Columns

My Summer of Sarah Dessen

June 26th, 2015

When it comes to long, sultry nights and first kisses on the beach, no author does summertime quite like Sarah Dessen. With her latest novel, Saint Anything, released this past May, I was prompted to go back and re-read her impressive backlist.

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DIY Book Covers for the Self Publishing-Inclined Part 2

June 25th, 2015

Welcome back to the second part of my cover design crash course. Last time, we talked a little about sourcing stock photography, combining photos, and the the dubious technique of just sticking a striking stock image behind some typography and calling it a day. Last Time Here's what we did for our three fictional books: Better Strangers, Bad Ritual and Black Waves.

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Storyville: Writer’s Block—Where It Comes From, and How to Break Through

June 24th, 2015

We’ve all been there—you stall on the fourth page, or can’t finish the story with any impact, or maybe the novel just lost your interest. Where does writer’s block come from, and how can you break through? Here are some ideas. Hope they help. WHERE DOES YOUR BLOCK COME FROM? CONFLICT

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Product Review: KleverCase Cover For Tablets and eReaders

June 24th, 2015

You know the argument by now: eBooks are inherently inferior because they're delivered via a cold tablet device that lacks the material warmth of a physical book. Enter the KleverCase, an aptly named cover for Kindle and iPad Mini devices, which adds some of that warmth back to technology. Every cover is handcrafted at The Manor Bindery, a family business based in New Forest, England, and features either a classic book cover design (Sherlock Holmes or Alice in Wonderland, for instance), or a universal cover without a title or jacket design.

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5 Ways to Fall in Love with Your Character

June 23rd, 2015

I remember the first time I fell in love with a character in my writing. There I was at two in the morning, typing the last few words of my first ever novel-length manuscript, when it hit me. I didn’t think I could live—or write—without him in my life.

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10 Reasons To Draft 10 Times

June 22nd, 2015

There was this time I had to write something, and it had to be perfect. I was headed to a workshop with my idol. I wanted to know what one of my literary heroes thought of my work, and I wanted to know what he thought of my best work. I had to know. I'm a drafter. I write something, then revise, revise, revise again. I’m a drafter, so when it came to writing something important, I stuck to the one trick I knew: relentless revision. Relentless, punishing revision that melted my damn eyeballs.

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Tips for the Traveling Writer

June 22nd, 2015

If you live anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are good that you’re on the brink of some of the nicest weather of the year. Chances are also good that you would rather not spend the entire summer stapled to a desk. The beautiful thing about being a writer is that there's no need, because the most important components of the work can be done from just about anywhere. Even if writing is a part-time or hobbyist endeavor, travel is one of the best ways to fuel inspiration and break out of a lethargic, counterproductive day-to-day routine.

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5 Great Books About the Craft of Writing

June 19th, 2015

Writing is hard. Sometimes you need advice or inspiration, or you just want to read something that's gonna put you in the headspace for writing. Books can't teach you how to write, but there are some that I enjoy flipping through now and then, be it for inspiration or a much needed dose of encouragement. Reading about how other writers struggle (the inevitable chapter in every book about writing I've read so far) is sometimes enough to push me to write.

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Crichton's World: From Spielberg to Trevorrow

June 19th, 2015

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Michael Crichton's novel Jurassic Park, a book that would spawn one major blockbuster knockout film, two not-so-great sequels, and piles of merchandise to rival George Lucas's cash-cow Star Wars. Fittingly, 2015 also marks the return of the franchise to the big screen with Jurassic World, which shows us a fully-functioning dinosaur park that exceeds even the imagination of John Hammond.

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Writing Life

June 18th, 2015

It all started at a writer's conference in Minneapolis earlier this year. There I stood, shivering, cheap red wine clutched in my trembling hand, leaning against a fence outside a run-down warehouse in a part of town our Uber driver scoffed at. "There," he said, his accent thick and meaty. "You want to go there? Well, okay, suit yourself."

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