Michelle McLean's Blog, page 40
March 1, 2011
Mystery Agent Contest at Operation Awesome!
Operation Awesome is hosting our March Mystery Agent contest RIGHT NOW!!!! Go enter! The first 75 entries will be accepted, so hurry and enter your 140 Tweet pitch :) Head to Operation Awesome for full details.
February 28, 2011
You Tell Me...About POVs
How do you feel about changes in POV during a book? For instance, in a wonderful book I just finished, the majority of the book was in the MC's POV, with a few scenes in the villain's POV. Then toward the end of the book, we got one scene in the love interest's POV and at the end of that scene, there was a paragraph or two in another character's POV.
Now it was done very well and clearly and didn't bother me at all. Yet, I know switching like that does bother some people.
So I'm curious how you all feel about it. Because my current WIP sort of follows a similar pattern to the book I mentioned above. The book switches back and forth between my MC and her love interest until close to the end. Then there are two or three chapters that are in two other characters' POVs. But in these scenes, my MC and her love interest are out of commission. But stuff needs to happen, so....another character or two take the wheel for a second.
I've been debating somehow changing these scenes so they can stay in my MC's and her love interest's POVs - but really, those scenes just work better with the other characters.
So tell me....how do you feel about switching POVs?
Now it was done very well and clearly and didn't bother me at all. Yet, I know switching like that does bother some people.
So I'm curious how you all feel about it. Because my current WIP sort of follows a similar pattern to the book I mentioned above. The book switches back and forth between my MC and her love interest until close to the end. Then there are two or three chapters that are in two other characters' POVs. But in these scenes, my MC and her love interest are out of commission. But stuff needs to happen, so....another character or two take the wheel for a second.
I've been debating somehow changing these scenes so they can stay in my MC's and her love interest's POVs - but really, those scenes just work better with the other characters.
So tell me....how do you feel about switching POVs?
February 25, 2011
Friday Funnies
"Write like a lover. Edit like an ex-wife." —Justin Tanner
"Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen become bouillon cubes." — John LeCarre
"What one wants to do with stories is screw them up." — William Gass
February 24, 2011
Blog Chain - Literary Love
My turn on the old Bloggin' Chain :D The ever awesome Shaun picked this topic. Since the chain started on Valentine's Day, Shaun wanted to know:
Who is your favorite literary couple?
This one was actually tougher for me to answer than I thought it would be. For me, it's a tie. Between:
Alex and Rane from
and Jamie and Claire from
I don't know if it's because both of the series are really long so you get to spend a lot of time with the characters or what, but both of these couples are just the epitome of devotion, passion, and undying love to me. Alex and Claire are both feisty, strong women and Rane and Jamie (a smuggler among other things and a Scottish Highland lord and outlaw and smuggler respectively (hmmm maybe I just have a thing for smugglers?)) are swoon-worthy. Just amazing couples, amazing stories, love love love them!!
Stop by Eric's blog to check out his answer from yesterday and head on over to Margie's on the 26th to see who she loves! :)
Who is your favorite literary couple?
Who is your favorite literary couple?
This one was actually tougher for me to answer than I thought it would be. For me, it's a tie. Between:
Alex and Rane from
and Jamie and Claire from
I don't know if it's because both of the series are really long so you get to spend a lot of time with the characters or what, but both of these couples are just the epitome of devotion, passion, and undying love to me. Alex and Claire are both feisty, strong women and Rane and Jamie (a smuggler among other things and a Scottish Highland lord and outlaw and smuggler respectively (hmmm maybe I just have a thing for smugglers?)) are swoon-worthy. Just amazing couples, amazing stories, love love love them!!
Stop by Eric's blog to check out his answer from yesterday and head on over to Margie's on the 26th to see who she loves! :)
Who is your favorite literary couple?
February 23, 2011
What's Up Wednesday
Lot's of fun things going on!
Today is the last day to enter to win a signed copy of Leah Clifford's A Touch Mortal over at OA so hurry and enter if you haven't yet!
My awesome amazing friend Christine Fonseca has a sneak peek of her new book 101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids posted! Here is the link if you'd like to read a chapter from this awesome book, and here is the post from her blog announcing it :D
We have another Mystery Agent contest coming up at Operation Awesome!!! We will start taking entries on March 1st. Here are the rules:
1) Entry limit: 75 entrants.
2) Pitch length: 140 characters. Think Tweet. Since we're talking 140 characters, Title and Genre don't have to be part of the pitch -- add them on to the comment somewhere.
3) Genres: YA (especially thriller, cyberpunk, horror, historical romance); MG; women's fiction; romance (especially with a strong, female heroine).
So get those Tweet Pitches ready to go!!
Hope everyone's Wednesday is going well. Does anyone know of any other cool happenings around the blogosphere? Post them in the comments!!
