[Link] Why You Should Write About Other People’s Writing

by Ratika Deshpande

Some of the best writing I’ve done has been about the work of other writers. I’ve read their stories and compiled them into themed recommendation lists; I’ve written personal essays and deep dives into books that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s work that I’ve both enjoyed and am very proud of, and I think more of us should be writing about other people’s writing. Here’s why:

Learn the craft

To write about a story, essay, poem, etc., the first thing you have to do is (re)read it closely. A single read may be enough to write a short description of the plot or the main theme. But if you’re going deeper, you’ll have to read it several times, taking notes, annotating the text as you go.

Such close reading requires asking questions: What’s so great (or not) about this piece–are the descriptions short but vivid? Is the dialogue hilarious? Perhaps it’s the way the author has weaved the past and the present together? Or how the narrator’s experiences provide a new lens from which to view your own past?

Examining these elements helps you see what craft advice—“show, don’t tell,” “there must be a change in the protagonist,” etc.—looks like in practice. Reading a lot and reading widely teaches your brain to absorb the rhythms of language (especially when it’s not your mother tongue), discover the various narrative structures that are possible, and locate common themes and tropes. You’ll be able to study the components that make a piece work—or leave something to be desired, which you’ll then know to avoid in your own writing. 

Identify what you love and hate–identify your inspirations

Relatedly, you’ll be able to identify what are the things that you enjoy reading in a story or poem, and what are the elements that make you put the book away. For example, I don’t really enjoy stories written in the second person (although there are rare exceptions) or excessive expletives in the dialogue or narration. I do enjoy descriptions of food and cities, and reading essays about the history of interesting people, especially writers.

Read the full article: https://authorspublish.com/why-you-should-write-about-other-peoples-writing/

Harper Lee’s newly discovered short stories set to be published

by Issy Ronald

For much of Harper Lee’s life, To Kill a Mockingbird stood alone as her only major work; her first and, apparently, last novel, narrated by a voice so clear and coherent it seemed impossible that it was her only output.

Then came Go Set a Watchman, published shortly before Lee’s death and initially heralded as a sequel, but subsequently seen as more of an early draft of her most famous work than as a new, standalone novel.

The collection is titled The Land of Sweet Forever. 

So, when eight short stories by Lee were discovered in her New York apartment after she died, it marked an important milestone. Here, finally, was a chance to discover how Lee’s distinctive voice was honed in the years before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.

These short stories will be published for the first time on Tuesday, in a collection titled The Land of Sweet Forever, accompanied by an introduction by Casey Cep, Lee’s biographer.

Read the full article: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/20/style/harper-lee-short-stories-published-intl-scl

Check Your Fiction for the Following

A Checklist for Prejudices in Your Work

Want to be more inclusive and diverse in your fiction? Here are a few points to consider. If you find examples of these “-isms” in your author’s voice, then you might want to take a look inside and try a re-write (and a re-think about where they might be coming from).

A caveat—These can be great shorthand for villains and bad antagonists but constantly using them that way can start to take away some of the power in your characters, especially when they are used as hammers. More subtle uses can create more real characters that are more human than “Bond villains.”

[  ]  Racial prejudices: Negative feelings, stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs towards a people due to their ethnic or racial makeup.

[  ]  Gender Prejudice or Sexism: Stereotypes or attitudes held based on someone’s gender or perceived gender.

[  ]  Religious Prejudice: Holding negative views or attitudes towards an individual due to their religion or lack thereof.

[  ]  Ageism: Prejudice against an individual due to their age, spanning from believing people are “too old” for some situations or “too young” for others.

[  ]  Classism: Holding prejudicial views or attitudes towards individuals from a lower socioeconomic status. These views can easily manifest into discrimination, impacting access to essential social services, like education, employment, and healthcare.

[  ] Homophobia and Transphobia: Prejudiced views against members of the LGBTQ+ community based on their sexuality and gender identity.

