I'd like to compile a list of sympathetic monsters/villains, portrayed in any medium--film, fiction, art, music, myth.
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posted by ifjuly
on Mar 18, 2013 -
43 answers
What are the best non-Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, collections, and novels?
posted by jsturgill
on Dec 7, 2012 -
20 answers
After enjoying a
1920 screenwriting book by the flapper humorist Anita Loos, I am wondering what other pre-WW2 writing advice books might be fun and interesting to read. Any suggestions?
posted by steinsaltz
on Jul 27, 2012 -
15 answers
Recommend mystery fiction, especially mystery fiction by authors whose works were adapted into
Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes
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posted by GlassHeart
on Jun 11, 2012 -
14 answers
Authors who write (or wrote . . . if they're dead)
Twilight Zone and
Outer Limits-esque stories?
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posted by GlassHeart
on Apr 5, 2012 -
26 answers
Looking for fiction books about musicians, especially with a single musician as the main character
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posted by grokfest
on Jan 1, 2012 -
15 answers
Recommendations for stories about the mentor/protege dynamic that are sexy. Bonus points if both parties are female.
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posted by divabat
on Dec 2, 2011 -
8 answers
I can write fiction, but nothing I write ever seems to be a coherent story. How do I write a story?
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posted by Senza Volto
on Nov 30, 2011 -
31 answers
I'm looking for stories (long or short) with self-aware robots or digital intelligences that are neither merciless killers of humanity/their makers nor effective slaves (created and forced to perform labor, either through laws or through programming). Ideally neither of those things would figure into their history, either. It'd be best if the constructed-people were the protagonists or main focus of the story, but this is not required.
posted by curious nu
on Oct 5, 2011 -
26 answers
Give your best examples of the SF/ Survivalist/ Wish Fullfillment sub-genre "libertarian engineers do everything better" or "objectivist superman saves history". More specifically ones where someone is the last man on earth/sendt back in time and constructs a free market utopia through sheer smarts and rationality ( with himself on the top of it, of course).
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posted by The Whelk
on Jun 9, 2011 -
28 answers
I love superhero fiction. I love stories that look into what superhero powers would be like--its psychological and social ramifications. I love the mythology that has developed around superheroes. I love the darkness and moral complexity many modern superhero stories involve.... But I just cannot get into comics or any visual storytelling of that sort. So, can you point me to any good novels about superheroes?
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posted by meese
on Feb 6, 2011 -
33 answers
Wanted: Stories of leaving it all behind (family, relationships, work, obligations etc) and traveling to a remote place for peace, to think and/or escape society.
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posted by nomadicink
on Nov 3, 2010 -
48 answers
What is the single best short story you've read in the last ten years?
Preferrably published in the last ten years, bonus points if the writer is doing something innovative or exciting.
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posted by surenoproblem
on Aug 28, 2010 -
58 answers
I want to read new crime fiction and/or mystery short stories. Where should I look?
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posted by dersins
on Aug 18, 2010 -
6 answers
How do I query literary periodicals about "disappeared" short stories?
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posted by uans
on Jan 22, 2010 -
11 answers
I'd like recommendations for short stories that are strange, humorous, or have a surprising twist.
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posted by Rinku
on Mar 8, 2009 -
57 answers
Suggest some magazines which publish short stories and poetry that are not stuffy and pretentious. Also, any science fiction magazines that are worth reading would be greatly appreciated as well.
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posted by scarello
on Nov 4, 2008 -
9 answers
I'm looking for werewolf literature. Any fiction with a halfway decent plot. Novels, short stories, folklore. Comics or graphic novels also okay.
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posted by Ritchie
on Oct 16, 2008 -
38 answers
What is the title of this short story? Author? Any hints? About a boy and his younger brother (more detailed description of the story follows)
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posted by jujube
on Jul 20, 2008 -
2 answers
If you please—I urgently require a few good recommendations of novels that have India as a backdrop.
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posted by hadjiboy
on Jan 13, 2008 -
55 answers
I'm looking for a series of hardback science fiction anthologies I dimly remember from childhood (sometime in the mid 80s). I think it had a one word title with a number, and the series went up to at least number five. I remember two stories in particular...
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posted by Artw
on Jan 13, 2008 -
11 answers
Broken Promises: Looking for stories of the damage that broken promises can cause an individual. Can be personal (maybe childhood stories), read somewhere(biographies?), recommendations where to find them, etc. Preferably something that can be easily told within a couple of minutes...Any help is appreciated!
posted by stevyb
on Dec 14, 2007 -
9 answers
I want to write a Christmas-themed essay for my book review blog, and I'm trying to come up with some Christmas lit to review. It might be fun, for instance, to gather together a selection of Christmas tripe such as
Santa's Christmas Prayer (link not safe for those who have any literary sensibilities and have just eaten) and go to town on it. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, to write something about Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol. Which Christmas novels/stories/poems do you love and loathe? I don't review movies, so text only please...
posted by orange swan
on Nov 28, 2006 -
13 answers
What's that site with web-fomat short stories, usually at least somewhat autobiographical, and accompanied by illustrations--in the vein of the old word.com Work content?
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posted by littlegreenlights
on Aug 25, 2006 -
4 answers
How can I make my symbolic/abstract writing style more accessible to readers, so that they won't turn away from my stories in boredom?
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posted by gregb1007
on Jun 2, 2006 -
58 answers
