Columns

The Linguistic Turn: Explorations at the Edge of Language

May 19th, 2015

In 1936, Oxford logician A.J. Ayer gave an intriguing speech on the nature of language. He said: The philosopher, as an analyst, is not directly concerned with the physical properties of things. He is concerned only with the way in which we speak about them.

Read Column →

Storyville: 10 Ways to Fool Your Readers

May 18th, 2015

So today we’re going to talk about ways to fool your readers. How can you distract them, divert their attention, present evidence that is misleading, or incorrect, lead them down a dead end alley only to spring a trap on them, pull the rug out from under their feet, and dazzle them with your clever writing? Here are ten tips—I hope they help.

Read Column →

Path to Publication 3.7: What Goes Into Designing A Book Cover?

May 18th, 2015

Polis Books will release my debut novel, New Yorked, in June, with the follow-up, City of Rose, slated to follow in 2016. This is a column about taking a book over the finish line. Fact: People judge books by their covers.

Read Column →

My Digitization Nightmare: 10 Ways To Fail While Digitizing Your Work

May 15th, 2015

I don't know much about life hacks. I don't know a lot about the finer points of Evernote. And I definitely don't understand the life-saving magic of tidying up. I missed that class at Hogwart's, I guess. What I do know is that I just moved. As in, moved from one house to another. As in, carried every item I own, in my arms, out one door and into another.

Read Column →

Product Review: Logitech Keys-To-Go Keyboard for iPad

May 14th, 2015

all images © Logitech.com About a year ago, I reviewed the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air, a sleek piece of tech that made writing on the iPad a breeze.

Read Column →

Three Books About... Transformation

May 14th, 2015

The filmmaker David Cronenberg, a man you could reasonably say is obsessed with transformation, begins an essay on the subject in the Paris Review like this: I woke up one morning recently to discover that I was a seventy-year-old man.

Read Column →

The Familiar Volume 1: Where the Hell is Danielewski Going With This?

May 13th, 2015

On September 15, 2010, it was announced that Mark Z. Danielewski was working on a twenty-seven volume serial novel about "a twelve-year-old girl who finds a kitten." The internet's collective head

Read Column →

From Short Story to Film: How I (Co-)Wrote My First Movie Script

May 12th, 2015

On a sunny day in early March, I met a guy. No, no, not like that. Shut up.

Read Column →

10 Bloodlust-Satisfying Deaths in Fiction

May 8th, 2015

First Warning: MAJOR Spoilers Ahead You hear this advice given to writers all the time: create complicated, realistic characters in your fiction. No one likes a one-dimensional, one-note hero—give us depth, let us empathize.   

Read Column →

Faust, Facebook, and the Future of Media

May 8th, 2015

Is Facebook Mephistopheles, or a misunderstood trendsetter? Whichever the answer, there are certainly changes afoot in the media industry. What began as rumor in 2014 appears now to be on the brink of confirmation: the social media giant wants to sign contracts with an eclectic group of media organizations, including the New York Times, BuzzFeed, and National Geographic.

Read Column →