Today is the last day to enter to win a signed copy of Leah Clifford's A Touch Mortal over at OA so hurry and enter if you haven't yet!
My awesome amazing friend Christine Fonseca has a sneak peek of her new book 101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids posted! Here is the link if you'd like to read a chapter from this awesome book, and here is the post from her blog announcing it :D
We have another Mystery Agent contest coming up at Operation Awesome!!! We will start taking entries on March 1st. Here are the rules:
1) Entry limit: 75 entrants.
2) Pitch length: 140 characters. Think Tweet. Since we're talking 140 characters, Title and Genre don't have to be part of the pitch -- add them on to the comment somewhere.
3) Genres: YA (especially thriller, cyberpunk, horror, historical romance); MG; women's fiction; romance (especially with a strong, female heroine).
So get those Tweet Pitches ready to go!!
Hope everyone's Wednesday is going well. Does anyone know of any other cool happenings around the blogosphere? Post them in the comments!!
February 22, 2011
It's Release Day for A Touch Mortal!
Today is Feb 22nd which means....
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO LEAH CLIFFORD AND A TOUCH MORTAL!!!
Head on over to the OA! We are giving away a SIGNED copy of Leah's book. Entries will be taken until 11:59 pm tomorrow night and the winner will be announced on Thursday. So hurry on over and enter!!!
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO LEAH CLIFFORD AND A TOUCH MORTAL!!!
Head on over to the OA! We are giving away a SIGNED copy of Leah's book. Entries will be taken until 11:59 pm tomorrow night and the winner will be announced on Thursday. So hurry on over and enter!!!
February 21, 2011
Cut the Bitter and Give Me the Sweet
So I just finished a completely awesome book, but the ending was bittersweet...with a heavy emphasis on the bitter. And I'm just not sure how I feel about that :)
One the one hand, the book was WONDERFUL. I read it in a day and a half, couldn't put it down, LOVED it. I'm still thinking about it, have been all day, which really tells you how good it was.
But...
It didn't have that Happily Ever After ending that I love so much. Now, the ending fit the book. It worked. And there is an opening for a sequel where all could be made right (though I don't think there is one). However...argh. I just want a happy ending!
For the same reason I pretty much stick to romantic comedies with the occasional action flick that ends nicely. When I take time out of my day to read or watch a movie, I want to come away HAPPY. I don't want to be sad about the characters I've grown to love. I'm all for torturing them throughout the book, but when I turn that last page, I want there to be smiles all around.
What can I say? I'm a total sap :D Now, I'm good with stories like The Hunger Game series. I mean, it really needed to end the way it did, and in the end *spoiler alert if you haven't read it* Katniss does end up with a good man who loves her and she does find some peace. So, I'm not saying that it has to be all sunshine and rainbows.
But man...give me a little bit LOL
What kind of endings do you prefer? Are you okay with less than happily ever after endings? How much less?
One the one hand, the book was WONDERFUL. I read it in a day and a half, couldn't put it down, LOVED it. I'm still thinking about it, have been all day, which really tells you how good it was.
But...
It didn't have that Happily Ever After ending that I love so much. Now, the ending fit the book. It worked. And there is an opening for a sequel where all could be made right (though I don't think there is one). However...argh. I just want a happy ending!
For the same reason I pretty much stick to romantic comedies with the occasional action flick that ends nicely. When I take time out of my day to read or watch a movie, I want to come away HAPPY. I don't want to be sad about the characters I've grown to love. I'm all for torturing them throughout the book, but when I turn that last page, I want there to be smiles all around.
What can I say? I'm a total sap :D Now, I'm good with stories like The Hunger Game series. I mean, it really needed to end the way it did, and in the end *spoiler alert if you haven't read it* Katniss does end up with a good man who loves her and she does find some peace. So, I'm not saying that it has to be all sunshine and rainbows.
But man...give me a little bit LOL
What kind of endings do you prefer? Are you okay with less than happily ever after endings? How much less?
February 18, 2011
Friday Funnies
Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure. ~ Oliver Herford
A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor. ~ Ring Lardner
The only imaginative fiction being written today is income tax returns. ~ Herman Wouk
(Totally did not know this :D Hmm...I wonder if this is why I always want desserts when I'm stressed....subliminal messages) :D
February 17, 2011
Being a Social Networking Writer
I missed the blog chain last time around, but the question was about social networking....am I good at it, what do I like to do, what don't I like to do, etc.
