Would you rather have no ESP or unreliable ESP?
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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Question of the Day
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers on June 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Behavioral Science for Creatives
Posted in Favorites, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, behavioral science, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Some days it feels as though all the ideas have been done. We went for a walk today and passed a posse of girls in the park. I did a double take, because it was as if I’d been pulled back in time to the 1980s, at least as far as their outfits went. Are those high-waisted (deeply uncomfortable) stiff denim jeans I see? Check. What’s that, a Madonna-esque bustier? Check. Could that be a pair of Converse sneakers and a fluffy scrunchie? Check and check.
That got me thinking about Ötzi the Ice Man, a Neolithic-era man whose body (with clothing) was discovered in the South Tyrol Alps between Austria and Italy more than 5,000 years after his death.
Ötzi’s equipment is the oldest and best preserved in the world. His Copper Age clothing and weapons were frozen in the ice with him and therefore remained well preserved to this day.
— Ötzi’s New Clothes
If you follow that link, you’ll see that his clothes are surprisingly stylish.
I have no idea exactly why someone murdered Ötzi (not for his excellent goatskin coat, apparently), but it was probably for a reason we would at least recognize, if not condone: love, hate, anger, fear, revenge, greed, justice or security, just to name a few. Human needs, human abilities, human issues haven’t changed all that much in millennia. Even so, it would still be fascinating to know the specifics of Ötzi’s story.
In some ways, it can be the same with story ideas. The ingredients are the same, it’s how you mix them up that matters.
On the Quest for Originality, Recombine the Familiar – By Adam Alter – Behavioral Scientist
Often, the best way to get unstuck on the quest for originality is to combine two old ideas to form a new one, rather than searching for a single, novel creative nugget…. Trying to do something completely new is a recipe for paralysis.
If you’re stuck on a project and looking for a way forward that doesn’t feel like a 5,000 year old retread of the same old same old, this approach might help.
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Fill in the Blanks
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Writers, writing, your turn on June 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have nothing very new to say today, so I thought I’d let you fill in the blanks. Enjoy this “new school meets old school” Typewriter Simulator:
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Firefly or Lightning Bug?
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, characters, linguistics, maps, regions, Writers, writing on June 2, 2023| 1 Comment »
I’m knee-deep in appliance shopping (yes, 1, 2, 3, 4 again), but I ran across a fun dialect survey and thought you, gentle readers, might find it amusing. There are fireflies (or are they lightning bugs?). There are drive-through liquor stores (or not). There are maps!
Word choice is also a useful dimension to consider when developing a character.
Here’s the source that tipped me off:
The Decade-Old Dialect Quiz You Should Take – Now I Know
And here’s a link to the survey:
And here’s a more in-depth look at firefly vs. lightning bug:
Why Some Americans Say ‘Firefly’ and Others Say ‘Lightning Bug’
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You’ve Got Mail
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #wotf39, #WritersOfTheFuture, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Two of my fellow Writers of the Future v39 winners have posted blogs about craft, and I wanted to share:
Writing Resilience | by David Hankins
One Writer’s Journey | by Elaine Midcoh
David and Elaine are great writers and terrific people, and both of those traits come through in these posts. Enjoy!
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Working On It
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”
— Duke Ellington
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Random Ostrich
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, blog posts, creativity, nature, randomness, Thoughts, Writers on May 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
As it is Tuesday (and even worse, Tuesday after a holiday), my to do list is… extensive. Please enjoy a random post and some entertaining ostriches.
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Roll the dice for a random post: Click this link or the image below.
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Excellent In So Many Ways
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, constraint, creativity, inspiration, making stuff, sheep, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on May 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I like crafting in general, I like weaving in particular, and I like the freeing nature of creative constraints, so this “sheep to shawl” competition is right up my alley.
In a Sheep to Shawl competition, you have 5 people, 1 sheep, and 3 hours – NPR
Each team is made up of one sheep and five people: one shearer, three spinners, and a weaver. The team has three hours to shear the sheep, card the wool, spin the wool into yarn, and then weave that yarn into an award-winning shawl.
It’s not exactly the same as NaNoWriMo or drabbles or the 24-hour story challenge we recently did at Writers of the Future (crazy, fun, and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be:) but it’s in the same vein.
Here’s to artists exploring boundaries everywhere.
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Wishing You a Special Night
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“It was not really Saturday night, at least it may have been, for they had long lost count of the days; but always if they wanted to do anything special they said this was Saturday night, and then they did it.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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The 58th Annual Nebula Awards
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Nebula Awards, Writers, writing on May 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Who won the latest Nebulas? Here’s an abbreviated list to get you started, but click through for all the details!
SFWA Announces the Winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVEL
Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELLA
Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELETTE
“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You”, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)
NEBULA AWARD FOR SHORT STORY
“Rabbit Test”, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)
THE ANDRE NORTON NEBULA AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)
Congratulations to all the winners!
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