Columns

Speak Up: On The Importance Of Reading Out Loud

December 16th, 2013

Reading out loud will make you a better writer. You probably know this already, but I just had to say it. It’s certainly an attention grabbing first sentence, isn’t it? Or, it would have been, had the 'importance of reading out loud' not been smack dab in the middle of our little headline up there. But it is. And so it is. So should you read the following out loud? There’s nothing and no one stopping you, so give it a spin. I can promise that it’ll sound okay at best and will probably act as a rather fine lesson on how not to ramble.

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10 Great Geek Gift Ideas for the Holidays

December 13th, 2013

Know some geeks? Sure you do! Here’s what to get them this year for the holidays. I even managed to include a few books!

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Culling The Classics: The Hobbit

December 13th, 2013

And what is a hobbit? Hobbits are little people, smaller than dwarfs. They love peace and quiet and good tilled earth. They dislike machines, but they are handy with tools. They are nimble but don't like to hurry. They have sharp ears and eyes. They are inclined to be fat. They wear bright colors but seldom wear shoes. They like to laugh and eat (six meals a day) and drink. They like parties and they like to give and receive presents. They inhabit a land they call The Shire, a place between the River Brandywine and the Far Downs.

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Magical Thinking and Santa Claus: How Holidays Help Create Writers

December 13th, 2013

Holiday memories are often tinged with a sense of the surreal, due in part to the strange cast of mythological figures we have come to associate them with. Rational, mentally fit adults will insist that on Christmas Eve of 1987, they really did see Santa’s boots under the crack of a bedroom door. And how can that one Easter be explained, when there were muddy rabbit prints all over the front steps?

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Storyville: My Ten Favorite Short Stories of 2013

December 12th, 2013

Before people get their noses all bent out of shape, here are the parameters for my selections. These are not the best stories of 2013, because I obviously cannot read every story written, every literary journal, every genre anthology. These are merely my ten FAVORITE stories of 2013. For the most part, these were released in 2013, a few from late in 2012, but they are all stories that I read for the first time this year. So, some of these stories may have originally been published a few years ago, but I tried to make this as current as possible.

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Dystropia: The Christmas Edition!

December 12th, 2013

Somewhere situated between Easter Island and Papua New Guinea, perfectly pinned on a straight line between the Great Pyramid and the Nazca Lines lies the Isle of Dystropia, the place where every cliché and worn-out convention sticks out like rubble in the sand. Pawing through the debris, you'll find the trope that may just make or break your story. Each installment, we'll explore a different literary platitude, examining it for its various strengths and weaknesses. Set sail for Dystropia, where you might just learn something about your writing and yourself.

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It's Made Of SCIENCE: Evolution

December 11th, 2013

No, I did not intentionally do this close to Christmas to make a point. Pinky promise.

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10 Reasons Why the Grinch Is Better than Santa Claus

December 11th, 2013

The Grinch is such a minor holiday character. He's less than a demigod in a Christmas pantheon filled with Santa, a secret brotherhood of reindeer, a talking snowman, and who knows how many elves. It’s time to give the Grinch his due. In fact, it’s time to face the truth that Dr. Seuss created a Christmas character superior to old St. Nick. What the Grinch lacks in history, he makes up for in many other ways. Here are the reasons why the Grinch is better than Santa Claus.

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Elan Gale, Viral Narrative, and Why It Matters

December 11th, 2013

This year marked the first Thanksgiving I ever spent away from my family. I have to admit, I was not quite prepared for how lonely it would make me feel. As far as gatherings go, Thanksgiving has not ever featured very heavily in terms of priority for my extended clan, but still, my roommates were out of town and with a significant other, respectively, and spending the eve and most of the day of what is theoretically a major holiday alone in chilly New York proved to be more disheartening than I anticipated.

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Fifteen Twisted Christmas Tales

December 10th, 2013

‘Tis the season and blah blah blah. Okay, I’m not really an Ebenezer (or Scrooge, if you will) when it comes to the holidays. Christmas is cool by me. BUT, I do like celebrating this festive, historically complicated holiday on my own terms. I go out of my way to find alternative or offbeat Christmas music (and not just run-of-the-mill punk covers of “Jingle Bells” or whatnot). Books, TV and movies themed around the holidays must be a little strange to meet my approval. 

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