Writing | J.R. Johnson

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Why Should Bots Have All the Fun?

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #peoplebeforeprocessors, art, creativity, innovation on June 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“I want Al to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for Al to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.”

— Joanna Maciejewska

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Climate Futures Contest

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, genre fiction, hope, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing contest on June 1, 2024| 1 Comment »

Are you the sort of writer who can imagine a better future? Do you care about the climate? This may be the contest for you!

Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2024: Submit your story | Grist

Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world. We dare you to dream anew…

In 2,500 to 5,000 words, show us the world you dream of building…

There is no cost to enter. Submissions close June 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time.

Here’s an example of a climate positive / “hey, maybe we will get out of this alive“ story:

Fishy by Alice Towey – Clarkesworld Magazine

I enjoyed it. Because I too dare to dream.

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*Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash*

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Lighter Reads

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, humor, reading, sff, Thoughts on May 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The news, man, it can be heavy. If you’re in the market for lighter reads, put these short stories from Reactor (f.k.a. Tor.com, why are so many sites changing their names these days? like we don’t all have enough to keep track of) on your list.

Six Seriously Funny Speculative Short Stories – Reactor

Haven’t read them all yet but I’m looking forward to it. For even more recommendations, scroll down to the page’s comment section. Readers have thoughts.

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*Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash*

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Sweet Dreams

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, Thoughts on May 29, 2024| 1 Comment »

“The Embankment”
Oh, God, make small
The old star-eaten blanket of the sky,
That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie …

— T. E. Hulme

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The Future Isn’t Written (Yet)

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I’m sad that I haven’t written a lot of things, but I’m incredibly happy that I’ve written as much as I have. Because there was a point when I was younger where there was a very good chance that I wouldn’t write anything – I was just too frightened.

— Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

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Baking Today

Posted in Food and..., Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Thoughts, Writers on May 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“No writing is wasted. Did you know that sourdough from San Francisco is leavened partly by a bacteria called lactobacillus sanfrancisensis? It is native to the soil there, and does not do well elsewhere. But any kitchen can become an ecosystem. If you bake a lot, your kitchen will become a happy home to wild yeasts, and all your bread will taste better. Even a failed loaf is not wasted. Likewise, cheese makers wash the dairy floor with whey. Tomato gardeners compost with rotten tomatoes. No writing is wasted: the words you can’t put in your book can wash the floor, live in the soil, lurk around in the air. They will make the next words better.”

― Erin Bow

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Follow Your Own Path

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on May 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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*Photo by Genevieve Dallaire on Unsplash*

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Help Wanted: Must Love Laser Sharks

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, drabble, genre fiction, must love drabbles, Writers, writing on May 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I set out to write a post about climate fiction or reading the geophysical landscape or talking plants, but instead I detoured to write a drabble. Because some days are just like that.

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Help Wanted: Must Love Laser Sharks

The day dawned cold and dispirited. Nila gently set her coffee on the table to keep from screaming. Her mother had ejected her from The Lair exactly one year ago.

She scanned the classifieds out of habit. A new ad caught her eye:

Assistant needed. Must:

understand the intricacies of shark breeding;

be comfortable with most weaponry (prepare for mortal danger);

be skilled in fire management (including molten lava).

Salary negotiable; you keep what you kill.

Yes, please. Six months, twelve max, and she’d take over this aging villain’s empire. Her mother wouldn’t know what hit her.

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Doesn’t Always Feel That Way, Though, Does It?

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, back to work!, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

So I wake up this morning with that age-old cliché in my head: You have as many hours in a day as [Leonardo da Vinci].

Fill in your own preferred goal setter.* Mine changes depending on my current mood and projects. Sometimes it even helps;)

Onward!

* ~~Also, remember that if your exemplar is pre-20th century, your life expectancy is probably double theirs.~~ Strike that, we’re all under enough pressure as it is.

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