For years, “The Better Son” existed almost entirely in my head. Then I wrote it. The first draft took about four months. The editing has taken considerably longer. Now, after years of carrying the story around and months of revising it, I've begun sending it to literary agents. That's a peculiar transition. Until recently, I was the only person who had to believe in the book. My beta readers changed that, of course. Their reactions mattered. Some saw things I hadn't seen. One reader,...

The first draft of The Better Son took me about four months to write. That sounds much more efficient than it really was. The story had been rolling around in my head for years. By the time I finally sat down to write it, much of the book was already there—not on paper, but somewhere in the back of my mind. The characters were my contemporaries. The world they inhabited was familiar to me. And when I wrote the flashbacks, I wasn't simply inventing a past. I was drawing on things I'd...

Understanding Dystopian Fiction Dystopian fiction has long been a staple of literature. It captivates audiences with its haunting portrayals of societies gone wrong. From George Orwell's "1984" to Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," these stories serve as more than just entertainment. They offer warnings, reflections, and insights into the human condition and society. Warnings Against Power One reason dystopian fiction matters is its ability to warn us about the dangers of unchecked...