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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

You Might Want to Enter This

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Tap into your inner Hemingway* with this (very) short story contest:

Enter the Incredible Six Word Wonder Contest 2022 – Doug Weller Writer

This is the place for you to enter your absolute best six word stories, memoirs, poems, and jokes, with the chance of winning $100, getting published, and being named the Six Word Wonder!

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* Ok, Hemingway probably didn’t write that classic six-word story, but the example (and its supposed author) occupy an established place in the heart of flash fiction.

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Photo by David Moum on Unsplash

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A Good Day

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on March 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Never put off till tomorrow the book you can read today.

— Holbrook Jackson

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Photo by Sabina Sturzu on Unsplash

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2021’s Nebula Award Finalists

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2022| 1 Comment »

The Nebula Award finalists for 2021 have been announced! (Actually, they were announced over a week ago but I missed it because there’s a lot going on in the world right now, you know? It’s still nice to take a little time for new fiction.)

What’s on the list? Is Uncanny still killing it? (They are.) Are the good folks at Diabolical Plots represented? (They are.) How much of it is free to read right this very? (Links below!) And what do you mean, no Murderbot? Read on!

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Nebula Award for Novel

The Unbroken, C.L. Clark (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom; Orbit UK)
Machinehood, S.B. Divya (Saga)
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
Plague Birds, Jason Sanford (Apex)

Nebula Award for Novella

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)
Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
And What Can We Offer You Tonight, Premee Mohamed (Neon Hemlock)
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters, Aimee Ogden (Tordotcom)
Flowers for the Sea, Zin E. Rocklyn (Tordotcom)
The Necessity of Stars, E. Catherine Tobler (Neon Hemlock)
“The Giants of the Violet Sea”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 9–10/21)

Nebula Award for Novelette

“O2 Arena”, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Galaxy’s Edge 11/21)
“Just Enough Rain”, PH Lee (Giganotosaurus 5/21)
“(emet)”, Lauren Ring (F&SF 7–8/21) [available free for a limited time]
“That Story Isn’t the Story”, John Wiswell (Uncanny 11–12/21)
“Colors of the Immortal Palette”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Uncanny 3–4/21)

Nebula Award for Short Story

“Mr. Death”, Alix E. Harrow (Apex 2/21)
“Proof by Induction”, José Pablo Iriarte (Uncanny 5–6/21)
“Let All the Children Boogie”, Sam J. Miller (Tor.com 1/6/21)
“Laughter Among the Trees”, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 2/21)
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3–4/21)
“For Lack of a Bed”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 4/21) 

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Victories Greater Than Death, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen; Titan)
Thornwood, Leah Cypess (Delacorte)
Redemptor, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet; Hot Key)
A Snake Falls to Earth, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
Root Magic, Eden Royce (Walden Pond)
Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen; Rock the Boat)

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Encanto, Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures)
The Green Knight, David Lowery (Sailor Bear, BRON Studios, A24)
Loki: Season 1, Bisha K. Ali, Elissa Karasik, Eric Martin, Michael Waldron, Tom Kauffman, Jess Dweck (Marvel Studios)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham (Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios)
Space Sweepers, Jo Sung-hee 조성희 (Bidangil Pictures)
WandaVision: Season 1, Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer, Cameron Squires, Gretchen Enders, Chuck Hayward (Marvel Studios)
What We Do in the Shadows: Season 3, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms, Lauren Wells (FX Productions, Two Canoes Pictures, 343 Incorporated, FX Network)

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Coyote & Crow, Connor Alexander, William McKay, Weyodi Oldbear, Derek Pounds, Nico Albert, Riana Elliott, Diogo Nogueira, William Thompson (Coyote & Crow, LLC.)
Granma’s Hand, Balogun Ojetade (Balogun Ojetade, Roaring Lion Productions)
Thirsty Sword Lesbians, April Kit Walsh, Whitney Delagio, Dominique Dickey, Jonaya Kemper, Alexis Sara, Rae Nedjadi (Evil Hat Games)
Wanderhome, Jay Dragon (Possum Creek Games)
Wildermyth, Nate Austin, Anne Austin, Douglas Austin (Worldwalker Games, LLC)

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So seriously, you may be asking, no Murderbot? No, but it’s a good thing.

Author Martha Wells graciously declined her nomination as a novella finalist this year for Fugitive Telemetry: Murderbot Diaries, Book 6, published by Tordotcom. Wells felt that the Murderbot Diaries series has already received incredible praise from her industry peers and wanted to open the floor to highlight other works within the community.

