Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, courage, creativity, fear, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts on February 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »
For anyone facing a challenge today, two quotes:
“…very often a risk is worth taking simply for the sake of taking it. There is something enlivening about expanding our self-definition, and a risk does exactly that. Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges.”
— Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
“So do it. If you win, you win, and if you lose, you win.”
— Jake La Motta, Raging Bull
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on February 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”
― Terry Pratchett
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #FTRWeek, libraries, reading, Thoughts on February 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »
It is Freedom to Read Week here in Canada. What is it, you may ask?
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
Well, I am all about that. The more readers in the world, the better.
And while we’re on the topic, if you happen to live in a place where access to books is not what it could be, allow me to introduce you to the Open Library.
Open Library is free and open to anyone. Some features require that you have an Open Library account.
Have an email address? You’re in.
And welcome. We’re glad you’re here.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, cognitive behavior, creativity, genre fiction, science, Thoughts, writing on February 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today, an essay by Cecilia Tan in Uncanny magazine: A Novel Is an Empathy Engine.
The idea that story can have an effect on the humans that consume it is not new. It’s well accepted across many cultures, and well supported by studies, that children’s development is aided by hearing stories, with benefits ranging from emotional development and improved communication skills to increased vocabulary and social maturity. But adults are also affected and changed by story.
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, books, free fiction, genre fiction, Mars, movies, Writers on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »
In a recent chat with my mother, I mentioned that I thought she would enjoy the movie version of The Martian. I don’t know if she was convinced by my sales pitch: “An astronaut is stranded alone on Mars and has to find a way home before he dies a horrible death. It’s hilarious!” but I hope she’ll watch it.
Andy Weir’s book is also a lot of fun. It was published ten years ago this month, and to celebrate he wrote a new chapter and shared it with us all.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #BlackAsSFF, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I just finished the third book in N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy and have to agree with this article:
Dear Hollywood, Where Are the SFF Book-to-Movie-TV Adaptations From Black Writers?
Since 2014, approximately 500 books of all genres have been adapted to film or television. In total, just over four dozen of those books adapted were written by Black authors. Only four of those 50+ Black adaptations were speculative works.
Just saying.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I just posted this to a writer’s group and then thought, what the heck, maybe other people would appreciate this too. And here we are.
I saw a writer on Twitter feeling not great about his work, of the “everything’s terrible, no one wants this stupid book, what’s the point, why am I even bothering?” variety. Been there, of course, who hasn’t, and I had some thoughts. Sharing in case someone else needs to hear it too:
Think of the last book you read that brought you joy, or showed you that there is light at the end of darkness.
Your book is you, repaying the favor.
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Thoughts on February 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, authors, genre fiction, sff, Thoughts, weird lists on February 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I decided to make a list of science fiction and fantasy authors based on my reading history, organized by the starting letter of their last name. (That’s normal, right?)
This is off the top of my head and while I read a lot my memory isn’t the best. I have certainly forgotten many authors, and of course there are many more that I have not yet read. And I haven’t put everyone in here, but focused on the ones engraved into my longer-term memory banks. (As such, it tends toward the classics.) Even so, I was surprised to find that most letters have at least some entries.
Most, but not for Q, U, and X.
Here’s my list in progress. Who am I missing?
A is for Asimov, Atwood, Adams, Abercrombie, Andrews, Addison, Anders, Anthony
B is for Butler, Bradbury, Bujold, Banks, Bacigalupi, Bester, Butcher, Burroughs, Baum, Bull, Beukes, Bradley
C is for Crowley, Chiang, Card, Crichton, Arthur C. Clarke, Cronin, Chambers, Corey, Susanna Clarke, Carroll, Cooper, Cherryh
D is for Delany, Dick
E is for El-Mohtar
F is for Farmer, Farland, Feist, Fforde, Flint, Foster
G is for Grant, Gibson, Gladstone, Gaiman, Gabaldon, Green, Goldman
H is for Harrison, Herbert, Huxley, Heinlein, Haldeman, Hamilton, Hobb, Hopkinson
I is for Ishiguro
J is for Jemisin, Jordan, Diana Wynne Jones
K is for King, Kowal, Kingfisher, Kay, Kurtz
L is for Leckie, Lem, Ken Liu, Le Guin, Lewis, Lem, Lunch, Cixin Liu, L’Engle, Lowry, Lord, Leiber
M is for McCarthy, Miller Jr, Muir, Martine, Miéville, Martine, McGuire, McCaffrey, Matheson, Moorcock, Milne, Macdonald, McKinley
N is for Niven, Novik, Norton
O is for Okorafor, Orwell
P is for Pournelle, Pratchett, Pullman
Q is for …
R is for Robinson, Rothfuss, Rowling
S is for Scalzi, Shelley, Stephenson, Simmons, Sagan, Stross, Samatar, Sanderson, Sawyer
T is for Tolkien, Tchaikovsky, Tiptree Jr., Tepper
U is for …
V is for Vonnegut, Verne, VanderMeer, Vinge
W is for Weir, HG Wells, Martha Wells, Willis, Whitehead, Walton, Williams, TH White, Wilhelm
X is for …
Y is for Yolen, Yu
Z is for Zelazny
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, art, memory, music, Thoughts on February 6, 2024| 1 Comment »
I tried to resist posting the Tracy Chapman / Luke Combs duet of Chapman’s “Fast Car” because it is everywhere. Why did I break down and change my mind? Because music, like writing and other forms of art, is a transformative time machine.
Tracy Chapman Duets “Fast Car” with Luke Combs
Listening to the performance, I remember who I was when I first heard the original song. I remember the road I’ve travelled to get to where I am. And I remember running down the steps at the Harvard Square T station and realizing that Chapman had been there before me, playing to distracted commuters as she built her own road to the future.
It’s also just a really good song.
And I love that a new generation is getting to hear it in a way that emphasizes the shared humanity, challenges and goals of its singers, and listeners.
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