Columns

The Top 10 LitReactor Columns of All Time

October 4th, 2017

On October 1st, 2011, LitReactor was pushed wet and screaming into this world. Like many new parents, Dennis Widmyer and Kirk Clawes had high hopes for their bundle of Internet joy. They didn't know what the future held, exactly, just that they wanted the site to grow into something special. A community where writers could connect, learn, and flourish. On this, LitReactor's sixth year anniversary, we are proud to say we are still here—making new friends, arguing the minutiae of the written word, and paying writers to write.

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The Top 10 Rare and Pricey Stephen King Books

October 3rd, 2017

I consider myself a book collector. I have some signed books, a few first editions, a couple of rare releases, some stuff that's old but in great condition, and books by my favorite authors that are now out of print. However, the world of Stephen King book collecting is a whole different beast.

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Six Lessons I Learned Co-Writing A Novella With James Patterson

October 3rd, 2017

Last year James Patterson announced a new publishing venture: BookShots. Shorter, novella-sized stories. The tag line was: Under 150 pages. Under $5. Impossible to put down. I was very excited when BookShots got a splashy announcement in the New York Times—because it meant I could finally share some news I had been sitting on for months: I was writing one.

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LitReactor Remembers Kirk Clawes

October 2nd, 2017

AWP 2016, Los Angeles: Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Rob Hart, Bree Ogden, Joshua Chaplinsky, Renee Asher Pickup, Taylor Houston, Kirk Clawes, Dennis Widmyer LitReactor suffered a huge blow a few days ago when we learned our co-founder and technical lead, Kirk Clawes, had passed away in his sleep. It truly was a shock, because Kirk was only 38 and so full of life.

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Tom Perrotta is My Favorite Existential Uncle

September 25th, 2017

Photo y Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 3.0 Many families have that uncle who gets invited over for Thanksgiving and doesn't quite fit in. The black sheep, who doesn’t understand the concept of polite conversation or hold any of the same values as your family. He’s outspoken and crosses the line before the turkey even hits the table, sharing something completely inappropriate but interesting enough that the family wants to hear what comes next.

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Breaking Worse? The 'Ozark' Pilot Treads Dark Territory

September 22nd, 2017

Heavy spoiler warning!!! Ozark eschews the traditional "slow burn" that has defined (and sometimes plagued) television drama recently with a pilot episode designed to surprise you with gut punches—all to prepare you for the uppercuts yet to come.

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Road Trip Horror: 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' and 'Nocturnal Animals'

September 20th, 2017

Nocturnal Animals, released in 2016, took a classic horror movie trope and added prestige to it. That is, the idea that traveling on rural highways, especially at night, will result in an encounter with lunatics and death. This has existed at least as far back as 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, with its band of five teens picking up a hitchhiker which turns out to be a catalyst for a night of brutal violence and madness. Then there’s 1986’s The Hitcher, in which C.

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The Worst Required Reading

September 19th, 2017

It’s back to school time. According to the aisles of stores. Man, I hated that as a kid. It’s like, I KNOW we have to go back to school. You don’t have to put up a big banner about it. That’s like having a huge, enthusiastic banner at a funeral: “You’re Dead!” In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like that comparison. Those back to school banners do signify a death: The death of summer. The death of fun. The death of reading whatever the hell you want.

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The Little Genre That Could: Why Now is the Time to Read Bizarro

September 18th, 2017

For some strange reason, there are more articles about the origins and definition of bizarro than about what this genre is doing now. While the history of the genre is great, and defining it is as entertaining as anything else when it comes to debating literary definitions, the fact that bizarro has grown exponentially in the last few years is what I think we should be focusing on. Once an almost underground movement, bizarro is now everywhere, and the authors currently working under its banner are among some of the best contemporary purveyors of fiction across all genres.

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What Writers Can Learn From the Films of Darren Aronofsky

September 15th, 2017

Image I'm so stoked for Darren Aronofsky's new film, Mother! Ever since I saw Pi I've been a super-fan. I've watched all of his movies multiple times and have used them as background atmosphere while I worked on certain projects. Going through all of his films can be as helpful and inspiring as any craft book. One of my goals is to try to do what Aronofsky does with his films in my own writing.

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