[  ]  Xenophobia: Prejudice held against foreigners, in particular refugees or immigrants from low-income countries. Xenophobia and racism may have similarities; however, xenophobia focuses more on nationality, culture, and origin, though race does contribute.

Source: https://www.cultureally.com/blog/racism-vs-prejudice

A.J. Porter: At Odds with the Supernatural

A.G. Porter is an author of YA Paranormal Thrillers. She loves writing about diverse characters in the Deep South who are constantly at odds with the supernatural. When she isn't working on her next YA Paranormal book, she is pouring her heart into her poetry collection or writing her next sweeping Romance book under Amanda Guerrero-Porter. She lives in Alabama with her husband and three sons. 

Tell us a bit about your most recent work.

I am set to release a Rock Star Romance in February of 2026. And while some people may say, "another one," there will be someone else who will say, "another one, yes!" Because the best thing about troupes is that someone is going to love them. The fun thing about this one is that my FMC is a Mexican American woman from the Deep South (Alabama) who has worked really hard to overcome past trauma to become the award-winning songwriter she is. 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

I always put Mexican American or Native American characters in my work. Whether it's the FMC or the MMC, though, I do tend to write from the female perspective, considering that is how I identify. I do this because I am a mixed-Mexican American from Alabama, and I didn't see a lot of representation in media as a young reader. Even if some of my work is paranormal, the theme of racial identity is very heavily focused on in all of my books. 

Motivational Monday: The Reader Finishes It

Sunday Funnies: Haunted Bookstore

[Link] 40 SCARIEST BOOKS OF THE LAST 200 YEARS

 

by Sarah Mangiola

Creepy stories are as old as mankind, and the really good ones will continue to frighten generations to come.

We’re looking back through the scariest books of the past two centuries – from chilling gothic classics to post-apocalyptic tales of caution. These terrifying tales leave readers restless, never quite sure where fiction ends and reality begins.

Page through our master list below, and you’re guaranteed to stumble across a new nightmare in no time at all.

Read the full article: http://www.the-line-up.com/40-scariest-books-of-the-last-200-years/

Get Ready for Chills: "Ghost Writer" Releases November 14th!

A tight deadline. A diabolical disappearance....

Is his tortured mind playing dirty tricks, or is he about to write himself into an early grave?

Joe Riley is desperate. Devastated by his recent divorce, the successful thriller author retreats to a remote cabin he’s inherited, hoping the quiet setting will cure his crippling writer’s block.

And though he’s briefly disturbed by strange noises in the night, the frustrated storyteller blames alcohol-induced memory loss when he discovers a stack of pages he can’t remember typing.

Searching for answers to his newfound inspiration, Joe learns of a long-vanished successful novelist … and is stunned to spot her specter working away at his desk.

As the stubborn forty-year-old researches his family’s connections to her tragic tale, he becomes aware of a sinister and brutal truth … even as he yields to her unearthly seduction.

Will refusing to confront his own demons see him penning his next masterpiece from six feet under?

Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a dark and moody paranormal mystery that delves into the struggles of creativity. The story follows Joe Riley, a writer battling a debilitating writer's block. Seeking solitude, he retreats to an isolated cabin he has inherited, but soon discovers he is not alone. As Joe grapples with his creative demons, he is drawn into an eerie partnership with a ghost who becomes his unexpected co-author. Together, they embark on a journey that unravels a horrifying web of deceit and danger.

Presale from Amazon!

Early Reviews are in!

