In true WIZARD OF OZ fashion, I acted like Glenda the Good Witch and had myself a whole bunch of munchkins this morning which means I am not hungry for lunch. So...I am blogging instead.
"Why munchkins?" You ask. We have a grandmother-to-be (as in hours away of becoming a grandmother) in the office and she is waiting patiently by the phone to get the news. She's on the east coast - the new baby is coming into the world on the west coast. Being up all night, she was in need of sustenance...thus the reason I have "We represent the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild" jingling in my head. By the way, is it lollipop or lollypop? Or is it one of those words that can be spelled either way? I personally prefer the "i" over the "y".
OK, enough with the flipping munchkins. Here's what is going on with my writing life - I have heard from a couple of agents who rejected THREE CROSSES; however, they actually contacted me to reject me vs. not acknowleging the rejection. This is a big deal. AND they rejected me by stating that it was a very difficult decision. They also said I was publish-worthy and had market appeal. So, despite being rejected, I feel pretty darn good. Besides, like I said, they didn't even have to bother responding at all. Oh yeah, they invited me to submit other manuscripts. Not bad, huh?
This summer is about writing short stories for competitions through Writer's Digest. I have submitted two thus far and have plans to complete two more. It's a great change of pace and who knows...maybe I will place in one of the competitions and will then have something wicked cool to put on my resume. Once the summer rolls on by, I will return to COVET (I just heard a small chorus of "Yippees") for editing and submission.
Ciao for now:)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Bay Harvest
Who'll dig for clams with me and who will bring the wine?
Whose toes will play in the sand with mine, now that Jenny's gone?
Whose toes will play in the sand with mine, now that Jenny's gone?
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Writing 101: Character Development
Pardon my lack of humbleness as I pat myself on the back. As Three Crosses continues to make its way through the hands of readers, I am randomly approached with compliments and typically some variation of any of these 3 questions:
1. Where do you get your ideas?
2. Do you base your characters on people you know?
3. How long does it take you to write a book?
I'll start with #3 as its the easiest to answer. 1st draft - about 5 weeks. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, some novels have been brewing in my head for years and even decades before they make their way to 1st draft. Others, like A Miracle for Mackenzie, had absolutely no brewing time and Mackenzie book was never completed so its a bad example.
#1 - I get my ideas from a myriad of places. As most of what I write is character-driven, answer to Q2 will explain some of this a bit. But my ideas come from my own imagination asking the age-old question, What If? I don't do writing exercises per se where I deliberately ask the question; I just go through life asking that question about everything. Makes for a busy brain so I have to do something with all those thoughts. I get curious about certain things - like ghost encounters, so I create characters who deal with my curiousity because lets face it, I don't have the time to do all the research for everything that piques my interest. I also am quite interested in why people do the things they do. It can be something as extreme as "why do psychopaths do the most horrible things to other humans?" to something not as extreme like "why did Michael choose not to marry the woman he had dated for seven years?" If I get curious enough to want to know more, well then Q2 kicks in...
Q2 - Sometimes, like in the above paragraph, a situation will prompt me to develop a character, but other times a character finds his or her way into my head where they start to have experiences that may or may not blossom into a story. But are my characters based on people I know or have known? Simply put, no. And again I say, BUT sometimes characters are borne from traits of people I have seen, or met, or have known.
For instance, I have a potential character brewing in my head this very moment. She was borne from a real live human being I observed last night. I started a narrative in my head this morning about what I observed.
It was hard to be aware of her pretty facial features when I was so distracted by the gauntness of her body. She was a walking, living, breathing ad for osteoporosis. She had no descernible butt but she had muscle tone in her arms. How odd. Her attire of ratty, wrinkled, and holey cargo slacks matched with her canvas sneakers that looked as if they had been pulled from a dumpster gave me a picture of someone with little to no money. Her bleached-out blond and cropped hair looked like it was shellac to her skull in a rubber band and it screamed to me that she couldn't be bothered with primping. But the fact that she was present with girlfriends who were well groomed and quite obviously concerned about their appearance told me there was more to her story.
The questions in my head start. Is she a past drug addict? Was she intentionally making a fashion statement? Did she just get out of rehab? Is she anorexic? If she is, why? Don't her freinds care enough about her to help her? Help her what? Maybe they do care. Maybe they are the ones getting her to the gym. Maybe she would look even less put together if it weren't for her freinds. Maybe she is a rich young woman with lots and lots of money that her friends want so they keep her around despite her drug habits. Maybe they started her on drugs? Maybe she saw something when she was a kid that made her want to disappear.
And on and on it goes, well at least as long as I am interested. Let's say I am interested in developing this real woman into a character. The woman I observed may be the start of a character who ends up looking and acting nothing like the real version of herself.
Both Simon and Amanda in Three Crosses are shadows of people I have known. As a matter of fact, Simon is a shadow of a combination of people I have known. He exhibits traits that I found interesting in real people.
