Columns

All of the Articles I Didn't Want to Write

June 20th, 2016

One of my favorite quotes about writing is by Don DeLillo, and it refers to the draft as a “hideously defective, hydrocephalic and noseless” infant. That is exactly how I've felt about certain pieces I've been commissioned to write over the years, not just when they were drafts, but when they were grown adults as well.

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What Works & What Doesn't: 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'

June 20th, 2016

Welcome back to What Works & What Doesn't. If you've been following this series of columns, you'll know we're poised to examine the dynamics of Act III, which occupies anywhere from 20 to 30 pages of your script and wraps the story up, even if—and this is important—the audience isn't necessarily "happy" with the results.

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Storyville: Contemporary Superheroes Through the Eyes of a Pre-Teen

June 13th, 2016

I was never into comic books as a child. I can remember getting up early on Saturday mornings though, to watch Johnny Quest. I can remember rushing home from school to catch Speed Racer. And there are some foggy memories of Ultraman as well as Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. There was the original live-action Batman, with Adam West, of course, and then later, the animated Super Friends, my introduction to the Justice League of America.

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10 Lessons Learned From My First Grown-Up Writing Job

June 13th, 2016

Last month I had, for one week, a real, honest-to-god, grown-up writing job. It involved some writing, and a whole lot of editing. Some social media stuff. Getting stuff in from other writers. The whole bit. I learned some shit. 1. Editors Earn Their Pay I’ll admit, when the gig came along, I saw dollar signs.

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Anne Frank: Editor Extraordinaire

June 10th, 2016

On June 12, 1942, a little girl named Annelise Frank received a diary for her birthday. It was on the small side, covered in a red and white checkered fabric, and it would go on to contain some of the most famous diary entries ever written. 

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Beyond Dickens: 8 Picaresque Novels For The Modern Reader

June 9th, 2016

A solid definition of the picaresque novel is rather hard to come by. The term “picaro,” taken from a 17th century Spanish word, typically describes a low-born hero or rogue who uses his wits to wander through various branches of society without truly belonging to any of them, moving from adventure to adventure. The picaresque employs an episodic narrative structure that still works well today, even though many readers may associate it with the past. A dose of satire is the final part of the equation.

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Your Guide to the 2016 Tony Awards

June 8th, 2016

The 70th annual Tony Awards will air on Sunday, June 12 at 8/7c, live on CBS and will be broadcast to four continents. James Corden is hosting this year and presenters include: Barbra Streisand (her first appearance at the awards since 1970), Oprah Winfrey, Cate Blanchett, Steve Martin, Carole King, and Audra McDonald. This Broadway season featured a slew of powerful, diverse, and moving new and revival productions. Here's a rundown of what's up for Best and Revival Plays and Musicals. 

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Library Love: Incunabula – Dracula’s Bookshelf

June 7th, 2016

Header image via Royal Collection Trust Vlad Dracula, also known as the Impaler (1431-1476), was a regular guy who was also a warlord and three-time prince of Wallachia, a region of modern Romania.

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Three Books About... Junkies

June 6th, 2016

The war on drugs, a battle which had fitfully sputtered in a series of minor conflicts since around 1914, finally roared into life in 1968, when Lyndon Johnson, alarmed by the Summer of Love and anxious to distract an increasingly anxious population from the war in Vietnam, decided to bolster his appeal with Middle America by cracking down on illegal drug use. To justify this use of resources and manpower, he needed a shroud to shake at potential voters — a dreadful warning about what would happen if he didn’t act.

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How Important Is Word Count? 7 Writers Discuss Their Output

June 3rd, 2016

Anyone who’s read my previous columns exploring different facets of the writing life knows how interested I am in writing routines, rituals and habits. This month I’m investigating how much writers write and just how important a daily (or weekly) word count is to each author.

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