Columns

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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11 Tips For Startup Publishers With A Small Budget

June 17th, 2015

This isn't an exhaustive guide to starting up a publishing house. That would require an entire book (yes I'm open to a book deal if anyone wants to get in touch). This is what it says it is. Ten tips. Not necessarily the top ten tips, but tips that will set you up nicely as you begin your journey into the world of publishing.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald reviews 'Rich Kids of Instagram'

June 17th, 2015

Maya Sloan's novel Rich Kids of Instagram, published in July 2014 and based on the popular Tumblr account of the same name, documents the fictional lives of a group of wildly rich and dissolute young people who like to party in the Hamptons. Here, F. Scott Fitzgerald, best known for his classic work The Great Gatsby is alerted to the existence of Sloan's book by his friend Ernest Hemingway.

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The Other California: A Don Winslow Primer

June 15th, 2015

Author photo by Jerry Bauer When you think crime fiction and California, the first city to jump to mind is Los Angeles. L.A. is a staple: Chandler, McDonald, Wambaugh, Connelly, Ellroy, and Parker are among just a few to base their greatest creations out of the City Of Angels. And who can really blame them? Los Angeles is grit and grime. L.A. is glitz and sleaze; it’s the best (or worst, depending on your point of view) example of American excess blended with its rabid poverty. More or less, it’s the ideal city to place a crime story.

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Voices From the Red-Light District: 10 Books About Prostitutes

June 12th, 2015

Courtesan, soiled dove, escort, demimondaine; there are many labels for a practitioner of the world’s oldest profession. Easily one of the most socially marginalized groups in human history, prostitutes have also served as muses for a number of highly complex characters. Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Stephen Crane, Bernard Shaw, and many other authors drew inspiration from the complicated and often extremely difficult lives of the women (and men) from the red-light district.

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Advice From A Literary Character: Dean Moriarty

June 11th, 2015

When it comes to life’s big questions, we rely on many different people for advice: family, friends, mentors, loved ones, and sometimes even strangers. How would our favorite literary characters answer these same questions? How would their words compare to the words of those we trust the most? Let’s find out! For LitReactor’s first round of Advice From A Literary Character, Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road is here to answer your questions.

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