http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/ An effort to maintain the sanity of myself and other writers through journaling (the poor person's therapy). en-us 2008-05-04T06:18:37+00:00 Publishers Marketplace Colin Murcray hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00:00+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/images/PM_rssimg.gif http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20080504021728 I've been bad. I haven't posted here in quite a while. It's not for lack of things to write. It's more a matter of finding time. I've been working really hard to finish my current novel. Lately, I've been making myself write at least a thousand words a night. This doesn't sound like much, but in the world of children's books, it's quite a bit. With young adult novels topping out at 60,000 words, and middle grade at 40,000, you could conceivably write 7 or 8 books a year. If it only it were ... Colin Murcray 2008-05-04T06:17:28+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20080129141305 The other night, I was riding home from my critique group when I was blindsided with an attack of self doubt. For a moment, the idea of a bunch of adults getting together to share their writing with the hope someone will want to read it enough to pay money for it seemed silly. Not only did it seem like such a far-fetched dream, it also felt incredibly naïve. After all, there are tens of thousands of writers out there. Who were we to think we were good enough to compete with that? For a ... Colin Murcray 2008-01-29T19:13:05+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20071213104411 One of my favorite stories of all time is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. For me, there is nothing more powerful writing-wise than a redemption story. This year, though, I've realized the story is deeper than that. While Ebeneezer Scrooge is a horrible person, filled with despair and bitterness at a world he perceives as a hard, cruel place, he is also very much a part of us. Just as he has his ghosts of past, present and future, so do we. Our pasts include many things both good and ... Colin Murcray 2007-12-13T15:44:11+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20071012104757 Sorry about my long absence from blogging! Our life is in a huge state of flux with trying to sell our house and starting a new job. I was thinking about what writing topic I could blog about, especially when I've had such little time to write. A few things have come to mind, but aren't enough to blog about on their own, and they aren't really related to each other, so this will be a bit of a hodge-podge (where did that expression come from anyway?). First, this year has been like one big ... Colin Murcray 2007-10-12T14:47:57+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20070413154635 Starting a new novel is much harder than it sounds. This will be my fourth novel, not counting a couple that were never finished, and I keep thinking it will get easier each time. But this time it's harder. Maybe because this time I know someone else besides my wife will be reading it. When I told my critique group members that one of the emotions I was feeling after getting signed by an agent was Fear, no one was more surprised than myself. Why on earth would reaching this milestone cause ... Colin Murcray 2007-04-13T19:46:35+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20070815155917 Do you ever feel like you've hit a crossroad in your life? A place where a myriad of changes and choices lay before you, crisscrossing like jet trails in a summer-blue sky? I'm at that place right now. It's exciting, it's adventurous, and it's scary. Each road ahead of me is shrouded in mist, and will be until I start down the paths I have chosen. I'm leaving a job I've been at for ten years, with a company that has been around since 1881 (nope, not a typo. 126 years!). I'm going to a new ... Colin Murcray 2007-08-15T19:59:17+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/cmurcray/index.html#20061219160329 It's been a while since I've posted. Between the birth of my second child, trying to finish a novel and the holiday season, I've found it necessary to scale back on many activities, such as sleep, exercise, and anything that could be construed as fun. The result of this is a manuscript I feel good about, more so than my previous efforts. I'm still making some revisions, but at least I've been able to stick my head up and see what is going on in the world around me. Obviously, the Christmas ... Colin Murcray 2006-12-19T21:03:29+00:00