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6 Ways You're Molesting Your Metaphors
December 17th, 2012
A good metaphor is an incantation that transports your reader to another world. A good metaphor is an antique key your grandfather gave you that fits perfectly into the lock on your story's meaning. A good metaphor is the smudge at the corner of Mona Lisa's lip that, in its willing disregard for direct truth, allows her smile to freeze, permanently at the edge of life. A good metaphor is a duck. Because ducks are awesome.
Read Column →LURID: Spine-Tingling Victorian Ghost Stories
December 14th, 2012
Header image via Wikipedia Commons LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a guide to the merits of the kind of Bad Books you never want your co-workers to know you're reading. A sad tale's best for winter: I have one Of sprites…” — A Winter’s Tale
Read Column →Merry Wishmas: Top 10 Book Gifts I Wish Existed
December 14th, 2012
Last week I posted a list of the Top 10 gift items for bookworms this holiday season, and they’re all pretty good. However, in a perfect world, those might not be the very best gift items bookstores have to offer.
Read Column →Five Cheap DIY Gifts For Book Lovers
December 13th, 2012
Your list of people to buy for is big but your budget is small. What’s a generous soul to do? You could try to re-gift the Fifty Shades Of Grey you won as a door prize at the swingers’ club or the Grieving For Dummies you were given after your last goldfish died. You could stalk Amazon’s lightning deals 'til the wee hours. Or you could create handmade book-related DIY gifts for your loved ones. The crafty route seemed like a sensible way to save a few dolla bills, so we fired up the glue guns, old books, and spray paint and got to work.
Read Column →Storyville: Happy, Not Sappy
December 13th, 2012
I know that a lot of people here at Lit Reactor tend to write dark stories. Whether those are horror, neo-noir, crime, fantasy, science fiction or literary stories, the desire to see how characters react to trauma, violence, and negative experiences is a normal one. It’s just more interesting to see how people deal with a bad day instead of a good one. But how do you write a positive, upbeat story without it being melodramatic? How can you focus on the light, instead of the dark?
Read Column →Indie Press Spotlight: ChiZine Publications
December 11th, 2012
Do you like vampires that poop spangly fairy dust and are apparently resistant to sunlight? Do you like barrel chested werewolves who are emotionally conflicted about being killing machines? Do you like sociopaths who are debonair charmers with 180 IQ’s that leave a calling card whenever they murder someone? Do you like “horror” novels that read like recycled Stephen King or Dean Koontz?
Read Column →Say Cheese! 12 Terrible Photos of Bestselling Authors
December 10th, 2012
Whenever I get a new book, I give the thing a thorough once-over before I dive in. I check its teeth, kick its tires, and generally read every scrap of information that isn't the story proper. This includes author blurbs, the table of contents, and any introductions or forewards. Then I flip the book over to read the synopsis on the back cover. It makes me feel prepared, and gives me a frame of reference for the journey I'm about to embark on. I even check out the author photo, to give a current face to the name.
Read Column →Ask the Agent: Options For Novellas and More Advice on Query Etiquette
December 10th, 2012
Navigating the rough terrain of today’s publishing industry shouldn’t be a solo event. This week in Ask the Agent, I’ll explore and dissect two of the industry’s mysteries, straight from the shoulder. Question from Courtney What types of options are there for novellas within the traditional publishing industry? Would I be better off going with self-publishing or should I send out some feelers first -- and to whom? Agents within my genre, or are there novella-specific agents I should research?
Read Column →UPDATED WITH WINNER: Workout Your Brain: Write a Sonnet (& Win!)
December 10th, 2012
Let’s get one thing straight—I am not a poet. But I am a writer, and let’s face it, poetry takes the best that language and grammar have to offer and elevates it to divine status. Even though I know poems are the result of a lot of hard work, a good one can read like a miracle. That said, I am now going to advocate writing a poem, potentially a very bad poem, a sonnet to be exact.
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