Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope 2012 is starting out well for all of you. I seem to be off and running and am already behind schedule on a few things. Some of you have been asking me when my next novel, Manifesting Mr. Right will go on sale. I’m aiming for the beginning of summer. I’d like to say it will be out sooner, but unfortunately, I’m in the busy time of year for my voiceover work, which means my writing time often gets hijacked.
It does become a little challenging, bouncing between two time-consuming careers, especially since I’m the type of writer who does not work from an outline. I write stream of consciousness, which is great when I’m outside on my laptop, pecking away at the keyboard for several hours at a time. Not so great when I get interrupted and have to stop writing for a couple of weeks. It would be much easier to pick up where I left off if I worked from an outline. But I just can’t.
I remember when my screenwriting professor in college told the class that every writer worked from an outline. No exceptions. Naturally, our assignment was to write an outline for our screenplay over the following 3 weeks. After our outlines were approved, we’d spend the rest of the semester writing the screenplay. Sounds simple, right?
I tried to write an outline, honestly I did, but it didn’t feel organic to me, and it came out predictable and contrived. After a week of struggling and with my deadline looming, I remember sitting down with my hands positioned over the keys and I just began typing. I knew what my story was about and I knew the ending, but that was it. I kept my mind open and I soon heard my characters speaking to me. I wrote the screenplay in twelve
days, then quickly put an outline together from that, which ended up being so much better than my first attempt. Not only did I get an “A,” but doing it backwards taught me how to
write a synopsis.
I guess it just goes to show that there is no one way to do things. Everyone is different, so why wouldn’t we all have different ways of working? It’s all about process and what works for you. To me, my way of writing is exciting—not knowing where my characters are taking me. Kind of like life.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely stated, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Enjoy the ride.

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chillwindmedia, January 15th 2012 | Posted in Blogs

BREAKING THE RULES AND INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

I know I broke the rules. But really, who follows them anymore? And who doesn’t get tired of hearing the phrase, “industry standard?” Okay, so maybe it is industry standard to have a pen name if you’re going to write in more than one genre. Best-selling romance writer, Nora Roberts writes under J. D. Robb for her futuristic suspense novels. But in a world where branding has become a big deal and one’s name needs to be attached to a lengthy resume in order to be picked up by search engines, can you blame me for not wanting to write under a pseudonym?

The publishing industry says that a writer must stick with one genre, otherwise it will confuse the reader. But how can that be when a book cover on a romance novel is completely different than one on a thriller? My Big Fake Irish Life, my romantic comedy, doesn’t look a thing like my dystopian novel, Logging Off. Besides, readers tend to read the synopsis of a book before buying it.

Lucky for me, times seem to be slowly changing. Thriller writer, James Patterson didn’t choose a non de plume for his romance Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, nor did John Grisham when he strayed away from his legal suspense genre to pen A Painted House.

I really do hope these two amazing writers have started a new trend, and perhaps a better one. What better way to sample a genre that normally doesn’t interest you than by having one of your favorite authors get you hooked on it?

Trying something new can be surprisingly delightful and maybe even a little addictive.

-Caitlin

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chillwindmedia, December 31st 2011 | Posted in Blogs

Taking my career into my own hands

As you know, I currently make my living as a voice actor and voice casting director, but I didn’t come out to Hollywood to pursue a voice acting career. I came out to be an on-camera actor. Unfortunately, the be-yourself-and-you’ll-do-well advice I received from my acting coach was the worst advice I could have received. I may have been given a four-year college scholarship for my portrayal of Emily in Our Town, but my sweet-girl-next-door persona would do nothing for my acting career.

I soon learned that all casting directors and agents put every actor in a category, and the girl-next-door category, which I was occupying, was oversaturated with cute girls from the Midwest. Hollywood, when I arrived, was already looking for the next best thing.

Of course, being new, just like the whole internet not catching on thing,  I hadn’t yet figured this out. I, at least, knew something wasn’t working. In my first year, I changed agents three times, paid good money to get new headshots four times, and I still only managed to get 6 auditions all year. I still wasn’t standing out for whatever reason. Refusing to give up and go home, I decided to brand myself. I gave myself a makeover, placed myself in a very specific category, and suddenly the doors opened and the work came pouring in.

Naturally, I had to write about this crazy idea and even crazier experience in my new novel titled, My Big Fake Irish Life. Even though My Big Fake Irish Life is fiction, it is based on my own true story—one that had me leading a double life, and, um…well…still has me leading a double life (gasp) with some friends and some work situations.

Kind of bold, kind of daring, and maybe a little crazy, I know, but what do you expect from someone who works 14 hours a day in the film industry—an industry where reality is relative? At least I try to make reality fun.

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chillwindmedia, November 28th 2011 | Posted in Uncategorized

This whole internet thing. It’s never going to catch on.

Do you recall those early days of the Internet and learning how to use it? I remember I had been on-line a mere three hours when my brother-in-law gave me a URL over the phone.

“It’s http…colon…backslash…backslash…www…dot—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “How much more?”

“I haven’t even given you the address yet.”

Ten minutes later, and after it took me three attempts to enter NINETY-SIX characters correctly, I thought to myself, This whole Internet thing. It’s never going to catch on.

Needless to say, I missed the mark on that one. And now we have Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, RSS, Kindles, Nooks, iPads, iPhones, blogs… Being tech-challenged, I sometimes feel like my head is going to explode.

Is it any wonder that I ended up having a very detailed dream about the dangers of technology and where it’s leading us as a society? This dream of mine pretty much gave me the entire plot of Logging Off, and if you read it, you will see just how much of it is well on the way to becoming reality.

Not in the book is something I really wish existed: teleportation. Who out there isn’t sick of the airport lines and the constant security screenings? It would be so nice to transport quickly and easily anywhere in the world, to be beamed up or down like they do in Star Trek.

Did you see the latest Star Trek movie? I’m the voice of the Kelvin Computer in the beginning. My voice is elsewhere in the movie, but not so prominent. I own a loop group and we create the walla for movies and television shows. Depending on the needs of the show, I hire other actors to work with me to fill in all the background voices for every scene.

I just finished working on Garry Marshall’s movie, New Year’s Eve. I’m finishing This Means War starring Reese Witherspoon, and I’m currently working on Rock of Ages, Red Lights, Prometheus, Underworld 4, Jack the Giant Killer, and Battleship.

Talk about working in a tech-laden industry. I guess I shouldn’t complain so much about all the advancements. If we didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be talking to you.  

-Caitlin

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chillwindmedia, November 1st 2011 | Posted in Blogs