(Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) It’s no secret that I am a writer, and I aspire to be a professional. Since last October, I’ve been posting a new piece of flash fiction every Friday to 512…
Category: writing
Script Frenzy 2009: DONE
I got started late, but I finished strong, thanks in large part to thrice-weekly write-ins with my fellow Portlanders. You can read an excerpt from my finished screenplay over at 512 Words or Fewer. ~CKL
The Stigma of Self-Publishing, Part 4: Zines and Thoughtcrimes
(Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Over the last three days, I’ve discussed why self-publishing is, at best, a huge time sink for writers who should be writing, and at worst a way for scam artists to prey upon…
The Stigma of Self-Publishing, Part 3: Eragon vs. Hogwarts
My favorite anecdote regarding Eragon comes from our friend Suzie, who saw a billboard for the movie adaptation and thought to herself: “Hey, they misspelled DRAGON.” I haven’t read Eragon, and I don’t intend to. The history of its publication…
The Stigma of Self-Publishing, Part 2: Scratch Beginnings
Scratch Beginnings is not a well-written book. To his credit, the author–Adam Shepard–admits in the introduction that he is not a good writer. But someone telling you he’s an awful cook won’t make the meal taste any better. I became…
The Stigma of Self-Publishing, Part 1: Daemon
You may have read last year’s Wired article about the novel Daemon, detailing how three agent rejections discouraged first-time novelist Daniel Suarez so much that he started his own company to publish and market his half-baked techno-thriller. You may also…
Warren Does Joe
If you want to give your tired old media property a badass reboot, Warren Ellis is clearly the man to call. He helped elevate Ultimate Fantastic Four, and now he’s done it again with G.I. Joe: Resolute, the new animated…
The Trouble With Reaper
I like Reaper a lot. It’s one of the few TV shows D and I both like enough to pay for (we download all our TV a la carte from iTunes or Amazon). And I appreciate that it’s not to…
Friday Flash Fiction: “Customer Surface”
What if there was a store like Fry’s Electronics, only it sold magical implements instead of technological ones? Would cash-poor aspiring wizards still take advantage of the “Fry’s rental plan” (very lenient 30-day return policy)? Would dealing with their low-paid,…
Nathan Fillion: King of Castle
Castle gets a lot of things wrong. It wildly misrepresents–or, at best, cherry-picks–the experience of being a bestselling novelist or a New York City detective. But damn that smarmy motherfucker Nathan Fillion. He’s just so entertaining to watch. Also, as…