Michelle McLean's Blog, page 16

Friday Funnies

Reveals and Giveaways and First Chapters, Oh My!

Christine Fonseca is having a bit of fun today and you'll definitely want to join in!



First off, you can get a sneak peek at her wonderful new novel TRANSCEND. Christine is sharing the first chapter with everyone! Just head RIGHT HERE and enjoy! Or you can check out Christine's Blog and read it there.

And because she's just an awesome person, she's also doing a giveaway! Just enter below for some fabulous prizes!   a Rafflecopter giveaway

How to Read an eBook if You Don't Have An eReader

My fellow Entangled author, Laura Kaye, wrote an excellent post on 4 Ways to Read an eBook Without an eReader. 

I've heard many people say that they can't read ebooks because they don't have an eReader. But eReaders aren't necessary to enjoy all the amazing ebooks out there. The ePub and pdf versions of ebooks can be downloaded right to your computer, and Kindle and Nook both offer FREE apps for various devices.

Be sure to head to Laura's blog to check out the full article!

Friday Funnies - Gymnastics style

In honor of the Olympics, I thought I'd do something event related. I came across these hilarious videos of comedy gymnastics performances by the very talented gymnast Paul Hunt. Enjoy :)

How to Write a Character Based Synopsis

I've been writing a lot of synopses lately so I'm always on the look out for new ways of tackling them. A fellow Entangled author, Bronwen Evans, shared a template with our group the other day for character-driven synopses. As a romance writer, this works great for me because romances focus on their characters. So, while my usual method of focusing on the inciting incident, turning points, climax, resolution works great for me, I think this method will be useful as well.

The template Bronwen shared was more geared toward romance specifically so I tried to adapt this a bit to be more universal.

Here's the gist:


Identify a theme: Finding a theme and sticking to it helps you reduce the book down to a three page summary. It eliminates the 'laundry list' syndrome where every scene is given one sentence.  STAY FOCUSED: KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) The trick is to focus on the key plot points and turning points of the book, NOT the secondary plots and characters. STEP #1 THE HOOK: Either a unique opening line in the first character sketch, a bold opening to the heroine/hero, or a snappy/humorous/opening line overviewing the book's premise. STEP #2 INTERNAL CONFLICT:  Describing relevant back story and the key internal conflict main character(s) must overcome. You want to focus a bit on the layers here - the past relationships/events/trauma that has molded your character and made her/him who she/he is. This internal conflict will be overcome in a black moment, when your character realizes her/his weakness/fear and leaves it behind in order to overcome his/her main obstacle. STEP #3 EXTERNAL CONFLICT: One paragraph, usually the set up that brings the hero and heroine together and establishes the external conflict blocking their way. It could be the hit men trying to kill them, a planet to save from extermination by another species, a murder to solve, brother's name to clear, serial killer ex-husband, etc. (For non-romance, this would be the external conflict that is keeping your main character from overcoming his/her main obstacle - like any of the above examples without the hero and heroine getting together :D )Steps 4 - 7 are geared toward romance - for non-romance, the next step would be describing the a reversal/turning point - the hero/heroine makes progress toward overcoming his/her obstacle and then experiences a reversalSTEP #4 HERO AND HEROINE WORK TOGETHER: First plot point is usually the one that makes the hero and heroine temporarily overlook their differences and work together. STEP # 5 INTIMACY: The forced contact of working together and of course, raging attraction, make the hero/heroine succumb to physical intimacy - whether it be the first kiss, or making love, whatever suits you at this point. STEP #6 THE MORNING AFTER: Hero/heroine promptly remember all their fears, fall back on their INTERNAL CONFLICT and reject each other. STEP #7 HERO/HEROINE WORK TOGETHER AGAIN: This PLOT POINT normally brings them back together again. (Court case, space pirates, alien invasion, eviction proceedings, missing person, murder, whatever monkey wrench you want to toss into the story at this point.) For non-romance - main character(s) overcomes previous reversal and more progress is made toward main goalSTEP #8 is the SHOWDOWN/BLACK MOMENT: This is the PLOT POINT/ TURNING POINT where you need a big showdown to bring everything up to a high tension level. STEP # 9 is the RESOLUTION: The bad guys are now revealed/caught. The situation changes and is reversed. The Hero/Heroine are reunited. This template is great for more character driven stories, especially romances. The advantage of this type of story outline is that it uses the external conflict to develop your characters' relationship with each other. It also focuses on the layers of your characters and their journey to self-realization.

