I’d planned to finish a drabble for today but got distracted, first by day-job work and then by a funny little project that popped up out of nowhere. A fellow Wordler compared my daily solution to hers and noted similarities in our starting words, then said it sounded like the opening of a story.
Challenge accepted.
So I’m writing her a story, adding a few lines each day, working in the words from her games. The process is fun and funny, and as with a 100-word drabble, it’s just another way to make constraints work for you.
Today she asked if I had a story in mind or if if the plot was purely spontaneous.
What can science fiction do for you? Help you think. Here’s an interview on Marketplace, better known for its discussions with economists, professors and policy wonks, with writer Neal Stephenson.
We’ll talk with Stephenson about how he thinks about big, complex issues like climate change and what this genre can teach us about the future and solving problems in the real world.
Hallelujah is one of the most famous songs ever written, yet a new film reveals it took Leonard Cohen 180 attempts over a decade to perfect – only for it to be rejected by his record company. Nearly 20 years went by before an animated ogre, Shrek, turned the song into a monster hit.
Is this a little nuts? Maybe, but you won’t always know what’s “worth it” ahead of time. Tastes change, editors are human, and in the end, you’re the artist. Stick to it.
You know you’re a writer when you look down to see that your sleeve is soaked in blood* and think, “For your next action story, remember the sensation of blood-saturated fabric as it cools against the skin.”
* It was nothing serious, just a Band-Aid failure after a routine blood draw, but it bled. A lot.
Tuesdays don’t have to be all bad. You may remember I mentioned a call for optimistic fiction about our climate future. Here is the resulting free collection.
This year’s three winners and nine finalists bring new perspectives to the vital genre of climate fiction, with short stories that offer visions of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope. Join us in celebrating an uprising of imagination with 12 stirring, surprising, and expansive looks at a future built on sustainability, inclusivity, and justice.
I like October. Fall is well on its way, the sky’s blue a crisper, clearer shade, and any evening is improved with a hot beverage, a blanket and a good book.
That said, I could do without all the horror.
Yes, Halloween is this month, but be it in writing, games or movies, I am not a big fan of the horror genre. (Candy corn, yes. Knife-wielding murderers and zombie plagues? No thanks!) One of the first adult movies my father took us to was The Amityville Horror, and let’s just say it stuck with me.
Tonight is a full moon, the Hunter’s Moon, and we’re also celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m testing a breast-only version of Samin Nosrat’s recipe for buttermilk-brined turkey and will also find some way to use the orange-walnut butterscotch I made today.
A young family member tried her first root beer float this past week. She preferred straight ice cream, in the end, but it got me thinking about the complex history of what appears to be a fairly simple treat.
From a societal standpoint, the road to such a dessert requires an understanding of the science of crystallization as well as carbonation, plus the ability to package and distribute the ingredients while maintaining temperature and freshness.
From an entrepreneurial perspective, who came up with the idea of merging frozen dessert with thirst-quenching beverage in the first place?
A lot of folks, it seems.
Meet the people who claim to have invented (some version of) this classic dish:
The full moon that night shined on the snow-capped Cow Mountain and reminded him of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. He hurried back to his bar and scooped a spoonful of ice cream into the children’s favorite flavor of soda, Myers Avenue Red Root Beer. After trying, he liked it and served it the very next day. It was an immediate hit.
Whether these somewhat fanciful stories reflect the full truth we can’t know. What we do know is that by the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. was awash with ice cream floats.
* * *
Why so many instances of similar inventions, all around the same time? That takes us back to the bit about this particular creation being part of a complex system of social, technical and economic factors. Simultaneous invention happens all the time, with ideas big and small.
The history of science is full of ideas that several people had at the same time.
So don’t worry that your idea for a vampire story or cake recipe or video game or mousetrap has already been done. The world needs new creations, and new versions of old inventions, all the time. Learn from what’s gone before, of course, but if a project captures your attention, pursue it.
It hasn’t been done your way. And your way may be exactly what the world needs right now.
* * *
The purple cow (with grape juice and vanilla ice cream) has always been my favorite. Photo by Ryan Song on Unsplash
To me, the grounds for hope are simply that we don’t know what will happen next, and that the unlikely and the unimaginable transpire quite regularly. And that the unofficial history of the world shows that dedicated individuals and popular movements can shape history and have.
A call came through last night, and the voice on the other end of the line told me that my story had made it to second place in Writers of the Future.
Wait, what?
This is my fourth entry in the contest and, while I’ve received encouraging placements before, I did not expect to make the jump to the top three in my quarter.
If you’re considering a submission I recommend it. Sure, thousands of people submit in each round but it’s open to all non-professionals, free to enter, and has one of the best pay rates in speculative publishing. Check out the official guidelines or visit The Grinder for more details.
My story is 17,000 words of adventurous and sometimes humorous science fiction. I love it, and am very pleased that the judges liked it too.
“Piracy for Beginners” will be published in the 2022 Writers of the Future anthology.
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