The Stuff

Aug'16

Twitter Vs. Facebook: Tips for Writers

Social media is key to helping readers find your writing, whether you’re promoting your blog, your book or your stories. But each social media platform is a different beast, and platforms take time to master. Here is a simple guide to help you tame these two monster social media sites. ...

Jul'16

How to Work from Home Without Going Insane

| David Tate

So you've decided to work from home. As a veteran of working without a traditional office, I'm here to tell you that it is the greatest and worst thing that can happen to your work life—much like being transferred to a glitter-packing facility. What follows is a quick two minute guide of what you need to know before you take your pants off and turn up those old Hootie and the Blowfish albums.

Jul'16

5 Things No Professional Writer’s Desk Should Be Without

| Victoria Griffin

A writer’s desk is a sacred space. It’s where the magic happens. Ideas become words, and words become stories. And sometimes those stories go out into the world and do great things. But every writer needs a few tools to make that happen...

Jul'16

5 of the Best-Written Shows on Television

Television

| Victoria Griffin

Television is an art form, and with the rise of "television studies," shows are beginning to get the recognition they deserve.

Scholars devote time and energy to studying television, just as they would literature, and viewers ask for more than something to pass the time. They want to be challenged intellectually when they tune into their weekly shows. For that to happen, the show has to be well-written. Here are a few shows on TV today with truly stellar writing. ...

Jun'16

Distractions? What Distractions?

| Paul D Bryant

Today we're excited to share the final award-winning entry from our 2016 Writing Contest, our Editor's Pick. Please stay tuned for other noteworthy entries in coming issues.

Lil’-bit heads back to where Papa has his “office” carrying some random item she’s picked out from the toy-strewn floor of her play/entertainment area, (what Nanny and Papa call a living room).

In the background, Thomas the Tank Engine and his fellow trains can be heard facing another choo-choo challenge, all in Dolby HD, as Lil’-bit breaches the domain of the Sanctum Sanctorum, (known to mere mortals as the dining room), where Papa has set up ‘office’. ...

I can see old ‘Papa’ chuckling to himself, “Distractions, what distractions?” as he continues his perusal of the e-zine currently occupying his monitor. ...

Jun'16

The Two Worst Things to Do in a Fiction Story

| Our Staff

Today we have for you the second Runner Up winner in our 2016 Writing Contest. Stay tuned for next week's final award-winning piece, our Editor's Pick.

The Two Worst Things to Do in a Fiction Story

Writer rules are everywhere—coming out of the woodwork—sometimes making me paranoid enough to think they're just invented so I can't make it as a writer ("make it": being paid well for your writing so you can live comfortably). Yet, when I think about it, I know that isn't true. Like the charge that a writer can't put an object in a story if it doesn't mean something later, these rules are created to help us write better tales.

I'm going to talk about two rule-breakers I've heard will get you an instant rejection. ...