Columns

12 Unpublished Novels We Wish We Could Read

September 17th, 2013

Starting in 2015, fans of J.D. Salinger will be treated to a treasure trove of previously unreleased work, including new stories about the Glass family and a sequel to The Catcher in the Rye. In the wake of exploding heads and spontaneous bowel evacuations prompted by that announcement, I got to thinkin': What other famous authors have work that's never seen the light of publication? Work their fans would kill to get their ink-stained mitts on, regardless of quality?

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It's Made Of SCIENCE: Multiple Personalities

September 17th, 2013

The suspense hangs thick in the air. Of your ten characters, only two remain, staring each other down. Each knows he didn't kill the other eight. Each knows the other must be responsible. The lights flash, and only one is left standing. Trigger montage. Flashbacks, hidden clues, offhand comments. No, it can't be... Yes. The last man has multiple personalities, and has been the killer all along!

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Dystropia: Why The Sassy Gay Friend Isn't Progressive

September 16th, 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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Guess The Plot: A Reawakening and a Reboot

September 13th, 2013

Guess The Plot is an original feature first conceived and run by Jon Korn. Go here for previous installments. It’s the triumphant return of Guess the Plot! Prepare for unspeakably strange, inscrutable, and inappropriate book covers combined with wild speculation about the words hidden behind them. You’ll like it whether you … like it or not. Maybe that tagline needs work.

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Anno Dracula: Appropriation of Characters

September 13th, 2013

Image via Hypnogoria I own up to it.  I wouldn’t have been able to write Anno Dracula if Bram Stoker hadn’t written Dracula first.  Indeed, the Anno Dracula series wouldn’t be possible without a great many previous authors, screenwriters, actors and artists who created characters, situations, institutions and conventions, which became mulch for my own imagination. 

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5 Other Things You Shouldn't Say to Authors

September 13th, 2013

Something wonderful happened when 5 Things You Shouldn't Say to Authors went live back in July. Not only did people take to it, but a lot of our members chimed in with their own recommendations. It became clear that a list of five simply wasn't going to cover it. So without further ado, the next five... “I could have written this book.” 

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How The Rules Of Screenwriting Can Improve Your Prose Fiction

September 12th, 2013

image © Victor Gregory I mentioned in a previous column that, while I'm consumed with prose fiction at the moment, my background is in screenwriting, which I studied extensively in college. Since that time I've tried to read as many craft essays and "rules of writing" manuals as I could, so as to help me along my path to becoming a better prose writer.

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How Not To Treat Your Editor

September 12th, 2013

This is the second section of a two-part miniseries about proper behavior for writers – a micro-Emily Post’s Etiquette. (Last month's column was about the things writers should never do when trying to land an agent.) Manners columns tend to have a prissy, goody-two-shoes tone (“Critiquing the dress worn by the decedent in an open casket is generally considered to be in poor taste…”), but etiquette hang-ups are not such bad traits to have in the writing business. Why?

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A Little Bit of History: Six World War II Books You Shouldn't Miss

September 11th, 2013

Image by Joshua Chaplinsky “I’ve never been much of a history buff,” a friend said to me while discussing his recent visit to Hiroshima, Japan. “But it really puts a lot of things in perspective.” 

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Writing Through The Fear Of Words

September 10th, 2013

Though I on occasion feel confident in calling myself a writer, I am, more often than not, someone who downright despises, and sometimes outright hates, words and the idea of words. This is in large measure because they are very powerful things. Powerful things I can get mightily confused by. Words scare the beejezus out of me. I am often upset and downright baffled by grammar and syntax. My gut twists and swells over the placement of commas and semicolons. I am terrified of form and context. I am bored, unmoved and unmotivated by words.

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