Columns

Vampires in Wuthering Heights

August 15th, 2016

Image Vampires in Wuthering Heights. Seriously? Yes, seriously. This is no movie adaptation taking liberties; this is a valid interpretation with textual evidence to support it. Whether you choose to push that interpretation to metaphorical or literal levels is up to you.

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5 Story Opening Clichés That Need to Die

August 15th, 2016

Any lunatic interested in writing fiction should volunteer at a magazine as a slush-reader for at least three months. Reading dozens if not hundreds of stories every month will not necessarily teach you how to write, but it will teach you how not to write, and knowing how not to write might be a stronger skill than any other you could possibly wish to acquire.

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8 Mini Grammar Studies in Modern Music

August 12th, 2016

Music is a great way to remember specific details. When you take a closer look at the lyrics in certain songs, you can easily remember tricky grammar devices and spend less time looking things up. This list will not only include songs demonstrating grammar gaffes, but will also cover examples of lyrics that show proper use of grammar. The trick is remembering what’s wrong and what’s correct. Hint: if it’s pop, maybe don’t trust it.

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LURID: Last Seen Wearing - Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Databases

August 11th, 2016

There’s a story familiar to all of us, across cultures and through history, the story of someone who was there and then was not, of the person who relinquished their lifetime role as lover, sister, husband, grandpa, neighbor, colleague, or daughter and joined the always-swelling ranks of the Missing. She popped out to the liquor store for a packet of cigarettes, didn’t take a coat, never came back.

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Buy Your Villain a Birthday Present: 5 More Development Exercises

August 11th, 2016

About two years ago, I put together a short list of character development exercises, curated from various blogs, social media platforms and podcasts. Since the Internet is basically a limitless resource for such things, it seemed like a decent idea to pull together a few more.

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Darth Trump and Princess Hillary: How Claudia Gray's 'Star Wars: Bloodline' Mirrors the 2016 Election Year

August 10th, 2016

Header images via Nightflight and Twitter This election year is a memorable one. With the Republican National Convention proving that politicians can indeed stoop to new lows and the Democratic National Convention demonstrating that the Left would rather bicker than unite, it’s looking like the next few months will be for the record books.

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Can I Survive ONE Choose Your Own Adventure Book?

August 10th, 2016

My experience reading Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid was probably a lot like yours. I picked up a book that seemed more exciting than a regular book, made about three choices, and then saw my character consumed by fire. I picked up another one, made about three choices, and my lifeless corpse was flung into outer space.  But that was decades ago. Surely, now, as an adult, and as an adult who reads a lot and understands what writers are trying to evoke in children, I can survive one of these things. Right?

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What 'Stranger Things' Can Teach Us About Characterization

August 9th, 2016

If you have a Netflix account and you’re interested in horror, there’s a good chance you’ve at least dipped your toes into their latest original series, Stranger Things. Or maybe you’re one of those ultra cool folks who feel the need to post about how much you don’t care about what’s currently popular. In which case, please skip this article. I’m sure you have many other more important things to do with your incredibly important and awesome life.

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A How-To (and Why) Guide for Writing in a Retro Layout

August 8th, 2016

Photo: Wtshymanski / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Remember how computer screens looked back in the 1980s? 

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What Makes the Original 'Ghostbusters' So Special?

August 8th, 2016

I finally went to see the new Ghostbusters movie, and like many fans of the original, I left fairly disappointed. I really wanted to like it—the idea of a new team of Ghostbusters, one filled with some of the funniest women alive, sounded great to me. Just what we needed to make the old franchise shiny and relevant again. Sadly, the film failed to deliver on its considerable promise.

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