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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways2023’

Children of Summer

Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Mr Man and I went for a walk today, a hot, sticky endeavor that reminded me of childhood summers. Humidity, thunderstorms, and lightning bugs.

We have fireflies in the yard now, enjoying our long grass and pine litter and bird bath. They appeared outside a could of weeks ago, and now we turn off as many lights as we can to help them find love.

Turn Off Your Lights and Welcome Fireflies

Many of my best summer memories involve fireflies, so now I’m doing what I can to help future generations have such memories too.

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Photo by Mike Lewinski on Unsplash

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Un/Stuck

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on July 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I have spent a good chunk of the past two days a little stuck. It’s a day job thing so I can’t just roll a twenty-sided die or add vampires (sadly!) but it does, in the end, have something to do with writing.

The problem was that I wasn’t 100% clear on the problem. Usually, more research is supposed to clarify issues, but as I dove deeper the assignment made less sense, not more.

How to escape this quandary? In the end, I wrote myself a path out.

My approach? Examining the challenge from multiple angles, breaking it down into pieces as bite-sized as I could make them, and outlining whatever ideas came to mind until they stopped being terrible and started to be interesting. 

Next thing I knew, I was on my way.

This happened to be a day job problem but I find the same strategy also applies to fiction. In case you, too, find yourself stuck.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Look to the Future

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Things I’d rather not do today, but will:

  • work on the day-job project that’s been lurking on my to-do list
  • figure out what to do with the sadly inadequate results of a new brownie recipe
  • take care of some “just in case” items; thanks, tornado warning!

My future self will thank me. Probably.

“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”

— George Burns

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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The 2023 Hugo Finalists

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The finalists for the 2023 Hugo Awards have been announced! 

The Hugo Awards

Best Novel

See the full list of nominees across all categories at Locus Online: 2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Finalists. Winners will be announced at Chengdu Worldcon in October.

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Photo by Andy Hermawan on Unsplash

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On Writing Compelling Speculative Fiction

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

J.R. Johnson On How To Create Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories

What does it take for a writer today, to write compelling and successful Science Fiction and Fantasy stories?

Click over to Authority Magazine for my thoughts! If you can’t access the file there, here’s a PDF (but the formatting is better at Authority!).

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Photo by Valentin G on Unsplash

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Balancing Act

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on July 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s been a weird day. (Do I say that a lot? Feels like I might, but whatever. It’s definitely true today. And maybe I just expect too much in the way of normality.)

Yesterday was signings and beer and gelato. All good. Today? Things that can go wrong, do.

I’ve written about this before, in The Balance. It’s still funny, and still (mostly) true. And now I’m off to set things right.

You, on the other hand, might be interested to know that (checks extensive list of interesting factoids) there is a secret tunnel network under Chicago.

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I mean, I won’t be doing this anytime soon, but you get the picture. Photo by Jesse Bowser on Unsplash

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A Super Signing

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A huge thank you to everyone who attended today’s signing of Writers of the Future Volume 39, and to the terrific staff at Ottawa’s Perfect Books. Also, particular thanks to the friends who trekked across the city, wrangled energetic children, or both! You made it a special experience.

Enjoy the book!

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Potential ! Limitless

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on July 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“To go from this idea of limitless potential that you have as a young person — ‘Oh, I can do anything! Just give me the chance!’ — and then realizing, well, maybe you can’t do anything. But then what do you do? What do you do after that happens? What do you do after you realize that? Do you give up? Or do you try and make your art out of your own limitations?”

— David Duchovny

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Photo by twk tt on Unsplash

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Beyond the Edges

Posted in Writing, tagged , , on July 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I recently sent a birthday card to a friend and in it, tried to capture the essence of my wishes for her. Now I share those wishes with you, too.

I hope you have a wonderful day, one where you can see beyond the sharp edges of the world to the beauty and mystery that surrounds us all.

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Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

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One Thursday, in Cairo

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , , , on July 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Thursday

Cairo

Up a few steps and across a pedestrian overpass and we were in the market. The guidebooks warned that getting lost here was easy, and not to be surprised at the incredible number of small passages and alleys in this area. They were absolutely right, but I loved it. The market’s narrow winding paths, busy streets, men sitting outside shops, women herding children they could barely see through crowds, carts, stalled taxis, cats everywhere, and getting lost were all part of the fun. For the first time I felt I was in a true souk, a local market where tourists were not yet driving the economy. Sure, there were tchotchkes on the main streets, but there were also suitcases and socks and nightgowns and shirts. When we did get completely and unbelievably lost, a small boy appeared from nowhere. He led us back to our starting point, but his way out was nothing like our way in. I followed the boy’s slight figure down stairways just wide enough for one, around corners, into shops and out their backdoors, and finally out into the cool night air. We thanked him profusely, tipped him and everyone went home happy.

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Photo by Alex Azabache on Unsplash

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