Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, inspiration, Mars, science, space exploration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Can you really survive on Mars? What science fiction gets wrong about off-world living | Space
Arnie said, “Get your ass to Mars”, but is it really a good idea? We asked the experts about our Martian future.
How likely is it that humanity will be able to live and thrive on Mars? Short answer, no. Longer answer? Still no! Doesn’t mean we can’t dream of new and exciting vistas in our future, though!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #wotf39, audio fiction, free fiction, sff, short stories, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on June 27, 2026| 2 Comments »
I started two posts for today but neither have come together (yet!), so let me share a story from David Hankins (a fabulous and funny author from my Writers of the Future cohort!), with a bonus short from Lisa Para.
Quest Tropes | Cast of Wonders: The audio for David’s story begins at 10m20s. Read the transcript or listen to the audio version, your choice!
The Last Quest of Corbin the Coward, by David Hankins
Corbin collapsed outside the dragon’s lair, acrid smoke wafting from his armor. He was getting too old for this. He’d never asked to be the gods’ favored champion.
Sunlit forests spread out below him, a peaceful world unaware and unconcerned that he’d almost been eaten. Twice.
Corbin drew a shuddering breath and wrenched a dragon tooth from his armor. Yet another pointless quest completed. What the hell did the gods want with a dragon tooth anyway?
No more. Corbin was done.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, idea generating machine, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »
I have no idea what this “game” is supposed to be about but I love it.
Wiki Spy from Neal.fun
Check out all those images; so many interesting people, places, things, and ideas!
Hint: Hovering over an image will pop up a window with the title and source. If you want more info, click the image (a new round of related images will come up) and go to the top of the page. To right of the search field you’ll see a thumbnail of the image you clicked and (even further right) a “View on Wikipedia” link.
Have fun exploring!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, audience, connection, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing advice on June 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“You’re trying to find your audience. And the way to find your audience is by being fully yourself in an engaging and interesting way.” — DongWon Song
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, interviews, read stuff, sci-fi, sff, Thoughts, William Gibson, write stuff, Writers, writing on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
William Gibson riffs on writing and the future
So I would recommend that people read a lot, and as broadly as possible, and then I would suggest that people write a lot. You have to have written a very good deal in order to become really good at it. And if you do it often enough and pay sufficient attention, you’re much more likely to get somewhere than if you don’t.
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Bloomsday, classics, James Joyce, Thoughts, Writers on June 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
A relative of Irish descent reminded me that today is Bloomsday, or a day to celebrate the life and work of James Joyce.
What is Bloomsday? – Bloomsday Festival
Bloomsday celebrates Thursday, 16th June 1904 — the day immortalised in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, one of the novel’s protagonists. The novel follows Bloom’s life and thoughts (as well as those of Stephen Dedalus and a host of other characters, real and fictional) from early in the morning to the twilight hours of the following day.
It may also be helpful for other writers to know that even Joyce worried about his work being forgotten.
No chance of that today!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #keepwriting, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Writing, tagged writing, creativity, Writers, Thoughts, #365Ways, #365Ways2026, helpful advice on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Some days the advice you need comes to you at just the right time, all unexpected.
Lorem Ipsum and Light Bulbs, Hank Green
You’ve probably heard the bowl story, or some version of it, but I’m going to tell it to you again. Some diabolical teacher split his ceramics students into two groups. One group was told to spend the entire semester making one perfect bowl. The other group was graded on sheer volume… just make as many bowls as you can, quality be damned.
At the end of the semester, the group that was told to just make a bunch of bowls made the better bowls.
This is a common idea in creative circles, but Hank’s version popped up in my inbox just when I needed to hear it.
Maybe it will help you too?
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
It’s a classic question for writers: “Where do you get your ideas?” In my experience, they come from lots of sources, and certainly not the same places for everyone. Find what interests you and follow it. Think big, think small, think sideways.
And if you’re stuck or just looking for new inspiration, you could do worse than follow advice from one of the masters of the field.
“Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.” — Ray Bradbury
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, aliens, contests, free fiction, scifi, Writers, writing, writing contest on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you remember the “Dear Aliens” contest? Maybe you even submitted a story to be shared with our alien visitors?
Mr Man and I have had a lot going on over the past few months so I did not get a story together, but I’m glad that many of you did. And now, the winners have been announced!
To Those Arriving Soon by MacEagon Voyce
“You’ll know by now that we humans fear the unknown, and that we fill that chasm with stories, imagining endings we have some agency over.”
See the full list for the top ten stories, and enjoy!
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