Adam Heine's Blog, page 23
August 3, 2012
Why Your World is Boring
(remix)
I'm always surprised when someone who loves fantasy tells me they haven't read The Lord of the Rings. I mean, this book is
fantasy. And it's awesome! Why have so many people not read it?
I'll give you three reasons: world-building infodumps, plot-stopping
songs, and unintelligible languages.
Listen, I know these are what make LotR what it is. I KNOW. But you have to
understand that for a first-time reader -- someone who is totally
unfamiliar with Middle Earth -- these parts are bo...
I'm always surprised when someone who loves fantasy tells me they haven't read The Lord of the Rings. I mean, this book is
fantasy. And it's awesome! Why have so many people not read it?
I'll give you three reasons: world-building infodumps, plot-stopping
songs, and unintelligible languages.
Listen, I know these are what make LotR what it is. I KNOW. But you have to
understand that for a first-time reader -- someone who is totally
unfamiliar with Middle Earth -- these parts are bo...
August 1, 2012
First Impact: The Show Must Not Go On by J. Kaitlin Adams
Time for another First Impact critique. But first: July's winner, who gets to choose between $10 for Amazon/B&N OR a 20-page critique from me, iiiiiiiis . . . Stephanie Scott! Congratulations, Stephanie.
And for August, we have a special prize: a 10-page critique from my agent, Tricia Lawrence! To be eligible, all you have to do is share your thoughts in the comments of any First Impact post this month. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful!
If you want your material critiq...
And for August, we have a special prize: a 10-page critique from my agent, Tricia Lawrence! To be eligible, all you have to do is share your thoughts in the comments of any First Impact post this month. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful!
If you want your material critiq...
July 30, 2012
Why Are Movies Based on Video Games SO BAD?
This is not a rant. This is SCIENCE.
First, all the data (culled, of course, from my beloved Wikipedia). Click to embiggen.
Some facts:
Movies based on video games have an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 18 out of 100. None of them got higher than 42.
Most (72%) had a budget of $50 million or less.
Most (68%) made less than $100 million at the box office.
It should be no surprise then that half of these movies did not make a profit.
So that's pretty bad (relatively; I mean I wouldn't...
First, all the data (culled, of course, from my beloved Wikipedia). Click to embiggen.
Some facts:
Movies based on video games have an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 18 out of 100. None of them got higher than 42.
Most (72%) had a budget of $50 million or less.
Most (68%) made less than $100 million at the box office.
It should be no surprise then that half of these movies did not make a profit.
So that's pretty bad (relatively; I mean I wouldn't...
July 27, 2012
What Makes a Character Funny?
I'm still trying to figure out funny. It seems like just another kind of voice: once I get my head in it, everything kinda flows. When I put the right kinds of characters together, funny just sort of happens.
But not all my characters end up funny, and I can't always figure out why. This is my attempt to figure out certain types of characters that make humor easy to write.
SELF-DEPRECATING
"You know me. Just when I'm getting a grip on something Fate comes along and jumps on my fingers." --...
But not all my characters end up funny, and I can't always figure out why. This is my attempt to figure out certain types of characters that make humor easy to write.
SELF-DEPRECATING
"You know me. Just when I'm getting a grip on something Fate comes along and jumps on my fingers." --...
July 25, 2012
First Impact: Mourn Their Courage by Victoria Dixon
Time for another First Impact critique. Remember you are eligible to win $10 for Amazon/B&N OR a 20-page critique from me if you share your thoughts in the comments. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful!
If you want your material critiqued, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.
Big thanks to long-time reader Victoria Dixon for submitting the first page of her Chinese historical fantasy. Keep in mind all this is just my opinion. If it doesn't feel right to you...
If you want your material critiqued, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.
Big thanks to long-time reader Victoria Dixon for submitting the first page of her Chinese historical fantasy. Keep in mind all this is just my opinion. If it doesn't feel right to you...
July 23, 2012
Spec Fic, Sci-Fi, and Other Ambiguous Terms
"Speculative fiction" is hard to define, mostly because nobody agrees on the meaning. Broadly, there are two useful definitions, but to understand them, we have to take a brief (BRIEF!) look at the history of science fiction.
1. About 100 years ago, people called science fiction a thing.
2. About 80 years ago, sci-fi hit what's considered it's "Golden Age."
3. About 60 years ago, a LOT of people were writing sci-fi. Not all of it was good.
(Told you it was brief.)
It was around this time t...
1. About 100 years ago, people called science fiction a thing.
2. About 80 years ago, sci-fi hit what's considered it's "Golden Age."
3. About 60 years ago, a LOT of people were writing sci-fi. Not all of it was good.
(Told you it was brief.)
It was around this time t...
July 20, 2012
Embarrassed AT-AT
Oops...hope nobody got hurt.
Cross-posted from Anthdrawlogy's Hoth week (part of a whole Star Wars month). If you want to see a much cooler AT-AT, check out fellow Anthdrawlogian Charles Eubanks' take on Eadward Muybridge.
So what's your favorite Star Wars quote? Mine is when Han Solo calls Leia, "Your highness-ness."
Okay, go.
July 18, 2012
First Impact: Through the Wormhole by Mairead Ahmad and Jennifer Van Haaften
Time for another First Impact critique. Remember you are eligible to win $10 for Amazon/B&N OR a 20-page critique from me if you share your thoughts in the comments. Your critique doesn't have to be long, just useful!
If you would like your material critiqued, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.
A huge thanks to Mairead and Jennifer for submitting the first page* of their MG sci-fi. Keep in mind this is just my opinion. If it doesn't feel right to you, ignore it.
My in-...
If you would like your material critiqued, send it to firstimpactAE@gmail.com. Details here.
A huge thanks to Mairead and Jennifer for submitting the first page* of their MG sci-fi. Keep in mind this is just my opinion. If it doesn't feel right to you, ignore it.
My in-...
July 16, 2012
What I Learned From 52 Rejections
A couple weeks ago, I suggested people query their first novel, even though it would probably get rejected. I said this because I think you can learn a lot from querying even a bad novel, and your reputation as an author will be none the worse for it.
Can I put my money where my blog is? Well, yes. Some of you may recall that I queried my first novel and that query got 52 out of 52 rejections.
So what did I learn?
1) I learned how to write a query letter. My first query really, really s...
July 13, 2012
Writing Excerpts
You've heard of this Lucky 7 Meme? I've been tagged for this thing so many times, I actually got tired of not posting it. So lucky you, you get a tiny bit of Air Pirates flavor this morning.
The idea is you go to page 77 of your MS, 7 lines down, then copy/paste the next 7 lines as they appear. Here they are for Air Pirates:
The idea is you go to page 77 of your MS, 7 lines down, then copy/paste the next 7 lines as they appear. Here they are for Air Pirates:
"You have my stone."
Sam knelt beside him, picking at the cobblestones with a knife that seemed to come f...
