Adam Heine's Blog, page 26
May 25, 2012
You Know That Fantasy Novel is Really the Author's D&D Game When...
(Remix)
It starts in a tavern.
There is one protagonist and his 3 or 4 friends, who are different from him in every way.
The protagonist is awesome, because every other character tells us so. He also seems the only one capable of making decisions.
Dark-skinned elves are always evil, and always dual-wielding.
The only limitation on magic is that wizards must sleep before they can cast more spells.
Character names contain apostrophes in unneces'sary and inexplicab'le pl'aces.
The villain i...
May 23, 2012
Books I Read: Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn
You may recall I talked about Open Minds last year, about a world where everyone can read minds, except for this one girl who discovers she can actually control them. Susan Quinn (crit partner, Author's Echo regular, and giver of the BEST gifts) is releasing the sequel today.
So if you liked Open Minds, go and get Closed Hearts. And if you haven't read the first one, you might as well go do that first. The world building alone is worth it (and I think there's some kissing or something, if yo...
So if you liked Open Minds, go and get Closed Hearts. And if you haven't read the first one, you might as well go do that first. The world building alone is worth it (and I think there's some kissing or something, if yo...
May 21, 2012
Revision: How to Add a Whole New Character
So when Tricia asked me for revisions, one of the things she wanted (which I totally agreed with) required adding one or two new characters. I'd never actually done this before, and I was afraid the new characters would feel flat or tacked on. Here's what I did to avoid that:
1) Define the character. This is the novel that got me my agent, so the existing characters were pretty fleshed out. I wanted to make the new characters as deep as I could -- goals, motivations, even voice -- before I...
May 18, 2012
May 16, 2012
On the Ridiculous Idea that You Can Steal an Idea
Stop me when you know what famous book this is:
A young kid growing up in an oppressive family
situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children
with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training
facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by
teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally
talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorized
extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who a...
May 14, 2012
An Open Love Letter to Joss Whedon
Dear Mr. Whedon,
Thank you, thank you for the Avengers movie. And thank you for doing everything right. There are so many ways this movie could've been screwed up, and you did none of them.
You could have unbalanced the cast. I mean, shoot, there were like seven heroes, five of whom have (or deserve) their own movies. By all normal screenplay calculations, the cast should have been unbalanced! Ironman should've stolen the show, or Thor should've been relegated to some kind of adviser role,...
Thank you, thank you for the Avengers movie. And thank you for doing everything right. There are so many ways this movie could've been screwed up, and you did none of them.
You could have unbalanced the cast. I mean, shoot, there were like seven heroes, five of whom have (or deserve) their own movies. By all normal screenplay calculations, the cast should have been unbalanced! Ironman should've stolen the show, or Thor should've been relegated to some kind of adviser role,...
May 11, 2012
Santa and the Siege of Barad-dûr
From Anthdrawlogy's Elves week. As far as I'm concerned there is only one kind of elf, though I'm more flexible with who their boss is.
May 9, 2012
Books I Read: The Alloy of Law
Title: The Alloy of Law
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
Published: 2011
Content Rating: R for action violence
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, the world has been reborn and is in the midst of an industrial revolution, with trains and guns, skyscrapers and electricity -- and outlaws and the lawmen who bring them to justice.
Wax Ladrian is one such lawman, retired after his last job ended in the death of the girl he loved. He's just getting us...
May 7, 2012
Differences Between Querying and Submissions
You may or may not know by now that Air Pirates is out there on submission. Meaning honest to God editors are reading it. Submitting to editors this way is very similar to querying, but there are some differences I've noticed.
Disclaimer: This is based on my limited submissions experience so far. Your mileage may vary.
DIFFERENCE #1: Responses. I get them.
For better or worse, "no response means no" seems to be more and more common among agents. But on submissions, so far I get answers. Eve...
Disclaimer: This is based on my limited submissions experience so far. Your mileage may vary.
DIFFERENCE #1: Responses. I get them.
For better or worse, "no response means no" seems to be more and more common among agents. But on submissions, so far I get answers. Eve...
May 4, 2012
In Which I (Yet Again) Discover Why I Don't Self-Publish
[Some of the links below go to TV Tropes. You have been warned.]
These days, there is no end of people who say, "Why are you still putting yourself through the misery of traditional publishing?" Some folks say it nicer. Some are meaner and use words like "broken," "obsolete," and "dinosaur". I've talked about my reasons before, but I've come to realize that the thing behind it all is an illogical personality quirk.
I am trying to get the best ending.
Before I go on, understand that I don'...
These days, there is no end of people who say, "Why are you still putting yourself through the misery of traditional publishing?" Some folks say it nicer. Some are meaner and use words like "broken," "obsolete," and "dinosaur". I've talked about my reasons before, but I've come to realize that the thing behind it all is an illogical personality quirk.
I am trying to get the best ending.
Before I go on, understand that I don'...