It's a good question. Social networking is just a part of being an author nowadays it seems. Though I know (or know of) plenty of "big name" authors who don't do the social networking thing. Or hire someone else to do it for them :D
But aside from building your name and online presence, there are some great advantages to social networking. For me, the biggest perk has been the awesome people I've met. The writing community is truly one of the most giving, generous, helpful, and just all around fun group of people I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of. I have met some truly amazing people. And it is soooo fun to walk into a bookstore and see books written by people I actually know on the shelves :)
As for what I do for social networking, what I like and don't like :
Blogging - this is what I'm best at and enjoy the most. I love reading blogs (though I'm terrible at commenting) and I've really enjoyed building my blog and posting on it every day.
Facebook - I love being able to pop on and see how everyone is doing, what everyone is up to. The vast majority of my friends and family live in other states, so Facebook is one of the main ways we stay in touch. And it's great for checking up on my writing peeps and posting updates about my books.
Twitter - I'm terrible at Twitter. Twitter scares me LOL I'm starting to get into it, but really, for the most part, it's just a mystery to me. I finally figured out the whole @mentions thing, and I have a post from the awesome Mr. Nathan Bransford on how to use Twitter bookmarked so I can peruse it and try to figure everything out. But I'm definitely a Twitter newbie.
How about you? What are your favorite or least favorite aspects of social networking?
It's a good question. Social networking is just a part of being an author nowadays it seems. Though I know (or know of) plenty of "big name" authors who don't do the social networking thing. Or hire someone else to do it for them :D
But aside from building your name and online presence, there are some great advantages to social networking. For me, the biggest perk has been the awesome people I've met. The writing community is truly one of the most giving, generous, helpful, and just all around fun group of people I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of. I have met some truly amazing people. And it is soooo fun to walk into a bookstore and see books written by people I actually know on the shelves :)
As for what I do for social networking, what I like and don't like :
Blogging - this is what I'm best at and enjoy the most. I love reading blogs (though I'm terrible at commenting) and I've really enjoyed building my blog and posting on it every day.
Facebook - I love being able to pop on and see how everyone is doing, what everyone is up to. The vast majority of my friends and family live in other states, so Facebook is one of the main ways we stay in touch. And it's great for checking up on my writing peeps and posting updates about my books.
Twitter - I'm terrible at Twitter. Twitter scares me LOL I'm starting to get into it, but really, for the most part, it's just a mystery to me. I finally figured out the whole @mentions thing, and I have a post from the awesome Mr. Nathan Bransford on how to use Twitter bookmarked so I can peruse it and try to figure everything out. But I'm definitely a Twitter newbie.
How about you? What are your favorite or least favorite aspects of social networking?
February 16, 2011
Do What You Don't Want To Do And Get What You Want To Get
This seems to be my mantra lately, but it's a good one. There's a lot of things I don't really want to do...but I want the end result. So *shrug* you do what you gotta do.
Diet? Not fun. AT ALL. But I've been doing it anyways and doing really well. Cleaning my house? Blech....but...it's really nice waking up in the morning to an empty sink and not tripping over piles o' crap on my way down the stairs. Doing what I don't want to do has been getting me what I want to get. A size down in my jeans and a clean (mostly) house.
So, I decided it was time to apply this to my writing.
I love writing, I really do. But sometimes, a lot of times, it just feels like work. It's daunting thinking of the days and weeks of pouring out words that need to be edited and rearranged and cut and rewritten and edited again and again...and again. :)
But the end result is so worth it. There is seriously no feeling in the world like looking at a clean, polished, finished manuscript - a story YOU wrote that you know is GOOD. It's just beyond awesome.
I want that. I want that finished manuscript. I want to sell it and see it published.
But to do that, I've got to put in the work. I need to do what I sometimes don't want to do if I want to get what I want to get.
So....I guess it's back to the grindstone :)
How are you guys doing on your projects? What do you do that you don't want to do in order to get what you want to get? (and how is that for a mouthful LOL)
Diet? Not fun. AT ALL. But I've been doing it anyways and doing really well. Cleaning my house? Blech....but...it's really nice waking up in the morning to an empty sink and not tripping over piles o' crap on my way down the stairs. Doing what I don't want to do has been getting me what I want to get. A size down in my jeans and a clean (mostly) house.
So, I decided it was time to apply this to my writing.
I love writing, I really do. But sometimes, a lot of times, it just feels like work. It's daunting thinking of the days and weeks of pouring out words that need to be edited and rearranged and cut and rewritten and edited again and again...and again. :)
But the end result is so worth it. There is seriously no feeling in the world like looking at a clean, polished, finished manuscript - a story YOU wrote that you know is GOOD. It's just beyond awesome.
I want that. I want that finished manuscript. I want to sell it and see it published.
But to do that, I've got to put in the work. I need to do what I sometimes don't want to do if I want to get what I want to get.
So....I guess it's back to the grindstone :)
How are you guys doing on your projects? What do you do that you don't want to do in order to get what you want to get? (and how is that for a mouthful LOL)
