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Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Winners For Fiction and Poetry
May 16th, 2019
While the Pulitzer Prize includes a large number of journalism categories, it’s more widely thought of as a heavyweight literary award. You’ve probably read the terms “Pulitzer Prize winner” before the title of many books, and nodded sagely to yourself, thinking “Ah, it must be good.” But how much do you really know about this prestigious award? And moreover, how much do you know about the poetry and fiction winners who were crowned this past April?
Read Column →10 Tips for a Superb Reading
May 15th, 2019
Photo by Wendy Wei from Pexels Here are some facts I won't argue about: Book covers matter and sell books Professional editing and layout matter Reading your work in public can help you sell books Especially that last one. It has worked for me time and time again.
Read Column →Storyville: Sympathy for the Devil
May 14th, 2019
When you write about horrible people in your fiction—whether it’s your villain or your protagonist—their portrayal can’t be one note. What I want to talk about today is how you get readers to feel strong emotions about all of your characters, but especially the dark souls, monsters, and evil entities in your stories.
Read Column →Book vs. Films: "The Birds"
May 13th, 2019
As Malcolm Jones correctly opines in an article for The Daily Beast, "Ask anyone today who wrote The Birds, and the odds are good that you’ll get a blank stare for a response." This is certainly true of cinephiles, as well as the population at large, who think, no doubt, of three things when reminded of The Birds: Hitchcock, Tipi Hedren in her green dress getting jabbed and pummeled by the titular avians, and a farmer with his eyes pecked out.
Read Column →Ten Books to Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month
May 10th, 2019
Heritage months! So much to learn in such a short time. May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month and, my goodness, there's a lot in there. Starting in 1978, Asian Pacific Heritage Week was designated by law as the first 10 days in May and was officially made into the month of May in 1992.
Read Column →Writers In Movies: What Do They Get Right?
May 9th, 2019
Ever tried to watch an action movie with a gun nut? It’s impossible. It’s non-stop “11 shots from what’s CLEARLY a revolver? Please.” Listen, buddy. We’re about to see Stallone kick Wesley Snipes’ flash-frozen head clean off his body, and then it bounces and shatters on the ground, shards of frozen gore everywhere. I’m fine with the reality breaking a little bit.
Read Column →The Seemingly Inevitable Relationship Between Writing And Imposter Syndrome
May 7th, 2019
photo: "Luke Alike" by JD Hancock / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Every writer knows about imposter syndrome: those moments when you feel like a total fraud and a joke to your friends and family, a sad sack with unrealistic dreams, who isn’t doing anything a million other people aren’t doing, and, compared to other writers better than you, you’re failing at
Read Column →Writing Comics vs. Writing Novels
May 6th, 2019
Comic books are not graphic novels. The term “graphic novel” was popularized in the 80s to make collections and other long form comics more palatable to outside readers (i.e.: anyone who doesn’t frequent a comic shop) who might otherwise never pick up a copy of Watchmen. But comic books do not tell stories in the same way a prose novel does. Comic books are comic books.
Read Column →20 Comics To Cure Your 'Avengers: Endgame' Hangover
May 3rd, 2019
You saw the movie. It’s over. It’s all over. Doesn’t it feel a little like the day after Halloween? All this build-up and excitement, then it’s just...over? The awesome Demolition Man costume you made is trash. That great party left you with nothing but cleaning tasks, sweeping, bathroom duty, rinsing out the skull/spine beer bong. That feeling, that “it’s all over” thing, it’s a form of hangover. How do you cure a hangover? How do you drag your sorry carcass through this, the toughest hours?
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