Columns

The Unmistakable Voice of James Robert Baker (1947-1997)

December 2nd, 2021

Author photo via the estate of James Robert Baker Whenever I heard the word ‘transgressive,’ I always thought of it as something like… you know, you’ll read Chuck Palahniuk, Irving Welsh, Brett Easton Ellis — those are the big names you hear. You’re also told they’re very LGBT-friendly authors, but then, when I was reading that stuff, I’m like, ‘Okay, but where’s the gay sex?'

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The Stories and Worlds of Philip K. Dick's Grave

December 1st, 2021

Photos by Peter Derk Philip K. Dick’s stories built worlds where time reversed and people had to be unburied before they suffocated, worlds where people used a store-bought spray product to fix breaks in the fabric of reality, worlds where space travelers competed to bring the best hallucinogens to humanity. The story of Philip K. Dick’s grave also built more than one world, more than one story about how things wound up the way they are.

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The Hunt for Horror: Using Short Fiction to Navigate A Genre

November 30th, 2021

Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner. ― Neil Gaiman

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Storyville: What's the Best Money You've Spent on Your Writing Career?

November 29th, 2021

I often wonder where our dollars should go, as authors. Does spending money on advertising even work? What about classes or an MFA? Should we go to conventions, do book tours, buy business cards? I took a moment to reach out to some writers I know to ask them this very question: “What is the best money you’ve ever spent on your writing career?” Here are their answers.

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Pass the Stuffing and the True Crime: 8 Titles to Get You Through the Holidays

November 25th, 2021

It’s almost the holiday season again, so I’m here to do the perennial good work of keeping readers from murdering their families by providing an ulterior outlet via reading about death and dismemberment. Or, hey, maybe you just want to peacefully curl up with a new read as the weather gets colder. No judgement either way. The following are a few upcoming and recently released titles for the tail end of 2021.

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Revisiting a Work You’ve Already Published: Things to Keep in Mind

November 24th, 2021

It’s not often you get a chance to revise your book after it’s been published. What would you do with that opportunity? It’d be tempting to launch a down-to-the-studs revamp—a line-by-line edit, tweaking and deleting and improving everything you found deficient the first time around. But you might not have the time or energy. You might fear that, if you do too much, you’ll strip away whatever made the book work the first time around.

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Not Getting Into Pitch Wars Isn't the Universe's Message to Me

November 23rd, 2021

Original image via Have you ever failed at something so spectacularly, you felt foolish for even trying it in the first place?

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Advice from a 19th Century Governess and How Writing About Writing Has Changed

November 19th, 2021

Writers have always loved to give advice, even when it’s not solicited. This is very apparent if you decide to spend a minute going through Google books using the search terms “writing advice” and restrict results to the 19th century. Looking through writing advice from about 200 years ago is an interesting exercise in gauging how much things have changed while also remaining the same. Do any of these antique words of wisdom still ring true for aspiring writers? 

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How to Come up with the Perfect Story Title

November 18th, 2021

Header image via SHVETS production How do you come up with the perfect story title? I wish I knew! LitReactor should have found someone who knew what they were doing to write this article. Richard Thomas recently wrote an article on multi-pronged story hooks that addressed titles. Definitely check that out.

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Nonfiction Reads to Strengthen Your Relationship with the Witch

November 17th, 2021

November is always a transitional month for me. I’m still clutching onto Halloween with all its tricks and treats, but I’m also reaching for winter, which is probably my second favorite time of year. I love the cold, the magic, the solitude, and I always find myself wanting to curl up with ghost stories and haunted houses, maybe even have a séance and a nice cup of cinnamon spice tea. There’s just something beautifully introspective that happens between Samhain and Yule, and I’m always excited to speak to the shadows and bury the sun.

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