Takeaways from writing a novel with a self-imposed goal of 2000 words a day — A few months prior to starting a novel, I’d read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. In discussing his routine, King mentioned that he wrote 2,000 words a day: Only under the dire circumstances do I allow myself to shut down before I get my 2,000 words…

The benefits you gain from writing about your life — Write what you know. Whether you write fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, you’ve probably followed this common piece of advice by drawing from your interests, knowledge, and experiences. It also likely influenced your choice of subject matter, how you create characters, and how you build an emotional connection with your readers…

A review of Rachel Harrison’s 2022 horror novel — I first read horror writer Rachel Harrison’s witch novel Cackle last autumn and enjoyed its lighthearted and creepy take on witchcraft. While I haven’t read many books on the iconic monster, one of my favorite horror movies, the Canadian cult classic, Ginger Snaps, similarly deals with female lycanthropy. …

Reflections of a fiction writer after two years of writing online — It’s been two years and 100 articles since I started writing on Medium. Prior to discovering the platform, I spent my writing career in fiction. However, after submitting to publications with minimal success, I needed a break. Medium offered a new and different opportunity. While you can publish fiction on…

Create purposeful conflict in every scene — If you’re a fiction writer, you’ve likely heard the advice that every scene needs conflict. If you have no conflict, there’s no story. Conflict is the engine that propels the plot forward and presents obstacles for characters to overcome, leading to them grow and change. But conflict doesn’t just happen…

A review of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Winner — As a frequent library patron and a selective book buyer, I typically have to wait to read recently released books. However, upon a rare visit to Barnes and Noble to browse discounted hardcovers, I picked up a copy of Jason Rekulak’s horror novel, Hidden Pictures. Given the typical mystery/thriller novel…

My top book recommendations out of the 61 titles I read in 2022 — This year I read 61 books (and counting). Along with my usual fare of contemporary and horror fiction to start and end the year, I spent the spring and summer reading memoirs before focusing the autumn season on witches and Halloween. While I had less 5 star books than last…

Highly-rated books that fell short of my expectations — As 2022 draws to a close and having completed my reading challenge of 60 books, I want to reflect on what I’ve read. Luckily, I avoided one star reads and only encountered one two star book. The rest were pretty good, but a sizable chunk were average and underwhelming in…

A review of Brom’s 2012 horror/fantasy novel — As a horror fan, I never thought much about Christmas horror until I discovered Krampus. I first heard of the mythical figure while watching a Christmas episode of the TV show Grimm where a horned figure in a Santa suit bagged naughty kids and beat them with a birch whip…