Columns

Book vs. Film: 'The Martian'

October 12th, 2015

[WARNING!: Contains spoilers for both The Martian novel and The Martian film]

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Writing the Unknown Setting: 8 Tips on Conducting a Research Trip for your WIP

October 12th, 2015

In the age of social media, Google Earth, and everyone’s tendency to add “-gate” to the end of all mistakes, it’s more important than ever to get setting right. Location can be as important to one’s novel as the title or the main character’s backstory—but every now and then, you may need to set your book in a place you don’t know very well. 

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'Haunted', the Album inspired by Mark Z. Danielewski's 'House of Leaves'

October 9th, 2015

Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves was released 15 years ago, and in the time since the enigmatic novel has developed a bit of a cult following. Part horror fiction, part academic satire, it is mostly remembered for its ergodic page layout and unconventional style.

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LitReactor Community Spotlight: October 2015

October 9th, 2015

This October has given us our own horrors to deal with. Another school shooting in Oregon, another day. It's getting harder to scare people, because I think in a lot of ways, people are starting to realize how scary our world can actually be. We're used to fear.

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Storyville: Playing With Point of View

October 8th, 2015

Think about how major events happen in your life, and the way those moments ripple outward like a stone tossed into a body of water. What did you see, think and feel? How about the other people at the center of that story? And as your narrative expands, how does that trickle down and affect others? What is the truth in those moments, and how does that change? Today we’re talking about point of view in fiction, perspective, and truth.

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Five Situations Horror Characters Get Themselves Into (and What Would Happen in Real Life)

October 8th, 2015

Clichés and tropes abound in horror movies. No matter what film you go to see on Halloween night, it always seems like something predictable happens at least once: the blonde girl trips while running from the serial killer; the car doesn’t start at the worst possible moment; a group of victims brainstorm the brilliant idea to split up. There are whole lists of faux pas our favorite movies make, even if we enjoy screaming right along with the characters while they’re being committed.

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Polishing the All-Important First Fives

October 7th, 2015

It’s no surprise that beginnings are hard. When you finally find your manuscript in the hands of an editor or agent, you want to make the best first impression you possibly can—and fast. A lot of times that means within the first five pages, but focusing on the first five sentences, or even words, of your manuscript can help you get over that hump and make the reader want to move further.

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Do It Right, Write Plotless Reviews

October 7th, 2015

Nobody needs a book summary from you. Sorry.  You can find a book summary anywhere. There's a whole flap on the cover that summarizes the plot. There's the Amazon description. There's the Goodreads reviews. There's a white bar at the top of every electronic screen where you can type in the title of a book and then see what happens. There are plenty of summary options. We don't need your book summary.

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Five New (and Newish) Horror Markets for Short Fiction

October 7th, 2015

Fall is upon us. Just in time for Halloween, I thought I’d give you a reason to send out some short story submissions. Maybe dust off that piece you've been meaning to finish but didn’t think there’d be a market for. Or maybe you need an excuse to write something horrifying and new. 

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4 Things the Wild Success of 'Mr. Robot' Can Teach Us About Writing

October 5th, 2015

A few weeks back I wrote a column explaining what we could learn about storytelling from the failures of True Detective Season 2. Today's column is dedicated to another series which aired on television about the same time as TD2. Like TD2, this series breaks many of the conventions we associate with primetime drama. But where TD2 failed, this series triumphed. Spectacularly.

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