Columns

On Second Thought: "Pawn of Prophecy" by David Eddings

November 6th, 2012

On Second Thought will be a semi-regular feature revisiting novels from the past with the perspective of the present. We all know that old phrase, “You can’t go home again.” Just as the hero’s journey changes the hero so that he can’t fit back into his old life, the trappings of our past often fit poorly in the present. Experience, maturity, learning--these things change us. And something that appealed to us when we were younger might seem disappointing after a second look.

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Good Sex, Great Prayers: A Journey in Publication (Part 2: Writing the Novel)

November 6th, 2012

Click HERE for Part 1 of the series

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The Blagger's Guide to J G Ballard

November 2nd, 2012

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.

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Storyville: NaNoWriMo and Free Writing

November 2nd, 2012

For this edition of Storyville, I’d like to talk to you about NaNoWriMo and free writing. I’ve never been big on plotting out stories. I don’t want to push my characters towards certain outcomes instead of observing and interacting while letting the organic and instinctual actions rise to the surface. There is a lot to be gained by sitting down, plugging in and letting go.

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What Scares You? 30 Terrifying Horror Stories Straight Out Of Your Worst Nightmares

October 31st, 2012

Fear is subjective and personal. The things that haunt your nightmares and the things that cause my breath to quicken—they are probably not the same. Some people are hit hardest by subtle seeping dread and things unseen. Others, by in-your-face gore and guts. Still others, by the darkness of the human psyche.

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LURID: Happy Halloween! Whatever that means...

October 31st, 2012

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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Book vs. Film: Cloud Atlas

October 30th, 2012

Stories cross mediums like clouds cross skies, an' tho' a cloud's shape nor hue nor size don't stay the same, it's still a cloud an' so is a story.

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

October 30th, 2012

Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity. Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess, in which you're challenged to thrill us in 250 words or less. How It Works We give you a picture. You write a flash fiction piece, using the picture we gave you as inspiration. Put your entry in the comments section. One winner will be picked, and awarded a prize.

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Guess The Plot Episode V: Thrills, Chills, and Me-ows!

October 30th, 2012

There is just no possible way that I could let the ghastliest, grossest, most ghoulish month pass by without a special installment of Guess The Plot. Because nothing says "Halloween" like trying to figure out what in the name of Frederick Krueger is going on within a classic horror novel based only on the insanity on its cover.

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The Best Comic Books About Bad Guys

October 29th, 2012

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, here’s a column dedicated to all those nasty characters we love to hate and hate to love—the bad guys. While compelling villains that prove more fascinating than the hero are certainly not unique to comic books, it is the one place where you see it explored in abundance. A handful of literature’s greatest antagonists might get a novel written about them decades after their original creator is dead. A good supervillain can star in his own ongoing title, and thus keep living, scheming, and returning to wreak havoc forever.

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