My platform as a writer began more than five decades ago with a Khalil Gibran journal and by writing letters to my parents from summer sleep away camp. Although my first letter included only five words, “I hate camp, Love,…
Guest Post: Impeaching White Jesus: Recreating Poetry in Nigerian Literature by Shoola Oyindamola
In poetry and literature, I am most critical of the languages, styles, and techniques that many upcoming Nigerian writers employ these days. Because some of these writers do not have concrete foundation in poetry written by their own ancestors, it…
Plot: How to Drive Your Story with Impossible Situations by Betty Krasnik
In order to write a good plot, you need to take big risks. Often times when we write, we fall into the usual patterns of building suspense. We are not being unique in our choices, because in that moment, we…
Guest Post: Dishwater and Death: The Writer’s Promise by Willow Becker
I’ve been a hobby writer since I was 5 years old. It was never a goal to make writing my living. I wanted to be an actress, an FBI agent, a witch. Writing is something I picked up along the…
A Conversation with C.S.E. Cooney
An interview by Alicia Cole. C. S. E. Cooney (csecooney.com/@csecooney) is an audiobook narrator, singer/songwriter, and author of World Fantasy Award Winner Bone Swans: Stories (Mythic Delirium 2015). Her work includes the Dark Breakers series, Jack o’ the Hills, The Witch…
Guest Post: Why poets write stage plays by Doug Van Hooser
The most obvious reason would be because I went to a play the other night and there were only eight people in the audience. The capacity of the theater is between forty and fifty depending on the size of the…
Guest Post: Stained by Jordan Abbruzzese
“Oh God. Do I have brown all over the back of my pants?” I spun around clumsily, my supervisor’s eyes wide. I had just torn into some chocolate from the jar at reception’s desk and dropped some on my new…
A Conversation with Lisa Aldridge
An interview by Alicia Cole. Lisa Aldridge lives in the magical Ozarks. She is the author of The Dangerous Impressions Series (NA, Suspense/Romance). Her forthcoming works include: The Ring O’ Callum Brodgar (Melange Books, 2017), Fiery Impressions, Be a Grass…
Guest Post: A Résumé’s a Résumé No Matter How Small by Kiana Donae
My first job was selling shaved ice during one summer I visited my dad in Tennessee. The business was based out of a small trailer home off one of the main streets. The cash register, shaved ice machine, and all…
Guest Post: There’s Fire Between Your Toes by Nathaniel Sverlow
I don’t know what I’m going to talk about. I never know what I’m going to talk about. Though, this hasn’t stopped me before. I just get going, writing down words until it finally comes, and, if it doesn’t, I…
Guest Post: Writing Through the Hard (On Becoming a Back Door Poet) by Allison Thorpe
For some, the term “back door” may conjure images of Jim Morrison or Howlin’ Wolf singing about men running out the back door to escape getting shot by jealous husbands. But as a poet, I use the expression to mean…
Guest Post: When You Feel Too Much Yet Not At All by Caitlin Cundiff
“Why are all of your poems sad?” That was a comment I found on a poem I wrote during my undergrad. I kind of laughed, it had never really crossed my mind that they were all sad sounding. More importantly,…