Columns

5 Essential Brain Hacks for Fiction

July 11th, 2014

At first glance, neuroscience and fiction may seem strange bedfellows. But as it turns out, when you hook up the average human being to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and give them a novel to read, a veritable Fourth of July goes off in some niftily specific areas of their brain.  Which should be of particular interest to any bona fide lit geek.

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Take Your Characters Out to Lunch: 5 Development Exercises

July 11th, 2014

The words “character building exercise” sound approximately as fun as changing the cat’s litter box or cleaning the gutters. Exercise is rarely enticing until you actually begin doing it, even when it’s for storytelling muscles instead of glutes or biceps. 

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Book vs. Film vs. Mini-series: 'Rosemary's Baby'

July 9th, 2014

Disclaimer: I assume most people nowadays are familiar with the twist ending to this narrative, so I discuss it freely here. Even if you've never read the book or seen either movie, you probably know how they end. But just in case you don't, go watch the Polanski film at least. It's even on Netflix Instant Watch, so you have no excuse.

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5 Classic Authors Who Hated Their Book Covers (and One Who Got His Ass Kicked as a Result)

July 7th, 2014

In recent columns, I’ve given book cover designers a shit-ton of credit. This is (maybe) the column where I pull my head out of my ass and have a cup of fancy tea with something approximating objectivity.

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Culling Your To-Be-Read List

July 3rd, 2014

Because I make poor financial decisions—such as purchasing inflatable pickles and American flag fanny packs—I found myself needing to downsize apartments in a bid to get my spending under control. Seriously, my Amazon purchase history is downright shameful, and now I'm paying the price.

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Confessions of a New Adult Addict

July 3rd, 2014

It’s no secret that I love Young Adult novels. I mean, reading about the firsts in life just gives me that little thrill and brings me right back to my own high school days where everything was absolutely of the utmost importance and the big, scary world was just starting to make sense. I’ll always love reading Young Adult, but as I get farther away from my own young adult days I find myself wanting stories that depict what happens after those turbulent times. I want to see what happens after high school graduation, when things can get really complicated.

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The Five Predicted Outcomes of Hachette vs. Amazon

July 2nd, 2014

The latest chapter in the tale of Amazon Vs. Everything You Hold Dear involves contentious negotiations between the aforementioned free market juggernaut and the publisher Hachette.

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LitReactor Community Spotlight: June 2014

July 1st, 2014

June has been a hot month here. Seriously, I'm sitting here in my leopard-print autographed underwear writing this, because the air conditioner in my car doesn't work, and I just drove home. And I can't find my coffee mug. I think it melted.

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UPDATED WITH WINNER - LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: June Edition

June 30th, 2014

Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity. Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess. How It Works We give you inspiration in the form of a picture, poem, video, or similar. You write a flash fiction piece using the inspiration we gave you. Put your entry in the comments section. One winner will be picked and awarded a prize.

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Prose & Conversation: 'Tampa' by Alissa Nutting

June 30th, 2014

Sex. It can be an awkward topic, especially when you're talking about it with someone you've never met IRL.  Sex. With minors. Even more awkward and difficult to discuss. So of course Richard and I just had to read and talk about Tampa, Alissa Nutting's controversial novel about a teacher who...well, read on to watch us LOL our way through a discussion of some of humanities basest needs...and why we can't decide how we feel about this book!

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