Columns

Winter Break Breakdown: The Argument Against Submitting During the Holidays

December 9th, 2015

Between last September and November, several regular writing clients of mine either closed their doors or cleaned out their freelance staff, leaving me to scramble for new contracts during December. This did not go well. Instead, the experience became a lesson in why submitting during the holidays is not a great idea, and how to survive if you have to do it anyway.   

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5 Books that Inspired Fallout

December 9th, 2015

Fallout 4 came out a couple of weeks ago, and while it's perhaps a bit of a departure from previous entries, it's still a fun game about traipsing around the wasteland and fighting mutants. Now whether you're an old fan of the franchise or you just picked up your first Fallout game last week, you already know: There's nothing quite like it out there. The mix of post-apocalyptic exploration, charming retro-futurism, and horrifying creatures is unique to the game. 

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2015 part II

December 8th, 2015

Another year has come and gone. You know what that means, don't you? Time for a bunch of strangers to tell you what was good! And why should you care what the LitReactor writers think are the best books of the year? Trick question! You shouldn't. But what they have to say might interest you nonetheless, because they are good-looking and knowledgeable and they read like the wind. So for those who care, we submit for your approval/derision some of LitReactor's favorite reads of 2015.

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Tis the Season...For Murder: 6 Holiday Murder Mysteries

December 8th, 2015

Everybody knows the holidays are all about spreading cheer and goodwill towards fellow man, but there are a surprising number of holiday themed mysteries with more than Christmas spirit in mind. While most people are baking the Christmas ham and trimming the tree, we are settling in with murder and mayhem in these six holiday murder mysteries. If you like your holidays shared with something a little more sinister, these are the books for you.

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LitReactor Community Spotlight: December 2015

December 7th, 2015

Good gravy, it's December. That means I've been doing this job for a year and a half now, since my first column (and roughly the time that I started working as the community manager) was back in May of 2014. I've grown, like, eight shoe sizes since then.

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NaNoWriMo Hangover: 8 Steps to Recovery

December 7th, 2015

If you’ve been writing for any amount of time, then you’ve probably heard of National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. The premise is simple: write 50,000 words in thirty days. The execution? Not so simple. Work ethic notwithstanding, there’s not many people built to write a solid first draft in thirty days or less. Other things like day jobs, family obligations, and the Thanksgiving holiday tend to serve as additional hurdles. I’ll be blunt here and just say it: I don’t like this system.

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10 Holiday Gifts Every Book Lover Needs This Year

December 4th, 2015

We’ve reached the part of the year when just stepping outside your house means being assailed with Mariah Carey renditions of songs about trees and sleigh bells and desperation. Add to that an army of psychotic bargain hunters and cardboard Santas holding “X days ’til Christmas!” countdown signs at every retailer’s door and it’s enough to make you want to hole up in your house with several cases of boozy nog until spring. Go ahead!

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American Horror Backstory: The Use of Flashbacks in "AHS: Hotel"

December 3rd, 2015

SPOILERS AHEAD Since it first hit airwaves back in 2011, American Horror Story has always been a complicated TV show. Generally speaking, in terms of quality, it’s been hit and miss. Character motivations, narrative continuity, and a true sense of closure at season’s end have consistently taken a backseat to maintaining a pastiche of horror tropes, horror movie homage, and comedy. Story arcs for individual episodes generally take precedent over a larger, season-spanning narrative, making the show feel at times slapdash and aimless.

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Book Launches, Portland Style

December 3rd, 2015

Launch your book with hijinks and mayhem. And doughnuts! Coffee, beer, bikes, hipsters and books. Those are the typical words associated with Portland, Oregon. Oh, and legal pot.  And doughnuts. Yup, we celebrate all the vices in our rainy left-coast city, so it’s only fitting that when it comes to launching books, our freak flag flies higher than most.

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Don't Say 'Macbeth': The Curse of the Scottish Play On Stage and Screen

December 2nd, 2015

The latest film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth hits US theaters on December 4, starring Michael Fassbender as the doomed murderer. Perhaps more than any of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth has a great deal of superstition surrounding its actual performances. Saying the title of the play during production (or even while in a theater) has long been considered the catalyst of great misfortune. There are remedies: you have to run out of the theater and spin around three times.

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