Columns

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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10 Big-Time Literary Drunks

March 1st, 2013

The blank page is terrifying. We all know the feeling. Anxiety is an integral part of writing — there's no getting around it. Healthy ways of dealing with the horror of filling emptiness with words that don't suck include stepping away from the computer and doing crunches, or meditating, or jerking off. But many of us are too fucked up to make these healthy choices, and we respond to the anxiety by pouring a little drink or three. Some of us know when to stop; others don't. Alcoholism is to writing what black lung disease is to coal miners.

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Storyville: Top Ten Things Literary Journals Need to Do. NOW.

March 1st, 2013

Let me get a couple of things out of the way first. When I say literary journals, I mean any publication (print or online) that publishes fiction—so please include genre fiction, in all of its glorious flavors. Literary can mean a genre of fiction, but it also refers to literature, in general. Also, I write this column from my heart, because I care about you, editors, as well as the authors that keep you going. I want you all to succeed. And, I do realize that I’ve made many of these very mistakes in my own capacity as an editor at various places over the years.

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UPDATED WITH WINNER: LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: February Edition - Now, with New Rules!

February 28th, 2013

Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity. Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess. For this edition, we are going to alter the rules a bit to keep it fresh. You now get 25 words and 2 sentences. 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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Twitter: Destructor Of Grammar Or Awesome Word Factory?

February 28th, 2013

Twitter is the Wild West of language—but not everybody wants to be a gunfighter. Let’s be honest, you can tell with one glance that English actor Ralph Fiennes and linguist/philosopher Noam Chomsky are not cut out to be cowboys. That’s probably why they show such disdain for the bluebird-mascotted microblogging service. Both men hold that Twitter is eroding the English language.

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Amazon Shakes Up Indie Book Marketing Starting March 1

February 28th, 2013

There was an interesting little paragraph buried in an email which Amazon sent to everyone who has an affiliate account last week. In one fell swoop, they eliminated the financial benefit of running a website which caters exclusively to listing free eBooks from Amazon. As you can imagine, this has caused quite a stir in the independent author community. While the full impact isn't yet clear, it is clear that these changes will dramatically alter how many consumers find independent authors' books on Amazon.

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Why Write?

February 27th, 2013

In the twenty-first century, everyone writes, to some degree.  The ability to sequence words on a page is a requirement for success in a data-based world. Writing is communication, identity, power, profit.  It’s the means by which we conduct all kinds of transactions, whether we’re bringing a lawsuit or flirting via text message.  Writing is social, commercial and cerebral flow.

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