Columns

Hollywood's Science Fiction Problem

September 6th, 2013

As a fan of science fiction, I am often excited when Hollywood decides to make a sci-fi movie. Or at least, I used to be. These days it seems exceedingly rare that science fiction feature films are any good. At best they’re lackluster or confusing. At the worst, they make me want to throw things at the screen.

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Gridiron Blues: Authors Reflect on Football Fandom

September 5th, 2013

Living in southern California, I never understood why my father and I rooted for the Miami Dolphins. He was born in Kentucky and moved with his family to Bakersfield, California as a young child. I lived in Bakersfield until a week after high school graduation. I've never asked how he became a Dolphins fan, and in the dark days after Dan Marino retired, when I denounced the team and the sport entirely, I found I couldn't give the Dolphins up so easily. Religion is an easier thing to leave behind than a favorite team.

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Book vs. Film: How The Wolverine Masters the Art of Adaptation

September 5th, 2013

When two things you love come together—like, say, comic books and movies— it’s hard not to get excited. You love both of those things! How could combining them be anything but awesome? That was and sometimes still is my initial reaction whenever rumors surface of the next superhero to get a shot at the big screen. Even though I know better, I just can’t help myself. If you’ve been a dedicated fan for more than a decade, these increasingly common Hollywood flare-ups have been the source of a great deal of disappointment and frustration.

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Storyville: 10 Ways to Evaluate Your Writing Career

September 4th, 2013

If you’ve been writing for a few years, you may be curious if you’re making any progress. How exactly is your career going? Is it still in the “hobby” phase or have you gotten serious about it? Is your work getting out there, are you making any money, are people starting to notice you—even strangers? Well good, it sounds like you are evolving as an author. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly you’re doing (or not doing) to get an idea of your evolution.

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Thickening Skin: 6 Tips for Taking Criticism

September 4th, 2013

Beginning writers are often told that they need to develop a thick skin. No one bothers to tell them how this is done or what exactly having "thick skin" means. Let me try to help. To start, here's a working definition: Having a thick skin means you are able to: stare down criticism and make it work for you; set aside your ego for long enough that your pride doesn't disrupt your work; and listen to criticism, understand it, and then completely ignore it when necessary.

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Starting From Scratch: Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam Trilogy

September 3rd, 2013

Contains minor spoilers.

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UPDATED WITH WINNER: LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: August Edition

August 30th, 2013

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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Nothing New Under The Sun: The Origins of 5 Common Literary Allusions Part 2

August 30th, 2013

Re-cap According to An Introduction to Poetry, 9th Edition, an allusion is an indirect reference to any person, place, or thing—fictitious, historical, or actual. Allusions allow writers to talk about an idea or commonly known story without having to explain. Allusions tap into our collective knowledge (and sometimes beliefs) to create meaning with minimal effort.

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A Literary Nerd in Krakow

August 29th, 2013

Kraków is the second largest city in Poland—and was the second stop on our Eastern European vacation (read the first entry, covering Prague, here). Going from Prague to Kraków was a little like going from Manhattan to Queens. Less crowded, smaller buildings, and overall, a much more chill vibe. 

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Marlowe and Me: Jumping Off the Hay Truck

August 28th, 2013

­A few months ago, my son tried to run in front of a train because I wouldn’t let him play on a decommissioned backhoe. Granted, he wasn’t trying to end all of his two years in a fit of rage, just trying to get away from me as fast as possible. And, I should add for the sake of Social Services (and I’m starting to wonder if these columns make me sound like a horrible parent, which is diametrically opposite the point of them), I yoked him up within a few steps. But it still scared the crap out of me.

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