Columns

5 More Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Writing... And What To Do About It

August 2nd, 2012

Last month, we looked at five sneaky ways your mind messes with your productivity as a writer. I’d love to tell you that those are the only psychological tricks and cognitive distortions your brain has up its sleeve, but I can’t. Because there are five more where those came from, and also because your brain does not have sleeves. Let’s take a look at what else our writing practices are up against…

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Your Favorite Book Sucks: 'The Big Sleep'

August 2nd, 2012

'Your Favorite Book Sucks' is an ongoing column, written by different people, that takes a classic or popular book and argues why it isn't really all that great. Confrontational, to be sure, but it's all in good fun, so please play nice.

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New Release Roundup: Recommendations for August 2012

August 1st, 2012

Every month I'll be toiling in the dank, dark mines of literary obscurity, scouring the catalogues of every major publisher to bring the LitReactor faithful a few choice titles hitting the shelves. The following is a brief look at what's worth checking out in August. Full disclosure: unless otherwise noted, none of the below books have been reviewed by myself or other LitReactor staff. These are just a few recommendations based on publisher's notes and my own opinions. Without further ado:

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Is Kickstarter A Viable Tool For Writers?

July 31st, 2012

It used to be that if you wanted to record an album or write a book, you had to beg your parents for money or get a job flipping burgers, just to keep the lights on and the booze flowing while you toiled at your art.  That paradigm has shifted, thanks to crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, where you can post a work-in-progress, request funding by enticing people with exclusives and rewards, and ultimately fund your dream without the indignity of filing out an application at the local Starbucks. 

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

July 31st, 2012

Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity. How This Works We give you something. It could be a picture or an idea or a sentence. You write a flash fiction piece, using the thing 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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Look Like A Genius Without Actually Being One: Eight Formatting Tips And Tricks

July 31st, 2012

Imagine watching a great TV show, and at the most dramatic, perfect moment of the lead character’s heart-wrenching soliloquy, the boom mic dangles, just barely, into the corner of the frame. No matter how good the show has been up to this point, the spell is broken—you’re painfully wrenched from the tale, immediately aware that you are not IN a story, only WATCHING a story. Bad formatting can do exactly this to your fiction.

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12 Hysterical, Offensive, Ridiculous, Controversial, Frightening, Sexy Book Covers

July 30th, 2012

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but these 12 designs make it awfully hard not to. From the hysterical to the offensive to the downright frightening, they are sure to elicit a gut reaction before your brain has even had time to process what it's seen. You'll laugh, you'll cry... you'll be aroused but ashamed to admit it. Which is why we discuss these things hidden behind our computers in the public privacy of the internet. But be warned, some of these are NSFW, so you might want to look over your shoulder if you're on the job.

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Scandalous! Is 50 Shades of Grey Better Than You Think It Is?

July 27th, 2012

Photo from ScreenCrush Welcome back to Scandalous!, in which I dauntlessly voice an unpopular opinion about a popular book.

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Library Love: A Librarian Told Me - Research Guides For Every Subject

July 26th, 2012

Do you ever get tired of searching the Internet? I know I do, and I practically do it for a living. I’m not talking about leapfrogging – that exciting thing that happens when you’re supposed to be working and you click on a link someone posted on Facebook and an hour later you’re looking at images of modern interior design in Australian homes. No. I’m referring to the infuriating task of finding something on purpose.

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Race and Races in Fantasy

July 26th, 2012

Since J. R. R. Tolkien, other races have become a staple of the fantasy genre. Tolkien gave us our modern fantasy version of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Orcs, Ents, and so on. Tolkien was careful not to make his races too monolithic - there is variation within each race - but certain traits generally remained the same. Elves are depicted as nobler, fairer, and wiser than men, an example that humans and others should aspire to. Dwarves are often seen as short-tempered and quarrelsome, having an uncomfortable tendency toward greed.

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