Columns

17 of the Most Literary Science Fiction Novels

November 13th, 2013

By now we all acknowledge that science fiction isn’t pulpy wish-fulfillment for nerds and literary novels aren’t pretentious bore-fests for academics. Well, I mean, they are that, sometimes. But they can also be so much more. And despite screams of protest from fans of both genres, these paper-bound proton packs cross streams more often than you'd think, with varying results.

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Different Ways to Tell the Truth: A Primer on Creative Nonfiction Subgenres

November 13th, 2013

Yes, yes, creative nonfiction does sound like an oxymoron, and even though it seems to have become en vogue only recently, it’s really the oldest genre there is. In the long, long time ago, there was little distinction between writing that was based on fact and writing that conveyed a fictional story. I’m sure there is room for debate here, but consider the etymology of the word novel.

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Footnotes: On Vonnegut and the Semicolon

November 12th, 2013

I live ninety miles from Indianapolis, Indiana, the birthplace of Kurt Vonnegut and the capital of Midwestern mundanity, although I've long maintained this part of the country is more Mideast than Midwest. I suppose that's neither here nor there, and you probably don't care either way, unless you also live around these parts, in which case I'm the one who doesn't care.

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Think Before You Speak: 10 Words and Phrases with Potentially Offensive Origins

November 11th, 2013

Now I'm not the most P.C. of peoples, but forewarned is forearmed, and if I had four arms I still wouldn't have enough fingers to count the amount of times a day the internet takes some poor, unsuspecting schmuck to task for insensitive usage of language, warranted or not. So I have decided to compile this handy reference list of everyday words and phrases that are of potentially discriminating origin.

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The Pen and the Sword: Ten Books That Instigate Conflict and Promote Peace

November 8th, 2013

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” It’s an adage that just about everyone has heard at some point in their lives. The saying, in its most modern incarnation, originated in England with the 1839 play, Richelieu by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. But, like war itself, the proverb has circulated the globe since ancient times. Greek poet Euripides was known to have coined a similar variation, and Hamlet's Rosencrantz noted that, "...many wearing rapiers are afraid of goosequills."

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5 Reasons A Good Writing Group Can Save You

November 7th, 2013

Let’s just skip to the end. Yes. Yes, a good writing group can save you and in more ways than one. Back in 2008 I was struggling to be a writer. It’s 2013 and I am still struggling with it; I suspect I will always be struggling with it. Being a writer is damn hard, both ever changing and annoyingly static.

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10 Works That Blur the Line Between Mythology and Science Fiction

November 7th, 2013

This week, Marvel's latest movie, Thor: The Dark World, releases in theaters in the U.S. That got me thinking about the character and his rather unusual status in the early Marvel Universe. At the time Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were on a tear of creating heroes based largely around science. From Spider-Man to Ant-Man to Captain America and the Hulk, most of these characters relied on some scientific basis (no matter how far-fetched or impossible) to explain their origins. And then there was Thor, the actual God of Thunder, fighting alongside the Avengers. 

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Remember To Wear Pants: Tips for Surviving NaNoWriMo with Your Dignity Intact

November 6th, 2013

NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month) can be a lot of fun. That’s why thousands of aspiring writers participate in it every November. In addition to being a great opportunity to meet new people at the write-ins and kick-off parties, it’s also a fantastic excuse to brew gallons of coffee and spend all day in your pajamas chipping away at a story.

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Storyville: 10 Hot, Emerging, and Underappreciated Genres

November 5th, 2013

These days, quite often I find myself writing similar stories, with the same old protagonists and situations. So I’m always looking for a new way to build worlds, to fray emotions, to explore the darker sides of humanity. If you are also in a rut and want to try out something new, here are ten genres that are heating up—why not give them a whirl? Sure, in the end, you may end up sending them to the same fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary publications, but why not try something new, see where it takes you?

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Book vs. Film: "The Long Goodbye" vs. "The Big Lebowski"

November 1st, 2013

Much has already been written about the influence of Raymond Chandler’s work on the Coen Brothers’ 1998 masterpiece The Big Lebowski, a movie identified by the filmmakers as intentionally Chandler-esque. In an interview with IndieWire, when asked how much The Big Sleep (the first Phillip Marlowe novel) informed their film, the brothers said:

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