All around me, life is constantly being redefined by pundits. 50 is the new 40. Pets are the new mistresses. Beige is the new black. So recently I've done some redefining of my writing life: Five minutes is the new hour.

What makes certain fictional worlds so compelling that tens of thousands of people cast off their TV-induced stupor, take a step past fantasizing, and actually feel compelled to participate?  read more »

Write a poem about London, a story about traveling to Mars, a bastardization of somebody’s mythology. Thumb your nose at Those Who Know.  read more »

One fascinating aspect of vampire lore is the re-forging of the powerful connection between food and death. Our society has, to a large extent, lost touch with these two primal mysteries and the connection between them – the food that sustains life, and the dark forces that take life.  read more »

There are words that scatter wide, and words that go deep. Words that skim the surface, and words that examine the facets of our lives...  read more »

I've always been puzzled by the "escapism" epithet. As a child, I fell in love with storybooks not because they took me away from somewhere, but because of all the place they took me to.  read more »

I love plots. There, I've said it—I'm out of the closet.  read more »

Lauren Sweet will be starting her blog here soon.