Longing to join the spooky season fun without the nightmares? Have I got a list of recommendations for you! Recently, I learned the publishing industry transitioned to utilizing content descriptions as opposed to trigger warnings, as what triggers a reader differs greatly from person to person while content is more objective. In her new book…
Author: Rachel Dempsey
Whoever Has the Gold Makes the Rules
Earlier this month, I had the honor of moderating my first BoucherCon panel, titled Walk the Line, Must Fiction Always Follow the Rules? In preparation, I set about determining which rules we might discuss and quickly discovered, as W. Somerset Maugham quipped, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what…
Reflections from a Contest Coordinator
In a few short weeks, we will announce and celebrate the winners of this year’s Colorado Gold Literary Awards. Congratulations and best of luck to all of the finalists. Thank you to all of the judges. This post is for anyone who may be wondering: what does it take to win a literary contest? First,…
The Olympics, but for Writers
More awards, most of which no one has ever heard of. Training involves writing sprints, editing marathons and lots of literary gymnastics. Potential injuries include carpal tunnel, blurred vision and caffeine overdose. Even when you win, you’re not sure why, but when you lose, it was definitely rigged. Events take place in the corner of…
How to Use Hybrid Forms to Build Suspense
In my MFA program, I learned about hybrid forms as a common technique in experimental literary fiction and poetry, but lately I’ve noticed it more often in the genre fiction I read. In his most recent novel, Horror Movie, Paul Tremblay interweaves scenes from a fictional screenplay with traditional prose. Brian McAuley uses the same…