Columns

Genderbending Genre: The Left Hand of Darkness

August 19th, 2013

To paraphrase Ursula K. Le Guin, science fiction changed in the 60s. Whatever the cause and whatever the name (New Wave, for example), there was a movement towards experimental forms and a shift from hard science fiction (focused on the hard sciences - physics, chemistry, etc) toward so-called “soft” science fiction which, as you might expect, focuses more on sociology and psychology. It was a much needed shift.

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Ask the Grammarian: 'Too' Many Commas, Sentence Fragments, and Rhetoric

August 19th, 2013

First there was Ask the Lit Coach, with Erin Reel. Then came Ask the Agent, with Bree Ogden. Now, LitReactor proudly presents: Ask the Grammarian, with the one and only, Taylor Houston. You've got questions about grammar and usage, she's got answers. Have at you! First of all, thank you to everyone that submitted questions. Let’s get started:

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What Would Jesus Write?

August 16th, 2013

[The facepalm Jesus used above is used courtesy of tonystl] Jesus of Nazareth was many things: motivational speaker, torture victim, trend-setter, political activist, and carpenter, to name just a few. However, while he's the lead figure in the best-selling book of all time, he didn't do much writing himself. But what if Jesus did write? What if he were writing today? Let's take a look at Jesus's tendencies to see what we can say about how he would approach modern writership.

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Footnotes: Catch-22's Place in American History

August 15th, 2013

You can credit Catch-22 for signs and scenes like this. Photo courtesy Nestor Lacle. Footnotes is a look at how specific novels were shaped by the culture of their time, and how those novels shaped the culture.

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It's Made Of SCIENCE: The Speed Of Light

August 14th, 2013

Your character is in space, and needs to get somewhere fast. Like, really, really fast. What button do you press? In Star Wars, you go into hyperspace. In Star Trek, you tell your crew to engage the warp drive. In Dune, you activate the Holtzman engine. With just a little bit of science fiction dust sprinkled on your spaceship, you can get anywhere you need to go as fast as you want with absolutely no consequences. So does this have a basis in real life? Could we ever develop this kind of technology?

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Dystropia: All Hail The Magnificent Bastard

August 13th, 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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Post-Mortem: How I Stopped Being (as) Afraid of Stephen King's It

August 13th, 2013

When the made-for-TV version of Stephen King's It came out in 1990, I was almost eleven. Filled to the brim with horror movie bravado, there was no way I was missing a movie about kids battling a killer clown.

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TripLit: 8 Audiobooks to Pimp Your Trip

August 12th, 2013

Summer is the time for road trips, and you still have a few weeks left to stage one before the kiddies go back to school and your boss outlaws midday happy hours. But road trips can get pretty boring until you reach your destination, and even the most musically-inclined of us will eventually tire of our own iPod playlists. Have no fear; this is why God invented audiobooks. Spend some quality car-time with your favorite writers and characters during the journey and watch the endless hours speed by. Amp up the summer fun by matching the theme of your audiobook to your trip.

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Muttonchops and Robots: An Isaac Asimov Primer

August 12th, 2013

You've heard that Isaac Asimov is one of the biggest stars in the science fiction industry. You know you should read his books, but you don't know where to start. You're a little leery of his facial hair, and frankly you'd rather just reread a Twilight novel and be done with it. I'm here to help, you insufferable curmudgeon.

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Five Inappropriate Parenting Books Every Reader Will Enjoy

August 9th, 2013

There's nothing more frightening than the realization that in a few short months, you will have a baby. A real, live, screaming baby, one that requires attention every day of the week. Not only that, but you will have to parent your child through all of those developmental stages you chose to forget about in your own life. Puberty, anyone? And remember that kid in elementary school who ate his boogers? Or the one obsessed with bugs? Those children had parents, and now, that parent might be you.

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