"A foreboding tale of horror and the torturous act of creation, Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a smoldering story of isolation, dark secrets, and things that bump together in the night." "Unsettling, twisted, and layered with complexity, Lewis plunges readers into a mix of supernatural terror with the terror of creation, which evocatively explores how past trauma and present discomfit are deeply entwined with creative pursuits, resulting in a novel that transcends the ghost story genre by probing the ghost story genre itself."
    —Self-Publishing Review

"Author Arjay Lewis captivates the reader's mind and imagination with a well-delivered story inspired by the beyond. Ghost Writer is one of those stories that you will want to read in one sitting, totally absorbed in the journey, page after page."
    —Ronél Steyn for Readers’ Favorite

"Author Arjay Lewis's suspenseful, terrifying thriller had me sitting on the edge of my seat. There was never a dull moment in the story, and I enjoyed every second of it. I highly recommend Ghost Writer to readers who enjoy thrillers with a touch of horror."
    —Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

"Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a supernatural suspense novel that maintains intrigue throughout. I really enjoyed this supernatural mystery, with its constant surprises, tense moments, and a ghost who wants power and closure. If you like creative and chilling stories, I highly recommend this novel."
    —Peggy Jo Wipf for Reader’s Favorite

Happy Halloween! Festive All Hallow's Eve! Blessed Samhain!

 Enjoy your spooky goodness today,

all you monsters and ghouls! 

Spooky Stories That Affected You

For our Halloween week writer roundtable, tell us the spookiest or creepiest book or story you've ever read and why it affected you. 

Amelia Sides: Children of Men. *Waves vaguely at our current state of affairs*

Danielle Procter Piper: It's a very short story... I wish I could recall the title or author, but it's published in a book I read long ago. Two medical students are still cleaning up their workspace after class has ended and begin a conversation about how cadavers sometimes move due to a buildup of gases in their decomposing bodies. They've even been known to sit up or fall off tables! As they finish up, they wheel their cadaver down the hall to the elevator to return to the morgue...and a power failure leaves them stuck between floors in total darkness. That's it. I think the story might be three pages long? So, anything frightening that could happen in real life scares me, while fantasy horror is just for fun. This, Misery scares me more than any other Stephen King story. It could happen. It's the difference between the news and a nightmare you had.

Seth Tucker: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Matheson’s Hell House spooked me. Despite being two very different styles of haunted house stories, Jackson got to me because of the unreliable narrator, which leaves every event in question, while Matheson made you believe in a malevolent cadre of specters enjoying the torment they filed out, and then that reveal at the end. Both of them build atmosphere equally though, which I don’t see as much in more modern ghost stories.

UPDATED FOR HALLOWEEN 2025! Horror Movies that Influence Me as a Writer

 

Note: This is an update to this post. So many new movies have come out and I've caught up on a few I still had managed to miss from the "good old days" that it felt like the right time to update this list. 

As a writer of horror stories and connoisseur of scary flicks, I get asked a lot what my favorite horror movies are. Well, it's not that simple with me (it never is; ask my wife and kids). There are so many and how can one possibly pick a favorite when there are favorites in so many subgenres? (It's like how my wife tells me she can have more than one best friend when "best" is a superlative, not a comparative.) 

Anyway, as of this moment in time (subject to change), this is my list of favorite horror movies (and those that influenced my ideas and my writing) categorized by subgenre. 

If you want to consider this your own "to watch" list, I won't stop you. It's a fantastic list (at least in my opinion) of the essential horror stories committed to film. 

FYI, you will notice some crossover between subgenres, because, well, that's just the way horror works. 

New Category#1! Sinister Locations

My son Evan recommended that I include this as a new category, and the more I thought about it, he was right. I don't include a mere haunted house tale in this list though. Those will be under Ghost Stories/Haunted Houses. This list is reserved for a place that is more than haunted; it is cursed, unclean, unwelcoming and out to get you.

1. Hausu

2. As Above, So Below

3. YellowBrickRoad

4. In the Mouth of Madness

5. Dead & Buried

6. The Shining

7. Messiah of Evil

8. The Watcher in the Woods

9. Silent Hill

10. Dave Made a Maze

11. Suicide Forest

12. Population 436

13. Cabin in the Woods

14. Pet Sematary

15. Southbound

16. Skinamarink

17. The Dark

18. Neon Demon

19. Jugface

20. Waxworks

New Category#2! Kaiju

Who doesn't love giant monsters? It all began with the two kings, Kong and Godzilla. But American sci-fi quickly picked up on the theme and gave us lots of giant monsters thanks to the dangers of atomic bombs and chemicals polluting our waters. 

