Author Heather McCorkle

My blogging friend Shelley Watters is hosting a fantastic blogfest in which the participants post their 140 character or less Twitter pitch on their blog for critique. Once it has been critiqued and polished we are to post it on her contest and the winner is awarded a full manuscript request from super agent Suzie Townsend. Yep, you read that right, a full request! But there's more, Shelley is going to pick additional winners who will receive a query critique from her. So here's my 140 characters or less pitch. Tell me what you think and don't be shy. All help is welcome! One of the last of the druids during the worst invasion of Ireland must master her power if she is to keep her kind from being wiped out. Revised version: During the twelth century invasion of Ireland, Emily, last of the druids, must master her power to keep her kind from being annihilated. It's vague, I know, but remember it has to be under 140 characters. Not words, characters! That can be ...

The winner of the Heather's Odyssey prize for Carolina's Agent Signing Mega Giveaway is: Rachel Harrie Congratulations Rachel! She has chosen The Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass. Enjoy Rachel, it's an excellent book and it's on its way to you now! Thank you to everyone who entered. This contest was a blast~for an excellent cause~and I'm so glad to have met so many great new people. I look forward to getting to know each of you better.

There are many different points of view you can choose to write your novel in. First you must choose which character's point of view that you are going to tell the novel from, then you get to decide what kind of point of view to use. It's easier for me to choose the character and get to know them first, then the type of POV I'm going to use falls into place. Here are the types of POV: 1st Person POV past tense: This is a popular style among young adult novels and is becoming increasingly popular among adult genres as well. It reads much like the person is telling you their story. Example: I walked into the room. 1st Person POV present tense: This is becoming increasingly popular in young adult novels. It is believed that there is more sense of immediacy and tension, as if the reader isn't certain the narrator will live or be all right. Example: I walk into the room. 2nd Person POV past tense: This one is so tough to pull off you almost never see it done anymor...

Wow what a week. I've been caught up in the whirlwind that is finishing a novel and preparing for editing. But of course I made time to drop in on Twitter and find a few good tweets for you peeps. This first one is an interview by Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest featuring a new agent with Folio Literary: @WritersDigest New Agent Alert: Sarah Sper McLellan of Folio Literary - Reminder: Newer agents are golden opportunities for new wri... http://ow.ly/4hZjA Ever wonder why I think Chuck from WD is the shiz? Check out his interview with @PStoltey and you'll see why! @ChuckSambuchino I talked about submissions and researching agents in my interview with @PStoltey on the @Chiseledinrock blog: http://tinyurl.com/6jfn9me Agent Sarah LaPolla brings us this great link on what's hot in Sci-Fi right now (and what she wants to see): @sarahlapolla Sci-fi writers (who want to query me), read this 1st. I want a Firefly, not a Star Trek: http://bit.ly/hWWXED  (via @...

This picture seemed so appropriate for the last chapter of my novel that I could hardly wait to use it! Finally, last week I was able to as I closed in on The End of my rough draft. It came together beautifully. My characters surprised me a little but in good ways. Even though I write an outline I allow the story to grow organically based on where the characters take it. Now comes the part I like best, editing. No, I'm not crazy (well okay, maybe a little). I think I figured out why I love editing so much. For those who don't know, I'm an outliner. A lot of the kinks, character arcs, plot twists, and subplots are all worked out before I even write the first page. I also write chapter by chapter so there isn't much to flesh out later. I end up cutting more than I add. This makes the editing process a lot easier and a lot faster. I didn't always outline though. I was a pantser (write by the seat of your pants) once and back then it took me 7-12 months to complete an...

This week's tweets were full of great contests and advice for writers. Spring seems to be contest season, yet another great reason to be happy it's here! But first Writer's Digest brings us an interview with agent Doug Grad: @WritersDigest Interview with lit agent Doug Grad, who seeks nonfiction, fiction, memoir and YA: http://tinyurl.com/47vkx95 If you've ever wondered about the power of Twitter and what it can do for writers then you have to read this link from Writer's Digest: @WritersDigest How Writers Can Use Twitter for Networking and Success, column by @alexisgrant http://tinyurl.com/258brjt Magazine credits under your belt can look great on a query letter. Writer's Digest gives us tips on how to break into their magazine: @WritersDigest 5 Ways to Break Into Writer's Digest Magazine http://ow.ly/4fWiJ Agent Vickie Motter tweeted this great link from one of her clients about improving query letters: @Vickie_Motter Writing. For Real...

This painting is called The Morning Of The Battle Of Agincourt and is by Sir John Gilbert . It embodied the atmosphere of last week's chapter quite well. Though it may seem like the climax chapter from this painting, it is actually the chapter before the climax. My characters must face what they fear and want most and they'll never be the same. As you might imagine, it was a tough chapter to write because it was so visceral. I finished The Iron Witch and loved it! It more than passed the test, I will absolutely be buying the sequel! Author Karen Mahoney has made me a fan with that novel. The Clearing by Anne Riley arrived just in time for me to start a new book and wow am I glad it did. So far I am loving this book! I'll let you know how things progress with it. If you want to learn more about it just click on the picture of the cover to the right. With all the tension and battles I've been writing about lately the only appropriate music seems to be Iron Maiden. No ...