Writing | J.R. Johnson

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

If You’re a Unicorn, Be a Unicorn

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts on December 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Whether it’s money, grades, promotions, popularity, attention, or just plain material things we want, scientists agree: seeking out external rewards is a sure path to sabotaging our own happiness.”

― Jane McGonigal

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Speculative Cartography

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, cartography, genre fiction, maps, tools, Writers, writing on December 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I like maps. If you do too, and you are the sort of person who creates worlds that need maps (looking at you, authors!), this might be the tool for you.

Inkarnate – Create Fantasy Maps Online

Turn your ideas into incredible fantasy maps with Inkarnate’s easy-to-use online map-making platform.

Ideal for Game Masters, Fantasy Authors and Map Enthusiasts.

No affiliation, it’s just a site I found when looking for a good mapmaking tool for casual cartographers. The free plan includes several hundred art assets and as many as ten maps for personal use. Need more because your imagination just can’t be stopped? For $25 a year you get thousands of assets, high-resolution exports, a commercial license, and can make up to 2,000 maps. Which seems like a lot, even to me.

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*Photo by Gu00fcl Iu015fu0131k on Pexels.com*

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Advent in Spaaaaaaaace!

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, advent, NASA, photography, space, space magic, Thoughts on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Today, a public service announcement: The Atlantic is doing a special advent calendar, in spaaaaaaace!

I mean, technically everything we humans do is “in space” because Earth is in space, but this is a little different:

2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar – The Atlantic

…the 17th annual Space Telescope Advent Calendar, featuring remarkable images from both NASA’s Hubble telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. Every day until Wednesday, December 25, this page will present a new, incredible image of our universe from one of these two telescopes. Be sure to come back every day until Christmas…

Enjoy!

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*Us, in space. Photo by NASA on Unsplash*

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Be the Tortoise

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“I deal with writer’s block by lowering my expectations. I think the trouble starts when you sit down to write and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent—and when you don’t, panic sets in. The solution is never to sit down and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent. I write a little bit, almost every day, and if it results in two or three or (on a good day) four good paragraphs, I consider myself a lucky man. Never try to be the hare. All hail the tortoise.”

— Malcolm Gladwell

If you can do more, great, but either way, keep going. You’ve got this.

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Uuuuuuuggghhh

Posted in Writing on December 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The day so far: Tech stuff blah blah blah blaaaaaaah.

Ugh.

Hope your day is going better!

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Except Art

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, art, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The point of being alive is that we know it’s limited, and there’s no magic, no rabbit up your sleeve that you can pull.

— Tilda Swinton

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Best Rejection

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, genre fiction, rejections, submissions, Writers, writing on December 10, 2024| 2 Comments »

It’s perhaps a funny thing to celebrate but if you’re a writer this may strike a chord.

My email this morning contained a rejection, and it’s had me smiling all day.

Apex Magazine put out a call for flash fiction about memory, and I happened to have a flash piece on memory.

I submitted.

They responded.

With rejection, yes, but it was a personal rejection with phrases like “this is beautifully written” and “hope to read something from you in the future.”

I’ll take that:)

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