Columns

Best Books of 2012: Friends of LitReactor Edition with Irvine Welsh, Jack Ketchum, Douglas Coupland, and Stephen Graham Jones

December 31st, 2012

We've already given you our staff picks for the Best Books of 2012, as well as a supplemental Genre Edition for the geeks, but who the hell cares what a bunch of nobodies have to say when some real, live authors are willing to tell us what to read?

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UPDATE WITH WINNER - LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: December Edition

December 31st, 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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What Makes A Southern Novel?

December 28th, 2012

This week brought the release of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, a revenge epic about a freed slave turned bounty hunter who dares to vanquish mountains, the law, and death itself to rescue his beloved Broomhilda. Tarantino has referred to the film as a "southern" rather than the more traditional western, and the marketing department for the film released the above graphic to delineate the relatively uncommon film category.

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2012 - Genre Edition

December 27th, 2012

Yesterday we gave you our all purpose Best of 2012 LitReactor staff picks and let's be honest-- there were more gems in there than a greedy dwarf's asshole. But just in case you're looking for something a little more genre-specific, we rounded up our resident experts on comics, fantasy, and crime fiction to regale us with their favorites. Speak friend and enter!

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Scandalous: 8 Reasons Intelligent Writers Must Read Twilight

December 27th, 2012

Ready your pitchforks: I'm about to make an unironic defense of the Twilight series, and even argue that you---or any other intelligent writer---should read it. Here are eight reasons you should spend time with these famously terrible books.

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Adventures in Self-Publishing Part 5: The Virtue of Patience, And Also Money

December 27th, 2012

I got my first check from Amazon! It was for less than a hundred dollars. After taxes, it's not enough for a hard night of drinking. I do not care. I got paid cash money for a thing I made up in my head. That's tough to beat.

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LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2012

December 26th, 2012

Another year has passed and we're still here, reading and writing our little hearts out. On the micro level, it could be that the figurative representation of our pumping fists of muscle grew two sizes over the holidays, giving us the strength to persevere. On the macro level, it's probably because the Mayans were big-time practical jokesters. Either way, it would take more than the end of the world to stop us from contributing to the glut of year-end lists. Take that, Doomsdayers!

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13 Resolutions To Make You A Better, More Productive Writer In 2013

December 26th, 2012

We’ve all been burned by New Year’s resolutions. Otherwise, we’d have statuesque physiques, shelves lined with our best sellers, and pools full of cash instead of hangovers, unfinished manuscripts, and maxed-out credit cards. Most of us have failed so many times that even the words “New Year’s resolution” elicit shame and fury. (Or maybe that’s just me, but I sure hope not. Schadenfreude is the best.)

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Ask the Agent: More On Writer/Agent Etiquette, How to Approach Agents With Multiple Genres & More

December 26th, 2012

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. Question from Amanda My question: If a writer receives [an offer of] representation from one agent while she's working on a Revise and Resubmit for another agent, should she notify the R&R agent that she received an offer?

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Dramatic Situation Vs. Dramatic Scene: Win the Fight Against Poor Form

December 21st, 2012

I. Hemingway’s Thoughts on Interior Decoration Ernest Hemingway said that “prose is architecture, not interior decoration.” Some of us might not like to think of fiction as something so architectural, something so concrete as, well, concrete.  But we’d do better to interpret Hemingway's statement as encouragement to see fiction not as blue-print or mathematical formula, but as form. The difference between the two is the difference between an erector-set and a wheel-thrown vase.

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