Columns

Ask Nick: Publishing 201 — Do I Need to Attend Conventions or Conferences?

May 6th, 2020

Hello, and welcome back to Publishing 201—an occasional column in which I'll answer your questions about writing and publishing, so long as they haven't been asked and answered a million times already. There is plenty of 101-level advice out there, and thousands of writers who can repeat it, but very little has been written for writers further along in their careers or aesthetic development. If you have a 201-level question you'd like me to answer, reach out!

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Book Promotion In The Age of Pandemic

May 4th, 2020

Bookstores and libraries are closed.  In-person gatherings are either discouraged or banned (at least in states not run by sycophants). The media and entertainment industries are in tailspin—either bracing for layoffs or overwhelmed by coronavirus coverage.  Which begs the question—what the hell are authors supposed to even do right now? 

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10 Horror Novels You Should Not Try to Reinvent Unless You Are Awesome, Brave, and a Little Stupid

May 1st, 2020

Maybe writing any novel requires you to be awesome, brave, and a little bit stupid. If that were true, I could put any novel from any genre on this list. Instead, I limited myself to horror, and chose novels that represent broader categories or tropes that are easy to execute badly. Many examples exist of authors who did just that. There are fewer—but still important—examples of authors who created their own unique take on a popular idea that worked really well.

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All Stories Are Existential

April 30th, 2020

Many readers would consider existential novels to be a sub-genre of literary fiction, including works by Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir, and maybe a few more contemporary names like David Foster Wallace and Milan Kundera. Really, though, all fiction is existential, and if yours isn’t, then it’s probably pretty boring. Here’s why.

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The Good and Bad of Expanding the Definition of 'Literature'

April 29th, 2020

What is literature? And what isn’t? Labels like “literature” expand and contract as a medium like books breathes in and out. Right now, a lot of the talk seems to be about expanding the definition of literature. Expanding and including seem to be the way we’re headed. Is this a good idea? A bad idea? Some of both? Does the expansion of “literature’s” definition accomplish the goal of bringing more readers into the fold?

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Why I Write My Mental Illness into My Non-Fiction

April 28th, 2020

Image by Andra Piacquadio The first non-fiction piece I ever wrote about mental health was in the fall of 2012. It was an op-ed for my school newspaper urging my fellow students to stop joking about self-harm. I wrote it in this weird space between first-and-third person, because I wanted it to be personal but I wasn’t ready to admit that I was the person hurt by the insensitive jokes.

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The Gabino Iglesias Online MFA: Second Semester

April 28th, 2020

Original image by mentatdgt A couple weeks ago I gave you an introduction to the Gabino Iglesias online MFA, and gave you a bit of info about the first nine classes (if you missed it, check it out HERE). Well, now it's time to discuss the classes you'll be taking during the second semester. Here we go!

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Heathcliff From "Wuthering Heights" Isn’t A Romantic Anti-Hero, He’s A F*cking Monster

April 27th, 2020

There’s no denying that Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is a timeless classic, a story that transcends its mid-19th century setting and speaks to every subsequent generation.

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How to use Family Dynamics to Bring Your Characters To Life

April 24th, 2020

Many writers talk about the authorial toolbox when trying to explain certain methods to achieving technical and narrative excellence. Tools are important. They provide the storyteller with implements that cut, measure, and smooth the shape of the tale. To borrow George R.R. Martin’s analogy, both the gardner and the architect require skills that have proven effectiveness. Tools that are both sharp and fine, trusted and heavily practiced. They cannot only be learned about in an abstract sense, but they must be gripped by the writer’s own hand; used regularly.

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Storyville: Writing a Compelling Novel Synopsis

April 24th, 2020

Yes, this is a huge pain in the ass. Writing a synopsis—in various lengths—can be very difficult, but it’s essential to nail down in order to communicate with agents, editors, and publishers. Here are some tips on how to make your synopsis really stand out, and what I think are the essential elements for your proposal.

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