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Teach Literature the Right Way

December 19, 2022

academia, criticism, fiction, literature, society

The title of this post might make you think it’s not relevant to you if you’re not a literature teacher or a writing advisor. Not so fast. Though in this post I indeed share with you how to teach literature the right way – based on 12 years of university experience – the lessons are highly revealing to everyone who’s interested in literature.

If you’re a writer, you want better readers.

If you’re a reader, you want better books to read.

And of course, if you indeed teach literature – at any level and in any capacity, be it a college teacher or simply running a local book club – you will find plenty of interesting tips here. As I often say, I don’t claim to have the best (let alone the only) solutions. But my advice is honest, not trying to please audiences or sponsors (which I don’t have any).

I’ve divided the post into 3+1 short sections: The first three describe the foundations of how you could approach teaching literature to others; what goals to set, what methods to use, what to expect. The fourth one is a list of practical tips, based on my long and painful experience – as a student as well as a teacher.

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How to Make a Book Cover: Ideas, Examples, and Problem Points

December 12, 2022

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, book, fiction, literature, marketing, writing

There are many things troubling indie authors looking to self-publish, and one of them is undeniably how to make a book cover. More importantly, how to make a book cover that is both marketable and true to the art.

As you might have noticed from past posts, I have a pretty strong opinion regarding the balance between being a writer and being an artist. In a nutshell, I consider the two mutually exclusive, though in this imperfect world most of us try to find a balance between the two.

And making a book cover that supports your novel is definitely a matter of balance.

Should you go for aesthetic meaning or mere eye-catchiness? Should you prefer familiar, known solutions or something more unique, drawing attention? Perhaps the simpler the better?

We’ll take a look at these and much more in this post. I’ll share with you all I’ve learned about making a book cover that both serves its marketing purpose and respects your art. From book cover examples (drawing on my own painful experience) and ideas on how to proceed, to more general – dare I say, philosophical – problem points having to do with book covers, there’s certainly something interesting for you.

As a bonus, I’ll also share with you my most favorite book cover of all time!

This is the same cover image you can see on my post self-assessing my work. The evolution of my book cover designs is also interesting to follow, from the oldest (top left) to the newest (bottom right)

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Pink Gothic: The Cathartic Aesthetics of The Owl House

December 5, 2022

Criticism

academia, aesthetics, affect, criticism, defiance, Gothic, visuality

Academic knowledge that doesn’t attempt to create something new isn’t worth a damn. So, to put my own academic expertise to good use, I coin the term Pink Gothic to refer to the aesthetics of The Owl House – particularly, how “Gothic pinkness” assigns a cathartic quality to these aesthetics.

If you already feel a bit overwhelmed – “too many unknown words!” – worry not. I plan to make this post accessible and interesting. So here’s a simpler way of expressing the same thing as above:

I decided to write a post where, inventing the term “Pink Gothic”, I explore how colors and other visual elements in a narrative are associated with the resolution of fears and anxieties – typically brought to the surface by the very same narrative. In this exploration, I use the animated fantasy series The Owl House as an example.

Indeed, it was the aesthetics of The Owl House that inspired me to reflect on this matter. It’s likely (if not highly likely for my usual readers) that you’re not familiar with The Owl House. Again, worry not. I will offer plenty of examples along the way.

aesthetics of the owl house pink gothic — Pink Gothic is all about **juxtaposition**; combining visually – and ultimately **affectively** – incongruent elements. When it comes to the aesthetics of *The Owl House*, in particular, their cathartic quality is a direct result of intelligent use of color, depth, and space

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