J.R. Johnson

Keep Moving Forward

November 30, 2024 by J.R. Johnson

“If we wait for the perfect time, we won’t ever write.”

Writer, audiobook narrator, puppeteer and award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal knows that external pressures can do a number of your writing, and that the best way forward is to keep moving forward.

As a way to help, she’s offering a Free Class: Barriers to Writing

Hey there… have you been having a hard time writing? Yeah. There’s a lot of that going around right now.

This class looks at what keeps people from writing. It’s less about problems with the story and more about all the external things. It covers environmental factors, mental health, and tricks for compensating for all of this to write.

I’m sharing this class for free, because I suspect we could all use both the boost and distraction now and in the coming months.

Hope this helps.

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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, classes, creativity, genre fiction, Mary Robinette Kowal, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »

Stars in Your Shoes

November 29, 2024 by J.R. Johnson

A lovely Icelandic term for pins and needles (tingling after your foot goes numb) is stjörnur i skónum, or “stars in your shoes.”

— Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social

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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #universalityandlyricism, language | Leave a Comment »

And Thank You!

November 28, 2024 by J.R. Johnson

Happy American Thanksgiving, everyone!

Yes, the history of this holiday is… deeply complicated, but I love that for me here and now, it’s about friends and family and food.

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful day, and if you need something fun and uplifting to read while digesting Grandma’s special stuffing, check this out:

Underrated ways to change the world – by Adam Mastroianni

A lot of people would like to make the world better, but they don’t know how. This is a great tragedy.

…

I don’t know all the ways to get our good intentions unblocked. That’s why, whenever I spot someone changing the world via a righteous road less taken, I write it down on a little list. I glance at that list from time to time as a way of expanding my imagination, and now I’m sharing it in the hopes that it’ll do the same for you.

Yes, please. And thank you!

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*Photo by Diliara Garifullina on Unsplash*

Posted in Holidays, Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, think positive, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »

Leaps of Imagination

November 27, 2024 by J.R. Johnson

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
— Gloria Steinem

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Posted in Other, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »

You. Yes, You.

November 26, 2024 by J.R. Johnson

You. Yes, you.

I see you.

Sitting with a cup of coffee, crossing the street juggling kids and groceries, dozing on the bus, putting in yet another double shift, smiling even when it’s hard, waiting in line to send Christmas presents, working late into the night.

I see behind your public face to the child you used to be, the dreams you still have, the hopes you carry for the future.

I see you.

And I carry those hopes for you too.

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