By Inanna Carter For me, the hardest part about writing a book is realizing just how much there is to write. Word count is becoming more important in traditional publishing every year, and whether you outline carefully before typing a single word or write freely as the ideas come along, if your completed manuscript ends up too short or too long it could be difficult for you to get (again, traditionally) published. Save the Cat! Read more…
By Zenia deHaven How It Started I’m an avid reader. Always have been and always will be. However, avid reading easily leads to the accumulation of a lot of books. Now, some would say that isn’t a problem. And to a degree, it isn’t. Collecting novels and finding unique and aesthetically pleasing ways to arrange their spines across bookshelves is a pastime. For those who annotate or highlight as they read, each book is a Read more…
By Felicity Devoria (TW: Violence and gore, death, surgery, supernatural creature) The entire ordeal was not how Thaddeus had imagined his first time seeing a woman he fancied undressed. Not that he had imagined it. That would be unseemly. But if he’d had to hazard a guess, he might’ve thought it would be pleasant … a memory he’d go on to cherish. He doubted he’d ever wish to relive this particular sight. It’s not that Read more…
By Daniel Melin (TW: Death/Grief and Depression) I woke up to the sound of gunslingers and horses. For a moment, I thought I had somehow been transported to another time and place entirely—that my life had inexplicably been a dream all along. But as it turned out, it was just a film playing through the static of my television. I was still in the house I had chosen for myself, that I had paid for Read more…
By Megan Hemenway (TW: sudden death, grief, cannibalism, drug use) My uncle Vern died last week. I’ve been staying at his place, sorting out his stuff. I loved Vern, obviously, but I’m bitter about being holed up in his dusty apartment. Out of me and my six cousins, the aunts and uncles designated me as the best equipped to go through his mess of cardboard boxes, bursting file folders, and his ancient computer. I tried Read more…