Michelle McLean's Blog, page 43
January 22, 2011
Today's Blog Tour Stops
Today's Blog Tour Stops:
Abby Annis
Lindsay Scott
Stop by and leave a comment for more entries into the awesome Grand Prize Giveaway!
And stay tuned tomorrow for a picture of all the prizes included in the Grand Prize Basket!!
January 21, 2011
Friday Funnies
Today's Blog Tour Stops: Shannon O'Donnell - with giveaway - winner announced Sat
Ali Cross- with giveaway - ends Jan 28th
Happy Friday everyone!!! Don't forget to stop by my blog tour stops today and leave a comment for more chances to win the super, huge, mega Grand Prize pack at the end of my tour! :)
I always do the first line well, but I have trouble doing the others.~ Moliere
When a writer is born into a family, that family is finished. — Czeslaw Milosz
Ali Cross- with giveaway - ends Jan 28th
Happy Friday everyone!!! Don't forget to stop by my blog tour stops today and leave a comment for more chances to win the super, huge, mega Grand Prize pack at the end of my tour! :)
I always do the first line well, but I have trouble doing the others.~ Moliere
When a writer is born into a family, that family is finished. — Czeslaw Milosz
January 20, 2011
It's Launch Day!!! Let the Blog Tour Begin!
Welcome to Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers Blog Tour!!We've got an awesome first day! I am thrilled to be hosted today by the absolutely amazing
Christine Fonseca
Elana Johnson
Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Wiggins
and Lisa Amowitz
Starting today, every commenter along the blog tour will get an automatic entry for the huge Grand Prize Swag Basket! For every stop you comment on, you get another entry (one entry per stop). So if you visit each of the lovely ladies listed above, and LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR POST, you'll receive four entries for today.
At the end of the tour, I'll draw a name to select the winner :)
There will be several other opportunities to win copies of my book and swag bags along the way as many of my blog tour hosts will be featuring their own giveaways. I'll post each stop every morning and will also keep a running tab of them in the Blog Tour Giveaway tab above. Links for the giveaways and the Blog Tour stops will go live once the actual posts are up.
I hope you all join me for the tour! I'm being hosted by some really amazing people. It's going to be a blast!
January 19, 2011
Product Placement
--Blog Tour kicks off tomorrow! Getting a jump start over at the fabulous Christine Fonseca's blog with an interview. Go check it out! :) And the awesome Amparo over at the OA is having a contest to win a copy of my book and some fun swag....winner announced tomorrow! Go enter!
I've been answering a lot of questions lately about promotion...what I'm doing to help promote my book specifically. Now, my book is a non-fiction book about writing, so when it comes to promotional items I did writing type stuff: bookmarks, pens, that kind of thing. But it got me thinking about the fun promo stuff fiction authors get to do.
- Jessica Verday has perfumes that go along with the characters in her Hollow books (her MC makes perfumes)
- Beth Revis has some awesome Godspeed swag for Across the Universe
- You can get jewelry with the Mockingjay design from the Hunger Games series
- You can get jewelry depicting the different years for the House of Night series
- You can get everything under the sun Twilight and Harry Potter
So I'm curious....when writing your books, do you ever do "product placement"? Do you have your MC wear a favorite necklace that you know would be a cool promo item if your book ever hits the shelves? Do you design a special logo for your MCs rebel alliance that you know would look on awesome on everything from T-shirts to coffee mugs?
It's not something I used to think about when writing, but with the growing necessity for authors to promote their own books, and especially over the past year or so as I've been focused on promoting my own book, it has become more present in my mind as I write.
Does it ever cross your minds?
I've been answering a lot of questions lately about promotion...what I'm doing to help promote my book specifically. Now, my book is a non-fiction book about writing, so when it comes to promotional items I did writing type stuff: bookmarks, pens, that kind of thing. But it got me thinking about the fun promo stuff fiction authors get to do.
- Jessica Verday has perfumes that go along with the characters in her Hollow books (her MC makes perfumes)
- Beth Revis has some awesome Godspeed swag for Across the Universe
- You can get jewelry with the Mockingjay design from the Hunger Games series
- You can get jewelry depicting the different years for the House of Night series
- You can get everything under the sun Twilight and Harry Potter
So I'm curious....when writing your books, do you ever do "product placement"? Do you have your MC wear a favorite necklace that you know would be a cool promo item if your book ever hits the shelves? Do you design a special logo for your MCs rebel alliance that you know would look on awesome on everything from T-shirts to coffee mugs?
It's not something I used to think about when writing, but with the growing necessity for authors to promote their own books, and especially over the past year or so as I've been focused on promoting my own book, it has become more present in my mind as I write.
