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Clarity vs. Experimentation: A Letter To Myself
December 4th, 2018
A guy cracked his head on a bathtub and couldn’t keep his memories straight. He remembered everything, but not in order. That’s the basic premise of a story I wrote in college. The first drafts of this story, all the scenes were told out of order. At the time, I would have said the goal was to replicate the experience of the character in the reader. Now, I would say I was being fancy and artsy. Fartsy, if you will.
Read Column →Feedback Loop: Revisiting Autobiographical Fiction
December 3rd, 2018
Autobiographical Fiction: Using Your Real Life to Craft Great Fiction posted on Leap Day in 2012 (2/29/12) and in the almost 7 years since then, I have
Read Column →6 Reasons We Still Love L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of the Green Gables" 110 Years Later
November 30th, 2018
With seven television, film, and miniseries adaptations in English alone — amongst numerous adaptations in other languages, like the Japanese anime series — it couldn’t be clearer: since its publication 110 years ago in 1908, Lucy Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is here to stay.
Read Column →Storyville: Finding Hope in Dark Fiction
November 29th, 2018
(There will be spoilers about some of my stories below.)
Read Column →Why You Shouldn't Ignore Religion in Your Fiction
November 27th, 2018
"Three-quarters of U.S. adults say religion is at least 'somewhat' important in their lives, with more than half (53%) saying it is 'very' important. Approximately one-in-five say religion is “not too” (11%) or “not at all” important in their lives (11%)."
Read Column →The 7 Very Best Scenes from C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia
November 26th, 2018
In the immortal words of Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell, we love the Chronic — what! — cles of Narnia. Ever since its fateful beginning as a present to Lewis’s goddaughter Lucy (yes, he named the youngest Pevensie after her — can you say “adorable”?), the series has been capturing the hearts of children and adults alike.
Read Column →LitReactor's 2018 Black Friday For Readers And Writers
November 23rd, 2018
Chuck Palahniuk famously wrote “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” Which is why we’ve got this Black Friday column going. See, in order to follow this advice, you have to lose some stuff. Before you can lose some stuff, you have to OWN some stuff. Is it an accomplishment to be a so-called “minimalist” if you never had any stuff to begin with? Will you ever appreciate how free you are without your stuff if you never had any stuff to begin with?
Read Column →Celebrate Wolfenoot With These 10 Unique, Subversive Werewolf Novels
November 23rd, 2018
In October 2018, a viral Facebook post introduced the entire world to a new holiday created by a seven year-old in New Zealand, called Wolfenoot. As outlined by the boy's mother on the holiday's official website, the concept is simple enough: It is when the Spirit of the Wolf brings and hides small gifts around the house for everyone. People who have, have had, or are kind to dogs get better gifts than anyone else.
Read Column →Dear Mr. Gaiman: Why I Can't Re-Read Sandman
November 20th, 2018
First of all, Mr. Gaiman, happy late birthday. And thanks for all the stuff. All the great stuff. Your work was there for me when I was growing up, and there’s even more still coming, stuff that’s here for me now as a grown-up. A grown-up who ate mini Snickers for breakfast. And a second lunch. Now that we’ve got the warm fuzzies out of the way, I’m sorry, Mr. Gaiman, but I don’t think I can ever re-read Sandman.
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