Five Things Fan Fic
Five Things... is a fanfiction writing form or structure that originated in Smallville fandom in 2001 with the fic Five Things That Aren't True by Basingstoke. The format requires a…
The Five Things Essay
An all-purpose writing prompt to help you find your voice, lose your voice, beat writer's block, or figure out what the hell you want to write about in the first…
Brave New Metaphors: Lessons From Science Fiction
No matter how you begin, pay attention as you write to the consequences of whatever newness you’ve introduced to the world of your story: How will life on Earth, or…
Seek the Unknown in the Familiar: Lessons From Historical Fiction
More than one hundred fifty years ago, Henry James wrote an essay about the art of fiction that remains today an important guidepost for all fiction—including the historical novel. And…
Cultivate Suspense: Lessons From Thrillers
What makes for a great thriller? In a word, suspense. Thriller writers know that readers expect high stakes, compelling characters, and a twisting plot to keep the pages turning. Top…
Embrace the “And Then”: Lessons From Fairy Tales
Years ago one of my students captured the idea of this slippery beauty. We were talking in class about “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” In the tale the princesses take boats…
Conjure the Strange: Lessons From Horror
Okay, you might be saying, “That’s all well and good, but how do you avoid the pitfall of exploitation, being gruesome simply for its own sake?” The genre is often…
What Fantasy Gets Wrong About Sacred Groves
Fantasy loves sacred groves as untouched relics of a lost world. This video shows what scholars actually find on the ground, and why sacred groves thrive not through isolation, but…
Adventure April
Adventure April is a zine made using daily prompts by Illustrator Matt Johns throughout the month of April 2018.
Babysitter finds man under bed after child complains of ‘monster’
A babysitter found a man hiding under a child's bed in Kansas after the child complained about a "monster" being there. While trying to show the child there was nothing…