Winner of Cole Gibsen's Senshi Giveaway....

And the winner of the adorable hand-embroidered coffee sleeve is.......

Matthew MacNish!!!
Congrats Matt! Cole will be contacting you shortly for your addy.

Thanks for entering and congrats again to Cole on her fabulous new book!!

The Age Old Question - Pantster or Outliner?

I used to be a pantster - loved just sitting down and seeing what would happen. Like someone handing me a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons and saying "draw a masterpiece." I still like doing that sometimes, but I've found it generally leads to long, very involved revisions that, more often than not, turn into complete rewrites. Which adds a LOT of time to the whole process :)

So I tried outlining. Nothing major...just the bare bones. Like coloring in a coloring book. There's an outlined picture that I can fill in any way I choose. I even have a cool little chart where I can plot out the inciting incident, my rising action, a couple turning points/reversals, my climax, and the resolution. I didn't go into detail, just gave myself enough of a road map that I knew where I was going. I liked this method. It gave me the freedom to let things develop as they would with enough of a plan that I didn't experience as many moments of staring at the screen thinking "uhhh and now what?" :D

And then my editor gave me the go-ahead to submit on proposal. Which means I can write a few chapters and a nice synopsis instead of having to submit the whole book first. Writing a synopsis for the entire book, before writing the actual book, meant I needed to know what was going to happen every step of the way before actually writing it. And you know what? I LOVE writing like this. I love sitting and brainstorming the entire book and writing out a synopsis and THEN writing the book. It's like working on one of those paint-by-number projects. I know exactly what's going to happen, exactly what I need to do.

Sure things change. As the story develops, little tweaks happen, new ideas pop up. But for the most part, this method has made writing the actual book so much easier for me. And has greatly cut down on revision time. First drafts have always been difficult for me. I'm great at revisions. If I have something to work with, even if it needs major rewrites, it's much easier than if I'm staring at a blank screen that needs words. This process lets me go crazy (in the brainstorming process) and then lets me stay organized (I LOVE being organized) when I'm actually writing. It's a total win-win for me :)

How do you like to write? Do you like to open a blank page and just let it flow, or do you like mapping out the details first?


Don't forget! Two more days to enter Cole's giveaway!! (see below post)

Cover Reveal and Giveaway! Senshi by Cole Gibsen

I am just squeeeing out loud ya'all :) My good friend Cole Gibsen is revealing the cover to her book Senshi, the sequel to her amazing Katana. Senshi continues the story of reincarnated samurai warrior Rileigh Martin (see Katana blurb below).

Without further ado.....


And if you want to start the series from book one, be sure to check out  Katana :



Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai tale: 


Rileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenaline gave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn't explain her dreams of fifteenth century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings.

While worrying that she's going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she's harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.

Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that's also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she's always been and embracing the warrior inside her.

(awesome book - go read! :D )

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY! Cole is not only an amazing author but also a crazy talented crafty lady and is giving away a super cute hand-embroidered coffee sleeve!



How cute is that!? All you need to do to enter to win is leave a comment below. I'll take entries until midnight next Wed (Aug 1) and announce the winner Thursday Aug 2. 
Congrats on another amazing book Cole!!

For more info on Cole, you can find her at the following links:
Facebook
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

Also check out her mermaid tale, Breathless - another awesome read :)

The Forsaken by Lisa Stasse

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! It's sort of a cross between Hunger Games, Divergent, and Lord of the Flies. Great characters, plenty of twists, and a satisfying ending that still leaves me dying with impatience for the sequel. I didn't love the cover, and the romance in the book could have been played out a little better, but over all, it was a very enjoyable reading experience. If you liked any of the books I mentioned above, you'll enjoy The Forsaken. (Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher.)

Genre Switching

I've always written more than one genre. I like the freedom it gives me to explore different aspects of my creativity. I write non-fiction and historical romances and paranormal romances (lol I always have to have romance in my stories :D ). And just last night I finished a proposal for a zombie story! Not something I'd ever thought I'd write but it's been so much fun :) I guess it's technically still a paranormal romance but it was fun spending time with a monster I don't usually hang out with much :)

I suppose since all my stories are technically romances, the genre doesn't change much. Just the sub-genre. The romance is always the main plot - the only thing that changes are the settings and side stories. Still, I like being able to delve into the past or play in a present that has a few extras :)

Do you write more than one genre? Why or why not?