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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Gifts from the Mountain

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Tor.com has another collection out, and in honor of its 15th anniversary it will be free from now until the end of July. (That’s July 2023, to all you time travelers out there.) 

It’s Our Birthday! Download the Free Tor.com 15th Anniversary Short Fiction Bundle

This year on July 20th, Tor.com turns 15! Since that long-ago year of 2008, we’ve published more than 600 original stories from authors around the world. To celebrate, we’ve pulled together some highlights from those last 15 years into a special, free, limited-time bundle!

Free fiction by good writers in a convenient package. What’s not to like?

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Photo by Edgar Soto on Unsplash

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Me, Facing Down My To Do List

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.”

— Sandra Day O’Connor

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I think “wear a dragon onesie” wins this list. Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash

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Word of the Day: Noctilucent

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today’s Word of the Day (in my world, at least) is “noctilucent.”

The term is typically applied to a specific type of cloud, “a luminous thin usually colored cloud seen especially at twilight at a height of about 50 miles (80 kilometers).” It’s the luminous aspect that makes these clouds particularly dramatic.

Noctilucent clouds: What are they and how can you see them? | Space

The name noctilucent is derived from the Latin words “nocto” and “lucent” which translates to “night” and “shining” respectively, according to Merriam Webster.

These clouds are seasonal, and in the Northern hemisphere that season is now.

Noctilucent clouds: The season starts now!

The season for noctilucent clouds at northerly latitudes is now. People at high latitudes report seeing noctilucent clouds. This happens every year, from about May through August in the Northern Hemisphere, and from November through February in the Southern Hemisphere.

I chose this word because its Latin origins are interesting to unpack, it refers to a beautiful and intriguing phenomenon, and it’s fun to say.

The world is a marvelous, mysterious and magical place. Science (and science fiction!) just makes it that much better.

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Photo of noctilucent clouds taken in Laboe, Germany, on June 21, 2019. Image by Matthias Süßen/ Wikipedia/ CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Begin Doing… Whatever You Like

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

— Walt Disney

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Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash

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Un/Stuck

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on July 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I have spent a good chunk of the past two days a little stuck. It’s a day job thing so I can’t just roll a twenty-sided die or add vampires (sadly!) but it does, in the end, have something to do with writing.

The problem was that I wasn’t 100% clear on the problem. Usually, more research is supposed to clarify issues, but as I dove deeper the assignment made less sense, not more.

How to escape this quandary? In the end, I wrote myself a path out.

My approach? Examining the challenge from multiple angles, breaking it down into pieces as bite-sized as I could make them, and outlining whatever ideas came to mind until they stopped being terrible and started to be interesting. 

Next thing I knew, I was on my way.

This happened to be a day job problem but I find the same strategy also applies to fiction. In case you, too, find yourself stuck.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Look to the Future

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Things I’d rather not do today, but will:

  • work on the day-job project that’s been lurking on my to-do list
  • figure out what to do with the sadly inadequate results of a new brownie recipe
  • take care of some “just in case” items; thanks, tornado warning!

My future self will thank me. Probably.

“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”

— George Burns

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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The 2023 Hugo Finalists

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The finalists for the 2023 Hugo Awards have been announced! 

The Hugo Awards

Best Novel

See the full list of nominees across all categories at Locus Online: 2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Finalists. Winners will be announced at Chengdu Worldcon in October.

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Photo by Andy Hermawan on Unsplash

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On Writing Compelling Speculative Fiction

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

J.R. Johnson On How To Create Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories

What does it take for a writer today, to write compelling and successful Science Fiction and Fantasy stories?

Click over to Authority Magazine for my thoughts! If you can’t access the file there, here’s a PDF (but the formatting is better at Authority!).

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Photo by Valentin G on Unsplash

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A Super Signing

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A huge thank you to everyone who attended today’s signing of Writers of the Future Volume 39, and to the terrific staff at Ottawa’s Perfect Books. Also, particular thanks to the friends who trekked across the city, wrangled energetic children, or both! You made it a special experience.

Enjoy the book!

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Potential ! Limitless

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on July 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“To go from this idea of limitless potential that you have as a young person — ‘Oh, I can do anything! Just give me the chance!’ — and then realizing, well, maybe you can’t do anything. But then what do you do? What do you do after that happens? What do you do after you realize that? Do you give up? Or do you try and make your art out of your own limitations?”

— David Duchovny

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Photo by twk tt on Unsplash

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