Columns

Every Goosebumps Book Summarized In One Sentence

October 15th, 2015

*Contains spoilers for the original Goosebumps series, The Stuff,  the Rocky saga, and The Sixth Sense.* Inspired by "Every Stephen King Novel Summarized in 140 Characters or Less" by Max Booth III

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The Grim Specter of Writer Suicide

October 14th, 2015

With Halloween fast approaching, our thoughts tend to gravitate toward ghosts, monsters, slasher villains and all the other things that terrify us. In the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to take a look at one of the scariest demons that continues to prey on us in the real world: suicide. Available statistics tell us that it claims a body count of over a million every year, about one every forty seconds, which means at least two people will have ended their own lives before I finish typing this sentence.

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Readers Beware, You’re In For A Scare: How Goosebumps Saved My Life

October 13th, 2015

When I was seven years-old, my parents took a trip to a library book sale. They came home with a box specifically for me. Either my mom or my dad said, “I don’t know if you want these, but they seem like something you might like.” The box contained all sixty-two copies of the original Goosebumps series, written from 1992 to 1997 by R.L. Stine.

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Book vs. Film: 'The Martian'

October 12th, 2015

[WARNING!: Contains spoilers for both The Martian novel and The Martian film]

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Writing the Unknown Setting: 8 Tips on Conducting a Research Trip for your WIP

October 12th, 2015

In the age of social media, Google Earth, and everyone’s tendency to add “-gate” to the end of all mistakes, it’s more important than ever to get setting right. Location can be as important to one’s novel as the title or the main character’s backstory—but every now and then, you may need to set your book in a place you don’t know very well. 

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'Haunted', the Album inspired by Mark Z. Danielewski's 'House of Leaves'

October 9th, 2015

Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves was released 15 years ago, and in the time since the enigmatic novel has developed a bit of a cult following. Part horror fiction, part academic satire, it is mostly remembered for its ergodic page layout and unconventional style.

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LitReactor Community Spotlight: October 2015

October 9th, 2015

This October has given us our own horrors to deal with. Another school shooting in Oregon, another day. It's getting harder to scare people, because I think in a lot of ways, people are starting to realize how scary our world can actually be. We're used to fear.

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Storyville: Playing With Point of View

October 8th, 2015

Think about how major events happen in your life, and the way those moments ripple outward like a stone tossed into a body of water. What did you see, think and feel? How about the other people at the center of that story? And as your narrative expands, how does that trickle down and affect others? What is the truth in those moments, and how does that change? Today we’re talking about point of view in fiction, perspective, and truth.

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Five Situations Horror Characters Get Themselves Into (and What Would Happen in Real Life)

October 8th, 2015

Clichés and tropes abound in horror movies. No matter what film you go to see on Halloween night, it always seems like something predictable happens at least once: the blonde girl trips while running from the serial killer; the car doesn’t start at the worst possible moment; a group of victims brainstorm the brilliant idea to split up. There are whole lists of faux pas our favorite movies make, even if we enjoy screaming right along with the characters while they’re being committed.

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Polishing the All-Important First Fives

October 7th, 2015

It’s no surprise that beginnings are hard. When you finally find your manuscript in the hands of an editor or agent, you want to make the best first impression you possibly can—and fast. A lot of times that means within the first five pages, but focusing on the first five sentences, or even words, of your manuscript can help you get over that hump and make the reader want to move further.

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