Columns

Story Development for Pantsers

August 16th, 2022

Original image by Hamed darzi via Unsplash You’re either a pantser or a plotter. You have to pick one, according to the conventional wisdom of modern writing. The term "pantser" comes from the idea of “flying by the seat of your pants.” It describes a writer who starts with minimal story or character detail—no formal outline, nothing written down—who just makes things up as they go. A plotter is the opposite.

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Alan Moore's Incredibly Underrated Writing Guide

August 15th, 2022

Writing Down The Bones, Bird By Bird, The Elements of Style, and On Writing: the Mount Rushmore of “How to write books.” Alan Moore’s Writing For Comics isn’t up there. Why? Is it because he's English? Writing For Comics belongs up there with the greats. It’s thoughtful, it’s a quick read, and holy shit, it’ll save you a ton of time and heartache as a beginning writer. The advice is practical and it's easy to apply yourself.

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Dear Writers: Stop Trying To Build A 'Brand' Or A 'Platform'

August 11th, 2022

It's common for writers who are starting out to wonder how they can build a brand or a platform for themselves.  Supposedly this will get them noticed by agents and editors. It'll help them grow their follower count so they're ready for their eventual book deal. It's the first step in building a reader base and a career.  It's also a bunch of bullshit. 

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I Fell In Love With Reading My Work Out Loud - To Others

August 11th, 2022

About a month ago I was at my second grad school residency (the first to be in-person). Before going I’d made a goal to read my work aloud at every opportunity; and so over the course of 10 days in Vermont, I read the opening to a first draft of a YA novel on two separate occasions; read a very personal poem about depression; read some poems from my senior year of high school; and read work that I’d created over the course of the residency itself.

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How Do You Choose the Best Conventions and Writers Retreats?

August 8th, 2022

Header image via E. Hebishy As conventions return to normal schedules, there are a lot to choose from, whether you are a writer, reader, fan, or reviewer. Depending on your goals, the best conventions for you may differ from someone else, but generally speaking a “good” convention is one that delivers for all parties involved.

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10 Great First Lines Analyzed

August 5th, 2022

A lot hangs on a story’s first line. Pragmatically speaking, it’s the first place (well, after the title) where you might lose a reader, and so many writers approach first lines with self-consciousness or a kind of literary showmanship.

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Writing Advice for Non-Writers

August 4th, 2022

You’re not a writer, but you have to write something. HUGE fucking nightmare, right? You’re a best man, you’ve got to say a few words at a funeral, you’ve been asked to write something up to promote your business or to say a few kind words about someone. Let's not panic. I've got a few quick tips that'll guarantee you won't embarrass yourself.  What Do I Write About? Okay, so you’ve got your assignment. What do you say?

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Requiem For Elizabeth V. Aldrich (October 9th, 1992–July 10th, 2022)

August 3rd, 2022

Last month, the literary village suffered, and continues to mourn, the immeasurable loss of firebrand author Elizabeth V. Aldrich, known to the community as Eris; as Lizzie to her closer circle and father, James Allnutt. She would be thirty years old this fall.

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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: 10 Dark Nautical Novels

August 1st, 2022

Summer evokes thoughts of warm sands and blue waters, but the ocean has a stranger, darker side. H.P. Lovecraft’s fascination with the depths is clear in “Night Ocean,” his collaboration with R.H. Barlow: “There are men, and wise men, who do not like the sea and its lapping surf on yellow shores; and they think us strange who love the mystery of the ancient and unending deep. Yet for me there is a haunting and inscrutable glamour in all the ocean’s moods.

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Is My MFA Worth It? For the Sense of Belonging, It Is

July 29th, 2022

Header image via T. Winstead I’ve been staring at a blank page trying to start this article for 30 minutes now. Because how do I encapsulate the experience of a lifetime into a few hundred words? How do I break down all the learning and growing of the first semester of my MFA program into one column? I’ll do my best.

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