1. King Kong 1933

2. Gojira 1954

3. Godzilla Minus-1

4. Troll Hunter

5. Tremors

6. Them

7. King Kong 2005

8. The Host

9. Godzilla 2014

10. Destroy All Monsters

11. Monsters

12. Cloverfield

13. Mothra

14. Rodan

15. Kong: Skull Island

16. Tarantula

17. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

18. Nope 

19. The Mist

20. Q the Winged Serpent

21. Pacific Rim

22. Attack of the 50 Foot Women

23. The Blob 1988

24. Anaconda

25. Colossal 

The Halloween Rerun Show

It's Halloween again! This time of the year is one of my favorite seasons and holidays. A time to celebrate the ghoulish and ghastly, and enjoy the scares. In  honor of this time of the year, here are several of my favorite Halloween themed posts from this here little blog that could.

Cover up with a blanket if it makes you feel safer.

Enjoy.

Classic Scares in Black and White
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/classic-scares-in-black-and-white.html

The Queens of Scream
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-queens-of-scream.html

Outgrow Horror Movies? Never.
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-writer-will-take-your-questions-now_12.html

Required Reading: 50 of the Best Horror Comics
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/halloween-link-required-reading-50-of.html

Scare Me
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-writer-will-take-your-questions-now_10.html

Motivational Monday: Show Your Shine

Sunday Funnies: Scotch. Get it?

[Link] How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés

by Angela Ackerman

Are you afraid of using the weather in your writing? If so, you’re not alone. After all, if not careful, weather description can be a minefield of clichés. The sunny, cloudless afternoon at the beach. The gloomy rainstorm at a funeral. Overdone setting and weather pairings can lie flat on the page.

Then there’s the danger that comes with using weather to mirror a character’s inner emotional landscape. Mishandling this technique can quickly create melodrama. We’ve all read a battle scene where lightning crackles as our protagonist leaps forward to hack down his foe in desperation. And how about that turbulent teen breakup where the character’s tears mix with falling rain? Unfortunately these have been used so much that most readers tilt their head and think, Really? when they read a description like this.

Agents and editors on first page panels never fail to reject a few openings that start with the weather, either. Why? Because done poorly, it comes across like a weather report, and delays the introduction of the hero. Readers are not always patient and we should strive to introduce our characters and what they are up against as soon as possible.

Wow, weather sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? It’s no wonder that some writers are so nervous about using it they cut it from their manuscript. But here’s the thing…avoiding weather in fiction can be a fatal mistake.

Read the full article: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/09/use-weather-to-create-mood/

SNOW HITS THE ISLANDS IN AN ALL-NEW THRILLER!

Abraham Snow heads to Hawaii with grandfather, Archer in tow. After the events of Snow Hunt, our hero needs a vacation. He owes his old friend, and former undercover operative partner, Samson Brooks, a visit. Vacation time. Samson and his brother, Walker Brooks, a former CIA officer, now work together as P.I./fugitive recovery consultants. Snow gets caught up in their latest case and finds himself in deadly danger in unfamiliar surroundings when an old enemy shows up with vengeance in mind. He wants to feed snow to the sharks.

Get your water wings ready as Snow jets off to the big island in SNOW ISLAND.

Snow Island is the eighth book in the continuing adventures of Abraham Snow.

Are you ready for a new #SnowDay?

Snow Island is written by Bobby Nash.
Cover by Plasmafire Graphics’ Jeffrey Hayes.
Edited by Michael A. Gordon.
Published by BEN Books.
Audio book narrated by Stuart Gauffi, coming soon.

Snow Island is available at the following retailers:

• Amazon US (paperback): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon UK (paperback): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon CA (paperback): https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon US (ebook): https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Island-Bobby-Nash-ebook/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Amazon UK (ebook): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Amazon CA (ebook): https://www.amazon.ca/Snow-Island-Bobby-Nash-ebook/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Available at Amazon worldwide. Read it free with Kindle Unlimited.

