Columns

LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2019 - Part I

December 9th, 2019

Another year has come and gone. You know what that means, don't you? Time for a bunch of strangers to tell you what was good! And why should you care what the LitReactor staff thinks are the best books of the year? Trick question! You shouldn't. But what they have to say might interest you nonetheless, because they are good-looking and knowledgeable and they read like the wind. So for those who care, we submit for your approval/derision some of LitReactor's favorite reads of 2019 (part 1).

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The Best Horror Novels Of The Last Decade

December 6th, 2019

RIP 2010-2019. You've been a rather strange decade, and not exactly a stellar one, if we're being honest, especially these last three years, what with basically every celebrity dying in 2016 (we're living in a world without David Bowie and Prince, y'all) and then that one thing concerning the White House we all just avoided discussing with our families at Thanksgiving, even though it's the epitome of a shit show at this point (yeah, call me a libt*rd snowflake, I really don't care).

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Craft A Cozy Mystery In Three Killer Steps

December 5th, 2019

Header photo by Noelle Otto So you want to write a cozy, but you don’t know where to start? Rest assured the solution lies in three simple steps. But first, we must note that cozy mysteries are different from traditional whodunits in that they shy away from gratuitous sex and violence in favor of homespun values in a close-knit community.

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What I Learned at Gotham Writers Workshop's First-Ever Writing Conference

December 4th, 2019

On October 25th, I gathered a little tote bag and hopped a train from Queens to the Ace Hotel in midtown Manhattan. There, in a conference room in the basement, I found the Gotham Writers Conference. The conference, the first one ever put on by Gotham Writers Workshop, was a two-day event. The first day, the only one I was able to attend, was open to everyone who felt like paying and attending. It consisted of five panels and talks, as well as a happy hour at the end.

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Storyville: Using Your Family to Tell Dark Stories

December 3rd, 2019

Oh, the number of times I’ve killed off my wife and kids in a story or novel. I mean, Disintegration alone! But that’s not the only role your family can play in the telling of dark stories. There are many ways you can use the people around you to provide depth, meaning, emotion, and authority. Let me toss out some ideas and see if they can help you go deeper as well.

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What Does Anne Patchett Have in Common with Britney Spears?

December 2nd, 2019

It’s December 2nd. We're just two days into the month and there are already so many birthdays to celebrate. From Green Bay Packer Aaron Rogers to Nelly Furtado, Britany Spears, Lucy Liu, and even the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez (okay, maybe not so much celebrating that jerk), there is something special about this day.

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Quit Your Job, Write Full Time

November 27th, 2019

I’m quitting my job to write. I’m giddy just typing that phrase, even though it’s not true. Maybe it should be in italics. Or maybe I should add "someday" to the end. In italics. For such a common dream, it’s so unattainable. So taboo to even discuss. It's italics-level taboo.  It’s laughable, right? If someone said this to you, would you have any reaction other than, “Good fucking luck”? 

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Her Dark Materials: Raising Inner Demons To Craft Complex Villains

November 26th, 2019

Kids in cages. Governments suppressing free thought. Old men whispering in studies about science and the fate of the world. The latest adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is underway, and while the dust is still settling on whether or not it'll be the next Game of Thrones, the show is undoubtedly timely.

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Cancel Culture Is Ruining Publishing!

November 25th, 2019

Ha! That's not true. I was just messing with you.

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Have you Wished Ishmael Beah a Happy Birthday Today?

November 22nd, 2019

Ishmael Beah turns 39 on November 23rd.  Nonfiction isn’t always favored. It’s not what most people think of when they imagine great literature nowadays. Writers and readers run around quoting Hemmingway, Steinbeck, and Bradbury. Fiction hosts the wonders of possibility. It offers the benefits of escapism mixed with intellectual inquiry, but it often lacks a fully grounded perspective that represents the better parts of real journeys.

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