Columns

Write What You Don’t Know

January 24th, 2012

Photo by Ken Cheung Of all the aphoristic rules out there for writing, perhaps none is more common than the banal adage to “write what you know.” It’s my belief that this phrase, while well intentioned, is ultimately misleading advice.

Read Column →

The Word You’re Looking For Is Genius—Not Crazy, Genius: The Top 5 Craziest Crime Writers

January 23rd, 2012

The writers of crime fiction are some of the nicest people you could possibly meet.

Read Column →

Ask The Lit Coach: 'Is It Okay To Submit To Multiple Agents At The Same Agency?' and More

January 23rd, 2012

And we're back for another sizzling round of Q&A! This week's discussion focuses on the etiquette of querying and submitting to agents, and the bottom line of using a pen name. 

Read Column →

LURID: Flowers In The Attic

January 20th, 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.

Read Column →

Alexander Trocchi: A Primer

January 19th, 2012

Alexander Trocchi was a “junkie, visionary, pimp, beat, literary outlaw, pornographer, philosopher, pig farmer, underground organiser and antique book dealer” — but he was also a writer.

Read Column →

The Period Part 1—Lots o' dots: How frequent and deliberate use of the humble period can create maximum impact.

January 18th, 2012

Header image by Aleksandar Pasaric via Pexels First, I’ll tell you what we are not going to discuss in this article—when to use a period according to the rules of usage for the English language. While that's important (although not as intuitive as one might think), this article will instead focus on using the period deliberately and selectively to enhance your writing and your story.

Read Column →

Storyville: Research and Duotrope

January 17th, 2012

You have a voice now, and you can write a cover letter, you’ve seen the horrors and the joy of the submission process, but let’s take a step back for a second. Where are you sending your stories? How in the hell do you decide on the right journal or magazine or website for your epic genius? If only there was one place to go, one source for all of your questions, complete with links and statistics and pretty pictures. There is. If you haven’t discovered Duotrope.com yet, then you, my friend, are in for an awakening.

Read Column →

Q&A with The Lit Coach - Issue 8 Announcement

January 16th, 2012

It's that time again - The Lit Coach is accepting your burning questions relating to writing, agents, editors, publishing, and the writing life for the eighth issue of Q&A with The Lit Coach. Submit ONE clearly crafted question to Erin Reel, The Lit Coach, by Saturday, January 21st. She'll choose a few of the best or the most frequently asked questions to answer, Monday, January 23rd. Submit your question to The Lit Coach!

Read Column →

Can't Everyone In The Publishing Industry Just Get Along?

January 16th, 2012

The level of discourse in this country really sucks.  It's not enough to be right anymore. In order to be in favor of something you must also wish death and destruction upon the opposing side. This kind of attitude used to be relegated to sports, religion and politics. Now we're seeing the Fox-Newsification of everything, from nerd culture (if I told y'all how I felt about Star Wars you'd publicly crucify me) to the publishing industry.  Why can't we all just get along? 

Read Column →

The Lure of Celebrity: Why Literary Agents Represent Stars (And Not You)

January 16th, 2012

About a year ago, news broke that Jersey Shore "star" (?) Nicole "Snooki" Polizi, who is famous mostly for being short, tan, and publicly maligned, was penning a memoir entitled A Shore Thing.  This prompted a collective eye-roll among those in the writing and publishing world. Authors who had been shopping books around for years were crushed. English majors with hopes of being the next Annie Dillard retreated to their hometowns to weep and look for jobs serving coffee.

Read Column →