May 26, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
Today I want to share a fun non-fiction essay by one of my favorite fiction writers, T. Kingfisher. It’s about history and gardening and passion, real-life inspiration for fiction, and heroes saving one small but important thing.
History, Discovery, and the Quiet Heroics of Gardening – Reactor
So what does all this mean, for a writer? Well, it may not be holding the bridge at Thermopylae, but I keep coming back to how many gardeners end up saving a small piece of the world. Whether it’s a food from a lost homeland or a cultivar that is about to vanish from the earth, so often it comes down to one person who kept something small but important from being lost forever.
May we all be so heroic.
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May 25, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” —John F. Kennedy
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Posted in Holidays | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, gratitude, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
May 24, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
It’s raining today, but whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on me.
“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
— Roger Miller
I’d like the first one, please!
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, rainy day, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
May 23, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
If you’ve ever read a book and thought, “I will never write anything this good,” and feel the urge to give up your own creative efforts, this article may be for you:
The thing every writer needs to overcome – Big Think
It’s common to feel embarrassed, shy, and self-conscious when we are writing. It’s easy to feel the need to be different when someone else has done it so well already. But, as the saying goes, the woods would be very silent if the only birds that sang were those who sang best. So, sing anyway. Sing badly, sing well, sing as much as you can… The point was never to out-sing the nightingale; our “business is to create.”
What also helps? Not taking myself too seriously!
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May 22, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
May 21, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
Hmm. Maybe writing after reading the news isn’t a great idea? Or maybe it is.
To the Billionaires Among Us
What will you do?
When the skies pour fire onto cracked and desolate earth,
tornadoes skip from your first mansion to your third yacht
and hail plays paddy whack with your bones?
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What will you do
when the oceans rise and the gates fall,
and there is nothing left to consume
but yourselves?
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, Fiction, poem, Thoughts, work, writing | Leave a Comment »
May 20, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
The Surprising Truth About What Outer Space Smells Like
Some space veterans seemed to find this scent quite pleasant. “It is hard to describe this smell; it is definitely not the olfactory equivalent of describing the palate sensations of some new food that ‘tastes like chicken.’
Yes, these are the things I find interesting about space. Not the math (with apologies to all my math teachers ever) or the physics (with apologies to all the classes I never took), but the lived experience.
When I’m thinking about a story and need to ground the reader, this sort of information is useful. What would it feel like, what would it taste like?
What would it smell like?
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Posted in Science!, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, space, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
May 19, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
I find this inspiring:
“You don’t do good things because you are a good person. It’s the other way around. You become a good person by doing good things.” — Rutger Bregman
It shows you the path, and tells you that it’s never too late to walk it.
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, do good things, inspiration, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
May 18, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
“A little flower that blooms in May
A lovely sunset at the end of a day
Someone helping a stranger along the way
That’s heaven to me.”
— Sam Cooke
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, song, Spring, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
May 17, 2026 by J.R. Johnson
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency.” — Rebecca Solnit
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers | Leave a Comment »
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