Columns

On The Rituals Of Writers: New Books, Burnt Offerings, and Fried Zucchini

October 11th, 2016

Twelve years ago, I visited a hostel in the Georgia woods. It's so remote that, when you arrive, you feel like you got lost on your way to the middle of nowhere. Guests stayed in tree houses and everyone contributed to the chores and all the main buildings of the camp—the kitchen, the main office, the library—were geodesic domes that looked like mushrooms sprung out of the forest floor. 

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8 Ways To Salvage Your Yearly Writing Goals

October 10th, 2016

I definitely don’t want to alarm anyone, but I’m here to tell you that there are twelve weeks left in 2016. That’s right, twelve weeks. Until 2017. (Cue frantic flailing and musings on where the year has gone). Surely it was just yesterday that we were setting New Year’s Resolutions and laying out our lofty plans for a prolific year of writing, right?

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Why Luke Cage is the Superhero We Need

October 10th, 2016

The first time Luke Cage came to my notice was in the pages of 2004’s Secret War. Cage was among the heroes recruited by Nick Fury for an unsanctioned covert regime-change operation in Latveria, and was also the first to suffer retaliation for it in the form of an explosion that leaves him comatose. In the hospital we learn that his unbreakable skin does not negate internal damage, but it does keep doctors from operating on him.

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Four Life Lessons I Learned from Reading 'The Girl on the Train'

October 10th, 2016

The Girl on the Train​ is a bestseller. It's also a movie. But if you think that's all it is, you'd be very, very wrong because the Girl on the Train ​is more, so much more than just those two things. After I'd finished it and pondered for a while what all the fuss was about, it suddenly struck me, as hard as as if someone had hit me square on the forehead with a hardened bread pellet, that ​​hidden in amongst its pedestrian prose and improbable plotting are messages of timeless wisdom.

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Product Review: Scrivener for iOS

October 6th, 2016

Two years ago and some change, I reviewed the desktop word processor Scrivener for this site. In it, I alluded to the possibility of a mobile iteration of Literature & Latte's signature software.

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10 Reasons Why Social Media Doesn't Do A Damn Thing For Writers

October 5th, 2016

"I did all this hard work, built up all this social media, and still no one's buying my book? What's up?" We've all been there. And what's up could be that your book sucks (likely) or your social media sucks (likely), but it could also be that social media is worthless for writers. That's my premise. You knew that from the title, right? Let's get to it. Your Book Is Your Baby This is not a good thing in this context.

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23 Translations: What Your Editor's Queries REALLY Mean

October 4th, 2016

Editors know there is an art to writing author queries. If you've reached the thrilling and terrifying point in your writing career where you work with a professional editor, then you know what I’m talking about. If you aren’t quite there yet, then boy oh boy, allow me to dangle an enticing carrot on a stick.  “Author query” can be a confusing term. We know how frustrating and delicate writing queries for agents and publishers can be, but this is a whole other circus: the query from the Other Side.

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4 Ways To Develop Your Non-Fiction Voice

October 3rd, 2016

I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. My thoughts are if you dig something, you dig it. That’s all, end of story.

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Michel Houellebecq: The Best French Writer You Aren't Reading

September 30th, 2016

Michel Houellebecq is known as one of the most celebrated and controversial authors today. If you haven't read him yet, you should. 

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Tech and Product Round-Up: September Edition

September 28th, 2016

Welcome to the monthly tech news round-up. I've got some cool stuff from Shelfie, as well as anything you fellow writers out there might like to know about Apple's newest iPhones and mobile operating system, iOS 10. And finally, there's a bookmarklet I just discovered the other day that allows you to easily turn webpages into ePub books. There's a fair amount of ground to cover, so let's get started.

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