Columns

Hide Your Mistletoe: The Bizarre Tradition of Holiday Romance

December 22nd, 2014

For a long time, one thing about Christmas and the publishing industry always eluded me, and that is the influx of awkward, holiday-themed romances with titles like Tis the Season to be Sinful or Kissing Santa Claus (yuck). If you aren’t sure what I mean, just keep your eyes peeled the next time you’re in a department store between mid September and New Years—I guarantee you’ll find at least one muscled torso wrapped in red ribbon, or jaded cowboy learning to love again with the first snowfall.

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8 Ways to Make Your Characters More Relatable

December 22nd, 2014

How does one write a compelling character? It's a question so complex that you might as well ask how to write a good book. That said, there are a number of factors that crop up again and again when we look at the characters who strike a chord with many of their readers. One such factor is relatability, and in this article, I'm going to talk about ways to make your character more relatable.

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Culling The Classics: Paradise Lost

December 19th, 2014

It's December, so everything around us is screaming Christmas. It's inescapable. What better way to celebrate the birth of God Jr. than to read a book about God Sr. and his epic battles with Satan? Trick question: there is no better way. The Book Paradise Lost, by John Milton (Samuel Simmons, 1667)

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A Generation of People Shunned Standards in Writing and Journalism...You Won't BELIEVE What Happened Next!

December 19th, 2014

Let me be clear from the start: the sky is not falling. This essay is about what's happened to the former art of the editorial, and a criticism of tyrannical histrionics, so I need to state up top that I think we're in a period of transition. At least, I'm hopeful that we're in the temporary yellow-journalism stage of writing on the Internet (he said, writing an opinionated and subjective essay to be published on the Internet).

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Why The F*ck Aren’t You Reading Fuminori Nakamura?

December 18th, 2014

Image via LA Times Why The F*ck Aren't You Reading? is a feature where the columnist spotlights a writer who has a dedicated following and is well known within the writing community, but hasn't achieved the elephant-in-the-room style success of a Stephen King or Gillian Flynn—But they deserve to, dammit! Hopefully the column will help gain the author featured a few more well-deserved readers.

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Finding the Big in the Very Small with Tanka Poetry

December 18th, 2014

When I was 19 or so, I picked up a book of poems that altered the way I look at writing. Akiko Yosano (or Yosano Shiyo) revolutionized traditional Japanese poetry in the late 19th century, but hers is not a name often cited in Western literary circles. A complete antithesis of the lengthy, florid poetry of the Victorian era, Yosano’s work is fierce and openly sensual. While reading her book, titled Midaregami, I was floored by the short pieces that seemed to make up a whole person when stitched together.

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2014 (part 2)

December 18th, 2014

Another year has come and gone. You know what that means, don't you? Time for a bunch of strangers to tell you what was good! And why should you care what the LitReactor writers think are the best books of the year? Trick question! You shouldn't. But what they have to say might interest you nonetheless, because they are good-looking and knowledgeable and they read like the wind. So for those who care, we submit for your approval/derision some of LitReactor's favorite reads of 2014.

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A Very YA Christmas: 5 Young Adult Novels with Holiday Themes

December 17th, 2014

The holidays are upon us, and the young adults are on break from school. What better way to get in the Yuletide spirit than with five YA novels celebrating the spirit of the season, from Christmas on to New Year’s Day? These five selections perfectly capture the atmosphere of the holidays, with plenty of snow, Christmas themes, and good old holiday cheer.

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The Ethical Author

December 17th, 2014

I recently received an email that linked to an opinion piece about how authors should be more ethical in our approach to marketing our books. This stopped me for a minute, as I feel my personal business practices are always ethical. But are they?

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Storyville: Advance Your Writing Career—NOW!

December 16th, 2014

This edition of Storyville is really for the more developed author—those of you who have published some stories, gotten in a few places, maybe put out a novel or collection, gotten an MFA—in other words, really put themselves out there, and had a bit of success, and shown that they’re serious about it all. Of course, if you’re new and still trying to break out, these tips can hopefully help you, too. But if you’re not quite to this level yet, don’t worry, keep at it—you'll get there.

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