Columns

The Path To Publication Part 3: When Is Done, Done?

March 1st, 2012

Recap: This is a monthly column about trying to publish my crime/noir/literary novel, formerly known as 'Apophenia'. Part 1 talked about the book and its history, as well as my decision to seek an agent. Part 2 talked about beta-readers and the various methods for finding an agent.

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New Release Roundup: Recommendations for March 2012

March 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 for March. 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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Autobiographical Fiction: Using Your Real Life To Craft Great Fiction

February 29th, 2012

There is a fine line between a fictionalized autobiography or memoir and autobiographical fiction. In both cases, the author includes tidbits about his or her life. The difference is to what extent. Fictionalized autobiographies are mostly a truthful telling of the author’s experience with sections fictionalized to “protect the innocent”, filling gaps where memory fails, and occasionally rearranging events for maximum narrative effect. Generally speaking, the reader is to believe the author’s account and take it for truth.

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Transgression in Theory: The Idea of a Fight Club

February 29th, 2012

Not very much has been written, on even a basic theoretical level, about this weird thing we call transgressive fiction. I call it weird because the very idea of lumping together some twisted and “dangerous” novels and seeing them as part of a “group” — or worse, a genre — feels, to me, like a bad move. Certainly, as I’ll happily concede, novels like American Psycho and Fight Club have thematic similarities, as well as stylistic ones.

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What The Hell Ever Happened To... Harry Crews?

February 28th, 2012

Harry Crews is, was, and always will be a complete and utter badass. I mean, just look at his face. Would you fuck with that guy? If you're even remotely considering the idea, I'd advise you continue reading.

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10 Graphic Novels for the Literary Minded

February 27th, 2012

As graphic novels continue to become more widely accepted by the general public, I encounter more and more people unsure about where to start reading.  There's a lot of product out there, which can make it difficult to find the right entry point.  Additionally, many pick the wrong entry point and tend to run screaming from the medium.

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Top 10 Words That Need To Die, Immediately

February 24th, 2012

Header image by Pieter Joost Lemmens The English language is full of beautiful words. Like effervescent, and skullduggery, and defenestrate.  And then there are these. These blights. Affectations that are completely devoid of meaning. Crimes against the English language that, just by saying them, you can lower any IQ within earshot. 

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LURID: Deadlier Than The Male

February 24th, 2012

LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a twice-monthly 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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Film is Truth? Why Writing Novels Is Probably A Smarter Career Move

February 23rd, 2012

For a guy who's no longer among the living, Stieg Larsson has had a hell of a few years.

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They Do Not Move: Why Boredom is No Excuse

February 23rd, 2012

Why bother? The thought entered my mind every few minutes as I stumbled through another page of Joyce’s Ulysses. Simple answer: I was seventeen and wanted people to think I was intelligent. Other sufferings motivated by just such a pretentious goal: Beckett, Dostoyevsky, Faulkner, Borges, and Nabokov. I’m glad nobody asked me to explain these works. In stable adulthood, most if not all of those authors rank among my favorites, but first introductions were an utter failure. Why?

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