Killing the Villain: A Daring Plot Device

[First of all, I would like to say that this blog post contains spoilers about the current season of The Walking Dead, so if you are not current, then do not read any further.] At the end of season 4 of The Walking Dead we were introduced to a new villain: the cold, cannibalistic Gareth.  Gareth is a

Writing Article Roundup

This week as I was attending the AP Language and Composition conference, I had time during the breaks to peruse the internet for awesome articles about writing and indie publishing.  I have several this week, so let’s get to it. Mergers – This article on “Digital Book World” by Jack W. Perry breaks down what

How to Embed a Theme Into Text

There are so many great texts out there, but as I always argue with my students, there are definite differences between entertainment writing and literary writing.  One thing that is most lacking in popular fiction today is some type of overarching theme that speaks to the human condition.  Has this indeed been lost on this

5 Best Selling Novels We’ve Forgotten

I have been accused, on occasion, of lamenting the success of Twilight.  Why shouldn’t I?  It reads like a poorly scripted soap opera, it’s characters are shallow at best and it has no lasting value in regards to the human condition…and aren’t we already tired of seeing vampire books?  Most publishing houses are currently using a

Protagonists, Antagonists and Depth

My children watch mindless episodes of things like The Wizards of Waverly Place (a clone mashup of Harry Potter and Twilight) and other Disney/Nickelodeon offerings.  Of course, I turn them on to some great stuff like those classic ’80’s movies I love like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, E.T. the Extraterrestrial and The Goonies.   I swear if I hear that Waverly Place theme song

10 Open Ended Questions to Break Writer’s Block

How many times have you sat in front of the computer screen and wondered: What on earth am I going to write now?  So much has been written in the history of mankind that often we think: What can I possibly contribute to the world that would be uniquely me yet not a carbon copy

Self-Publishing News: A Round-Up of the Week’s Best Stories

This week I decided to post links to all the stories I have been reading while keeping up with the self-publishing industry.  As a self-published author, it is necessary for me to keep up with industry trends so that I might understand the evolving nature of this market.  Here are a few I felt were

Samantha Shannon: The Next J.K. Rowling?

I read an article today about Samantha Shannon who will release a novel entitled The Bone Season this year.  She is a literature student at Oxford University and many people say she could be the next billion dollar author, as her book will be one of seven books in a series. She has everything going for