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Showing 3546 Columns
October 25th, 2011
Photo by christgr Last time, we tried starting a story by writing the end first. You may eventually place the ending you wrote at the actual end of the story, or, as we discussed using an example from The Usual Suspects, you might use part of the last scene to open your story.
Read Column →October 24th, 2011
Out of Oz marks Gregory Maguire’s fourth and final book in the series beginning with his brilliant, beloved Wicked. Maguire’s Wicked universe is richly complex, politically contentious, and filled to the brim with nuanced characters—all of which is wonderful to read but super tough to remember. Out of Oz is released on November 1st, and readers have a lot to recall if they’re going to travel that labyrinthine yellow brick road once more.
Read Column →October 24th, 2011
Great questions this week, LitReactors! I answered two of the most frequently asked questions dealing with choice of genre and opportunities for Transgressive fiction. Warning: I use the term "author branding" and the outlook for Transgressive fiction in traditional publishing is not bright. But you have options.
Read Column →October 21st, 2011
Header via Free Images (Just joined us? Maybe you missed my first imaginary sockpuppet pundit making the case for ebook self-publishing, in which case, why not go back and check it out? Then rejoin us below as a second sockpuppet argues the case against, and pull on your gloves to fight for your favoured corner in the comments. Ready? Let's do this.)
Read Column →October 21st, 2011
In Book Brawl, two books that are somehow related will get in the ring and fight it out for the coveted honor of being declared literary champion. Two books enter. One book leaves. This month, our contenders are circus life novels Geek Love (Katherine Dunn, 1983) and Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen, 2006). Who shall emerge victorious? This is so exciting!
Read Column →October 20th, 2011
Though many true book enthusiasts, particularly in the Northwest where locally owned retailers are more common than paperback novels with Fabio on the cover, would never have set foot in a mega-chain bookstore like Borders, plenty of people did each day--right up until the company shuttered each of its stores in July. Which also meant that, until that time, plenty of publishers and booksellers, authors and editors, baristas, retailers, and representatives worked with Borders to stock the shelves, sign books, make deals and jerk lattes. So what now?
Read Column →October 19th, 2011
It’s tough out here in the trenches. The written word is dying, nobody is buying books, presses aren’t paying authors, and it’s impossible to get published or land an agent. All lies.
Read Column →October 19th, 2011
Roth image via Wikipedia Commons — Flag image by Karolina Grabowska via Pexels I've been asked to write about Philip Roth. According to the editorial guidelines, this should be neither a simple “review” of any one of his novels nor a cold, general overview of his work. That suits me.
Read Column →October 17th, 2011
Image by Mariano Ruffa via Pexels Maybe you've had this experience too, but at some point during my literary education I learned what a hanging ending was, and I remember thinking it was genius—why bother to write a decent ending when you could just STOP writing and let the reader do all the work?
Read Column →October 17th, 2011
Header image by Ricardo Esquivel For whatever reason--and step near any literature major, and you'll hear every possible one of them--scary, gory, and downright mean stuff is some of the most invigorating and dreadfully fun to read. You know from the jump that you are going to see some shit, alright! Crack the spine. Awake now, eh? Got your attention? Can you imagine for a while? You might regret it, 'cause there is no unknowing.
Read Column →Our free writing app lets you set writing goals and track your progress, so you can finally write that book!