Columns

Lessons I Learned Ghostwriting Romance (as a Non-Romance Writer)

February 12th, 2021

Images via Katie Salerna & Karolina Grabowska I don’t consider myself a romance author by any stretch of the imagination, but I have written a lot of it. As a ghostwriter, I've produced a lot of content, far more than under my own name. The vast majority falls into two broad categories. I’ve written a ton of business/autobiographical/self-help nonfiction.

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Say Something Nice: Good Things About Bad Books

February 10th, 2021

Because it’s government-mandated Love Month (that’s how Valentine’s works, right?), and because my understanding of love is that it’s weird and uncomfortable, and because I do so much complaining, I decided it’s time to say something nice. Below is a list of books that I don’t like for various reasons. And now I’ll do my very best to say something nice about each one of them.

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Curious not Confused

February 8th, 2021

Original image via Pixabay Imagine you’re writing a story set in Greenland. How much do you have to tell your readers about that country? It’s a place most English speakers aren’t too familiar with, so there will be some things to explain, but when deciding what to include in such a story that pesky glowing rectangle on the nightstand plays a role.

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Bad Romance: 10 Books To Warm Your Cold, Black Heart

February 8th, 2021

Header image by cottonbro studio To quote Lady Gaga, the Patron Saint of Pop Music: "I want your love and I want your revenge, you and me could write a bad romance."

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Shedding Hyperbole in the Post-Trump Era

February 5th, 2021

Original image via Skitterphoto The following is not any kind of exclusive prep-school grooming for writers. Nor is it me censoring you or telling you how to express yourself. Nor am I alluding that writers are somehow more evolved than non-writers (in fact, we are consistently, if not uniformly, manic). However, if the shoe fits, I’d like to make the humble suggestion to find the confidence to wear it; especially considering you’re the shoemaker.

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Finding Solace in Horror Fiction

February 4th, 2021

There's something about it. That feeling of dread as a stalker observes its prey from the cover of darkness, the singing blade that tears through its victim, and the feeling of unease in the pit of your stomach knowing the killer is still out there. It's comforting. It's my sanctuary. I am one of many who seek refuge in the world of horror fiction and it's important to know why. As a writer, there's a lot of value in understanding your audience. Knowing who you're writing for helps you become a credible source with authority in the genre.

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What Good Are Sex Scenes in Fiction?

February 3rd, 2021

I’m not here to talk about bad sex. Okay, maybe just a little. Fiction has some terrible sex in it. There’s even a Bad Sex Award, which was sadly not presented in 2020, but you still want a highlight from 2019, right? Highlight:

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24 Hour Writing Challenge: Livestreaming a Full Day of Writing on Twitch

February 2nd, 2021

On January 15, 2021, I turned on the livestream for my Twitch channel as soon as I woke up and I started writing. That was my only goal that day, the only thing on my list of things to do. I was going to see how many short stories I could write before midnight that night, all live in front of whoever wanted to watch for as long as they wanted to watch.

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5 Hauntingly Brilliant Women You Need to Read

February 1st, 2021

February is Women in Horror Month (WiHM), and while we should be celebrating women in the horror industry all year long, this is a time of extra visibility and encouragement, and as such, I want to share some of my favorite contemporary authors with you, as well as tell you a little story about my own journey working and reading in the horror industry.

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Displeasing, Offensive, and Bad: Three Tiers of Crappy Books

January 28th, 2021

Amateurs finish a book, and if it sucks, they say it sucks, and they leave it there. Real readers go further. They figure out why it sucked. Partially because they’re curious. But mostly, and most importantly, because figuring out why you disliked a book helps you avoid reading another pile of shit just like it. Writers do the same thing. You can’t finish a book and say, “Well, that sucked,” and expect to learn anything. Let’s say you finish a lousy book. What’s the next step? Buckets.

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