[Ask the Aliens is a monthly feature on Misreader that attempts to contact aliens in order to answer life advice questions here on Earth. Read the open call here or check out the previous letters here. If you have a question send it to misreaderblog at gmail dot com with "Ask the Aliens" in the subject line.] Hi, the Aliens, I'm a fiction writer but this question isn't about craft. As far as my use of language and creativity go, number of publications, and recognition in the

I started to watch Stranger Things this weekend and by the third episode—which I found to be equal parts beautiful, frightening, and sad—the show had won me over. I don't want to talk about the plot, so don't worry, there's no spoilers here. I do want to talk about style and substance. Something about this show keeps on making me think of the first, good season of True Detective. For a different reason, it also makes me think of The Americans, every season of which has been v

I didn't want to write an Elections Monster today but the beast keeps me up at night. How did I start writing a politics column for this blog in the first place? It wasn't on purpose, it just happened that way. Sort of how the Republican party became the host body for demonic possession. Obviously, I did it for the attention. That's the biggest commodity in this election.Why does anyone type anything on the internet? Why do internet trolls fill a Republican chat on a YouTube

After more contest than was ever expected, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for Democratic candidate for president of the United States yesterday, ending the Democratic primary monster. Even though yesterday's joint appearance ends Sanders' run, most articles doing a postmortem for his campaign are dated early June, just after Clinton won the California primary. California was an undeniable turning point for Clinton; at that point, Sanders had to win it to stay alive.

I am the kind of person who will read an advice column, not just because this is a blog that has one, but because I like to see what people are trying to figure out about their lives. It is possible that I am looking for solutions for my own problems, or that I just enjoy hearing that other people are having them. So it was reading the latest installment of The Blunt Instrument, Elisa Gabbert's writing craft advice column on Electric Literature, which answered a question abou

The monster can assume many forms. Sometimes, you've seen him before: a character in your nightmares, a creature on TV. He reached out with his dead claw and pulled the covers off of your head before you screamed and he ran away. He's always threatened you, from a safe distance. Other times, the monster has no defined shape. It moves collectively. Its power comes in its ability to mobilize a horde. Zombies come to mind. I hate fucking zombies. But most of the time, the monste