Adam Heine's Blog, page 18

First Impact: A QUESTION OF FAITH (first page)

It's time for another First Impact Critique,
where I take a look at your queries, first pages, back cover copy, etc.
You want to make an impact right from the start. We're here to help
you do that.



If you'd like to submit your first impact material, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.



Remember, anyone who offers their comments is eligible for either $10 for Amazon or B&N OR a 20-page critique from me.





Last week, we had a YA paranormal query from Nicole Zoltack. This wee...

What's Your Personality Type?

You know the Myers-Briggs personality type, right? If you don't, take this (strictly non-scientific) test and look up your type here.



Me, I'm an INTJ.



From Urban Dictionary: "Otherwise known as the Mastermind. INTJ's are emotionless juggernauts
that have no respect for you and don't care if you don't like them."



Also this via Wikipedia: "Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's
Achilles heel ... This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily
grasp the s...

Using Foreign Words in Foreign Settings

On the post 5 Tips for Using a Foreign Language, Linda asked a very good question: "[What] if the characters are only speaking/thinking one language which is not English but the narrative is in English[:] which words should be in English and which, if any, should be 'foreign'?"



One of my very first writing tutors was Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, and I'm pulling straight from that. If you're a world-builder of any sort, I highly recommend finding a copy of this...

First Impact: A QUESTION OF FAITH by Nicole Zoltack

It's time for another First Impact Critique,
where I take a look at your queries, first pages, back cover copy, etc.
You want to make an impact right from the start. We're here to help
you do that.



If you'd like to submit your first impact material, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.



Thank you so much for your submissions and critiques in October. Through randomology, I have determined that the critiquer who wins a 15-page critique from Jodi Meadows is Fiction Writer!! Send...

State of the Writing

It's been a long time since I've given you guys anything like a regular status update. I mean, there's my Works In Progress tab, but (a) who reads that? And (b) that only covers things with names.



So here's where things stand.



AIR PIRATES (being the novel that got me my beloved agent) is on submission. I've gotten some very pleasant-sounding feedback, but you know. When I have an announcement here, you'll hear it.



POST-APOC NINJAS (being the novel I talked about last month) is being revise...

Stormdancer Sketch

A scene from Jay Kristoff's STORMDANCER, based on the excerpt you can read at Tor.com.



This is one of my sell-out sketches, drawn trying to win an ARC of the book. I didn't get the ARC, but I did get a copy of THE LITTLE STORMDANCER, which is easily the next best thing. My kids love this little book.







If you haven't heard of STORMDANCER, here is everything you need to know about it: Japanese steampunk with griffins.



Yeah, that's how I felt about it too.

First Impact: MIST OF KAVALA by Carolyn Abiad

It's time for another First Impact Critique,
where I take a look at your queries, first pages, back cover copy, etc.
You want to make an impact right from the start, and we're here to help
you do that.



If you'd like to submit your first impact material, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.



Remember, anyone who leaves a critique in the comments is eligible to win a 15-page critique from INCARNATE author, Jodi Meadows. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful.






This w...

It's Okay to Write Slow

J. K. Rowling took five years to write the first Harry Potter.



It's okay to write slow.



Those of us who take a year or more to draft a novel are tempted to believe we're doing something wrong. Like we're too lazy, managing our time wrong, editing our words too much, or (God forbid) not meant to be writers at all. Some of those things might be true, but slow writing doesn't prove it.



(Terry Pratchett wrote his first novel at 400 words a day.)



You might be climbing a learning curve. My firs...

5 Tips for Using a Foreign Language Without Sounding Like a Prat

Foreign languages are hard to use in fiction. Probably because most of
us don't use them in real life. Here are
some tips for helping the reader get that foreignness is happening,
without feeling hit over the head by it.



1) USE LANGUAGE TO BE UNDERSTOOD. First and foremost, the purpose of
speaking is to communicate ideas. So if a character is fluent in both
English and Thai (say), but her listeners understand only English, she won't toss Thai words into her speech. If someone did that in rea...

First Impact: FATHER'S DAY by Hilary Swann

It's time for another First Impact Critique, where I take a look at your queries, first pages, back cover copy, etc. You want to make an impact right from the start, and we're here to help you do that.



If you'd like to submit your first impact material, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.



Remember, anyone who leaves a critique in the comments is eligible to win a 15-page critique from INCARNATE author, Jodi Meadows. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful.






We hav...