creativity | J.R. Johnson

Success is not about winning a competition. It’s about making a contribution.
Takers aim to be better than others. Givers strive to bring out the best in others. The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed.
— Adam Grant

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*Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash*

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Be A Unique Egg, Not A Perfect One

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Easter, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on April 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

May you have a creative and happy Easter!

Ukrainian newcomers teaching the art of pysanka ahead of Easter

“I think that the main thing for the artists is to show their feelings, express their feelings, with the lines and with the colours and with the style they’re using. When you will be focusing only on the process and just your aim will be to get the perfect pysanka, at the end you can lose something. You have to look inside—what you have inside—what you want to show in your piece. Maybe your feelings, maybe your sadness, maybe your happiness, something to share with people. And you can show it on the surface of pysanka. This is the most important. And we don’t need ten perfect pysankas, we need ten unique pysankas with unique feelings on it.
— Oksana, Ukrainian who came to Canada in 2022, at a pysanky-making workshop in Ottawa

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Making Murderbot

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Murderbot, Writers, writing on April 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I have mentioned my love of all things Murderbot before, and I am not alone in that sentiment. Here’s an interview with author Martha Wells, discussing the making of this cranky yet beloved character.

The MurderBot Diaries author Martha Wells talks about the latest novel in the series, NETWORK EFFECT, her discovery writing process, and building a sci-fi universe around a unique protagonist.

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Short on Books

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on April 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’m short on good books at the moment, and while I find that an uncomfortable place to be, maybe it’s a good thing?

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

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*Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash*

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You’re a Rockstar

Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, innovation, inspiration, problem solving, Thoughts on March 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Most mornings I stop by the MIT homepage to see what new projects are in the works. Today I was particularly struck by the sense that these folks are freaking rockstars.

Designing a flexible graphene supercapacitor for solar energy storage?

Rockstars.

Researching cell-based treatment for Type 1 diabetes?

Rockstar.

Advising the White House on space policy?

Rockstar.

Reducing concrete emissions, making affordable air quality sensors, supporting collaborative action, and addressing disparities in health care?

Rockstars all.

As someone who imagines the future, I love to see it being built.

And it’s not just MIT, of course. The world is full of creative innovators at all levels, from cutting-edge research to finding solutions to everyday issues. Scientists or not, that’s kind of humanity’s thing.

Take a moment to remember a time when you identified a problem and worked to fix it. Have you ever soaped a sticky drawer, had a stoplight installed at a dangerous intersection, added pollinator-friendly plants to your garden, or tackled any of the many (many) problems we face every day?

Then you’re a rockstar too.

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Make Something, Anything

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, perfectionism, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“If you’re always aiming for perfection, you won’t make anything at all.”
― Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

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Climate Futures Contest

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, sff, Writers, writing, writing contest, yay on March 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time again, when Grist rolls out its annual climate fiction short story contest! Have something to say about the future, and how we might win it? This could be the contest for you!

Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2023: Submit your story

We’re looking for stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of climate progress – roughly seven generations – imagining intersectional worlds of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope.

Hopeful doesn’t mean “fatuous” or “unrealistic” or even “easy.” It does mean light at the end of this particular tunnel. If you’re wondering what a winning entry looks like, here are stories from previous iterations of the contest:

Here’s the listing on The Submissions Grinder (best submission tracking platform out there and did I mention it’s free?).