In this episode, Gretchen Felker-Martin joins us to talk about her gritty post-Apocalyptic trans novel Manhunt (spoiler free) and how an idea becomes a traditionally published book. The post How Books Happen, With Gretchen Felker-Martin by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Are superheroes a modern mythology, or is this a way to flatten the complexities of traditional art while giving commercial media a spiritual significance it does not deserve? The post The Tragedy of the Creative Commons: On Superheroes and Modern Mythology by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Jack from Bad Books for Bad People joins us to pay tribute to art that isn’t here to teach right from wrong—what some might call degenerate art. The post In Defense of Degenerate Art by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
A story is a type of conversation with the reader. If you don’t leave room for the reader to speak, you’re a terrible conversationalist. The post This Is My Hole, It Was Made for Me: On Negative Space and Leaving Room for the Reader by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Genre is safe. Genre is comfortable. But do we rely on genre conventions too much? Can genre hold us back? Is genre busting good? The post Genre Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In today's sci-fi/ fantasy community, it's fashionable to dig up H.P. Lovecraft and put him on trial as the avatar of everything wrong with speculative fiction. The post Why We Can Stop Flogging H.P. Lovecraft’s Dead Bloated Corpse by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
If you’ve spent any time talking about geek culture, you’ve probably seen one word come up over and over again: gatekeeper. The post Meet the New Gatekeeper, Same as the Old Gatekeeper by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
What makes a writer? Is it coffee and cats? Is it a good author photo? Is it having a screenname like @JaneDoeWrites? The post So You Think You’re a Writer? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
It's normal to look for people who share your interest in pop culture. But what happens when you only know how to be queer through fandom? The post Queerness Is Not a Fandom by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Instead of learning from books, too many fledgling writers learn to write primarily from movies, television and video games, and their writing suffers as a result. The post Books Are Not Movies: Writing the Invisible by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
As the world looks grimmer and grimmer, Millennials and Gen Xers retreat deeper and deeper into childhood nostalgia. The post To Be a Great Writer, You Must Defeat a Thousand Babies by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Why do we love horror so much? On the surface, it makes no sense. Why would anybody enjoy media that focuses on upsetting, grotesque topics? The post Finding Beauty In Darkness by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Cultural criticism has always been an essential part of our media ecosystem, especially when it comes to geek culture. But is any of this really meaningful, or is it just another part of the big corporate content marketing machine? The post Saving Criticism from the Corporate Marketing Machine by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
There are many writing advice columns that won’t help you write good—that will actually encourage you to write bad, or at best mediocre. The post Bad Writing Advice by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Filthcore queen Gretchen Felker-Martin returns to talk about unlikable female characters. What makes a woman unlikable? The post I’m Not Here to Make Friends: On Unlikable Female Characters by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
SFF author and professional translator Mário Seabra Coelho talks to us about the art of translation. Writing translations, even only as an exercise, can open a writer’s eye to new perspectives, new devices, and new poetic turns of phrase. The post Translation, or Mi Tio Es Infermo, Pero la Carretera Es Verde! by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
Horror writer G. Emerald, who has a background in the medical system, joins us to talk about the healing power of stories that leave us with a bad taste in our mouths. The post The Bitter Medicine of Unhappy Endings by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Sci-fi/fantasy author Karlo Yeager Rodríguez joins us to talk about the relationship between storyteller and in-universe audience. The post Who Are You Talking To? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In this episode, Mistress Snow, PhD joins us to talk about sex work in writing. What do writers get wrong? How do writers promote inaccurate and harmful stereotypes about sex workers? How can writers do better? The post Writing About Sex Work by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In this episode, filmmaker Shannon Strucci and critic Leslie Lee of Struggle Session were kind enough to join us to talk about why we need to tell our own stories instead of waiting for someone else to tell it for you. The post Telling Your Own Stories by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In this episode, we talk to writer/editor Sarena Ulibarri about what it means to be a writer during a global climate crisis. Do writers have a responsibility to address the problem? Are we a part of the problem? Does art matter when the world is on fire? The post Writing While the World Burns: What Does It Mean to Be a Writer During the Climate Crisis? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
In this episode, horror writer Gretchen Felker-Martin joins us to talk about the importance of making space for transgressive fiction by queer writers. The post Transgressive Queer Fiction and the Right to Be Messy by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In this spooktacular episode, we talk to Ash and Jon of the Horror Vanguard podcast about the internet-based form of horror fiction known as creepypasta. The post Creepypasta and Other Eerie Starches by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
The road to publishing can be a thorny one, filled with con artists lying in wait to pounce on unwary writers. Fortunately, Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware is here to tell us how to avoid being scammed. The post Writer Beware! Spotting Shady Agents, Vanity Presses and Other Scams by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
In part two of our discussion on the dark side of fandom, RS Benedict talks to Tim Heiderich about parasocial relationships, Twitch streamers, Nazis, Pink Floyd's The Wall and fans who want to watch their idols burn. The post The Dark Side of Fandom Part 2: Friendship Simulator by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
RS Benedict talks to Stephen Mazur, Assistant Editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, about originality. How important is it, really? The post Originality: Feh, Who Needs It? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Much of speculative literature focuses on superheroes and Chosen Ones. But what about ordinary people or flawed people who don't save the world? Do they matter? The post No More Heroes with JR Dawson by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
Tons of stories feature guns, but they're usually portrayed in a wildly unrealistic way. Nate Bethea of "What a Hell of a Way to Die" was kind enough to stop by to talk to us about what writers get wrong about firearms. The post Guns: How to Feature Them in a Realistic Way by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
R.S. Benedict and guest Meg talk about the creepy, objectifying, or just plain ridiculous way that all too many male authors write female characters. The post Men Writing Women (Badly) by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes .
In this episode, special guest Jennifer Albright of Have You Seen This? drops by to talk about Mary Sues, a term used to describe an overly-perfect female character created as a self-insertion wish fulfillment vehicle for the author. The post Writing Mary Sues, or What Even IS a Mary Sue? by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes ....
