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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

An ode to the stories I want to read but haven’t quite managed, yet.

The Coffin Maker – Uncanny Magazine

Every so often, audio crackles through the room, too loud, and the crowd stills and quiets as one. Stephani knows that they are all like her, waiting, waiting, waiting to find out how this mission will fail, hoping it will be a small thing with no ripples, praying they won’t have to hear it, knowing they will listen if a surveyor’s last words are broadcast across the ship. 

Have I read this? I have not, but Uncanny stories are always high quality and often hopeful (if sometimes disturbing; fair warning in case this story turns out to be one of those!). Perhaps you will have more time today than I do.

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Photo by Photobank Kiev on Unsplash

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“Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.”

— Colin Powell

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Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

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As I’ve mentioned here before, I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions. That said, I am not immune to the “fresh start effect,” which can make it easier to begin new projects, habits, or other goals around a new week, month, or year. 

So today I’m considering what new projects, habits and goals I want to bring with me into 2024.

And whether you’re the sort of person who makes resolutions or not, this article may help with next steps.

How to keep your New Year’s resolutions according to a behavioral economist (Planet Money podcast, with transcript)

It’s the first full week of 2022, and many of us are already feeling the “fresh start effect,” according to behavioral economist Katy Milkman. We’re excited to pursue new goals and we feel a renewed sense of purpose that new beginnings can bring. Still, keeping New Year’s resolutions is often easier said than done.

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Photo by Brian Mann on Unsplash

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“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

— Joan Didion

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For the days when I look down at the book I’m reading and think, “No research is worth this.” 

“If a book is tedious to you, don’t read it; that book was not written for you.”

—Jorge Luis Borges

I’m also a firm believer in this:

“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures… If you like something, like it.”

— Dave Grohl

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Photo by Tony Tran on Unsplash

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 “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

— Pablo Picasso

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Photo by Mason Kimbarovsky on Unsplash

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For me, the end of a year is a great time to think about the future. 

What did one of science fiction’s most acclaimed writers think about the future back in 1980, what’s changed, and which of his predictions have already come to pass?

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Photo by Ali Pazani on Unsplash

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What Is the Moon?

From the same stash of childhood ephemera as the Great Green Dragon, I give you a haiku on the theme of the moon.

O Mistress, come see!

What is this caught in the net

Of the cherry tree?

— Jenny J.

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Photo by Justin Zhu on Unsplash

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Christmas Eve, when Santa is racing around the world distributing presents, seems like an excellent time to think back to the experience of the holiday as a young child. If Christmas was part of your family tradition, do you remember what it was like to believe in Santa Claus? 

I do, and despite the ever-present pressures of reality, that sense of wonder is part of why I write.

Making Sense of Santa, as a Science Reporter and a Parent ‹ Literary Hub

“When I was a kid, did you try to get me to believe in Santa?” I recently asked my parents. My father, a mathematician, scoffed. “Of course not,” he said. “We told you he was a mythological being that represented generosity and good cheer.”

Still, every December, my mother hung stockings above the chimney with care. And every Christmas Eve, she made sure cookies were left on a festively decorated plate, as though she truly believed St. Nick would soon be there.

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Photo by LuAnn Hunt on Unsplash

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“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art.”

— Taylor Swift

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Photo by Keith Hardy on Unsplash

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