Michelle McLean's Blog, page 41
February 15, 2011
Tip Tuesday - How to Write Good
I know you've all seen variations of the following list, but really it's just too funny yet full of good tips :D I found this version at Grammar Humor.
Don't use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice.
Don't use no double negatives.
Don't never use no triple negatives.
No sentence fragments
Corollary: Complete sentences: important.
Stamp out and eliminate redundancy.
Avoid cliches like the plague.
All generalizations are bad.
Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.
A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.
Avoid those run-on sentences that just go on, and on, and on, they never stop, they just keep rambling, and you really wish the person would just shut up, but no, they just keep going, they're worse than the Energizer Bunny, they babble incessantly, and these sentences, they just never stop, they go on forever...if you get my drift...
Never go off on tangents, which are lines that intersect a curve at only one point and were discovered by Euclid, who lived in the sixth century, which was an era dominated by the Goths, who lived in what we now know as Poland...
Don't obfuscate your theses with extraneous verbiage.
Never use that totally cool, radically groovy out-of-date slang.
Avoid tumbling off the cliff of triteness into the black abyss of overused metaphors.
Keep your ear to the grindstone, your nose to the ground, take the bull by the horns of a dilemma, and stop mixing your metaphors.
Avoid those abysmally horrible, outrageously repellent exaggerations.
Avoid any awful anachronistic aggravating antediluvian alliterations.
This sentence no verb.
Don't use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice.
Don't use no double negatives.
Don't never use no triple negatives.
No sentence fragments
Corollary: Complete sentences: important.
Stamp out and eliminate redundancy.
Avoid cliches like the plague.
All generalizations are bad.
Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.
A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.
Avoid those run-on sentences that just go on, and on, and on, they never stop, they just keep rambling, and you really wish the person would just shut up, but no, they just keep going, they're worse than the Energizer Bunny, they babble incessantly, and these sentences, they just never stop, they go on forever...if you get my drift...
Never go off on tangents, which are lines that intersect a curve at only one point and were discovered by Euclid, who lived in the sixth century, which was an era dominated by the Goths, who lived in what we now know as Poland...
Don't obfuscate your theses with extraneous verbiage.
Never use that totally cool, radically groovy out-of-date slang.
Avoid tumbling off the cliff of triteness into the black abyss of overused metaphors.
Keep your ear to the grindstone, your nose to the ground, take the bull by the horns of a dilemma, and stop mixing your metaphors.
Avoid those abysmally horrible, outrageously repellent exaggerations.
Avoid any awful anachronistic aggravating antediluvian alliterations.
This sentence no verb.
February 14, 2011
Awesome Follower Giveaway Winner
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!! Time to spread a little follower love :D The winner of the 5 YA books is....
John Sankovich!
Congrats! Email your addy to me at authormichellemclean(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll get your books out to you :)
Thanks for playing everyone and thanks for being so awesome! Hope everyone has a splendid Valentine's :)
John Sankovich!
Congrats! Email your addy to me at authormichellemclean(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll get your books out to you :)
Thanks for playing everyone and thanks for being so awesome! Hope everyone has a splendid Valentine's :)
February 11, 2011
Friday Funnies
For this awesome pre-Valentine Friday, I give you......LOLCats Love :D
February 10, 2011
Don't Shock Me Unless You Mean It
You must break all the rules of painting [*insert "writing"*], but you must also convince me you've had a reason to do so. — Hans Hoffman
I love this quote. I've read books where something completely unexpected and shocking happens and it's just PHENOMENAL. Maybe the author kills off a main and well-loved character, or maybe they stick a poem in the middle of a chapter or switch POVs midstream or jumps time frames or breaks some other "rule" and it just works. Sometimes breaking all the rules or bending and twisting them in unexpected ways is what makes an incredible book so amazing.
And sometimes it's painfully obvious that the author was aiming for some shock value and it falls flat.
I think there is a time and place for bending or breaking the rules, but it has to make sense....there has to be a reason for it. If it's done for shock value alone it often comes across as being too forced, unrealistic. The reader is pulled out of the story instead of being thrust further in and is left with a sense of "Oh Please" instead of being wowed.
Just be sure you've got a good reason for what you are doing, something that makes sense for the story, and your readers will be captivated. Have you ever read something "shocking" or rule-breaking that left you less than impressed? Have you read something done so well it left you in awe of the author's awesomeness? :)
I love this quote. I've read books where something completely unexpected and shocking happens and it's just PHENOMENAL. Maybe the author kills off a main and well-loved character, or maybe they stick a poem in the middle of a chapter or switch POVs midstream or jumps time frames or breaks some other "rule" and it just works. Sometimes breaking all the rules or bending and twisting them in unexpected ways is what makes an incredible book so amazing.
And sometimes it's painfully obvious that the author was aiming for some shock value and it falls flat.
I think there is a time and place for bending or breaking the rules, but it has to make sense....there has to be a reason for it. If it's done for shock value alone it often comes across as being too forced, unrealistic. The reader is pulled out of the story instead of being thrust further in and is left with a sense of "Oh Please" instead of being wowed.
