Columns

Comics vs. Television: "Invincible" Animates Well

June 11th, 2021

Superhero cartoons have always been a real mixed bag. For every truly timeless classic, there are dozens of glorified toy commercials. You always hope for another Batman: The Animated Series, but usually we just get cheaper, uglier versions of our beloved characters having laboriously tame, child-friendly confrontations, while ignoring all of the great storytelling that made the comic book a property worth adapting in the first place.

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A Year Expanding the Canon: Reading Non-WASP Stories

June 8th, 2021

I had what's considered a traditional education when it comes to literature: The standard curriculum for an English major during my undergrad, further exploration of the literary canon in my MFA program, and independent reading guided by the "classics." What this means is that I am fairly fluent when it comes to the traditional, English-language "canon."

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The Swartzwelder Method: Because Writing Should Be Fun

June 7th, 2021

For the first time in...maybe ever, John Swartzwelder gave an interview.

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Tiny Book Battle: Publishing Under a Microscope

June 4th, 2021

Header image via Pixabay In case you were wondering (but you probably weren’t), it’s possible to purchase a Bible that is one nanometer (nm) large—that is one billionth, or 10 to the ninth power, of a meter, the comparative size of a marble to Earth. This Bible can only be read with an electron microscope.

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I Wrote A Story Every Day for a Month on Live Stream

June 3rd, 2021

In a desperate attempt to keep myself relevant and draw undeserved attention to my writing, I keep coming up with gimmicks to try. This time I decided to write a story a day for the entire month of May while livestreaming on Twitch. When I tell this story to other people, I frame it to make me look like an innovator, a thought leader, and worthy of admiration.

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Alan Wake: A Look Back At Video Gaming's Best Writer Character

June 2nd, 2021

Alan Wake turned 10 last year. You’re excused for not marking the occasion. I hear there was some other shit going on. But it’s 2021, I’m juiced up on vaccine, and one of the side effects is catching up with everything we missed during the pandemic. And so: Alan Wake. A Brief Re-Introduction This is just a little bit for those of you who are unfamiliar with Alan Wake and for those of you who forgot. I mean, it’s been a minute.

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LURID: May Gray — In A Lonely Place

May 28th, 2021

Image via Markus Spiske Fear was the fog, creeping about you, winding its tendrils about you, seeping into your pores and flesh and bone. Fear was a girl whispering a word over and over again, a small word you refused to hear although the whisper was a scream in your ears, a dreadful scream you could never forget. You heard it over and over and again and the fog was a ripe red veil you could not tear away from your eyes.

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Celebrate Horror 2021 with Mother Horror

May 26th, 2021

Last year around March 15th is when our family made a personal choice to stay home due to the rising cases of COVID-19. March 23rd is when Gov. Jay Inslee issued Washington state's first stay home order. It was in place for two months. Stay home unless absolutely necessary. Only essential businesses will stay open.

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ADD Creators: Revisited

May 25th, 2021

The struggles of ADD are often on my mind, at least while I'm not distracted by something shiny. The way my brain is configured has defined both the best and worst parts of my life, and its mixed relationship to creativity has been a challenge to navigate.

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Storyville: Writing for the Ideal Reader

May 24th, 2021

So today we’re going to talk about writing to your ideal reader. I’m sure you’ve head of this concept before. Let’s dig in to some ideas on what that means, and how I think you can approach this concept. I think it can help you out quite a bit, but maybe not in the ways you might expect.

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