Michell Plested's Blog, page 3

Revisiting Favourite Authors

I talked about how I have re-ignited my joy of reading in an earlier post.  Today, I want to talk about the value in revisiting favourite authors. I know there are different camps when it comes to the topic of rereading books. Some people don’t like to read a book more than once and others go back to the same material over and over again (for the record, I am one of the latter although I do read new books almost as much). Benefits I receive from rereading a book Reason 1: The big one Part of the reason I like rereading cherished books is I can reconnect with places and people I truly like/enjoy. I think we all have […]

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Calgary Young Writers’ Conference (2021 virtual edition)

I will be running a workshop at the Calgary Young Writers’ Conference this Saturday (April 10, 2021). I’ve now officially lost count of the number of times I have either volunteered for the conference or actually presented at the conference. What I do know is, it is a fantastic day spent with Calgary’s up-and-coming writers and I always leave feeling both exhausted and refreshed at the same time. Exhausted and Refreshed? I put a lot of effort into creating the workshops and ensuring that the participants get as much as I can give out of them. That takes a lot of energy on my part. But it also refreshes my own view of writing in general. I get the chance […]

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Rekindling the Joy

Growing up, I had an extremely long bus ride to and from school every day. Couple that with living on a pretty remote farm and I didn’t have a big circle of friends I could hang out with whenever I wanted. Add one more element – my parents loved reading Science Fiction – and you have someone who reads all the time. If memory serves, I was inhaling books at the rate of one every couple of days (I did still have chores to do morning and night). That rate of consumption lasted right up until I hit college. Homework, study and work seriously ate into my reading time. I think things slowed to where I was only reading a […]

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Surviving

How are you all surviving these days? I know I have good days and I have bad. I’ve had to reduce my time on Twitter because there is so much negativity and ridiculousness going on every day. It feels like people are looking for reasons to be offended and/or offensive. That is unfortunate because, I’m a pretty social person. I now work from home (which I am still adjusting to a year in) and I’m lucky to be doing so. But since I’m now alone most of the day, social media was a way of seeing other people safely. Except, it doesn’t feel safe any more so I am largely avoiding it. Writing your way to surviving When I was […]

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Feedback and Reviews

I’m not sure many readers appreciate the importance of Feedback and Reviews. For those people, allow me to assure you, both are VERY important although for different reasons. Feedback I have been fortunate enough to receive feedback from readers on many of my books. Most recently, a lovely lady sent me a DM to inform me she and her son both love my Mik Murdoch books. They have read them all and she had taken the time to talk about them on Instagram. I can’t tell you how important that DM was. Like many of you, I have been feeling the challenges of being home alone all day, most days. COVID has severely restricted my movement; my wife works in […]

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Trying to do too much in the story

I’ve been working on Mik Murdoch 5 and I have realized I’ve been trying to do too much in the story. I always insert little tidbits here and there in the sequels to tie them back to the previous books. That isn’t a bad plan as it provides continuity. Where I am coming up against it is I now see I’m getting carried away, especially since there are now four books in the series. If I reference events from every one of them, I won’t have time for the story in book 5. That isn’t to say I won’t be giving subtle nods to what has come before. There are plot lines I’ve started in prior books that are still […]

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Should I be a planner or a pantster for my next book?

Should I be a pantster or a planner for my next book? I have written books using both methods. I’m told the books were good in both cases. So, which method should I use? Mik Murdoch 5 is the next book, in case you were wondering. I haven’t been doing a lot of writing the past few months. I was busy editing The Goddess Renewed for several months and trying to keep my sanity for several more. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about what the next book(s) should be. In the case of Mik Murdoch 5, I know what the main plot is and who the characters will be. The problem shows itself when I try to refine the […]

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World Building – Every Character Has a Story

An I’ve been thinking a lot about characters and building rich, living worlds for them to live in. I have also been re-reading some old favourites. Specifically Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall Trilogy set in her fictional world of Pern. I have come to better understand that every character has a story within their world and approaching those various stories in different ways will enrich the world you are building. Pern – a rich story world Let me use Anne McCaffrey’s planet of Pern to better show what I mean. If you ask any lover of her Pern books what elements most stand out for them, you will likely hear about dragons and dragon riders. An invasive spore, know as Thread, […]

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Locked Down (or Time Flies in a Crisis)

I looked to see when I last posted. October? That can’t be right. Should I blame being locked down or claim I was too busy to post? No, the reality is much more boring than that. Simply put, I’ve been keeping my head down and working through each day as it comes. I’ve been staying home as much as I can (groceries still need to be bought) and I’ve completed editing on my now-published novel, The Goddess Renewed. Not the most glamorous explanation, but the truth. The good news is, my family is safe and there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel. I know we have a long ways to go yet, but I’m […]

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The Goddess Renewed

Trust may be the only thing that can save you…or betray you. When his family disappears, Kalten knows he must find them at any cost. He desserts his post and meets up with an angry young woman with a vendetta of her own. Their chance meeting draws them into a world of intrigue and danger where they must uncover the plot against the crown. With the aid of a former goddess and a rebellious young dragon, they face a world that seems to be rising up against them. This is book one in The Fallen Goddess series. You can find the book at the retailers below: Champagne Books store (currently eBook edition only)

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