Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

Jessie Mihalik, author of several series I enjoy, is putting out a short new serial called Books & Broadswords. As she says, “It’s strictly just for fun. :)”

Here’s the link to Chapter 1

I set the royal mark on the counter, and the merchant’s eyes glowed, first with greed, then regret. “I can’t make change for that,” he murmured, his gaze on the gold coin. “You’ll need to go to the bank.”

“I don’t want change,” I replied quietly, trying to keep the barely contained excitement out of my voice. “I want books.”

Well, that seems like a fine start. Follow along online, and enjoy!

* * *

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

It’s Monday and I’ve got nothing.

Ok, technically, I’ve got several post ideas but also a to-do list that’s too long and my brain appears to be broken and I have to write up some writing things aaaannnndddd… I’ve got nothing.

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”

― Jack Kerouac

* * *

Photo by Cookie the Pom on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

“The lesson I’ve learned the most often in life is that you’re always going to know more in the future than you know now.”

― Taylor Swift

* * *

Photo by Jacob Vizek on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

When it’s not the AI, it’s the users.

Sci fi publisher Clarkesworld halts pitches amid deluge of AI-generated stories

Closing submissions is a drastic move. Until a solution is identified, the magazine is not considering stories from authors. “We will reopen, but have not set a date,” Clarke said on social media. “Detectors are unreliable. Pay-to-submit sacrifices too many [legitimate] authors. Print submissions are not viable for us.

* * *

Photo by Alison Wang on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Am I getting things done? I am. Are they the right things? Wellll… I mean, I’ll get to my writing and editing and workshop assignment and taxes eventually. Of course I will.

I came across a T-shirt that captures my day perfectly:

“I’m not procrastinating, I’m doing side quests.”

So, so true.

* * *

Did I need to make my own version of this T-shirt? I did not. Did I learn something doing it? I did! Sword image from Free PNG Download. Photo by Drop the Label Movement on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

I started multiple posts today (mackerel? Winnie the Pooh? cracking CIA kiddie codes?) but none seemed quite right. I think I’ll go shovel some snow and see if that gets my mind going.

In the meantime, here’s a piece about the usefulness of science fiction in the nonfictional world.

Connecting Science Fiction to Science Policy by Avital Percher

Science fiction can help the science policy community envision both where we end up as well as how we get there. As our social-technological problems grow ever more complex, we need a range of stories that spans the human experience and even beyond. How will we leverage new tools to improve equity and democracy in society? Science fiction can help us imagine future possibilities, opening not just our minds but our hearts as well.

* * *

Photo by Dylan Shaw on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

I am pleased to announce that the new edition of Polar Borealis is out, and it includes “A Needle Pulling Thread.”

I wrote the story in 2018 but the themes of humanity and hope still strike a chord. My thanks to editor R. Graeme Cameron, who remains dedicated to furthering the cause of Canadian speculative fiction, and congratulations to all those in the issue.

Find the free PDF online:

POLAR BOREALIS #24 – February 2023

Poems by Roxanne Barbour, Rodolfo Boskovic, Carlyn Clink, Robert Dawson, Catherine Girczyc, Jim Smith, Richard Stevenson, and Dean Wirth. 

Stories by Warren Brown, Victoria K. Martin, J.R. Johnson (hey, that’s me), Cathy Smith, Rhea E. Rose, Jacqueline Thorpe, Gerald L. Truscott, and David Wiseman.

* * *

Photo by Santoshi Guruju on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

I’m trying to deal with an online renewal and it is taking forever.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Over and over again. It’s like it’s Groundhog Day.

I check the calendar. Wait, it actually is Groundhog Day!

Photo by Scenic States via Unsplash

Here’s some holiday history (and a little movie-related fun).

Groundhog Day – Wikipedia

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund’sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day)[1] is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. 

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.[2]

Groundhog Day- the perfect comedy, for ever | Groundhog Day | The Guardian

“What’s so remarkable about it,” Jones observes over a pint in a north London pub, “is that normally when you’re writing a screenplay you try to avoid repetition. And that’s the whole thing here, it’s built on repetition. That’s so bold.”

Whatever is happening in your day, I hope it’s a good one!

* * *

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”

— Charles M. Schulz

* * *

Photo by paul walker on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Hello! So nice of you to stop by and see what’s up on this Mondayest of Mondays. I’m a little busy and I don’t want to bore you, so perhaps you might enjoy a bit of cultural enrichment? Maybe learn a bit about a master like Vermeer? 

I just discovered that the Rijksmuseum has an online tour of Vermeer’s work and world narrated by Stephen Fry. Sounds fun, right?

Closer to Johannes Vermeer – Rijksmuseum

I enjoy Vermeer’s paintings because 1) that light, so amazing, and 2) he captured the details of regular people doing regular things. Not always, of course, an artist still has to pay the bills, but enough to pass on the sense of real people doing real things. 

Art as time travel, is how I like to think of it.

* * *

Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »