Columns

10 Female Authors Who Changed My Life

March 16th, 2018

When we say someone or something changed our life, we generally speak of things or people who had a lasting impact on the way we see or do things. However, there are many small changes that regularly come from encountering situations, objects, and individuals. Throughout my life, I've encountered the work/personality/career/ideas/hustle of many women, and some of the them changed my outlook, inspired me, or changed/expanded/enriched the way I look at words. Here are ten of many.

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The "When" Guide for Writers: Master the Science of Perfect Timing (Part 2)

March 14th, 2018

Part one of this article on creative timing gives you context; my vision for this next part is to give you actionable tactics. My first mission was to reach out to Dan Pink himself, the formidable author of When and many other excellent books, such as Drive and To Sell is Human. His inbox is notoriously difficult to penetrate, so I kept it short and asked him:

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The Second-Draft Slump: How to Get Through Edits

March 13th, 2018

Some people say starting is the hardest part. I say all of it is the hardest part. At least when it comes to writing a book, that is. I previously wrote about how to get to the end of the first draft of your novel, but that's just the beginning. For those of you still working on the first draft, look away. Do not read on as what I'm about to tell you may result in spontaneous punching of your computer screen. 

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The 10 Best Classic YA Books

March 9th, 2018

Today Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle In Time hits theaters, the big-budget feature film adaptation that fans have been waiting for since, oh, about 1962 or so. Madeleine L’Engle’s young adult science fiction masterpiece was the gateway drug for many budding bookworms and nascent sci-fi nerds, a marvelous exercise in fantastical world-building and a trail-blazing example of young, feminist protagonists. Meg Murry was tremendously important to many of us, and 14-year-old Storm Reid is holding the mantle with aplomb in this year’s adaptation.

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Of Mice, Men, and Gloves Fulla Vaseline

March 9th, 2018

This is partly about a classic novel, but more than that, it’s about a time I decided to wear a glove fulla Vaseline. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there’s an antagonist, a real asshole. His name’s Curley, and he’s introduced wearing a glove on his left hand and high-heeled boots, the type of boots designed for sitting on a horse and telling OTHER people what to do. Here’s a conversation between two characters, George and Candy:

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"Brazen" Celebrates Women Throughout History, and So Should We

March 7th, 2018

In March, we celebrate women. Or at least, we’re meant to. Because not only is the whole month America’s National Women’s History Month, but March 8 has long been International Women’s Day, a day set aside each year to reflect upon the achievements of women. In honor of the special day this year, MacMillan’s First Second imprint is republishing as a full graphic novel, Penelope Bagieu’s 30 vignettes of women throughout history.

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Book vs. Television: Altered Carbon

March 6th, 2018

I first discovered Altered Carbon in a book review. It was a different time—I read the review in an actual newspaper and then travelled to a physical bookstore, where I used cash to purchase a paper and ink copy of a novel, a sentence that seems surprisingly antiquated and arcane as I type it. This book accompanied me on a flight to New York, and as soon as I finished reading it, I flipped back to the first page and started again. By the time my second reading had concluded, it was one of my favorite sci-fi novels.

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The "When" Guide for Writers: Master the Science of Perfect Timing (Part 1)

March 5th, 2018

Let me kick this thing off by shocking you with a bold statement—novelists are creative people.

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Book Vs. Film: "-30-" Vs. "They Remain"

March 1st, 2018

It's a generally accepted rule that a great film adaptation of literary material simultaneously stay faithful to the source while also forging its own path, i.e., creating a narrative that is medium-appropriate without completely alienating the story's roots.

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What Made 'Roseanne' Great

February 28th, 2018

Next month we’re getting a new Roseanne. And this Conner-lover couldn’t be happier. I fucking adore Roseanne. Start up that saxophone music, show me the family sitting around the table with slices of pizza, and I’m 100% yours for the next 20 minutes.

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