Does it ever cross your minds?
January 18, 2011
TIP Tuesday - POV
POV wasn't something I ever really thought about before I started writing. Sure, I knew that a story was generally told from a certain character's POV, but I had no idea what that really meant. As was evident by the early drafts of my first book.
My first book was a POV NIGHTMARE. I didn't wait until a chapter or scene break to jump into another character's head. Oh no. I would jump from head to head without a care in the world. I once had four POV's going on in the same paragraph.
Luckily, the wonderful, kind, and oh-so-patient members of my first crit group pointed out the rules about POV. One of them told me to think of it like this: Pretend there is a camera on your MC's head. You can't see, hear, smell, touch, feel, or know anything that your MC doesn't. If you need to be in another character's head, insert a scene or chapter break and go for it. But don't hop around.
Now, I've read many books were the POV hops from character to character mid-page and sans scene/chapter break. It can be done if it's done well. But for the most part, when the POVs go hopping, it does nothing but confuse the reader.
Try not to do it :)
How are you with POV? Was it something you knew to do well right away, or were you a POV nightmare like me? :D
My first book was a POV NIGHTMARE. I didn't wait until a chapter or scene break to jump into another character's head. Oh no. I would jump from head to head without a care in the world. I once had four POV's going on in the same paragraph.
Luckily, the wonderful, kind, and oh-so-patient members of my first crit group pointed out the rules about POV. One of them told me to think of it like this: Pretend there is a camera on your MC's head. You can't see, hear, smell, touch, feel, or know anything that your MC doesn't. If you need to be in another character's head, insert a scene or chapter break and go for it. But don't hop around.
Now, I've read many books were the POV hops from character to character mid-page and sans scene/chapter break. It can be done if it's done well. But for the most part, when the POVs go hopping, it does nothing but confuse the reader.
Try not to do it :)
How are you with POV? Was it something you knew to do well right away, or were you a POV nightmare like me? :D
January 17, 2011
Exciting Events This Week!
Coming up on Thursday, the release of my book Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers!! (unless you want to order from Amazon...they are already shipping :D (clink link on sidebar if you'd like to check it out))
It's going to be a fun couple of weeks coming up. On Thursday, to coincide with the release of my book, my blog tour will be launching with a little help from some awesome friends. The first stops on the tour will be at the amazing Elana Johnson's, the fabulous Christine Fonseca's, the wonderful Lisa Amowitz's, and a little something will be going on over at the Operation Awesome blog.
If yo look up above, there is a tab set up for the Blog Tour. For a complete list of all the stops along the tour, check out that page. As the posts for each stop go live, I'll set up the links so you can follow the tour. There will be several giveaways (books and fun swag) and I'll have a list of those with links under the Blog Tour Giveaways tab.
Also! We'll be doing a Grand Prize Giveaway at the end of the tour. One commenter from the whole tour will be chosen to win a huge basket of books and swag! To enter, all you have to do is comment....the more stops along the tour you comment on, the more entries you get :) More details to follow!
So stay tuned!! The fun starts Thursday!
It's going to be a fun couple of weeks coming up. On Thursday, to coincide with the release of my book, my blog tour will be launching with a little help from some awesome friends. The first stops on the tour will be at the amazing Elana Johnson's, the fabulous Christine Fonseca's, the wonderful Lisa Amowitz's, and a little something will be going on over at the Operation Awesome blog.
If yo look up above, there is a tab set up for the Blog Tour. For a complete list of all the stops along the tour, check out that page. As the posts for each stop go live, I'll set up the links so you can follow the tour. There will be several giveaways (books and fun swag) and I'll have a list of those with links under the Blog Tour Giveaways tab.
Also! We'll be doing a Grand Prize Giveaway at the end of the tour. One commenter from the whole tour will be chosen to win a huge basket of books and swag! To enter, all you have to do is comment....the more stops along the tour you comment on, the more entries you get :) More details to follow!
So stay tuned!! The fun starts Thursday!
January 14, 2011
Friday Funnies
ENGLISH IS A STUPID LANGUAGE
Lets face itEnglish is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England
French fries were not invented in France.
We sometimes take English for granted
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
If writers write, how come fingers don't fing?
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play?
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways
How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day,
And as cold as hell on another
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes off!
English was invented by people, not computers,
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)
That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this poem
It ends.
(found at Writer's Humor)
January 13, 2011
Tip Thursday - Adverb Adventure
I learned a lot of things from my first crit group. One of the first "rules" I learned was the whole "don't use adverbs" thing. I balked at this one. I just didn't get the reasoning. I LIKED adverbs. I still like adverbs. And I use them, frequently. At least in my first drafts. (Okay, a lot of the pesky little buggers DO make their way into subsequent drafts, but I really do try to keep them out of there.) :D
It took me a while to really understand why adverbs are kind of a no-no. In fact, it wasn't until I started paying more attention to them in the published books I was reading that I finally got it.
