Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, finishing, making stuff, yay on February 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I finished a thing!
I can’t get into details because Mr. Man is giving this thing to someone as a gift, and that someone has been known to visit this site.
That said, it felt pretty great to conceptualize the thing, start the thing, work through the inevitable issues that came up while making the thing, and then finish the thing.
Pretty freaking great.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #NaNoFinMo, creativity, Fiction, finishing, genre fiction, inspiration, nanowrimo, sff, Thoughts, writing, yay on November 3, 2021| 2 Comments »
I like NaNoWriMo for a lot of reasons. It provides a useful set of constraints, a deadline, and a global group of fellow travelers with which to share the journey. It’s also completely bonkers, in a good way. I remember the sheer sense of glee when I realized that I could actually produce that many words in that short a time.
First question: Can I churn out 50,000 words in a month? Yes, yes I can. Go me.*
Next question, and one that most NaNo participants come up against as the first flush of success fades: Do those words mean anything? Are they useful?
In my case, and no surprise here, the first draft was not 100% terrible but certainly needed work. Writing to a tight deadline with a high word count left me, at least, with the sort of prose I don’t usually write in fiction.
That part of NaNoWriMo wasn’t as helpful to me. This year, I’m rewriting the rules.
So this November I’m being a bit of a NaNo radical. Word count is not my focus. I’ve chosen one story idea and will work on it until it’s done. That’s it.**
The end:)
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* I bet you could do it too. Need a pep talk? Check out the NaNoWriMo archives.
** I may or may not also be participating in an imaginary mentorship program with Ilona Andrews. Because what good is imagination if it can’t take you where you want to go?
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, creativity, Fiction, finishing, nanowrimo, Writers, writing, yay on November 1, 2021| 1 Comment »
It’s been a while since I used November for its true purpose, which is (of course) writing a novel in 30 days.
Is it time?
I think it might be time:)
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, cats, finishing, procrastination, The Internet on February 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I spend a lot of time online for non-writing-related work, and on the way to serious business I run across a lot of interesting things. It’s Monday, so here’s a calming fascinating visualization of The Internet and its growth from 1997 to 2021. (Actually, you know what? This isn’t calming at all. I updated the wording but now I’m worried this is going to give small children nightmares. Or maybe me. Still interesting though.)
Look closely enough and you might see sledding pandas and cat videos and recipes and sales and news and art and perhaps even yours truly.
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Parts of the internet are pure entertainment and too many are just awful but others include useful lessons on How to Do Better.
You may remember my motto, A Posse Ad Esse.* I don’t always achieve this goal, but I spend a non-zero amount of time trying to Do Better. Find ways to be more productive, to end the day feeling like I crossed off, if not everything, then the most important things on my list.
That’s been a challenge the past year or, hmm, so. That’s partly why I’m going back to writer’s guides like Swain. It’s also why when I run across articles about grit or new research on how to accomplish more, I take a minute and peruse.
Lately, I’ve found this recent research in Applied Psychology: An International Review helpful. (Ok, fine, I found this article and its summary of those results helpful. I don’t have access to that journal and honestly, reading every interesting scientific study would cut into my cat video time**;)
What did they find? That when working to accomplish something, it’s useful to ask yourself a few specific questions:
It helps to take a brief break, a couple of times a day, to step back and revisit what you’re trying to do and what needs to happen next. And as “with advertising, repeated exposure was key.” So asking these questions a couple of times a day can help prompt a quick moment of self-reflection that (here’s the useful bit) actually leads to action. I have my Calendar app set to pop up these questions first thing in the morning. So far it’s been helpful.
Let’s try it:
And look, here we are! Now I get to cross this off my list and go have lunch. Have fun getting things done today!
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“A majority of life’s errors are caused by forgetting what one is really trying to do.”
— Charlie Munger
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* My Latin is 110% terrible so this may not be exactly right, but it gets the point across.
** I don’t actually watch cat videos much, but it’s nice to know that I could.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, #ThingsIMade, creativity, finishing, home, persistence, Thoughts, woodturning on October 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Politics make me sad.
Baking makes me happy. Being constructive and making things (and countering the negativity inherent in the current public discourse) makes me happy.
And so I give you my latest creation: A rolling pin…
… complete with a flower on the handle. (Or is that a “flour”? 😉
Next stop, Canadian Thanksgiving and (you guessed it!) pie.
Chin up, fellow humans. We’re just one alien invasion away from remembering that we’re all in this together.
Posted in Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, arts, finishing, fun, Motivation, persistence, progress, Thoughts, woodturning, yay on November 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a quick pre-holiday update. Winter has come and I’m writing, working, cooking, shoveling and woodworking. As an antidote to all things discouraging and sad, I present evidence that effort + time = achievement. See Exhibit A, a.k.a. Bowl #1.
Some walnut, some birdseye maple, some sweat and a few tears. (Yes, it was perfect. Yes, I dropped it. Yes, I re-cut and re-finished the exterior. But now it’s done:)
Translate to your own circumstances as you will!
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #cancersucks, family, finishing, home, inspiration, Motivation, persistence, Thoughts, work on October 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »
I’m getting back to a more regular writing schedule after this summer (ok, year) of nuttiness, but that’s not all I’m doing. Last week’s project was to make a fleece shawl.
The shawl works as a wrap, blanket or pillow. It’s reversible, washable and nigh-on indestructible. It’s good for foggy mornings or chilly hospital rooms. It also has custom embroidery with what could be the motto for this crazy year. I made it for my aunt, a wonderful, free-wheeling, tough-as-nails woman who carved her own path to San Francisco decades ago and never left.
In related news, cancer sucks.
!
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, awesome, Fiction, finishing, fun, genre fiction, persistence, science fiction, sff, short stories, speculative fiction, work, Writers, writing, yay on March 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Hello, and a quick update to say that I’ve got a new story out in the new issue of Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. “The T-4200” is a science fiction adventure featuring a regular guy just trying to save his dimension-hopping tortoise (and oh yes, end a galactic war). As one does!
Given the dynamics of the marketplace, it tends to be much harder to place longer pieces. I’m very happy to have found a home for this novelette, which began life at over 12k and now runs just over 9,000 words.
While ASM is subscription-based (sorry, free fiction lovers!), this entertaining Australian speculative fiction magazine publishes everything from science fiction to fantasy, humor to horror. If you’re in the market for an excellent new source of fresh fiction, check them out, and enjoy!
J.R. Johnson 
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