More retail options to follow.

Contact the author directly through www.bobbynash.com or social media to buy a signed copy directly from the author.

Check out Snow’s complete adventures here: www.amazon.com/dp/B07G3K7S46

Learn more about Snow at www.abrahamsnow.com

Discovering Yourself In and Through Your Writing

Just one question for this next writer roundtable.

Flannery O'Connor wrote, “I write to discover what I know" and “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

How has being a writer and telling stories helped you discover who you are and what you know?

Nikki Nelson-Hicks: Very interesting question. For me, some of my stories have helped me to touch on emotions that I didn't realize I had inside. Very much poking a blister and letting some stuff ooze out. I have also enjoyed creating characters who have the bravery I wish I had. That's also very insightful.

Jessica Nettles: Being a writer as a kid helped me embrace my differences from the other kids at school. It gave me a space where it didn’t matter that I was the youngest or the smallest or weird. It was the first thing I felt confident was mine.

As an adult, it helped me rediscover myself after a really shitty marriage in my twenties. I found this spooky girl in the middle of the debris who needed to explore the darkness, my darkness. I learned my dark parts were okay and just as important as being good. I love that spooky, magic-loving girl. I learned that I have a voice that people actually enjoy (still shocked by this) and that I’m funny. Mostly, I learned that writing is who I am. I do many things, but at my core, I am my words. That’s my magic.

Lainey Kennedy: Writing has helped me explore the human conditions by creating characters that are both over the top but rooted in little bits of everyone I know. The adventures are the escapism, but the characters are what I know.

Fay Shlanda: My writing has helped me a lot as a person. I write poetry about my relationship with the world around me, which is mostly about mental illness and being broken.

I have discovered that I have much to say on the subject and that overcoming my hardships is something I would not trade in for an easier life. They have shaped me into someone I like and I use my knowledge to help others.

October Santerelli: I wanted to be a writer as soon as I heard it was a job you could have. I was in 7th grade, and I went home that night and told my parents that was what I wanted to do. And after that, writing became a lifeline, a way to express what I couldn't say, feelings I didn't even know I had. Writing helped me understand myself, like holding up a mirror and seeing with fresh eyes.

Looking into the Abyss of 'Why Bother'

by Judy Black

I have to be honest, the past month I have been struggling. 

My mind constantly circles the 'why bother doing this?' question constantly. I wonder if I'd be better off spending my limited free time sleeping or catching up on all the TV shows I still haven't watched. I wonder if it's worth it, or if anyone would care if I stopped making things. 

Thankfully, I have a wonderful group of creative friends who worry about this too, but who also grab my shoulders and shake me while lovingly screaming 'I'd care if you stopped making things you weird little potato!' which is very reaffirming. 

But, almost every creative person I know struggles with this question. Circles this abyss and feels it start to pull them apart.

Creating things is hard in the best of times. 

Creating things when *gestures vaguely to the chaos of the world* is happening, feels impossible, like trying to bail out a boat with a cracked teacup.

But every time I think 'I'll just stop, why bother?', I can't bring myself to put down the cracked teacup. I want to create, I want to share stories, and games, and weird little ideas with all the people out there like me. Creation is a way to share pieces of ourselves with the wider world, to say 'I'm not alone, and neither are you' and it feels magical when that connection is made. 

So, to everyone else out there circling the edge of the abyss, staring into that bleakness of 'why bother?', I see you and I'll hold your hand until you can move from the edge, and you'll hold my hand when I inevitably teeter towards the edge because that is what art in all its many forms does.

It connects us when we feel like no one else understands our hearts. 

So, I guess all this rambling is just to say, why bother? Because I want all the other weirdos like me to feel a little less alone in this chaotic, scary world. 

This article originally appeared in Judy Black's email newsletter.

Motivational Monday: The Importance of Also

Sunday Funnies: Nobody Knows