Columns

It's Ladies Night and X-Men Drink Free

June 6th, 2013

Brian Wood's new X-Men book (X-Men #1), the last of the "Marvel Now!" titles to launch, debuted last week to much fanfare and huge critical acclaim. I count myself among its fans. I reviewed the issue for Comic Book Resources and felt crazily fulfilled to be able to do so, because in so many ways—from the creative team to the cast—this was a comic book I'd been waiting nearly 20 years for.

Read Column →

Short Cuts: 7 Twitter Tips for Writers

June 6th, 2013

‘If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.’ As Blaise Pascal noted, for most writers, brevity is a challenge. But if the idea of condensing your epic-fantasy-vampire-dragon saga into a mere 350,000 words curdles your brain, how much more bowel-wrenching is the concept of thrilling the world with a mere 140 characters?

Read Column →

Why Do We Read Novelizations?

June 5th, 2013

Big Hollywood movies arrive in theaters with an entourage of tie-in merchandise at their heels, ready to lure you in with their enticing buy-ability. Aside from action figures, apparel and the endless other products we expect each summer, studios partner with book publishers to produce one of the more intriguing film extension items out there: the novelization.

Read Column →

6 Ways You're Botching Your Dialogue

June 5th, 2013

[Image's facepalm shot courtesy of Striatic.] You want to write better dialogue. You've learned a few tricks of the trade. Great work so far, but are you unwittingly sabotaging your work, leaving only stilted, one-dimensional dialogue for your readers? Here are six painfully common ways writers botch their dialogue.

Read Column →

The Absence of Story in "Star Trek Into Darkness"

June 4th, 2013

By now you've no doubt seen Star Trek: Into Darkness. If not, read no further, for here there be SPOILERS. I would warn you that I will be discussing the movie in detail and might possibly give away aspects of the story, but that is a singularly unnecessary concern with this film. As cinematic adventures go, it is sufficiently fun and exciting, but it fails to delve deeper into the story, which is something Star Trek should always endeavor to do.

Read Column →

Storyville: Tips on Putting Together a Short Story Collection

June 3rd, 2013

So you’ve gotten some work published, and you’re trying to figure out if you not only have enough writing for a collection, but how to put the damn thing together. Here are some suggestions on how to make it a compelling, balanced, and powerful read.

Read Column →

Recap: Game of Thrones 3.09 - The Rains of Castamere

June 3rd, 2013

This is going to contain BIG SPOILERS for this episode, and also for the books. Deal with it. The Twins And there it is: the Red Wedding.  This is the episode I couldn't write about in the past eight recaps. The episode I didn't even want to hint at, because talk about shocking and brutal. That final shot, of Catelyn falling off camera, her throat slit... that hurt. Even if you've read the books and you knew it was coming—that hurt. 

Read Column →

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

May 31st, 2013

Flash Mystery Fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity--and mystery. Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess. For this edition, we are going back to the 25 words and 2 sentences rules--using the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as inspiration.

Read Column →

Uncomfortable Truths: Five Authors Who Do Not Live Up To Their Mythology

May 31st, 2013

Discovering your idols have feet of clay is rarely a total disappointment. Prone as we are to erecting statues to those we admire, we’re also only a misplaced tweet away from tearing down those same statues and reducing them to tiny pieces. In today’s social-media-penetrated-world, the business of myth destruction is easy. Canny celebrities hire specialists to manage their twitter accounts, but the separation between our gods and ourselves has never been thinner, or easier to breach.

Read Column →

'Good Sex, Great Prayers': A Journey in Publication (Part 5: Editing and Beta Reading)

May 30th, 2013

After ten and a half months, I finish the first draft of Good Sex, Great Prayers. It’s 517 pages and ~150,000 words—a goddamn brick. Looking at this thing elicits equal parts pride and anxiety. Pride, because I’ve finally knocked out “a big book.” I’ve always wanted to do that, and in this case, I was able to do it in under a year. Then the anxiety sets in when I realize what the next step in the process is: I have to comb through this monster and pick it apart. It’s almost time to edit. 

Read Column →