Columns

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.

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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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Storyville: Using Terror and Horror to Tell Powerful Stories

November 19th, 2018

In one of my previous columns I talked a bit about the difference between terror and horror, and I wanted to expand that conversation—go deeper and elaborate. So let’s dig in.

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Black Friday: Buy Nothing and Opt Outside!

November 16th, 2018

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Black Friday was a single shopping day that had some good deals. It was a way to kickstart the holiday shopping season, for both vendors and shoppers. Shops put their Christmas finery on display and lit their trees and suddenly the month transitioned from fall harvest to winter wonderland. It was a busy day at the mall, sure, but maybe you were able to get those winter boots for your kid at a great price.

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Good Oral: Telling Stories Out Loud

November 15th, 2018

Early this fall I did one of those live storytelling things. You know the type. You get up on a stage, you get ten minutes or so, you tell a story from memory, and if you’re lucky, people clap at the end. In my case, you tell a story about your cat, mostly avoid crying, and wind up feeling pretty good about the whole endeavor. 

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Three Exercises for Improved Character Development

November 13th, 2018

I recently started teaching fiction writing at an MFA program. The gig forced me to test everything I knew. I had to read/reread material in order to teach it. Writing is one thing, but teaching others to write is a different beast. During that process, I realized there were exercises I no longer do because I've developed a system that works for me, which basically boils down to letting characters live in my head for weeks before bringing them to life on paper.

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Upon My Death: What Happens To An Author's Unfinished Work?

November 8th, 2018

I have a birthday coming up, so of course that's got me thinking about my death. For me, and for a lot of writers, what I'll leave behind mostly amounts to a pile of papers and manuscripts and journals and stuff jotted on a Jimmy Johns wrapper that seemed very important at the time. Which is why I decided to look into my options. What can be done with my work after I die? What have some of my betters done?

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Daredevil Season 3: Reconstruction

November 6th, 2018

Superheroes are always reinventing themselves. Eventually, they all take on an enemy or challenge that is far beyond anything they have ever faced. They are defeated, or emerge barely victorious, at a very high cost. Our hero may have survived, but they are not the same—this harrowing ordeal has fundamentally changed them, and now they must rediscover what kind of hero he is going to be. It happened to Captain America after he was assassinated in the Civil War comics, and Thor went through a similar revival after Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarok.

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Exploring the Real Town Behind Silent Hill

November 5th, 2018

For over a decade, Centralia, Pennsylvania has been dubbed ‘the real-life Silent Hill’. And it’s easy to see why, with its history ripe for horror. Roads abruptly end, poisonous gases leak from cracks in the concrete, children are sucked into sinkholes, spouses murder each other. But the more I’ve researched Centralia, the more I’ve realised that, like all good horror stories, this one is more of a tragedy.

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No, You’re Freaking Out About Your New Book!

November 1st, 2018

Listen, writing is the greatest gig in the world. It really is. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Some of the best people I’ve met and the coolest places I’ve been to have entered my life because of books. That said, some parts of it are…well, there’s a reason why most authors are slightly insane. In my case, I write because I have stories to tell, things to say, messages to deliver, imaginary people to kill, magic to explore, and a vision of identity, Otherness, violence, crime, and syncretism I want to share with the world.

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