Columns

Using Peace, Quiet, and Introspection to Intensify Your Writing

August 18th, 2023

I want to talk to you about the concept of using peace, quiet, and introspection to add some intensity to your writing. While your story can certainly be an insane sprint for the finish line (such as in my 1,501-word story, “Undone” that’s ONE SENTENCE) or a continuous barrage of horrifying elements, never letting up, let’s look at the ways that taking a break from the action, from the darkness, from the fast-pace unfurling of your story can actually make those moments stronger.

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Restricting Kids' Reading Through Bans Is Bad For Everyone

August 16th, 2023

Original image by Alycia Fung  Lately it seems like everyone is trying to poke their noses into kids’ reading habits. From their own parents to their friends’ parents to the literal government, kids and teens are having their reading scrutinized — and restricted.

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Book vs. Film: "Dracula" vs. "The Last Voyage of the Demeter"

August 14th, 2023

Dracula just won’t die. This is a universally understood fact, that the good old Count will always be around, no matter how many stakes get driven into his heart, how many sunrises burn him to smithereens, how many times a Van Helsing or some other protagonist lops off his head. Dracula will always come back. This is especially true when it comes to cinema, where the character tends to proliferate wildly.

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The Don'ts And Definitely Don'ts of Writing Stupid-Funny Books

August 11th, 2023

Image: pexels Most of my writing advice is questionable, but if you want advice on writing incredibly stupid, incredibly fun books, I’m your Dingleberry. Or Huckleberry. Whatever berry you like, I’m that. Off to a stupid start already. Let’s keep this rolling. Quick Definition A stupid-fun book is a book that's meant to be fun, funny, and when people call it "stupid," you have to agree, it's pretty stupid.

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Chat GPT Part 2: Unemployed Boogaloo

August 7th, 2023

Images via Cottonbro Studio & Pixabay Previously on Megan: my job as a professional writer was eliminated in favor of utilizing ChatGPT. I was moved to a more admin/technical role for two months. Then I was laid off.

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Authors Slap ChatGPT With A Lawsuit: What Happens Next?

August 4th, 2023

Header images via pixabay 1, 2, 3 Celebrities are walking out of premieres, writers are striking all up and down the streets, and now real writers, book writers (take that, Hollywood!) are getting in on the anti-AI action.

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Grad School Residency IV: Leaving Fear Behind

August 3rd, 2023

I just finished up my fourth grad school residency, and I don’t know how to process it. Truly. I have no idea where to start.

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Spellbinding Reads for Young Adults

August 1st, 2023

Header image by Sierra Koder via Pexels This summer, I’ve been trying to relax—a concept I’m still learning to wrap my head around, admittedly—but one way I’ve decided to do that is to read a bunch of witchy, supernatural middle-grade/ YA graphic novels that bring me joy and make me smile. I wanted a who-will-take-me-to-prom dilemma or does-the-cute-barista-girl-like-me kind of problem.

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When a Town Rallies Around Censorship: Dispatches From The Culture War Frontline

July 31st, 2023

Photo by Markus Spiske via Pexels I know I’m in for an interesting night when an older woman breaks off from a prayer circle as I approach the line waiting to get into the Town Council meeting, and I see it’s my former landlord. Imagine every stereotype fed to you through basic cable reality shows about well-to-do Southern ladies, right down to the dyed blond hair, and you’ll see her.

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How and Why I Built a Bookselling Monster

July 27th, 2023

Writing books is fun. Selling them, THAT SUCKS. For the littler authors among us, it's pathetic. It feels like you’re pushing copies on friends and family too nice to say no, maybe a handful of other writers, and when it comes to reaching a wide audience of people who don’t write themselves and don’t have a biological connection to you, it’s hard to escape the gross feeling of asking someone to spend their hard-earned money on your book about a paranormal investigator who’s terrible at his job.

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