Columns

Peeling Back the Onion: 5 Books That Subvert Narrative Expectation

August 5th, 2013

All great stories incorporate some level of suspense, even when they're not conventional mysteries or thrillers. Authors pose the audience questions about the characters' actions and the overall development of the plot. Often, these questions are the same for any given genre. So in love stories, for instance, we wonder whether the couple will get together/stay together/get back together.

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10 Stories by Ray Bradbury That Would Make Great Movies

August 2nd, 2013

Okay, I know what you’re thinking... it’s not like there have been a lack of motion picture adaptations of Ray Bradbury stories. But it’s hard to argue that the handful that have been made (Rod Steiger’s The Illustrated Man) are good adaptations (Francois Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451), or even all around decent films (the abominable A Sound Of Thunder). I think most Bradbury fans will agree that, at best, these films have, thus far, been interesting footnotes to the original written works.

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Five Legal Issues All Writers Need To Be Aware Of

August 2nd, 2013

Header image via Wikipedia Commons Have you wondered whether your work is protected by copyright? Or whether you can write a story based on people you know? This article delves into five legal issues frequently encountered by writers.

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Storyville: What is Literary Fiction?

August 1st, 2013

Disclaimer: Some of these statements will be generalizations, and their definitions are subjective and not exhaustive. These are my opinions, based on research and personal experience. There are always exceptions to the rule.

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

July 31st, 2013

Flash Fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity - Dante Edition 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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Is it the Fourth or the 4th of July?: Formatting Numbers in Your Writing

July 30th, 2013

Header via FreeImages Is it July Fourth? Or is it July 4th? Is it The Roaring Twenties? Or is it The Roaring 20s? Is your apartment on the first or the 1st floor? Am I thirty-one or 31? When should I spell out a number and when should I use the numerals?

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5 Things You Shouldn't Say to Authors

July 30th, 2013

When I released my first novel back in 2008, I noticed a definitive shift in my conversations, now that I had gone from aspiring writer to published author. Having a book out was considered cool...certainly cooler than some office job or taking customer service calls. To write and publish a book was viewed as an accomplishment, so naturally, there were some instances in which said accomplishment was coveted by others...some even going as far as to trivialize it.

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Write Like a Girl (or Guy)

July 29th, 2013

If all the characters you create talk exactly like you do, no one but your mom is going to want to read your book—and maybe not even her if you haven't called recently. That's why you need to understand how to write dialogue that sounds authentic, even when your character differs from you when it comes to their age, region, education level, social status, background, personality, and/or gender. Each of these factors plays a role in how a person (real or fictional) speaks, and you need to consider all of them to make your characters’ dialogue sound truly legit.

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Book Brawl! Family Feud: Helter Skelter vs. The Family

July 26th, 2013

In the near corner - Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi (with Curt Gentry). In the far corner – The Family, by Ed Sanders. Yes, sports fans, it’s a family feud – the Manson Family.

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Chainsaw Hands and Fishbowl Hearts: The Ultimate Introduction to Bizarro Fiction

July 26th, 2013

For nearly fifteen years, a handful of independent presses have specialized in publishing weird, awesome fiction reminiscent of cult films like Eraserhead, Jan Svankmajer’s Alice, Videodrome, Tetsuo: the Iron Man, and The Toxic Avenger. These publishers, spearheaded by Eraserhead Press, wanted fiction that was surreal but not surrealist, dark but not quite horror, futuristic but not science fictional, fantastical but not fantasy, unusually written but not necessarily experimental. They wanted weird movies in prose.

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