Columns

Six Novels On the Transgender Experience

July 17th, 2015

Never before has it been more important to have quality young adult novels depicting LGBTQ characters in the hands of readers. If the wildly positive response to Caitlyn Jenner’s transition in recent media is any indication, the time is right for quality representation of the transgender experience, and thankfully authors are writing important books featuring protagonists who express their gender differently than those of us who are comfortable in the man/woman binary. Here are six unique novels that feature a transgendered protagonist.  

Read Column →

Productivity Methods for Writers

July 16th, 2015

I like the idea of productivity tips and guides. I read up on them a lot, but I'm usually disappointed in them. They don't translate well to reality; they're usually vague and bland, except for some classic tips like:

Read Column →

There's A God For That: Inserting Mythological Allusions In Your Writing

July 16th, 2015

In a recent article from The Guardian, writer David Shariatmadari bemoans journalists overusing the same allusions to Greek mythology when commenting on the current economic crisis in Greece. Of course, allusion is nothing new to the world of writing.

Read Column →

What Traditionally-Published And Indie Authors Can Learn (gasp) FROM EACH OTHER

July 16th, 2015

Five or ten years ago, if you asked anyone in publishing about the most polarizing issue in the business, they probably would have said genre versus literary writing. While that great divide hasn’t exactly closed, there’s now a new feud causing writers to draw lines in the sand: Indie authors versus traditionally-published authors.

Read Column →

Zombies Aren’t Dead

July 15th, 2015

Like many of you reading this, I’m a life-long zombie fan. Growing up I devoured the likes of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Zombi, Evil Dead, Re-Animator and so on. Following the release of 28 Days Later in late 2002 and 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake the zombie genre exploded.

Read Column →

8 Raw Westerns to Read This Summer

July 15th, 2015

There is more to a well-executed Western novel than its geographical setting. In A Literary History of the American West, the heart of the genre is summarized as a "pull between two contrary sets of values, represented on the one side by civilization and on the other by wilderness."

Read Column →

Fantastic 4's Film Failures

July 13th, 2015

There was a time when I had a personal policy: Support comics, see every comic book movie that comes out. This was not a good policy. Things might be crappy, but it's just more fun to believe they might be good, even if that belief can only last until the movie actually comes out. Elektra. Daredevil. The third installments of X-Men and Spider-Man. Both Ghost Rider films. Punisher. Punisher: War Zone sober. All bad policy-based decisions.

Read Column →

5 Things the Grammar Nazis Get Wrong

July 10th, 2015

Every writer knows a Grammar Nazi. Maybe this person is a retired English teacher, a long-ago English major, your dear Aunt Eleanor, or even (lucky you!) one of your readers. Regardless, the Grammar Nazi's chief mission in life seems to be to point out all the many ways that you, the writer, have failed to master the English language.

Read Column →

Book vs. Film: 'Under The Skin'

July 7th, 2015

SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven't read the book or seen the film, I would suggest doing so first. The twists and turns of this narrative are pure joy.

Read Column →

Why 'Fury Road' Is The Best-Written Movie of...Ever!

July 3rd, 2015

If you haven't seen Mad Max: Fury Road yet, see Mad Max: Fury Road. There's no reason to not see Fury Road. Not a single reason that I would tolerate. It might be too late to see it in first-run theaters, which means it's the perfect time for the cheap seats, where the only thing more stale than the popcorn is the concern for whether or not you're sneaking in tallboys.

Read Column →