The point is, there are no characters in any of my books who are mirror images or even closely mirror images of people I know. People I know/meet/observe may be the jumping-off point for a character to come to life, but each of my characters are just as unique as every single child that was ever born or will be born. As a matter of fact, there could be a whole other world where all my characters live out their lives...but that thought process will only get me labeled crazy. Delusional, primary diagnosis, God-complex, secondary diagnosis. Oh...I think I just started a new story. Ha! Have a great day! Thanks for reading:)
1. Where do you get your ideas?
2. Do you base your characters on people you know?
3. How long does it take you to write a book?
I'll start with #3 as its the easiest to answer. 1st draft - about 5 weeks. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, some novels have been brewing in my head for years and even decades before they make their way to 1st draft. Others, like A Miracle for Mackenzie, had absolutely no brewing time and Mackenzie book was never completed so its a bad example.
#1 - I get my ideas from a myriad of places. As most of what I write is character-driven, answer to Q2 will explain some of this a bit. But my ideas come from my own imagination asking the age-old question, What If? I don't do writing exercises per se where I deliberately ask the question; I just go through life asking that question about everything. Makes for a busy brain so I have to do something with all those thoughts. I get curious about certain things - like ghost encounters, so I create characters who deal with my curiousity because lets face it, I don't have the time to do all the research for everything that piques my interest. I also am quite interested in why people do the things they do. It can be something as extreme as "why do psychopaths do the most horrible things to other humans?" to something not as extreme like "why did Michael choose not to marry the woman he had dated for seven years?" If I get curious enough to want to know more, well then Q2 kicks in...
Q2 - Sometimes, like in the above paragraph, a situation will prompt me to develop a character, but other times a character finds his or her way into my head where they start to have experiences that may or may not blossom into a story. But are my characters based on people I know or have known? Simply put, no. And again I say, BUT sometimes characters are borne from traits of people I have seen, or met, or have known.
For instance, I have a potential character brewing in my head this very moment. She was borne from a real live human being I observed last night. I started a narrative in my head this morning about what I observed.
It was hard to be aware of her pretty facial features when I was so distracted by the gauntness of her body. She was a walking, living, breathing ad for osteoporosis. She had no descernible butt but she had muscle tone in her arms. How odd. Her attire of ratty, wrinkled, and holey cargo slacks matched with her canvas sneakers that looked as if they had been pulled from a dumpster gave me a picture of someone with little to no money. Her bleached-out blond and cropped hair looked like it was shellac to her skull in a rubber band and it screamed to me that she couldn't be bothered with primping. But the fact that she was present with girlfriends who were well groomed and quite obviously concerned about their appearance told me there was more to her story.
The questions in my head start. Is she a past drug addict? Was she intentionally making a fashion statement? Did she just get out of rehab? Is she anorexic? If she is, why? Don't her freinds care enough about her to help her? Help her what? Maybe they do care. Maybe they are the ones getting her to the gym. Maybe she would look even less put together if it weren't for her freinds. Maybe she is a rich young woman with lots and lots of money that her friends want so they keep her around despite her drug habits. Maybe they started her on drugs? Maybe she saw something when she was a kid that made her want to disappear.
And on and on it goes, well at least as long as I am interested. Let's say I am interested in developing this real woman into a character. The woman I observed may be the start of a character who ends up looking and acting nothing like the real version of herself.
Both Simon and Amanda in Three Crosses are shadows of people I have known. As a matter of fact, Simon is a shadow of a combination of people I have known. He exhibits traits that I found interesting in real people.
The point is, there are no characters in any of my books who are mirror images or even closely mirror images of people I know. People I know/meet/observe may be the jumping-off point for a character to come to life, but each of my characters are just as unique as every single child that was ever born or will be born. As a matter of fact, there could be a whole other world where all my characters live out their lives...but that thought process will only get me labeled crazy. Delusional, primary diagnosis, God-complex, secondary diagnosis. Oh...I think I just started a new story. Ha! Have a great day! Thanks for reading:)
Friday, February 24, 2012
Update
Wow! It has been a while since I have said hi. Sorry folks, but I have been busy...writing! editing! Hah! You thought I was going to say busy with life! That too, but also writing, creating, editing.
Just wanted to say hi and that I will update you in more detail over the weekend. All fun stuff!
Just wanted to say hi and that I will update you in more detail over the weekend. All fun stuff!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Check out this site
www.shootandpaint.blogspot.com/
For all you artists and art admirers...join the fun and the challenge. Or be like me and just check out the artwork without actually participating. But if you enjoy painting/drawing, give it a try. I would love to see your work.
For all you artists and art admirers...join the fun and the challenge. Or be like me and just check out the artwork without actually participating. But if you enjoy painting/drawing, give it a try. I would love to see your work.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Dragon Naturally Speaking
Working on THE RED JEEP this morning - not so much because I know how I want it written but because I was practising using DRAGON, the dictating software. I have to use it a bit for it to recognize my "profile" or train it to understand me. It's a pretty cool tool and once I get use to it, I am sure it will make my writing experience all the more interesting.