Just be sure you've got a good reason for what you are doing, something that makes sense for the story, and your readers will be captivated. Have you ever read something "shocking" or rule-breaking that left you less than impressed? Have you read something done so well it left you in awe of the author's awesomeness? :)
February 9, 2011
Happy Awesome Follower Day!
Okay, since I have the coolest, most supportive, and just plain awesome followers E.V.E.R., and since we hit 500 followers during my Blog Tour, I thought I'd do a little giveaway to say THANK YOU! :)
I thought it would be fun to give away a book for every 100 followers I have sooooo......I will be giving one lucky winner
5 YA BOOKS!
To enter, you must:
1. Be a follower and
2. Leave a comment on this post
And I'll give you an extra entry per activity if you tweet, facebook, blog or otherwise spread the love :) Just let me know in the comments :D
I'll take entries through 11:59 pm EST on Sunday the 13th and will announce the winner on Valentine's Day, Monday the 14th.
Good luck! And thanks for being such a wonderful group of awesome peeps!
I thought it would be fun to give away a book for every 100 followers I have sooooo......I will be giving one lucky winner
5 YA BOOKS!
To enter, you must:
1. Be a follower and
2. Leave a comment on this post
And I'll give you an extra entry per activity if you tweet, facebook, blog or otherwise spread the love :) Just let me know in the comments :D
I'll take entries through 11:59 pm EST on Sunday the 13th and will announce the winner on Valentine's Day, Monday the 14th.
Good luck! And thanks for being such a wonderful group of awesome peeps!
February 8, 2011
Tutor Tuesday - Commas and Appositives
Figuring out where and when to use a comma can be tricky. They're pesky little buggers, aren't they? One situation when you sometimes use one (and sometimes not) is with appositives and appositive phrases.
An appositive is a noun that describes another noun, such as:
My father, Mike, is retired.
Or
When the movie was over I called my mom, Laurie, to pick me up.
An appositive phrase would be:
Stephen King, a New York Times bestselling author, has millions of fans.
Or
Being a huge supporter of the cause, Rachel donated thousands of dollars.
So, when do you use commas in these situations?
When the information is necessary for the meaning of the sentence you do NOT need to separate it with a comma. If the information is extra and nonessential, you DO separate it with commas.
For example:
My friend Sarah just got married.
I presumably have more than one friend, so her name (Sarah) is essential information and therefore is NOT separated by commas.
Example of when you do use commas:
At our high school, the principal, Mr. Torreli, has a very strict policy on tardiness.
There is only one principal at the school, so the extra information (his name) is nonessential and therefore set apart with commas.
In a situation where you have both, it might look like this:
My uncle David brought his wife, Shannon, to my graduation.
I have more than one uncle so his name is essential (not set apart) but he only has one wife, so her name isn't necessary and IS set apart.
What are some punctuation rules that confuse (or just plain irritate) you? :)
An appositive is a noun that describes another noun, such as:
My father, Mike, is retired.
Or
When the movie was over I called my mom, Laurie, to pick me up.
An appositive phrase would be:
Stephen King, a New York Times bestselling author, has millions of fans.
Or
Being a huge supporter of the cause, Rachel donated thousands of dollars.
So, when do you use commas in these situations?
When the information is necessary for the meaning of the sentence you do NOT need to separate it with a comma. If the information is extra and nonessential, you DO separate it with commas.
For example:
My friend Sarah just got married.
I presumably have more than one friend, so her name (Sarah) is essential information and therefore is NOT separated by commas.
Example of when you do use commas:
At our high school, the principal, Mr. Torreli, has a very strict policy on tardiness.
There is only one principal at the school, so the extra information (his name) is nonessential and therefore set apart with commas.
In a situation where you have both, it might look like this:
My uncle David brought his wife, Shannon, to my graduation.
I have more than one uncle so his name is essential (not set apart) but he only has one wife, so her name isn't necessary and IS set apart.
What are some punctuation rules that confuse (or just plain irritate) you? :)
February 7, 2011
Monday Mayhem - Attack of the Killer Bedspread
You know, you just never realize how important each and every finger is until you can't use one of them. Washing your hair...almost impossible. Getting dressed...insanely hard. Tying shoes? Not going to happen. Typing my usual 100 words a minute (okay, maybe 70) - yeah...I don't think so.
I injured myself early Sunday morning....and not in a cool way. Oh no. I couldn't smash my finger building my kids the world's most awesome tree house (like one amazing writer/mom I know). Or maybe crush it while saving my child from a burning vehicle.
Nope. Not me.
I managed to rip off almost the entire nail of my left middle finger at 2 in the morning....while trying to pull the covers up.
Yep, that's right. I was attacked by a big, soft, goose-feather-filled BLANKIE.
Seriously, how embarrassing is that?
