Saturday 22 January 2011

I Have A Guest: Michelle McLean

Today I have the awesome Michelle McLean visiting my little corner of the blogosphere. Michelle's book, Homework helpers: Essays and Term Papers was released on Thursday. 

The hard part is getting to the top of page 1.
— Tom Stoppard

Is there anything worse than staring at a blank screen, knowing you only have a certain amount of time to fill it? Whether you are writing a novel or an essay for school, figuring out where and how to begin can be one of the hardest parts of any project.

One of my main goals with Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers is to remove the “deer in the headlights” reaction to writing assignments. You may know all the rules by heart; you might know exactly what you are supposed to include in your paper. Or you may have no clue at all how to begin. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two entirely different things.

Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers actually walks the reader through every step of the essay writing process, from coming up with a topic, to putting the polish on the final draft. Each essay discussed also has full essay examples of the rough draft, edited, and final versions of every type of essay discussed.

With this book, I didn’t want to just give my readers a set of guidelines. I wanted to show them exactly what they needed to do, every step of the way. I break the process down into small, manageable chunks, which turns what could be an overwhelming assignment into something a little easier to handle. Even when it comes to the SAT essay.

And this book isn’t just for students. The processes I use can be applied to any type of writing project. I also include chapters on researching and proofreading and provide fun examples of common mistakes that are useful for anyone who wants to write.

If you’ve ever looked a project in the eye and been too overwhelmed, frustrated, confused, or just plain frightened to continue…this might be just the book for you :)



Michelle McLean is a writer and the Chief Editorial Consultant for PixelMags, LLC. In addition to her non-fiction work, Michelle writes YA historical novels and other children’s books. If she's not editing, reading or chasing her kids, she can usually be found in a quiet corner working on her next book.

8 comments:

Talli Roland said...

Fantastic guest post - thanks, Michelle! Sounds like this could be a great book for all writers!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Deer caught in headlights - apt description!

Amparo Ortiz said...

LOVE it!!! You rock, Michelle, for giving deers in headlights like me the chance to improve our writing :D

Heather Hellmann said...

I used to dread the essays on standardized tests. This book sounds like it's full of good advice.

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Great article, Michelle! I have definitely looked a project in the eye and felt overwhelmed! I found the brainstorming ideas in your book very useful!

Eric said...

Great post. Michelle is so awesome, and I'm glad everyone is celebrating her with these blog posts. The deer in the headlights phrase is very apt too, as so many others have pointed out. I feel that way too often LOL.

Shannon said...

Sounds like a great book! Thanks for introducing me to Michelle!

Missed Periods said...

This book would be perfect for my English Comp. class. I am going to check it out.