris via her Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Add Murder: Double or Nothing to your Goodreads' to-be-read list.