Columns
Showing 3527 Columns
7 F***in' Great Ways to Build Your Writing Routine
April 25th, 2013
I spent ages looking for tips on building writing habits, and was disappointed. There's a lot of bland advice out there: write every day, don't edit while you write, have a goal… None of that is very helpful if you're trying to understand how you should actually put this stuff into practice.
Read Column →All the Reasons Californication is Terrible Now
April 25th, 2013
Dear Tom Kapinos and everyone else responsible for Californication, What the hell happened? Are you guys okay?
Read Column →10 Authors Who Prove It's Never Too Late To Start Writing
April 25th, 2013
Some women are badgered mercilessly by biological clocks that tick louder and louder as infertility approaches. "Have a baby," the clock tells them. "Just look how cute that baby is! You need a baby. Now! While you still can." That part of me doesn't exist, but in its place is some sort of literary clock, every bit as annoying in its insistence and ubiquity. "Write the book," it says. "Look at that store full of books. One of those should be yours." Around my birthday, it turns rather mean spirited.
Read Column →Storyville: 20 Things I've Learned About Writing
April 24th, 2013
What have I learned over the past five years, as a writer, a reader, and a patron of the arts? Here are twenty items—I hope they help you with your career.
Read Column →Crossing the Rubicon: A Steve Erickson Primer
April 24th, 2013
On January 10th, 49 BC, Julius Caesar led a legion of soldiers across the Rubicon river into Italy, an act of insurrection that started the Great Roman Civil War. Roman historian Suetonius gives this apocryphal account:
Read Column →First Drafts in a Mobile Landscape: Five Word Processors for Tablets & Smartphones
April 23rd, 2013
In my previous column, Paperless Writer: Five Steps to a Successful Digital Rewrite, I focused on draft editing practices in a mobile landscape. Now I’d like to take a step back and talk about the first draft, that initial pouring of characters and plot onto the page (or in our case, the screen). Just as there is an abundance of word processing software for both Mac and PC, so it goes for iPad and other tablets on the market.
Read Column →The Blagger's Guide to L Frank Baum
April 23rd, 2013
To blag (v): to sound like you know what you’re talking about when you don’t The Blagger’s Guide to Literature (n): an invaluable resource for those who wish to blag about books without actually reading them.
Read Column →The Drought of Environmental Fantasy
April 22nd, 2013
In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would write a column about ecological fantasies, about fantasy novels and stories that explore environmental and ecological themes. I prepared, as I usually do, to come up with a list of books off the top of my head and... I couldn’t think of any.
Read Column →Recap: Game of Thrones 3.04 - And Now His Watch Is Ended
April 22nd, 2013
This is going to contain spoilers for this episode, and also for the books. I won't tell you what happens in the fifth book, or what I think is going to happen in the next episode, but I will talk about differences between the book and the show thus far. Deal with it. Emilia Clarke owned this episode.
Read Column →
