Columns

UPDATED WITH WINNERS - LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: April Edition

April 29th, 2016

Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess. How It Works We give you inspiration in the form of a picture, poem, video, or prompt. You write a flash fiction piece using the inspiration we gave you. Put your entry in the comments section. One winner will be picked and awarded a prize.

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11 Chumptastic Reasons That Book Clubs Are For Chumps

April 28th, 2016

1. You Never Get A Cool ID Card When You Join A Book Club It took like 10 seconds to make this: Okay, it's not exactly high quality. And Bill Clinton is the signer, but hey, why in the hell don't you get a rad I.D. when you join a book club? How is that not a thing?

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Narrative Mechanics in Hearthstone: How a Card Game Can Tell a Story

April 28th, 2016

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is one of the most popular video games in the world. A free-to-play game available on nearly all computers, tablets and phones, where it entertains over 75 million players. It is frequently the most-streamed game on Twitch, and as of this writing a search for the title on YouTube returns nearly 3 million hits.

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The Life Cycle of Books

April 27th, 2016

Books are born and die all the time. I'm not speaking of the cycle of creation that all writers know so well: the loop of ideas, draft, submissions, and eventual publication. I mean the physical lifespan of binding and pages. In celebration of Earth Day, I take a quick look at how much waste our beloved books create, and what happens when they are eventually left to rot in a garbage heap.   Life First, some quick facts:

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Setting the Mood: 24 Songs to Accompany Specific Scenes While Writing

April 27th, 2016

Music is medicine. Sure, if you get shot in the stomach, cranking CCR isn’t going to stop you from bleeding out. Odds are, if you’re reading this, then you’re old enough to understand that music cannot treat bullet wounds. Note: if you have recently been shot, please seek immediate medical attention. LitReactor will not be responsible for another poor fan’s ignorant death.

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Crowdfunding for Writers: 10 Tips for Running a Successful Patreon Campaign

April 26th, 2016

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have made a big splash in recent years, helping creative people raise funds for everything from videogames to unicorgis. But Patreon, the new kid on the fundraising block, may be the best platform yet for writers, and I'm here to tell you why.

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They Alive, Dammit! ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ and Strong Character Arcs

April 26th, 2016

Google around and you’ll find dozens of articles telling you how to write believable characters. Some of the articles might have some helpful advice and some of them might spit bullshit at you. I’m not saying the article you’re currently reading is any better. What I am saying, however, is that if you want to create character arcs that are worth a damn, then you need to go do what every writer eventually resorts to:

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10 Reasons Why Books Are Always Better Than Boys

April 25th, 2016

1. Neglect Isn’t a Thing Let’s face it- relationships are work, and boys especially need lots of care and tending, so it’s not always possible to step away for a few days or weeks and not lose momentum. I mean, who wants their boy toy to feel neglected? But with a book, there’s no worry about abandonment! You can put a book down in March and pick it back up in May and it will have been patiently waiting for you to return, with nary a sarcastic comment or cold shoulder. When you need time and space to just be, books are always better than boys.

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Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' Series, the Natural Progression for Harry Potter Fans

April 25th, 2016

Many Harry Potter fans grew up with the character and his stories. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first released in 1997 and was an immediate success. Its 1998 release in the United States, under the title ...Sorcerer’s Stone, led to the 2001 film adaptation, and the subsequent seven sequels culminated with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (the movie divided the book, released in 2007, in twain) a decade later.

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The Movies And Books That Influenced Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’

April 22nd, 2016

Last month I explored five movies that influenced Quentin Tarantino’s feature-length debut, Reservoir Dogs. This month I’m turning my attention towards his second feature movie, Pulp Fiction. The commercial and critical success of Reservoir Dogs has been huge.

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