My loving husband had pulled his usual "hog all the blankets and shove them under my body then fall into a state of sleep that is closer to dead than slumber so my wife can't get any warmth and almost freezes to death" routine and when I tried to dislodge them by yanking with all my pitiful might....somehow....the blankets stayed put and half of my nail went flying leaving behind (TMI coming up) a raw, sore, bloody mess.
I found this irritating and inconvenient until I was getting ready for church and realized playing the piano for the children's Sunday School was going to be interesting sans middle finger...as is typing (though I'm doing considerably better than I expected) :D Though, I'm seriously considering taking some prenatal vitamins to speed up my nail growth because, um, OWWWW!
In any case, :D just thought I'd share my ridiculous injury on this early Monday morning and send out a huge wish that everyone else's weekend went a little better than mine :)
So, anyone else ever injure themselves in a totally humiliating, beyond ridiculous way? Or am I the only one who has killer blankets in my house? :D
And stay tuned for Wednesday!!! We are going to have a fun I HAVE THE MOST AWESOME FOLLOWERS IN THE WORLD giveaway in which I may or may not be giving away some book awesomeness....lots of them! :D
February 4, 2011
Friday Funnies
There are few things, apparently, more helpful to a writer than having once been a weird little kid. — Katherine Paterson
(Book Section FAIL)
With sixty staring me in the face, I have developed inflammation of the sentence structure and a definite hardening of the paragraphs. — James Thurber
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying. — Woody Allen
(Book Section FAIL)
With sixty staring me in the face, I have developed inflammation of the sentence structure and a definite hardening of the paragraphs. — James Thurber
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying. — Woody Allen
February 3, 2011
Super Huge Grand Prize Winner!!!
I took all the comments from the entire blog tour, put them in a spreadsheet, and let handy dandy Random.org choose a number, and the winner of the super huge awesome Grand Prize Blog Tour Giveaway pictured below is.......*drumroll*.......
B.E. Sanderson!!!!!!
Congrats!!! You've won everything you see in the picture below and a few things that aren't pictured there :D Just send me your addy to authormichellemclean(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll get your prize basket out to you :D Don't forget to let me know which T-shirt you'd like (the one with the blue border or the floral swirlies).
Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the tour stops, and sent me congratulations and support. Ya'all are just awesome, no other word for it :)
B.E. Sanderson!!!!!!
Congrats!!! You've won everything you see in the picture below and a few things that aren't pictured there :D Just send me your addy to authormichellemclean(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll get your prize basket out to you :D Don't forget to let me know which T-shirt you'd like (the one with the blue border or the floral swirlies).
Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the tour stops, and sent me congratulations and support. Ya'all are just awesome, no other word for it :)
February 2, 2011
Tons of Wednesday Awesomeness!
All right....we've got some fun stuff going on this month!!!
First off, thank you all so much for all your support during my Blog Tour. It was a blast! And...I've got a bonus day for you :D Today I will be joining the lovely ladies at the QueryTracker Blog so head on over and say hi!
I will announce the winner of the super, huge Grand Prize Blog Tour Giveaway Basket TOMORROW!!
And over on the Operation Awesome Blog, we have a whole month of follower love planned to celebrate reaching 300 followers and because it's Valentine's and all :D We just had our Mystery Agent Contest, so stay tuned for the winner. And maybe for a little extra fun for all the participants.
We'll also be having awesome giveaways ALL MONTH LONG so keep an eye on the posts :D
Annnnd somewhere along my blog tour, I hit 500 followers :D So, I'm thinking we need to do something fun to celebrate. Stay tuned next week for a special treat :D
I hope everyone has an awesome Wednesday. I am once again stuck in my house with my children who are having a SECOND snow day in a row. They are thrilled....I am less so LOL So, because I need a little smile (and I need to get my butt in gear and get back to work on my novel) here's a little Jackson Pearce with a little tough love to make you smile today :)
How is everyone else doing out there today? Anyone else snowed or iced in? Anyone making progress on those projects?
First off, thank you all so much for all your support during my Blog Tour. It was a blast! And...I've got a bonus day for you :D Today I will be joining the lovely ladies at the QueryTracker Blog so head on over and say hi!
I will announce the winner of the super, huge Grand Prize Blog Tour Giveaway Basket TOMORROW!!
And over on the Operation Awesome Blog, we have a whole month of follower love planned to celebrate reaching 300 followers and because it's Valentine's and all :D We just had our Mystery Agent Contest, so stay tuned for the winner. And maybe for a little extra fun for all the participants.
We'll also be having awesome giveaways ALL MONTH LONG so keep an eye on the posts :D
Annnnd somewhere along my blog tour, I hit 500 followers :D So, I'm thinking we need to do something fun to celebrate. Stay tuned next week for a special treat :D
I hope everyone has an awesome Wednesday. I am once again stuck in my house with my children who are having a SECOND snow day in a row. They are thrilled....I am less so LOL So, because I need a little smile (and I need to get my butt in gear and get back to work on my novel) here's a little Jackson Pearce with a little tough love to make you smile today :)
How is everyone else doing out there today? Anyone else snowed or iced in? Anyone making progress on those projects?
