Columns

Believing In the Nonexistent: An Introduction to Fictional Realism

May 9th, 2014

When a writer creates a nonexistent, fictional object, that creation has a life beyond the immediate page. Readers sympathize with or loathe characters, and long to visit fantastical places. Have you ever wished that you really knew Lisbeth Salander or Atticus Finch? Or that Rivendell existed so that you could go there next spring break? Fictional realists argue that theoretically, all of those places and people do exist.

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Book vs. Film: 'The Killer Inside Me'

May 8th, 2014

WARNING: Spoilers discussed freely.

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Screenwriting: Turn Turn Turn

May 8th, 2014

Great art happens in the curves.  Any hobbyist with a grasp of the rudiments can take a concept in a straight line but, whether it's classical ballet, comic books, Formula One or dressage, the measure of a true artist is how they master the turns.

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Fiction Shmiction: How Writing Creates the World

May 7th, 2014

Today's task is pretty straightforward: I want to show you why I believe that fiction isn't just important in the realm of fiction—why stories aren't just stories—why the word "just" is as unjust as you can imagine. Because stories ... stories are everything.

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Storyville: Death in Fiction

May 6th, 2014

So, when you sit down to write, how often do you kill off some of your characters? Is it every single story? What if I told you that you couldn’t kill anyone in your next bit of fiction? Could you do it? What would that experience feel like, what would be left, if we took away your crutch? Can you risk it all on the page without your characters dying? IF you must kill people—when, how, and why? Let’s talk about death in fiction.

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Culling The Classics: One Hundred Years of Solitude

May 2nd, 2014

There was an unwritten rule when "Culling The Classics" began that, whatever else one might be able to say about a book, it had to be at least 50 years old to qualify as a "classic" for our purposes. First published in 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude still has three years before it officially reaches that "classic" age, but sadly Gabriel García Márquez died last month, and this is the best way I knew to honor him. And besides, every rule deserves an exception.

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5 Great Memoirs, from Bette Davis to the Rolling Stones

May 2nd, 2014

Writing about oneself carries risks. A life that’s been fascinating to you may be dull as dishwater to everyone else. Honesty, a requirement for memoirs, may lead to humiliation, as you slip open your dingy raincoat and expose your dirty secrets for the sake of grabbing some attention only to find that readers look at them and laugh. Libel looms large; if you aren’t careful, telling the unvarnished truth may result in multiple lawsuits. And writing a great autobiography means knowing how to treat yourself as a well-rounded character.

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The Peak We Leave Behind: Loving Authors Past Their Prime

May 1st, 2014

Mourning authors is painful, particularly when they’re not dead yet. Long before our favorite authors go to the big word processor in the sky, they often experience another kind of death.

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UPDATED WITH WINNER - LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: April (Poetry Month) Edition

April 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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Writers: Do You Need A Lawyer?

April 30th, 2014

Like death and taxes, lawyers are one of those unpleasant necessities in life. At some stage, whether it’s buying a house, writing your will, starting your own business, or getting into a dispute, you will probably need the help of a lawyer. And it’s not the lawyers themselves that are unpleasant (can I admit to a little bit of an ironic laugh whilst typing that?), it’s just that the fees they charge aren’t something your average American can afford. So, as an author, will you need a lawyer?

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