“Here’s to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy.”
― Charlaine Harris
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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
Taking A Little Time
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts on August 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Sunday Sunday
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I won’t lie, a nap sounds pretty good right now. Instead, I’m making yogurt, working on a design project, considering my cookbook update, and waiting for a storm to roll through.
Who knows, I might even write something.
There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There’s simply a fear of bad writing. Do enough bad writing and some good writing is bound to show up.
— Seth Godin
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Cream of the Crop
Posted in Funny, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, science fiction, Writers, writing on July 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
While chatting with my father about a sci-fi book he’s reading, I remembered this short bit of free fiction from John Scalzi. Now I share it with you, too.
When the Yogurt Took Over: A Short Story | Whatever
When the yogurt took over, we all made the same jokes – “Finally, our rulers will have culture,” “Our society has curdled,” “Our government is now the cream of the crop,” and so on. But when we weren’t laughing about the absurdity of it all, we looked into each others’ eyes with the same unasked question – how did we ever get to the point where we were, in fact, ruled by a dairy product?
Enjoy!
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Infinite Art
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts on July 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Out to Lunch
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Em Liu, Fiction, Fireside, free fiction, genre fiction, Writers, writing on July 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon and (full transparency here) I find myself sorely lacking in motivation. Since we’ve had a mini “aliens on Earth” theme this week, let’s round it out with a short story from Fireside.
The Tourist by Em Liu
He goes to Earth alone.
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Tipping Point
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, aliens, climate change, creativity, drabble, Drabble Dabble Do, Fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 20, 2022| 2 Comments »
A drabble inspired by my love for science fiction. Also, the news.
Tipping Point, or, Oil Lobbyists Celebrate Over Drinks (London, UK, Earth)
Four oil lobbyists drank martinis around a mahogany table in a richly-appointed bar, celebrating. Their efforts had finally succeeded.
The lobbyist at the South end of the table grinned.
“Did you see the news? 40C! God, we’re good.”
West puffed on a Cuban cigar. “They say it’s the new normal. I’d say we’re ready.”
North shivered in the frigid air. “Agreed. Make the call.”
East opened a communicator that looked like a prop from Star Trek.
“Base? Terraforming is complete. Send the first wave of settlers.”
South looked at his fleshy fingers.
“Can’t wait to get out of these clothes.”
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A Gem of a Book
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, Parsec Ink, publications, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on July 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I am very happy to announce the publication of Parsec Ink’s latest anthology, Triangulation: Energy.
The theme is sustainable energy: can we find a way to keep up with—or exceed—our present and future energy consumption levels while keeping our space livable?
Is it science fiction? Yes. Does it showcase positive takes on our energy challenges? Yes. Was I fortunate enough to have a story in it, alongside a roster of terrific authors? Yes!
The anthology is available in Kindle and paperback formats. Curious about what’s inside? Check out the Kindle preview for a sample of the first three entries, including my own story, The Jewel of New Stoltz. I know I wrote it and all, but I’m happy to be able to share a story I love.
Hope you like it too.
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This Is Delightful
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #OneDrabbleSinging, creativity, fun, inspiration, music, the interwebs, writing on July 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In my quest to prove that the internet is good for more than trolling, discouraging news and ridiculous conspiracy theories, I give you Typatone.
The act of writing has always been an art. Now, it can also be an act of music. Each letter you type corresponds to a specific musical note putting a new spin on your composition. Make music while you write.
Type directly or use the clipboard icon to paste text. Toggle the music icon to change styles. Click the plus sign to start anew.
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What is the sound of one drabble singing?
And here’s the opening of Pride and Prejudice while we’re at it.
Delightful!
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Five-Letter Poetry
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, poetry, silliness, Thoughts, Wordle, Writers, writing on July 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I may have committed a little Wordle poetry with lunch.
Cat In The Style Of
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #craiyon, computer-aided fun, creativity, design, inspiration, Thoughts on July 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Welcome to Monday, brought to you by an AI’s idea of a “cat in the style of Vincent van Gogh.”
Not bad, actually.
Running through different versions using the same root prompt (“cat in the style of”) made the artistic differences (and any deficiencies) clear. A lot of the images produced by the DALL-E mini system are a bit odd, particularly when faces are involved. (The site even has a FAQ on “Why are faces so weird?”)
Even so, it was interesting to see what an AI considers the essential style of an artist or technique, and there were a number of attempts I found fun.
Rather than upload all images I made a slideshow. It’s lower-resolution (I shrunk it down to 16MB instead of 80MB+) but you should still get the picture.
(Did I leave out the truly disturbing results? Yes. I don’t know what this AI has against Vermeer but I want no part of it!)
Thanks, Craiyon!
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