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The Quick and Dirty Guide to Coming Up With The Perfect Character Name
January 27th, 2022
Choosing a name for your character is an exciting step in creating your bestseller. It’s also a big decision. Just like naming a real child, your literary offspring are going to live with their names for eternity, so they need to be a perfect fit. There’s a lot that goes into naming a character: culture, religion, geographical location, time period, genre — the list goes on.
Read Column →15 Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2022
January 26th, 2022
The last two years have sucked, sure, but they’ve been great in terms of books. This year looks like it’s going to be even better. Now, you should know that no list is ever complete. You should also know that I’ve written a list full of debuts, and another one with just true crime books for other venues, so you won’t find any of those books here. Also, I’ll be getting emails from publishers all year, which means I’ll be learning about new books every week.
Read Column →Storyville: Reasons for Creating a Pseudonym
January 25th, 2022
So, you’re thinking about getting yourself a pseudonym, huh? I think of a scene in one of my favorite animated films, Rango, when Beans asks Rango who he is, really: Well I’m a man of many epithets. There’s my stage name, my pen name, my avatar. Had a pseudonym once…and I’m actually one of the few men with a maiden name!
Read Column →Writing a Novel vs. Writing an Album
January 24th, 2022
I’m finishing up a novel and an album right now, both of which have been in the works for years. Too many years. It’s weird to be completing both projects at the same time, during mandatory isolation, especially when one involved finding and working with other people to see it through.
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The Pros and Cons of Writing Exercises
January 20th, 2022
I am of two minds on writing exercises when it comes to fiction. On the one hand, I can see how they can spark creativity, and how they may help someone to develop a certain technique. On the other hand, I hate them—anything about writing that’s contrived does not sit well with me.
Read Column →What I Do and Don't Think I'll Get Out of My MFA in Writing
January 19th, 2022
Image via Ron Lach As I write this article, I’m sitting on a Zoom call. It’s populated by more than 20 fellow writers, ranging from established and award-winning authors to MFA-holders to those like me, first semester students at VCFA’s MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults.
Read Column →What the Stoics Can Teach Us About Writing
January 18th, 2022
Original image via Wikipedia Commons Stoicism has helped me through a great deal of trouble in my life, and I encourage anyone experiencing pain to consider learning more about the Stoics. An excellent and accessible starting point is Ryan Holiday. He has a wide array of books, podcasts, and YouTube videos that will serve you well. In my research I have found there are a number of lessons from the Stoics we can apply to our writing.
Read Column →2022 Horror You Do Not Want to Miss
January 17th, 2022
Quick shoutout once again to Emily Hughes of Tor Nightfire, who does the (dark) Lord's work compiling the horror fiction we can anticipate in the year ahead. You can find ALL THE HORROR WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IN 2022 on the Tor Nightfire Website. Bonus, you can revisit the list from last year and catch up on titles you might have missed. It's a great resource and I use it regularly. For this article, I am showcasing some titles written by women that I am especially eager to get my hands on.
Read Column →Storyville: What Makes Your Stories Uniquely You?
January 14th, 2022
In one of my classes last night we were discussing a few stories out of The Best Horror of the Year anthology—one was zombies and the other was vampires. And one of the things that made those stories really pop and stand out to me, as well as the class, was the way that the authors worked to make these stories unique, personal, and compelling in the face of SO MANY zombie and vampire stories over the years. How did they do that? They applied their own personal touches to the stories, and made them their own.
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