Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, time travel, writing on November 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Exactly one year ago today I decided to do a little time travel. You may remember I mentioned a site called FutureMe, an easy and fun (and free) way to write yourself a letter to be delivered at some time in the future.
My letter arrived this morning, delivering a boost from NaNoWriMos past.
Thanks, Past Me, I will.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, genre fiction, inspiration, music, Thoughts, writing on November 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s funny how much you can absorb without intending to. The other night I put on a classical channel in the background. An elegant but weighty piece came on and I looked up to see that it was by Brahms. Makes sense, I thought.
The next tune was lighter, a sparkling Baroque presence. Telemann. Ah yes, I thought.
Finally, a dramatic, Romantic sound that spoke of strength with warmth. Dvořák, of course.
Of course? What do I know about classical music? Nothing, that’s what. But my father played it all through my childhood and apparently some of it sank in.
It’s the same with writing, I find. I’m not great at picking apart a story into pieces like sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. (That may have something to do with my memories of actual sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. Ugh.)
Whatever genre I’m exploring, I prefer to swim in it, absorb it, dive deep until I am close enough to understand why some readers love it, even if I don’t.
That way, I absorb more than I know.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, genre fiction, imagination, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on October 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. I mean everybody. All of the people in the whole world, I mean everybody — no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds… Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.”
― Neil Gaiman, A Game of You
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, genre fiction, Martha Wells, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Things I am currently in the middle of:
If you, too, have already started but not yet finished, perhaps you’ll appreciate Martha Wells’ new article on writing:
Getting Unstuck – Apex Magazine
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Charlie Jane Anders, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing advice on October 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Interested in writing advice? Perhaps you’re on the waiting list for Charlie Jane Anders’ new book, Never Say You Can’t Survive, and wondering how long it will be until Tor opens up the ebook to libraries?
Good news! The posts on which the book is based are available on Tor.com’s website. Reading them is a window into the voice of experience, and persistence, and a lot like a call from a friend when you’re not quite sure things are going to work out.
Spoiler alert: They will.
Never Say You Can’t Survive | Series | Tor.com
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, climate, creativity, drabble-adjacent, Fiction, genre fiction, nature, ocean, writing on October 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Author notes: Let me say up front that there are a lot of things wrong with this story, technically speaking:
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Meteor Descending
Ironically, the first human words Ololilon puzzled out were from a menu. He’d come across the wreck while riding the current.
Metal loomed from the dark, a gaping hole in its side. Oli swam past a deck chair and through a gap in the torn metal, pushing deep into the remnant.
Few would have been able to decipher the fading text. Even in the Cold Deep time has meaning. And this fallen star had been resting on the ocean floor for lifetimes.
But Oli’s eyes were adapted to the dark. Each shimmering wavelength told a tale, and this story was one of horror.
Chicken, peas and rice meant nothing to him, but oysters and salmon? Cousins and neighbors. Consumed.
But while this message was one of horror, it also bore hope.
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“Teacher, my podmate says aliens aren’t even real.”
Ololilon’s classroom was full. Spawning season had ended and it was a perfect time to teach the juveniles English. They would need it.
“Their meteors are real enough. And if we can learn how to speak with them,“ Oli said, tentacles swaying with emotion, “perhaps we can keep them from killing us all.”
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, writing on October 19, 2022| 1 Comment »
I’d planned to finish a drabble for today but got distracted, first by day-job work and then by a funny little project that popped up out of nowhere. A fellow Wordler compared my daily solution to hers and noted similarities in our starting words, then said it sounded like the opening of a story.
Challenge accepted.
So I’m writing her a story, adding a few lines each day, working in the words from her games. The process is fun and funny, and as with a 100-word drabble, it’s just another way to make constraints work for you.
Today she asked if I had a story in mind or if if the plot was purely spontaneous.
I had to admit that I was just winging it.
It’s more fun that way.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, applied sci-fi, Fiction, future, genre fiction, problem solving, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
What can science fiction do for you? Help you think. Here’s an interview on Marketplace, better known for its discussions with economists, professors and policy wonks, with writer Neal Stephenson.
How sci-fi can make us smart – Marketplace
We’ll talk with Stephenson about how he thinks about big, complex issues like climate change and what this genre can teach us about the future and solving problems in the real world.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cli-fi, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 11, 2022| 1 Comment »
Tuesdays don’t have to be all bad. You may remember I mentioned a call for optimistic fiction about our climate future. Here is the resulting free collection.
Imagine 2200: The 2022 climate fiction collection | Fix
This year’s three winners and nine finalists bring new perspectives to the vital genre of climate fiction, with short stories that offer visions of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope. Join us in celebrating an uprising of imagination with 12 stirring, surprising, and expansive looks at a future built on sustainability, inclusivity, and justice.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on October 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A call came through last night, and the voice on the other end of the line told me that my story had made it to second place in Writers of the Future.
Wait, what?
This is my fourth entry in the contest and, while I’ve received encouraging placements before, I did not expect to make the jump to the top three in my quarter.
If you’re considering a submission I recommend it. Sure, thousands of people submit in each round but it’s open to all non-professionals, free to enter, and has one of the best pay rates in speculative publishing. Check out the official guidelines or visit The Grinder for more details.
My story is 17,000 words of adventurous and sometimes humorous science fiction. I love it, and am very pleased that the judges liked it too.
“Piracy for Beginners” will be published in the 2022 Writers of the Future anthology.
I’m off to celebrate!
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