Michelle McLean's Blog, page 24

You Tell Me....

What is your preferred form of social networking?

I am stunned to admit this, but mine is quickly becoming Facebook and Twitter. For one very simple reason: they are QUICK.

I can get on one of them, post a quick status update, see how my peeps are doing, and keep on with the rest of my day. I can follow new people and new people can follow me quickly and easily. Heck, FB and Twitter even post suggestions of people for me to follow and with one quick click, and no opening new tabs, I'm following or being followed.

I still love blogging - I love posting and reading others' posts. But blogging takes so much time...time that I am finding I have less and less of.

So tell me....what is your favorite form?

Friday Funnies

Expectations vs. Reality

I always wish there was some sort of device that I could hook up to my head, that would translate all the images up there into words. Because seriously, one of the most frustrating parts of writing for me is trying to get what's in my head onto paper. It either doesn't come out right or takes too long to get down or just doesn't live up to my expectations.

When I first started "seriously" writing, I was living under the dreadful misconception that all I needed to do was sit down and write and I'd be done. I knew, of course, that there would be revisions. But I thought of those more as just checking for typos and grammar mistakes. I had NO idea the work involved in crafting a real, publishable book. I had no idea that the REAL work on a book happens after you get that first draft down.

So I was a bit surprised when I sent my manuscript off to my first crit group and realized that it looked more like picture B up there than picture A :D

Now, when revisions get tough, I just try to remind myself that my manuscripts can and will be like the perfect vision I expect...but they will most likely start out like the reality snowman up there and will take a lot of work to make them awesome :) The important thing is that I keep crafting and sculpting until I get there. Because if I give up halfway through, my poor manuscript will always look like Frosty on a bad day :D

Do your expectations ever live up to reality? What do you do when they don't?

Friday Funnies

Operation Awesome Mystery Agent Contest Today!!

Head over and enter your one line pitch - prizes are a full or partial request or a query crit!

NaNo Wins Again...

Ahhh NaNo, how I hate thee, let me count the ways.....

:D

Seriously, I don't know why I try. I think I must have some subconscious aversion to this activity. Last month, I wrote almost 40,000 words without really trying that hard. I'd write anywhere from 1000 to 7000 words a day. This month....I maybe managed about 10% of that.

And now that NaNo is just about over, with the last day looming tomorrow, my motivation to write has jumped into overdrive and I can't WAIT to get to my manuscript. I already have my file open and am forcing myself to go get dressed and write this post before I dive in.

I find this odd...Maybe I'm allergic to NaNo :D

Ah well, I guess as long as the words get written that's all that matters. But I don't know that I'll be attempting NaNo again. I seem to do much better when I don't put a label on my productivity :D

How did everyone else do?

Mystery Agent Contest Heads UP :D

We have another Operation Awesome Mystery Agent contest coming up on Thursday Dec 1st!! This time we are looking for ONE SENTENCE PITCHES.

Genres:

Fiction - pretty much any and all commercial fiction, but especially: science fiction and fantasy (and all subgenres), high-concept women's fiction, contemporary and historical romances, cozy mysteries, and young adult books, including sci-fi and fantasy.

 No MG or picture books.

 Non-fiction - popular mathematics, popular science, and spirituality, especially church history and philosophy (but not for the Christian market).So get those one sentence pitches polished up and head over here bright and early Thursday morning! The contest will open at 9 am EST and will go till we hit 50 eligible entries.

See you Thursday!!

Unplugged Week

Hello my lovelies. All right, I'm taking an unplugged week this week. For several reasons. 1. I keep forgetting to post LOL 2. My kids are home all this week, which is probably why I keep forgetting to post. I keep thinking it's Saturday.... 3. It's Thanksgiving this week *yummmm pie* and 4. My birthday is on Friday :D

So! I hope everyone out there has a wonderful Thanksgiving and all you Nanoers out there - write on!!!!

Friday Funnies - Twilight Edition

Okay, I'm a huge Twilight fan, not gonna lie. But I do find all the Twilight funnies hilarious :D And since Breaking Dawn just opened, I thought we'd have a little Twilight fun today :D Happy Friday!!

Movie Trailers of Awesome :D

Here's a little glimpse of what keeps distracting me from my ever-failing Nano word count :D


These two I'm looking forward to for different reasons. 1 looks epically awesome, dark, edgy. The other looks funny and entertaining. Can't wait to see them :DWhat is your favorite book to movie adaptation? Which are you looking forward to?