Columns

The 'Narrow Your Horizons' Reading Challenge

January 7th, 2019

It’s January, so there’s a decent chance you’re reading this in the gym. Because this is THE NEW YOU, and the new you reads articles on an elliptical machine, perhaps while a kale smoothie sloshes around in your stomach. It’s crowded in that gym because most of us take up some kind of ambitious New Year’s Resolution, but for 80% of us that ambition runs dry by the second week in February.  

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Dialogue: The Number One Mistake Newbie Writers Make

January 3rd, 2019

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash There are many online articles on how to write dialogue in fiction. Some cover the basics—for example, when you switch speakers, make sure you start a new paragraph—while others dig into the more advanced elements of dialogue, like conflict and subtext. Which is all well and good. But there’s one issue I see over and over again in the dialogue of newbie writers, and I have yet to find a single bit of online advice that tackles it.

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How to Set Writing Goals for 2019 — the Right Way

January 2nd, 2019

It’s December 31st and the clock is about to strike midnight. Yep, raise your hand if you’re thinking what I’m thinking. Once it’s January 1st, you’ll have to actually make New Year’s resolutions — and if you’re a writer, this will probably involve writing a book. So if you’ve made writing a goal in the past and failed every time, you might want to try approaching it differently this year. More specifically, try setting your writing goals the S.M.A.R.T. way:

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Exploring the Literary References of Silent Hill

January 1st, 2019

Last month I wrote about the real town behind Silent Hill. This month we focus on the literary references, and believe me, the town and game are full of them. I knew going in there were a number of film, literary, and pop culture nods, but only in diving deeper down the rabbit hole have I discovered just how many.

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Book vs. Film: "Bird Box"

December 28th, 2018

Josh Malerman's novel Bird Box sent nearly instant ripples through the literary community upon its publication in 2014, with fans and critics alike touting it as one of the finest horror books of the 21st century.

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7 Ways to Turn Your Writing Resolutions into Realities

December 27th, 2018

Lamp image via Free Images I became an ATI certified personal trainer and thought everything I knew about diet and exercise was going to help me get people to achieve their goals. I was wrong. I ran my own personal training studio for almost three years, and what I learned during that time is every fitness goal depends on a person's mentality. Without the mental aspect under control, your diet and exercise plans will probably fail. The same goes for writing.

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Storyville: What the 'Best Horror of the Year' Anthology Can Teach Us

December 26th, 2018

If you write dark fiction, including horror, one of the best ways you can stay current, evolve as an author, and find new stories to tell is to read The Best Horror of the Year, edited by Ellen Datlow. I consider it MUST READING every year. I teach out of this book for my Advanced Creative Writing Workshop, and even though I’ve published over 150 stories, I learn something every time I read it. What do I learn? How can you use this anthology to get better? Let me tell you.

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Book vs. Film: 'Die Hard'. Plus An End To The Christmas Movie Debate

December 21st, 2018

Merry Christmas and Yippee-Ki-Yay! To enhance my enjoyment of Die Hard, I went ahead and read the book it was based on, Nothing Lasts Forever. After all, the book is ALWAYS better than the movie, right? Which meant Nothing Lasts Forever was liable to blow my mind all the way down my throat, through my digestive tract, and violently out through—well, you get the idea. Let me tell you all about it. Plus, stay tuned for definitive proof that Die Hard is, in fact, a Christmas movie.

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When Calvin Met Hobbes: Calvin and Hobbes' Most Memorable Christmases

December 20th, 2018

Nothing inspires a child's imagination to run wild quite like Christmas — with the stretch of school break and the promise of presents. It certainly beats having to worry about bills and work! What better way to reminisce about the best season of the year than revisiting the adventures of precocious six-year-old Calvin and his anthropomorphic stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Here are twelve memorable moments from Calvin and Hobbes to get you into the spirit of Christmas.

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5 Gifts NOT To Get That Special Writer In Your Life: A Guide

December 19th, 2018

It’s that time of year again. The stores already have their Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras or Fourth of July displays out, but that doesn’t mean you’ve crumpled your holiday shopping list and kicked back with the eggnog yet. If you’re human like the rest of us, you’ve still got a ways to go and a pile of presents to buy.

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