I have a busy day ahead of me but wanted to check in. I had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone else did too. The New Year is almost upon us and I look forward to a fresh year of positive developments and increased productivity in my writing life.
I just realized that I should have used Dragon to dictate this blog. DUH!!! Next time.
I have a busy day ahead of me but wanted to check in. I had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone else did too. The New Year is almost upon us and I look forward to a fresh year of positive developments and increased productivity in my writing life.
I just realized that I should have used Dragon to dictate this blog. DUH!!! Next time.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
C.L.LeMay rambles on and on again!!!
It has come to my attention that there is a significant amount of formatting issues with both the e-book and the paperback version of THREE CROSSES. I have also researched it a bit and it seems that there is a software program converting problem. THREE CROSSES as it appears in my MS Word format differs from the e-book and paperback versions. There are sentence breaks, etc. in the e-book and paperback that are not in the Word doc. Also when I review the paperback version on my computer, it appears different than what actually printed in paperback. I am both sorry for the annoyance and the fact that I did not notice previously. But thank you to all of you who read it despite the issues. I don't know yet how I will address this issue and can honestly say, I'm not sure I will do anything about it at this point. I originally made THREE CROSSES publically available because there were quite a few potential readers waiting for it - plus I needed to induldge my Leo personality.
Having said all of that, I have once again been approached by readers/potential readers (as recently as last night) inquiring as to the next publication. Like it or not, I have a group of readers who are waiting patiently for the next book. I think it best to leave the publishing and editing aspects of writing to the professionals and therefore will be looking for professional representation come next year (I say this oh so confidentantly as if they are waiting in line to represent me!). I do not have the time to do the writing, editing, and managing of the publishing aspects of my books. Of course I say that but we will see how far I get with that pursuit! Maybe I will just get a website up and publish books directly to that so readers everywhere can read without editing issues (beyond my own flubs). Of course I will be a poor author because no one would have to pay to read my books.
My brain is certainly overloaded with stories - short stories and novels. I have been dreaming stories. No matter what I am doing, there is a story in my head. Sometimes it is hard to focus on a task at hand because I have characters moving around like there's a movie in my head. Amanda and Simon keep lurking in the sidelines, trying to get my attention. Lurking. I like that word. It's creepy in a way. Creepy. I like that word too. Anyway, I don't know what to do about all these thoughts that keep manifesting into stories or potential stories. I could quit everything I do in life and just write and be busy for the remainder of my life. I have learned how to shut it out so I can focus, but it's getting harder and harder to do because these stories and characters are getting louder. One fo my sisters gave me a magnet once that states "The voices are getting louder. Must be time to write." It speaks to me a lot lately and I feel compelled to succumb to the inevitable (is that spelled correctly? I can't remember how to spell a lot of words today-usually I can sound it out but its like that part of my brain isn't there today) rather than shoving it to the side. And blah, blah, blah. There I go again, rambling on about the same ol' shit, I mean crap, I mean stuff.
So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas if I don't touch base again before the 25th. I am soooo excited for Christmas. It's good to be a kid! Ok, sometimes I just feel like a kid. When the hell did I grow up? I don't remember getting here!
Having said all of that, I have once again been approached by readers/potential readers (as recently as last night) inquiring as to the next publication. Like it or not, I have a group of readers who are waiting patiently for the next book. I think it best to leave the publishing and editing aspects of writing to the professionals and therefore will be looking for professional representation come next year (I say this oh so confidentantly as if they are waiting in line to represent me!). I do not have the time to do the writing, editing, and managing of the publishing aspects of my books. Of course I say that but we will see how far I get with that pursuit! Maybe I will just get a website up and publish books directly to that so readers everywhere can read without editing issues (beyond my own flubs). Of course I will be a poor author because no one would have to pay to read my books.
My brain is certainly overloaded with stories - short stories and novels. I have been dreaming stories. No matter what I am doing, there is a story in my head. Sometimes it is hard to focus on a task at hand because I have characters moving around like there's a movie in my head. Amanda and Simon keep lurking in the sidelines, trying to get my attention. Lurking. I like that word. It's creepy in a way. Creepy. I like that word too. Anyway, I don't know what to do about all these thoughts that keep manifesting into stories or potential stories. I could quit everything I do in life and just write and be busy for the remainder of my life. I have learned how to shut it out so I can focus, but it's getting harder and harder to do because these stories and characters are getting louder. One fo my sisters gave me a magnet once that states "The voices are getting louder. Must be time to write." It speaks to me a lot lately and I feel compelled to succumb to the inevitable (is that spelled correctly? I can't remember how to spell a lot of words today-usually I can sound it out but its like that part of my brain isn't there today) rather than shoving it to the side. And blah, blah, blah. There I go again, rambling on about the same ol' shit, I mean crap, I mean stuff.
So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas if I don't touch base again before the 25th. I am soooo excited for Christmas. It's good to be a kid! Ok, sometimes I just feel like a kid. When the hell did I grow up? I don't remember getting here!
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