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Um, What's It About Again?

You’ve finished writing your story, gone through the revisions. All the thematic elements you want are in there, crystal-clear and easy to find. You send it to your First Reader or your critique group. The replies come back. And the first thing you discover is that no one seems to know what the blasted thing’s about!
Appeared 2010-05-27

Allegory vs. Applicability

When it comes to writing thematic stories, there are essentially two methods to go about it: allegory or applicability. Which method you use will depend on how obvious you want your theme to be.
Appeared 2010-05-21

The Four Categories

You could break the meanings of stories down into more than just four categories, but the four I use encompasses the vast majority of stories with relevant themes: Personal, Philosophical, Political, and Religious/Spiritual. Most stories can be placed in more than one category, sometimes even overlap with all four. In my opinion, every story should at least be in two of the categories, and Personal should always be one of them. But since Personal was covered, this column will cover the other three.
Appeared 2010-03-26

Keep it Real

When writing a work of fiction with meaning, especially one with a moral core, it is always important to keep it real.
Appeared 2010-01-23

Interview With Eric S. Brown

I got to interview Eric S. Brown, author of World War of the Dead.
Appeared 2009-09-21

Interview With Ty Schwamberger

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ty Schwamberger, author of Night School, his first published novel. We discuss his novel, the Horror market in general, and the best weapons to have when attending conventions.
Appeared 2009-04-10

The Bell Witch Legend - A Review

The Bell Witch Legend is a documentary about a piece of American Southern folklore, a spirit that haunted the Bell family for four years.
Appeared 2009-02-14

Interview with Eric S. Brown

I had the pleasure of interviewing author Eric S. Brown. We discuss publishing, zombie fiction, and music.
Appeared 2008-12-26

Midnight Synicate's The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates - A Review

Spooky dark and brooding,  just the kind of music you want to hear while watching a horror movie, and a great set of songs to play while reading your favorite horror novel or writing your own chilling tale.
Appeared 2008-10-10

Make it Personal

The #1 reason that keeps you from sitting butt to chair and writing is simply that, for one reason or another, you just don’t care what you’re writing about. So, if you’re having trouble writing your story, i.e. Ye Olde “Writer’s Block,” then ask yourself if the story matters to you personally. If it doesn’t then find something in it that will make it matter.
Appeared 2008-05-30

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