Columns

Overcoming Self-Hype Block

March 24th, 2020

It feels kind of dumb writing about this when there is a pandemic going on, but I pitched this last month, and in dire times we turn to art. So fuck it, let’s talk about self-hype block. First, I want to say that hyping/branding and selling yourself has nothing to do with creating art. Existentially, if I could just write books and music for myself, I’d still do it. It would be less fun and probably less enjoyable, but the act itself is always worth doing.

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Is The Novel Dead?

March 23rd, 2020

Lately I’ve been keeping these columns short. Buuuut I figured you all might be in the mood to think about something other than death. Human death, anyway. And I figured you might have some time to kill, whether that’s because you’re sitting at home and getting paid or sitting at home because you’re laid off. Let’s think about something else for a bit.

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Why I'm Writing Poetry Again: A Celebration of National Poetry Day

March 20th, 2020

Photo by Karis Rogerson I’ve been a poet almost as long as I’ve been a person who breathes. Not an acclaimed poet; not even a published poet; but a poet nonetheless, someone who finds solace and freedom in playing with words, in language too pretty for prose, in different structures and stanzas and formats.

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How To Help Out Writers During A Pandemic (and How Writers Can Help Themselves)

March 19th, 2020

One may assume that us writers have it the easiest during a nationwide pandemic that calls for social distancing and working from home. To a degree, we are lucky, given that our careers require nothing more that click-clacking away on computers or typewriters all day, and so many of us are introverts anyway, that don't socialize even when there isn't a virulent upper-respiratory infection sweeping across the world.

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The Strange Case of Hazel Drew

March 18th, 2020

Hazel Drew’s lifeless body was found floating in Teal’s Pond in Sand Lake, NY, on July 11th, 1908. She was young, attractive, and her violent demise baffled many. Over a century later her murder is still unsolved. All that remains is her gravestone at the Brookside Cemetery in Barberville, NY, not far from the scene of the crime. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be repeated blunt trauma to the back of the head.

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The Most Interesting Cover Trends That Emerged in 2019 — And What We Can Expect in 2020

March 17th, 2020

As 2019 recedes from our collective memory, it’s easy to forget the trends that defined it, from fashion to film to food. Naturally this applies to literature as well — and it can be especially difficult to pin down cover design trends of a given year, as they tend to evolve gradually and may even re-emerge after long periods of dormancy. Indeed, any seasoned cover designer will recognize that no cover design is 100% new. However, each year there will be certain colors, shapes, and textual arrangements that “has its day,” so to speak.

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Storyville: Using a Chorus in Your Fiction

March 16th, 2020

Chorus defined: A Greek chorus, or simply chorus (in the context of Ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, and modern works inspired by them), is a homogeneous, non-individualized group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action. The chorus consisted of between 12 and 50 players, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison, and sometimes wore masks. —Wikipedia

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Stay Positive, and Write

March 13th, 2020

Images via Andrea Piacquadio & Ivan Bertolazzi According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that allow people and their communities to thrive. The field of positive psychology is based on the understanding that we all want to live lives that are meaningful, and that we all want to be able to do what is best for ourselves to enhance and optimize our life experiences. 

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20 Mind Destroying Secrets about Ghostwriting

March 12th, 2020

Images via Jimmy Chan & fotografierende You might not like this article if you still believe every successful author writes his or her own books. Most of you know better. Some of you may even know people who ghostwrite. You may know people who have used ghostwriters, but you may or may not be aware of who they are.

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Spring Cleaning For Writers

March 11th, 2020

Ah, spring. Nothing like sweating under your coat one day and freezing your junk off the next. Pollen in your nostrils, flu in your eyes. It’s really the perfect preparation for the worst time of year: summer, the suckiest season of all the sucky seasons. Don’t fight me on this.

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