They are telling. And sometimes just plain irritating. But mostly, too telling, and often unnecessary.
For example, you could say:
"Don't do that!" Jessica shouted angrily.
1. It's unnecessary. There's an exclamation point. She's shouting. And chances are good the content of the scene in addition to her shouting have already let us know she's doing it angrily. You don't need the adverb.
2. It's telling us she's angry, not showing us. Don't just tell us....bring on the anger! Let us see her eyes flashing, her face turning red, the spit flying from her lips as she screams. Isn't that more entertaining to read than "angrily"?
Now, do you need to cut every single adverb in your book? Of course not. There are instances where adverbs are totally warranted. Like I said, I do use them. Sometimes a good adverb is the best fit for whatever you are trying to say. However, most of the time, I try to use them just as place holders in my first drafts...when I know I should be more "showing" and descriptive but feel the need to get some words out and the more descriptive phrase eludes me. But I try to go back through and replace them with something better (though, yeah, a lot slip through the cracks. Just ask my crit partners...they are endlessly slashing them (hehe I used an adverb...shhhhh)).
And a few here and there aren't going to kill your story - they might even help. So don't go axing all the adverbs in your manuscript just yet....but, try to pay attention to what you are doing the next time you put one in. Does it really need to be there? Is adding it making your sentence too telling? Can you show whatever you are trying to describe better?
One thing I have noticed is that adverbs in dialogue tags are almost always unnecessary. She said, angrily. He said, amusingly. I said sadly.
These emotions can almost always be better conveyed through the characters' actions and the dialogue itself. So, while it is something I will probably always struggle with, it is a "rule" I finally agree with and will continue to work on.
How do you feel about the "adverb rule"?
It took me a while to really understand why adverbs are kind of a no-no. In fact, it wasn't until I started paying more attention to them in the published books I was reading that I finally got it.
They are telling. And sometimes just plain irritating. But mostly, too telling, and often unnecessary.
For example, you could say:
"Don't do that!" Jessica shouted angrily.
1. It's unnecessary. There's an exclamation point. She's shouting. And chances are good the content of the scene in addition to her shouting have already let us know she's doing it angrily. You don't need the adverb.
2. It's telling us she's angry, not showing us. Don't just tell us....bring on the anger! Let us see her eyes flashing, her face turning red, the spit flying from her lips as she screams. Isn't that more entertaining to read than "angrily"?
Now, do you need to cut every single adverb in your book? Of course not. There are instances where adverbs are totally warranted. Like I said, I do use them. Sometimes a good adverb is the best fit for whatever you are trying to say. However, most of the time, I try to use them just as place holders in my first drafts...when I know I should be more "showing" and descriptive but feel the need to get some words out and the more descriptive phrase eludes me. But I try to go back through and replace them with something better (though, yeah, a lot slip through the cracks. Just ask my crit partners...they are endlessly slashing them (hehe I used an adverb...shhhhh)).
And a few here and there aren't going to kill your story - they might even help. So don't go axing all the adverbs in your manuscript just yet....but, try to pay attention to what you are doing the next time you put one in. Does it really need to be there? Is adding it making your sentence too telling? Can you show whatever you are trying to describe better?
One thing I have noticed is that adverbs in dialogue tags are almost always unnecessary. She said, angrily. He said, amusingly. I said sadly.
These emotions can almost always be better conveyed through the characters' actions and the dialogue itself. So, while it is something I will probably always struggle with, it is a "rule" I finally agree with and will continue to work on.
How do you feel about the "adverb rule"?
January 12, 2011
Blog Tour Grand Prize Sneak Peek
I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek of some of the items that will be in the Grand Prize Swag Basket for my blog tour (which will be launching NEXT WEEK!!!)
Pictured above we've got two different T-shirt designs (one a little more girly than the other) :) ; a water bottle; a calendar magnet, some bookmarks, a few different designs of mouse pads, and, of course, a copy of my book :)
There will be a few other items as well, but I wanted to give you a little taste of what will be given away.
Stay tuned for next Thursday and the launch of the tour!
Pictured above we've got two different T-shirt designs (one a little more girly than the other) :) ; a water bottle; a calendar magnet, some bookmarks, a few different designs of mouse pads, and, of course, a copy of my book :)
There will be a few other items as well, but I wanted to give you a little taste of what will be given away.
Stay tuned for next Thursday and the launch of the tour!
