Never discount yourself. If you don’t go after a dream or a goal and if you don’t try, you’re never going to make it.
— Nicole Mann, NASA Crew-5 commander, Marine Corps pilot and the first Native American woman to go to space (NPR)
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Posted in Science!, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #strongwomenrock, inspiration, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
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.
I’m off to celebrate!
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay | Leave a Comment »
It’s migration season and millions of birds are, right now, flooding the skies. I grew up noticing flocks of geese arrowing their way south but migration is much more than that.
According to BirdCast’s tool, 347 million birds are predicted to be on the move across the US tonight.
For those of us in other Western hemisphere locales, this site beautifully illustrates the interconnected flow of birds by type and pathway.
A quick search of my area shows the paths of eagles, thrushes, gulls, woodcocks, owls, scoters (had to look that one up), whip-poor-wills, hawks, sandpipers, warblers and more.
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I’ve written about bird migration before but this post has a more specific call to action. Nothing too hard, just a polite request: for the few weeks when migration is at its peak, dim your lights if you can.
Opinion | Lights Out, America! (Songbirds Are Counting on Us.) – The New York Times
Migrating birds are vulnerable to many hazards: predators, extreme weather, insufficient food and insufficient water. Glass is particularly treacherous. Expanses of glass — windows without mullions, storm doors, skyscrapers — are the worst.
Good news? When it comes to lighting and windows, there’s usually an easy fix.*
I’ve tried the UV stickers designed to show birds where not to fly but they were just so-so.
Remember those little gold stars teachers sometimes give out? I picked up a batch and have used them to give the patio doors “Bird-friendliest glass in the neighborhood” awards. The upside is that these stars are cheap and easy to replace. The downside is that they are made of paper and, while they last a surprisingly long time considering, they are still just paper. I’ve had to replace them at least once a season.
This year I upgraded to purpose-built stickers designed both for birds and the great outdoors. This is the company I used but I’m sure there are others (no affiliation, just a satisfied customer): Feather Friendly.
Easy, satisfying, and one step toward being a better neighbor to nature.
At our best as a species, this is what we do: We change our ways to protect others, and then we adjust to the new ways. Soon, we can’t remember doing things differently.
— Margaret Renkl
* For more about this problem and potential fixes, including Lights Out programs and building guidelines, check out What You Should Know About Bird Migration and Light Pollution and Bird-Safe Design Guidelines.
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, birds, migration, nature, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
It’s Monday so life could be better, but I somehow pulled out a two on Wordle this morning so things aren’t all bad.
Written on some other Monday. Today, 5/6.
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Posted in Funny, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, writing | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday’s dramatic image showcased an Icelandic waterfall and tomorrow is Monday. Iceland plus “Oh great, Monday, I could use some humor” equals Horse Mail.
Iceland Invites You to Relax While a Horse Replies To Your Emails
Iceland has run a number of clever, funny, and downright weird marketing campaigns in the last several years.
Their latest continues the humorous approach, with a campaign called OutHorse Your Email.
In involves real horses who were trained to type on a giant keyboard.
Next time I go on vacation, horsies, you’re hired.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #IcelandicHorsesCanDoItSoCanYou, inspiration, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
This is a place I would like to visit. The colors! The drama! The stratigraphy!
Posted in Likes, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, writing | 1 Comment »
Growing up, we were taught to give books the first sentence test. If that first sentence drew us in we’d move on to the first paragraph. I consider that mindset excellent training for authors running the editorial gauntlet.
Here are a few examples of good openers. While I may not love every one, it’s a good collection, made even more useful by the side-by-side comparison with other great literature.
Literature’s greatest opening paragraphs – the best opening lines in novels
As with pubs and shoes, you know you’re reading a great book from the second you’re inside it.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
My afternoon disappeared with a giant sucking sound, so please enjoy this story about hope, the power of community, and doing what you can where you are.
Her branches reach for the stars (Jo Miles in Nature: Futures)
Lieutenant Auri Murr knew the exact moment when her grandmother died.
She was on duty in engineering when Grandma Shanna’s dappu-wood bead on her kin-necklace cracked: a sharp, dry, quiet sound, unmistakable to anyone from Darmindu Colony. It could have woken Auri from a sound sleep.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Jo Miles, Nature's Futures, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
I’d planned to finish a new drabble for today but instead alternated between day job work and reloading news on Hurricane Ian. We have family friends there and neighbors with homes in that area, but even if we didn’t I’d be worried for the people who live there.
For those in the path of the storm, keep your family (pets too!) safe until the sun shines again.
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #HurricaneIan, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
Way to go, NASA, you did good!
NASA’s DART mission successfully crashes spacecraft into asteroid
It was a cosmic smash-up watched around the world.
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, NASA, science, yay | Leave a Comment »
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