Columns

The Sound of Absence: Utilizing White Space in Poetry

March 10th, 2021

When I first started writing poetry, my focus was on imagery and how devices like metaphor, simile, and personification could help elicit a stronger reaction in my readers. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent (and still spend) writing analogies in my drafting notebook or scribbling down weird appearances that showed up in my dreams in hopes that one day, they’ll work themselves into a poem or be a soundboard for a doorway into something dark and surreal that ends up on the page.

Read Column →

What is Quiet Horror?

March 9th, 2021

There are so many enticing elements of horror that draw readers in and hold their attention. It's the dread-inducing suspense, chilling prose or maybe that creeping tension winding tighter and tighter. But nothing enthralls me more than the atmospheric feeling you get from reading quiet horror. Such a story is palpable and I crave it with every new book I pick up. This is something that I believe to be lost on a lot of readers of the macabre. Many are familiar with the gripping stories, but not so much the term or meaning of quiet horror.

Read Column →

10 Terrible Writing Ideas that Shouldn't Work, But Sometimes Do

March 8th, 2021

Let’s just admit it up front. There are way more than ten terrible writing ideas, and we’ve all tried a few of them. I could work on this article every day for the rest of my life and never list them all. Trying to catalog every terrible writing idea would be yet another terrible writing idea. Still, for every terrible idea, there is someone out there who made it work, the exception that proves the rule.

Read Column →

Why I'm Not Submitting for Publication Anymore

March 5th, 2021

Everybody has their 2020 story. Here’s mine: January: I get the flu. Twice. Then, after a pretty terrifying afternoon, I discover that someone in my life, VERY close to me, has a medical situation. I’m not going to spill all the beans here because it’s not my story to tell, let’s just leave it at this: think of the 5 scariest, worst pieces of medical news you can get. This medical situation she’s/we’re facing, it’s probably in that top 5.

Read Column →

On Revenge Fantasies, Male Toxicity and "Promising Young Woman"

March 4th, 2021

There are the bright gaudy colors. Costumes. Pop music, especially, though not limited to "Toxic" by Britney Spears. And to say that the experience of watching Promising Young Woman is similar to that of getting on a twisty, amusement park ride is not a stretch.

Read Column →

Why Every Author Should Write Haiku

March 1st, 2021

I am not a poet, except maybe in the sense that if you ever write something, you can call yourself a writer. So, I have written poems. I’ve even written a few not assigned by teachers in grade school. But I’m not a poet, really. Many of you reading this may not be either. So, why am I pushing the idea that you write haiku?

Read Column →

The Importance of the Character Interview

February 25th, 2021

Image via Alex Green Writers are creators. Creators of worlds, stories, and of people. We flesh out characters—that to some, seem like very real individuals—with hopes, motivations, frustrations, and goals. We may even become protective of these imaginary people, especially when they have stories that are yet to be told.

Read Column →

Old Book Marketing Wisdom That Needs To Change

February 24th, 2021

Bill Veeck was a baseball team owner who did some crazy shit. He held a game where the fans used cards to vote on the team's strategy throughout the game while the team's manager sat in a rocking chair. He gave away livestock at games, including, one time, a horse.

Read Column →

The Best and Worst Things We Can Do With 'The Great Gatsby'

February 18th, 2021

The Great Gatsby has entered public domain, meaning you can take it and do just about whatever you want with it. Nobody can stop you from printing an all-over t-shirt with every word from first to last, “In” to “past.” Nobody can stop you from recording your own jazzy audiobook version. Nobody can stop you from finally making that Gatsby: Revengeanceining first-person shooter. With all this new freedom...what are some of the best and worst things we could do with The Great Gatsby now?

Read Column →

"To All The Boys: Always and Forever" is the Sweetest Ending to a Beloved Series

February 17th, 2021

Close to two and a half years have passed since the Netflix adaptation of To All the Boys I've Loved Before exploded into everyone's hearts, and the saga has finally drawn to a conclusion with the latest installment, To All the Boys: Always and Forever. 

Read Column →