January 11, 2011
Write Like You Mean It
(an oldie but a goodie :) )
Quote of the Day: The best advice on writing I've ever received is: "Write with authority." ~Cynthia Ozick
This quote reminded me of a conversation I've had with a few friends. Especially those who write non-fiction. You know, it can be pretty intimidating to be seen as the expert on something…even if you ARE the expert. But one thing I've learned over the years is that no one is going to take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously.
There have been many times in my life, in writing this blog, writing my non-fiction book, writing guest entries, answering questions on a variety of things, writing news releases and other things for my brother's company, that I've sat there and thought, "What am I doing? What if I mess up? What if I don't know as much as I think I know?" My doubts about my own knowledge and abilities have siderailed me many times. There have been times when I've felt like a total fraud and I just knew that someone was going to call me on it.
But you know, I DO know what I'm doing. I've been writing for a long, LONG time. Do I know all the answers? Of course not. But I do know a lot. I've got enough education and experience that I should be confident in my abilities. But that isn't always the case.
You know how to deal with that? Fake it. Push through it until those feelings of inadequacy go away. No one is going to have confidence in you unless you have confidence in yourself. If you see yourself as the expert, as the authority, others will as well.
So, what is the easiest, most effective way of writing with authority?It's simple. With this one little act, your writing will go from sounding hesitant and unsure to being strong and authoritative.Remove statements such as "I think," "Maybe," "I believe," "In my opinion," from your writing.Those phrases weaken your authority and calls what your saying into question.
For example, look at these sentences:
1. I think you should put a thesis sentence in your introduction.
2. Your introduction must include a thesis sentence.
Both statements say the same thing, but the first one makes it sound more like a hesitant suggestion, like maybe you aren't sure. The second one decisively gets the information across in a sure and authoritative way.
1. Maybe you should change the wording of this sentence.
2. The wording of this sentence would be stronger if you changed it.
1. I believe the right answer is B.
2. The right answer is B.
It's simple…a minor little tweak, but the effect is profound. This is now one of the main things I check when I edit my work. I do occasionally use these phrases if I'm trying to be gentle about something, like in critiques – but only if it's something I don't feel strongly about.
Put your knowledge out there. Make your statements, share your expertise. And don't be wishy-washy about it. Even if you don't feel 100% confident in yourself, write like you do. Write with authority and you will be seen as an authority.
Do you write with authority?
Quote of the Day: The best advice on writing I've ever received is: "Write with authority." ~Cynthia Ozick
This quote reminded me of a conversation I've had with a few friends. Especially those who write non-fiction. You know, it can be pretty intimidating to be seen as the expert on something…even if you ARE the expert. But one thing I've learned over the years is that no one is going to take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously.
There have been many times in my life, in writing this blog, writing my non-fiction book, writing guest entries, answering questions on a variety of things, writing news releases and other things for my brother's company, that I've sat there and thought, "What am I doing? What if I mess up? What if I don't know as much as I think I know?" My doubts about my own knowledge and abilities have siderailed me many times. There have been times when I've felt like a total fraud and I just knew that someone was going to call me on it.
But you know, I DO know what I'm doing. I've been writing for a long, LONG time. Do I know all the answers? Of course not. But I do know a lot. I've got enough education and experience that I should be confident in my abilities. But that isn't always the case.
You know how to deal with that? Fake it. Push through it until those feelings of inadequacy go away. No one is going to have confidence in you unless you have confidence in yourself. If you see yourself as the expert, as the authority, others will as well.
So, what is the easiest, most effective way of writing with authority?It's simple. With this one little act, your writing will go from sounding hesitant and unsure to being strong and authoritative.Remove statements such as "I think," "Maybe," "I believe," "In my opinion," from your writing.Those phrases weaken your authority and calls what your saying into question.
For example, look at these sentences:
1. I think you should put a thesis sentence in your introduction.
2. Your introduction must include a thesis sentence.
Both statements say the same thing, but the first one makes it sound more like a hesitant suggestion, like maybe you aren't sure. The second one decisively gets the information across in a sure and authoritative way.
1. Maybe you should change the wording of this sentence.
2. The wording of this sentence would be stronger if you changed it.
1. I believe the right answer is B.
2. The right answer is B.
It's simple…a minor little tweak, but the effect is profound. This is now one of the main things I check when I edit my work. I do occasionally use these phrases if I'm trying to be gentle about something, like in critiques – but only if it's something I don't feel strongly about.
Put your knowledge out there. Make your statements, share your expertise. And don't be wishy-washy about it. Even if you don't feel 100% confident in yourself, write like you do. Write with authority and you will be seen as an authority.
Do you write with authority?
