Rite Gud

When you send a short story to a magazine, it probably doesn’t go directly to the editor. Instead, it ends up in what’s called the slush pile–the pool of unsolicited work waiting for review. Who reviews it? Weirdos like us. The post Tales From the Slush Pile by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but it is way easier to kill a guy with a sword than with a pen. The post Never Bring a Pen to a Sword Fight by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

The changing of the guard in the early 2000s and the euthanization of the reactionary Sad Puppy movement in the early 2010s should have ushered in a new era of speculative fiction, an era of creative freedom and experimentation. The post A Rite Gud Minifesto by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

In this very serious episode, we honor the most important writer of the 20th century, a man forty years ahead of his time: author, visionary, dreamweaver plus actor, Garth Marenghi. The post A Tribute to Garth Marenghi, World’s Greatest Author/Visionary/Dreamweaver by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

“Here’s my new novel, A Groan of Stone and Bone. It has enemies to lovers, a chaotic bisexual, BIPOC representation, elemental magic, and tons of 'Buffy' references!” The post More than the Sum of its Parts: Writing Beyond Tropes and Easter Eggs by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

Because 'squeecore' got so big, we decided to revisit it to address some of the discourse it generated—the good, the bad, and the ugly. The post Rite Gud: The Squeequel by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

It is time to talk about Bear, Marian Engel’s 1976 Canadian novel about a mousy librarian who falls in love with a bear. The post Rite Gud: A Bear-y Special Episode by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

What is squeecore? You’re soaking in it! Squeecore is the dominant literary movement in contemporary SFF, a movement so ubiquitous it’s nearly invisible. The post A Guide to Squeecore by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Langan joins us to talk about cosmic horror, his novel The Fisherman, upstate New York, how much money writers make (none), and how hard it is to get published when you're a little too literary for the genre crowd but a little too genre for the literary crowd. The post John Langan on Cosmic Horror by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

We have girlboss Cinderella starting her own business, Snow White leading an army into battle. And why not? The post Cinderella Is Not a #Girlboss: The Problem With ‘Feminist’ Fairytale Adaptations by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

In this episode, we re-examine the saga of the notorious Sad Puppies. What happened? What ripple effects did it have on the sci-fi/fantasy community? The post Puppy Play by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

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.

Fandom can be fun, but it can also turn ugly too, or it can keep us so busy focusing on someone else's work that we fail to develop our own talents. The post The Dark Side of Fandom, Part 1: Have You Accepted Spider-Man as Your Lord and Savior? 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.

In this episode, learn a simple exercise that will help you cultivate your inner witness. It might even help with your anxiety, too. The post The White Room, or Paying Attention to Sensory Details by R. S. Benedict appeared first on Kittysneezes.

In this episode, we look at things other than fiction that a well-rounded writer should read—poetry, literature in a foreign language, nonfiction and literary criticism. The post Reed Gud, Part 2: Poetry, Literature in a Foreign Language, Nonfiction and Literary Criticism by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

In order to Rite Gud, you've got to Reed Gud. In this episode, R.S. Benedict is joined by Gareth and Langdon of the Death Sentence Podcast. The post Reed Gud, Part 1, or Other Books Than ‘Harry Potter’ Exist: Fiction by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

Do you like dark humor? Sure, we all do! But it can be tricky to write without coming off as an edgelord jerk — but R.S. Benedict tells you how! The post How To Write Dark Humor Without Sounding Like a Total Sociopath by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

Criticism is important, as is learning how to both give and recieve it. Recognize criticism as a good thing, and don't flip out like Anne Rice. The post Giving and Receiving Criticism Gracefully, or How Not to Be Anne Rice by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

If you've ever noticed how writing on the internet often seems stilted and weird, you've got SEO — or Search Engine Optimization — to thank. The post This Garbage Brought to You By the Letters S-E-O: How Google Is Ruining Writing by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.

This isn’t a podcast for total beginners. We’re going to assume that you know what plot structure is, what a protagonist is, where ideas come from, and how to use a semicolon. This is a podcast for people who can already write okay, but want to do better. The post Welcome to Rite Gud, a Podcast Dedicated to Helping You Write Better by Matt Keeley appeared first on Kittysneezes.