Columns

Comic Book Plot Developments That Are No Longer Twists

March 12th, 2013

We all want to read a story that can surprise us. Every time you open a book, you do so in the hopes that it will be at least different enough from everything else you’ve read to be interesting. Even when we read the same kinds of stories over and over again, we do so with an appreciation for the variations of the familiar form. Often the most damning criticism one can offer an otherwise brilliant piece of writing is that it’s been done before, thus lessening its value. Perhaps that explains popular fiction’s recent obsession with twist endings.

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Storyville: Writing the Grotesque

March 11th, 2013

One of my favorite sub-genres, next to neo-noir and transgressive, is the grotesque. It’s actually quite similar. Let’s talk about what this style of writing is all about, and how it can help you to write better fiction and tap into your veiled weirdness.

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A Literary History Of Oz

March 8th, 2013

"The land you know. The story you don't." That's the tagline to Disney's $200 million Wizard Of Oz prequel, Oz: The Great And Powerful, which hits U.S. theaters today. But do you really know the Land of Oz? Sure, you've seen the 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. It is, after all, not just an inextricable part of pop culture but also one of the most watched films of all time.

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From Elphaba To Grendel: Ten Twisted Fairy Tales

March 8th, 2013

This month brought the premieres of Jack the Giant Slayer and Oz The Great and Powerful to our silver screens, and with them a reminder that we, as an audience, love twisted fairy tales. We want to draw back the curtain and see our most classic yarns spun from a different perspective. We want to root for the villain, blame the hero, grow to know that quirky little tertiary character who only darted across the page the first time we met him.

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Orson Scott Card’s Personal Beliefs Are Appalling, But...

March 7th, 2013

...does that mean you can’t enjoy his work? A lot of comic book fans are asking themselves this question since the controversial news broke that Card was tapped by DC to write a two-part story in its forthcoming Superman Anthology - The Adventures of Superman.

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LURID: American Psycho - A Retrospective

March 7th, 2013

LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a guide to the merits of the kind of Bad Books you never want your co-workers to know you're reading.

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8 Ways to Flesh Out a Character

March 6th, 2013

A great character can propel a story into the minds, emotions, and memories of your readers; a lackluster character can make your prose read like the average Nic Cage film. To avoid that disastrous fate, it's important to develop a strong concept of who your character is.

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The Fine Line Between Experimental and Crap

March 5th, 2013

Josh Chaplinsky started it. On the Unprintable podcast, the accusations flew: Cath never likes anything experimental. Well, clearly Josh knows nothing about what I used to do to my teddy bears when I was small. Or the lost University years. But I’m never one to take an insult to my adventurous side lying down. Okay, Chaplinsky, I thought. Challenge accepted.

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Ask The Agent: Does Self-Publishing Impede Landing an Agent, Acceptable Word Count and More!

March 4th, 2013

Navigating the rough terrain of today’s publishing industry shouldn’t be a solo event. This week in Ask the Agent, I’ll explore and dissect three of the industry’s mysteries straight from the shoulder.

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Flash Fiction: The Zorro Circle of Storytelling

March 4th, 2013

Good flash fiction can be as profound and evocative as longer pieces in the same way a poem can use its brief time with readers to create astounding effects. I recommend that all writers spend some time both reading and writing flash. In the same way that the simplicity of the Zorro circle forces Antonio Banderas to master the core concepts of swordplay, writing flash fiction can teach writers where the real power of a story comes from.

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