Columns

Book vs. Film: "The Fault in Our Stars"

June 11th, 2014

WARNING: Spoilers freely discussed.

Read Column →

Fiction Shmiction: The Science of Stories and Unconscious Beliefs

June 9th, 2014

In my previous article in this series I tried to convince you of one of my core beliefs: That the stories we tell matter because they become the fabric of the world we live in. One of the more interesting reader comments on that article guides us nicely to the core of the next issue I want to talk about. JYH wrote:

Read Column →

5 Dreadful Memoirs You Never Have to Read

June 6th, 2014

What makes a memoir truly and abysmally bad? Leonard Pinth-Garnell, the host of SNL’s series of sketches dedicated to “Bad Red Chinese Ballet,” “Bad Conceptual Theater,” and other memorably dreadful works of performance art, offered only evaluations, not analyses. “Stunningly bad.” “Exquisitely awful.” Pinth-G was inevitably on target — the art he reviewed was nothing if not bad! bad! bad! Pinning down the reasons is a tougher task. Here are a few tentative explanations:

Read Column →

Presence on the Page: What It Is, and What It Isn’t

June 6th, 2014

Acquisitions editors will tell you that, beyond a solid command of craft and a good yarn, what they’re looking for is this ineffable something known as presence on the page—a literary critter so elusive, so infrequently and sketchily described, it might as well be Sasquatch. What is this beast so many editors spend their days in search of? And why is it so critical to your chances of publication? 

Read Column →

Storyville: How to Put Together an Anthology

June 5th, 2014

Have you ever wondered how editors put together anthologies? Maybe you’ve thought about editing one yourself.

Read Column →

Footnotes: Psycho

June 5th, 2014

Footnotes is a look at how specific works of fiction were shaped by the culture of their time and how those works shaped the culture -- and are still shaping it. In an interview for Douglas Winter's 1985 book Faces of Fear, Robert Bloch admitted that writing a psychopath is an uncomplicated process. Become one yourself, he said, which, as one might expect, is a rather effortless endeavor once you find your footing.

Read Column →

The Master of Hard Sci-Fi: A Larry Niven Primer

June 4th, 2014

Those who spend significant time reading science fiction inevitably run across the name Larry Niven. That’s because he’s such a longstanding master of the genre, and has earned himself a place in the pantheon of science fiction gods. Or cyborgs. Or alien forebears? Whatever it is we worship in science fiction, Niven is it. He earned plenty of awards, too. He won the Hugo award five times and was nominated nineteen times. He also racked up four Locus wins and a Nebula award, not to mention the dozens of other awards he’s been nominated for.

Read Column →

8 Hot Summer YA Releases

June 3rd, 2014

With a long list of hot new YA releases coming out this summer, there's something for everyone. From highly anticipated sequels from big name authors like Cassandra Clare and Sara Shepard to contemporary gems from Sarah Ockler and Rebekah Crane, there's plenty to be excited about. Whether you enjoy your young adult steeped in fantasy or prefer a fresh contemporary take, we've got the rundown on hot books to keep you busy through the dog days of summer.

Read Column →

10 Reasons You Should Be Writing Memoir Right Now

June 2nd, 2014

Memoir is hot right now—and has been since, roughly, the rise of the Internet. What with folks posting and blogging and tweeting their biz all day, everybody’s everything is suddenly a story, and more readers than ever have discovered that it can be fascinating to read about real stuff that happened to real people (especially if those people actually know how to write).

Read Column →

Faded Pages: Bridge to Terabithia

May 30th, 2014

I was an awkward kid, and have only recently begun to cope with being an awkward human. Talking with friends later in life, I’ve been heartened in that it seems everyone felt like an outcast when they were thirteen. It's a strange time: too old for childish things, too young to be a proper adult.

Read Column →