— SFWA Announces Nebula Award Finalists – The Nebula Awards®

And that’s that. Go forth and read!

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Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash

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Time to Plan

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on March 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt

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Photo by Vincent Ledvina on Unsplash

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The Irrational Infinite

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Today is (once again) March 14th or Pi Day. For some background, I’ve written about it before:

3.14 a.k.a. Pi Day

No Pie for Pi Day. Books Instead!

Blueberry Orange Pie

Because today is a Monday there will be no pie for me, but it turns out my every waking moment is likely touched by pi. Yours too.

The New York Times has an interesting article on the history of pi and how embedded it’s become in our daily life.*

Pi Day: How One Irrational Number Made Us Modern

In every field of human endeavor, from reconstructive facial surgery to the simulation of air flowing past a jet’s wing, billions of tiny, discrete elements stand in for an inherently smooth and analog reality. It all began with the computation of pi. Pi represents a mathematical limit: an aspiration toward the perfect curve, steady progress toward the unreachable star.

So I will appreciate all the ways the irrational infinite has come to shape our rational, finite experience.

Also maybe later this week, dessert.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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* Here’s a bit more history for those who are interested: Which Came First, The Algorithm or the Pi? – Now I Know.

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Not Too Bad

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The world remains a challenging place in many ways but today I’m lucky to be able to carve a bit of calm out of the quagmire, mostly by avoiding the news. I’m working on a cookbook update, paying taxes, continuing yesterday’s fun design project, and helped* disconnect the old dishwasher. I also heard back on one of my favorite stories and was very happy to get an acceptance. It’s always nice to share what you love.

Not too bad for a Sunday. Now, where’s my book?

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Photo by Ajda ATZ on Unsplash

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* A very little. Mr Man is good enough not to need much help.

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Tomorrow. Probably.

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on March 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

To my family: I must apologize. Today I meant to work on a new version of the family cookbook. I spent the first moments of the day noodling over the updates to be made, recipes to adjust, what to leave in and what to add.

Then I got up and found myself immersed in a fun custom design project for Mr Man.

Ah well! At least I’m getting something done.

And when it comes to getting lucky with creativity, it doesn’t hurt to strike while the iron is hot.

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Photo by Jonathan Bean on Unsplash

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Need a Vacation? Try the Moon!

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Need to take a quick break, maybe get off the planet for a bit? Now’s a great time to visit the Moon!

Send your name to the Moon with NASA’s Artemis mission!

Send Your Name to Space

Add your name here to have it included on a flash drive that will fly aboard Artemis I.

You could even do a little public service and cleanup litter once you’re up there, because Space Junk Just Crashed Into the Far Side of the Moon at 5,800 MPH.

While we’re talking space, you can also check out the current Location Map for Perseverance Rover.

Because sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of the good that humans can do, too.

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Photo by Silas van Overeem on Unsplash

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How to Do Better

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 4, 2022| 1 Comment »

“I have two questions for you,” I said. “One: Do you want to do better?” …

“Here’s my second question: Are you willing to feel the discomfort of putting in more effort and trying new things that will feel weird and different and won’t work right away?”

— Peter Bregman, If You Want to Get Better at Something, Ask Yourself These Two Questions

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Photo by lingda kong on Unsplash

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Money & Time

Posted in Writing, tagged , , on February 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

I like taxes. I know that may be an unpopular opinion but I like a lot of what they support, such as schools and roads and clean water and fire trucks and social security and air pollution controls and building codes and protection from creatures that howl in the night. (Civilization, you get what you pay for.)

I don’t like doing taxes. I’d be a lot happier about the whole transaction if I didn’t have to pay twice, once in money and once in time.

I’m a less usual case because I pay in two countries, but most people have fairly straightforward taxes. There’s no reason to make those folks jump through all these hoops—the government already knows what most of us are paid. 

Many countries use return-free filing. Under that system, most taxpayers get a quick “thanks, you’re good” and that’s it, done. (Changing the US system would take a lot more work than just waving a magic wand, of course, but doesn’t no return sound nice?) I predict we’ll see a lot of articles about this very topic come mid-April.

What would you do with the time you’d save if you didn’t have to fight through filing paperwork or work more to earn enough to pay someone else to do it?

Whatever you want, that’s what.

Aaand now it’s time to get back to it.

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Photo by Varun Gaba on Unsplash

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