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Want a Masterclass in Character Development? Better Call Saul!
May 25th, 2017
Crafting a successful spinoff series is one of the toughest tricks in television. It feels like the ghost of Joey haunts every current attempt to extend or expand a successful show's existing universe. Want an even bigger challenge? Tackle a spinoff of Breaking Bad, a nearly perfect, almost universally adored drama that contained one of the best slow-burn character arcs in TV history.
Read Column →How Do You Know When Your Writing Career Is Over?
May 24th, 2017
This dark question is one I’m willing to bet most of us have asked ourselves at least once, if not much more regularly. I’m raising it here not to be discouraging. In fact, my motive is quite the opposite. This column is meant to be more of a pep talk, believe it or not. The only folks who will come away from this column too depressed to move are those who have been lying to themselves for a very long time.
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50 Anthologies I Wish I Could Submit To
May 19th, 2017
I love anthologies. I love reading them and I love writing for them. Anthologies bring together different voices and offer something that can't be found anywhere else. The true beauty of them is they can be written with a very specific market in mind, and they grant the readers an opportunity to see how different authors tackle the same theme/concept/whatever. I've been published in crime anthologies, horror anthologies, and bizarro anthologies. I've written about death, magic, love, zombies, weird sounds, and drug use.
Read Column →Seeing the Page Like A Quarterback Sees the Field
May 19th, 2017
Both my fiancé and I are writers, and I give her edits before she submits to presses and vice versa. She loves that I can help her make her stories better, but she hates that I use a ton of sports metaphors about the craft of writing.
Read Column →5 Writing Lessons You Can Learn From Pop Punk
May 15th, 2017
Just about every web site has articles about lessons learned from the punk music movement. Start Your Own Business The Punk Rock Way, Grow Herbs The Punk Rock Way, Find The Right Long Term Care Facility for Grandma The Punk Rock Way. Whatever the need, there’s almost certainly an article about how to do it based on the lessons learned from the punk rock movement. But what about punk rock’s cousin, pop punk?
Read Column →Tech and Product Round-up: May Edition
May 15th, 2017
image courtesy Dopamine Labs Hi gang, welcome once again to LitReactor's monthly tech and product round-up, where we take a look at all the new gadgets, apps, and whatever, filtered through the lens of writerly interest. This month, we're taking a look at a new Kindle (or, additionally, a new means of spiffing up your old Kindle). As usual, we've got plenty of ground to cover, so let's jump right in.
Read Column →Alright Kids, We’re Gonna Talk About Race: 5 Books that Get it Right
May 12th, 2017
“Alright kids, we’re gonna talk about gun control.” - Kendrick Lamar, “XXX.FT.U2” Yeah, I know it’s a little weird to start off a column about race with a quote about gun control. But the thing is, the two subjects have a lot in common. Mostly their commonality has to do with the fact that when it comes to race and guns in the United States, we rarely, if ever, talk about them. Okay, that’s not necessarily true.
Read Column →The Top 10 Craft Books on Storytelling
May 11th, 2017
Before I get into the list, I must admit that I once thought “craft books” were for hacks and shitty writers. I believed that ‘real writers’ didn't need them, and they just needed to write and read books. There is still some truth to this. Reading and writing a lot is the best way to build your craft, but my idea of craft books and writing being teachable changed the day I went to the Odessa Diner in the East Village for breakfast.
Read Column →How 'The Mists of Avalon' Redefined King Arthur from the Female Perspective
May 11th, 2017
King Arthur is a tale that just about everyone knows. Ask Joe Sixpack on the street and he would be able to tell you the basics: peasant boy pulls sword from the stone and becomes king with wizard Merlin by his side, eventually Arthur's most trusted knight Lancelot sleeps with his wife Guinevere, and eventually they seek the Holy Grail in an attempt to heal the fractured kingdom. From Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur to T.H.
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