P.J. MacLayne

November 4, 2019

Do you Google yourself?

I admit, I have Googled myself. And the results for my pen name are rather boring. My Facebook page, my Amazon listings, this blog, and lots of blogs I’ve had guest posts on. I don’t believe there is anyone else using this name and that limits the potential for exciting finds. I got all the way to page 7 of the results before I gave up. (I did find a poem I published in a literary magazine before I started writing books. That came as a pleasant surprise.)

Googling my given name is more interesting. There’s a former middleweight fighter in Canada that shares a form of my name. And a hip-hop artist, although most of the information about him isn’t in English. (I think he’s French, but couldn’t find his bio. And his Instagram account only has two posts.)  Then there’s a bridge in Tennessee that bears my name, although it’s a memorial to someone else. I know it sits at an elevation of 594 feet, but I couldn’t find any information about the person it was named after.

We’ll skip all those people finder sites. They don’t count.

Then there are the obituaries. More than I anticipated. It’s fascinating reading the stories of people who shared your name but are are gone now. All of the ones I read seemed to be your standard salt-of-the-earth type people. And that’s an okay legacy to leave. “Loving mother.” “Dear sister.” “She was baptized on a winter day in Storms Creek in the early years of raising her children.”

I did find a record of someone bearing the same name as me being involved in a shooting at a political gathering in 1902. He survived, his opponent was expected to die. There was also a census record from the early 1900’s that I suspect is tied to the bridge I mentioned earlier. (Same state and city, so now I know his parents’ names but not what he did to deserve having a bridge named for him!) 

A few months back, we talked about names on this blog hop, and I mentioned how I frequently search for the names of my characters so I don’t accidentally use a real person’s name. On one of the comments, it was suggested that Harmony Duprie, the main character in my mysteries, probably has a namesake out there in the world somewhere. 

That comment sparked a subplot in my current WIP. Yes, Harmony is searching for herself. With good reason. I won’t reveal the results, but she, too, sees dead people. (And at least one person who is still alive!)

So, how about you? Do you Google yourself? Are your results any different than mine? Let’s talk in the comments.

Until then, I’m going to go check out the other authors and their results. You can come with me by clicking on the boxes below.

November 4, 2019

Do you Google yourself?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

October 14, 2019

What is your preferred method of writing? (By hand, on a computer, dictate it?)

Somewhere – and I can’t tell you exactly where because I don’t know – I have a box crammed full of tablets and binders. It’s in one of three storage spots, buried under Christmas decorations, old knick-knacks, or outdated computer parts. The pages are filled with my handwritten first and second drafts of various book—most of which you and everybody else have never seen.

Just like I love the act of holding a book in my hand when I read, I love the sensual feeling of a pen slipping across a piece of paper, leaving behind the words flowing from my brain. Even a pencil will do if that’s all I can find. (I rarely have a problem finding a pen these days. The picture is a small segment of my desk.)

And yes, I have written entire books by hand. Not notes or drafts, but the whole darn thing. The words seem to spill more freely when I don’t have to concentrate on finding the right keys on the keyboard and I don’t see those squiggly red lines that tell me I spelled something wrong. I can write faster when I write by hand.

But there’s a catch. Isn’t there always a catch? I’m a better writer when I sit in front of a computer and type my stories. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I can visualize how the words will look on paper or the screen of an e-reader. And yes, I can catch my mistakes and correct them immediately. It also allows me to use words that I might not remember how to spell because the computer will help me to get them right. So, I’m more accurate when I compose my stories on a computer, if slower. In the end, I have less editing to do.

There’s also the issue that it’s tedious to type handwritten pages to transfer them to computer format. There are times when I have a hard time reading my own writing!

I’ve never tried to dictate a story. I can’t imagine it going too well, based on my limited experience in trying to compose text messages using the microphone on my cell phone. You know how auto-correct is, right? It frustrates the heck out of me.

There you go. That’s why I do most of my writing on the computer. It’s not that I prefer that  method, but it’s more logical.

Now let’s check out what the other authors on the hop have to say about the topic. But before  you go, feel free to tell me how you like to write in the comments.

October 14, 2019

What is your preferred method of writing? (By hand, on a computer, dictate it?)

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.