Sunday, January 16, 2011

My Muses

With my middle grade novel written, edited, critiqued, revised, critiqued again, beta read, revised…yeah you get the picture, I can finally say it’s ready to go. I am just waiting for the query onslaught that agents are receiving this month to subside a bit before sending. Also, I am attending the SCBWI conference in New York in a couple of weeks and will wait until after to query. Tick tock. I’m excited to send and get some response—any response. It’s been a journey.
On another exciting note, I’ve recently begun a new young adult novel that’s been brewing in my mind for a while.  I have about 15,000 words written so far and the ideas and characters are swirling in my head like a carousel on high speed. I looked online to find pictures for my main character muses and when I saw them, they just jumped out from the screen at me as though I molded them to life myself. I don’t know if these models are famous people, but they fit perfectly with the vision in my head that I had for my characters. I’ve posted their pictures below. What do you think? I keep their pictures next to my desk because they are real to me and their faces remind me daily to tell their story.
I have to say I loved writing my middle grade novel and it is near and dear to my heart but it sure is fun writing in the genre of YA and I am having a blast with it! Writing is like chocolate to me, sweet, delicious, and euphoric. It is one of those things that gives my heart arms and legs, so to speak. I know many of you feel the same. Do you, who are writers, also pick out pictures for your characters? What other tricks do you have up your sleeve to help inspire?   
  
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16 comments:

  1. HeatherJanuary 16, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Congrats on finishing and getting ready to submit! That is such an exciting time. And congrats on starting a new WIP! I do search for pictures that make me think of my characters, and of places that inspire certain elements in my chapters. It helps so much! I love the pictures you picked. Hopefully someday very soon I'll be reading about the characters they resemble!

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  2. Shannon DuffyJanuary 16, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Thanks, Heather! I hope so too. :)

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  3. Elliot GraceJanuary 16, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    ...Morgan, you're wise to wait a bit before shipping out your query. As you know, January and February are the busiest months of the year for literary agents, who get bombarded with countless query letters from us starving artists, thus limiting everyone's chances of getting noticed. Regardless of when you pull the trigger, I'm sure you'll do fine...it's all about believing:)
    EL

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  4. Shannon DuffyJanuary 16, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Thanks Elliot, I hope so. I don't think I can hold out for the whole month of February though. :)

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  5. BadgerJanuary 17, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    I can see how those photos speak to you, great idea - congrats and have a safe trip to NY.

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  6. Shannon DuffyJanuary 17, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Thanks a lot. I'm really looking forwar to going and soaking it all up. :)

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  7. UnknownJanuary 19, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    Hey Morgan. First of all thanks for following me at "The Oracle and The Muse." Secondly, it's funny... I've never used pictures found in magazines or internet per se, but in my mind's eye, the characters are *completely realized* I can never find a picture that does them justice though. I've tried to find pictures even after the fact. Fail. So anyhoo, typically I am inspired more by pictures of setting than by characters. I know that sounds way out of left field. lol.
    ~Cheers

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  8. UnknownJanuary 20, 2011 at 2:06 AM

    Finishing the revisions and getting ready to submit is a very exciting time. I'm impressed you have the patience to wait for the conference - it's a great idea though. Good luck with your writing journey.
    I have pictures of my characters and places on display beside me when I'm writing - they are an important part of the muse ;) Thanks for stopping by my Blog. :)

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  9. Shannon DuffyJanuary 20, 2011 at 4:52 AM

    Thanks, Christopher and Elaine for passing by. I love to hear others thoughts. Happy writing!

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  10. David P. KingJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    Nice blog! Always good to meet a fellow fantasy writer. I'm guilty of looking up actors who match whatever character is running rampant in my head, too. Good luck with your submission!

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  11. Jeff KingJanuary 20, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    Gongrats… that a huge accomplishment, I hope it all works out for you.

    I’m starting down the last revision stage (I hope) and look forward to completion. Maybe someday I’ll know how you feel.

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  12. Katie AndersonJanuary 21, 2011 at 3:33 AM

    The new novel sounds very exciting! I'm starting a new project at the moment too, and it is a very interesting stage to be at. Thanks for following my blog!

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  13. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:22 AM

    Morgan Lee, if you want, email me your query and I'll give it a read. Mine was accepted by (4) agents and it took 100 days to perfect it, one particular day I spent 9+hours just removing 50 words to make the query POP! Keep it under 350 words, the hook-book-cook approach but I would love to help in any way I can.

    My book is being published by Wiley, should be out this summer.

    Great Job!
    John Serpa
    www.johnserpa.com

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  14. Shannon DuffyJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Thanks D.P, nice to meet you too! I love the picture stuff. Jeff--I wish you good luck. I know the revision stage is tough and you always second guess things. Katie, starting a new project is killer fun. I'm lovin' it.Wish you the very best with yours.
    John--wow, so nice of you to offer. I will dm you on twitter for your email. Thanks so much.

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  15. Laura PaulingJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    I just finished the first draft of my first YA. Before that I'd only written MG. But I'm really liking YA. Good luck with querying!

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  16. Shannon DuffyJanuary 24, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Yes, both are great but completely different. Thanks and good luck to you too.

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