What Inspires Me?

If you had asked me that question many years ago, I would have thought that my inspirations would have strictly come from the depths of what my mind could conjure up.  But, to my surprise, the answer is Life!

Everyone has things happen in life, both good and bad, but it is how you choose to handle those things that lead to your outcomes.  But imagine, from a writer's perspective, what would happen if you created a character, with a similar issue, but different set of circumstances, and they decided to take an alternate route...how could their life drastically change and would it be for better or worse?

All of life is my creative pallate.  I gather ideas from family, friends, the news/media, books, television...the opportunities are endless.  If you stop and think about it, are our lives really any different than some of those seen on soap operas or television?  We have continual highs and lows and sometimes it seems that all we have is misfortune, but eventually we pull through and end up with some amazing things to celebrate!

I guess I should acknowledge my biggest sources of inspiration and support...my husband, son and mother.  They allow me to dream outside the box and let my imagination go wild.  I often run my story lines by them to see what their thoughts are and how I might look at things a little differently.  I recently was having an issue with one portion of my work in progress, book one from the Remembrance Series, called "I Remember..."  I was trying to reference actual events that happened within history and tie them to the events in my story.  However, my only problem was that it would shift the focus of  the book entirely.  My mother was the one to say, "Have you thought about just having historical references, but creating the events you need to have happen with your mind?"

I took her advise to heart and where I had hit writer's block for weeks, turned into an onslaught of words and a new direction that I did not think was even possible.

So if you ever catch me watching people intently, reading a book, enjoying a movie or television show and see me deep in thought...I just might be creating!  ;-)

My 1st Blog as an Author

If someone had told me, a year ago, that I would be sitting here typing out my first author blog on the Internet, I would have told them they were completely crazy! 

As a child, I often let my mind wander, creating fantasies and illusions in my head, though struggled to write them down on paper.  In high school I was a little better at putting my thoughts down on paper; even won a writing award from our local VFW.  One of my English teachers had stated, "I look forward to reading great things from you."  I just nodded and said, "Okay," thinking she must be mistaken, since my stories were only average, at best.  Then a professor in college gave me one piece of advise that changed the way I looked at the typed word forever..."Read what you have written and if you have questions, you haven't written enough.  A good writer leads you on a journey of discovery, painting the picture in such detail that the reader feels they are there." 

I still fought the idea of writing, despite the drama in my mind, until some friends of mine were discussing various authors, which led to us asking if anyone had ever tried their hand at writing.  At that point, I had tried a couple of children's books, but had not sought out any form of publication, thinking I was wasting my time.  Then one of them asked if I had ever though about writing a Young Adult (YA) novel, since that was the popular genre at the time.  I laughed off the notion and the conversation moved towards another topic, but the thought stayed.

I had already had an idea playing in my mind for almost eight years.  After the notion of a YA novel was mentioned, the story started taking on a life of its own in my mind, growing, expanding, existing!  I discussed the idea with my family, knowing that it would take their help and tons of commitment to get everything going.  So with them on board, I took the chance, sat down and on my fifth attempt, started to see my story come to life.

Currently, I am at the crossroads trying to figure out which direction I want to go in terms of publishing.  The book has three scenes left to write and will go another round with me editing, before I send it to an editor.  My goal is simple, to get it published this year.  It will be book one of a four book series, called The Remembrance Series.  It is a YA Romance with paranormal and historical elements within it, a classic good versus evil, with forbidden love scenario.  I don't want to get to involved with all the details, just yet, since I will need something to blog about in future blogs. 

In the meantime, if you like what you are reading and want to follow me on Facebook, check out this link:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/cynthiapritchettoneill

I can also be followed on Twitter at:  www.twitter.com/cynthiaponeilll

Thanks so much for stopping by to read!