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Screenwriting: Speed Dating The First Five Pages
January 29th, 2014
Spec screenplays these days should have the reader at ‘Hello’. Even a few years ago, a screenwriter could afford a leisurely introduction, setting up the basics of their story’s Who/What/Why/Where/When over the first ten to fifteen pages.
Read Column →Storyville: How to Write a Book Review
January 28th, 2014
In today’s column, I will talk about how to write a book review. I know that many of you are avid readers, and whether you simply want to put something up on your blog, send your criticism to a small journal, or get paid professional rates to publish lengthy narratives about fiction that moves you, there are some essential components to focus on. Here are some suggestions on how to write a compelling review, how to excite your readers and get them to seek out the books you love, as well as some techniques that have worked for me in the past.
Read Column →How Journalism Can Help Polish Your Fiction
January 27th, 2014
What do Ernest Hemingway, Tom Wolfe, Chuck Palahniuk, Raymond Chandler, O. Henry and Stephen Crane all have in common? Before they were the adored giants of fiction we know today, they were all journalists. Yet for some strange reason, many kindhearted, lit-loving fictionist wannabes, the daydreamers who hope to one day publish novels or poetry chapbooks on par with Steinbeck and Salinger, tend to overlook journalism as a viable means to those ends.
Read Column →I’LL KILL YOU! Amazon, Goodreads, and the Death of Criticism
January 27th, 2014
It starts as a Facebook Wallpost: -Why did you only give my last book three stars on Goodreads? -I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite of your books. -How dare you, you fucking ungrateful little shit! I gave you FIVE STARS for your last book. FIVE. FUCKING. STARS. -I told you I liked it, there were certain things that didn’t jell for me.
Read Column →How to Become a Freelance Writer in 900 Simple Steps – Part 1: Risky Business
January 24th, 2014
Let's be clear: I am not a freelance writer—yet, and I don't yet know how to become one. This is the first in a series of articles in which I drag you, dear reader, along with me as I try to figure out how to set up a freelance writing business. Over the past 2 years, you've come to me for grammar advice and random musings on craft, but join me now as I attempt to enter the business world as a freelance copywriter. Let's get started.
Read Column →Bella Swan and the Art of the Audience Surrogate
January 24th, 2014
Cathedra Image licensed under Creative Commons by Barnett Newman There are few characters in modern fiction regarded with as much vitriol as Bella Swan. Although she's unlikely to need an introduction, Miss Swan is the protagonist of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series (bear with me just a moment; I can hear the collective groan at the mere mention of the T-word). Besides an undeniable clumsiness, Bella is known for having few defining personality traits of her own.
Read Column →The 10 Weirdest And Most Wonderful Libraries In The World
January 23rd, 2014
Originally posted 4/16/2013
Read Column →The Right Way to Write for a Living
January 23rd, 2014
I'd been working as a full-time freelance writer for eight months when I made a startling realization: I had come to hate writing. The craft that I identified with and the ambition I'd had since Jr. High—to make money as a writer—had backfired. I didn't like the work. I didn't like my life. I didn't even like myself.
Read Column →What's In A Name?
January 22nd, 2014
Have you ever heard someone say the phrase, “James doesn’t look like a James,” or “She acts more like a Phyllis than a Rachel”? Or have you said words similar to this yourself, because there’s someone in your life whose name simply doesn’t match their personality? Conversely, what about the people who fit their names so perfectly, you begin to wonder if there are perhaps secret societies of Chads or Marys out there, conspiring to align with set character traits?
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