Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘genre fiction’

Ghosts and Fairies and Angels and A.I.

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on December 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I’m a little too caught up in work to write the piece I was planning for today, so instead we have a free story via Slate’s Future Tense Fiction. It’s long, so save it for when you have time to do a little thinking about the environment, technology, and society.

“Ride,” a new short story about climate change, A.I., and social credit by Linda Nagata, with a non-fictional response by Henry Grabar, a journalist who reports on cities and autonomous vehicles.

Jasmine’s thoughts turned to the boy. He’d claimed he’d met someone on a shared taxi ride, a nameless stranger who’d told him about the Easter egg—a hidden bit of code embedded in the programming controlling the city’s autonomous taxi fleet.

Probably, the boy had been stringing her along. Yet there had been something about him, a sweetness, a rare sincerity that made her want to believe him—and anyway, what was the harm?

* * *

Photo by Alessio Lin on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Baby Steps

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on November 16, 2021| 2 Comments »

I’m experimenting with reading/media deprivation. Gotta say I’m not loving it:)

I’m also terrible at it, especially where the reading is concerned. So let’s just say I’m trying to reduce, not eliminate. Baby steps!

It would be nice to have more time and get more done, though. I do love crossing things off my list.

Side note, my NaNoWriMo project wants to be a graphic novel. Surprise!

* * *

Photo by Tim Hüfner on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Fixing What’s Broken

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Seems to me like it’s free fiction Friday. Here’s a story from Josh Bales via Future Tense Fiction. I particularly liked the ending.

In the Land of Broken Things

The shop was a three-story brown brick building on the north end of downtown. The pawls on her bike clicked slower as she pulled up in front of it. Block letters in faded gold paint proclaimed REVERTE REPAIRS on the front window. Beneath that, in smaller letters: WE FIX YOUR BROKEN THINGS.

* * *

Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Cooking My Books

Posted in Food and..., Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on November 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I think I’m going to start cooking my books.

Not in a bad way! But some days generating inspired dinner ideas is a pain. So to drum up new recipes I’m going to cook some version of whatever is being served in my current book.

For example, if the characters take a few moments between aliens and heart-pounding explosions to enjoy pancakes or roast chicken or curry, that’s my starting point.

Because invasion or not, one must stay fueled!

* * *

Photo by Chokniti Khongchum on Pexels.com

Read Full Post »

So Many Ways

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

There are a lot of ways to tell a story. Out loud, on a screen, around a fire, on paper, you name it. And structure? Novels, plays, shorts, longs, movies, TV, take your pick, and new technologies mean new possibilities.

This Twitter-based choose your own adventure story is one fun example:

Metaverse Noir on Twitter: “START HERE” by Kathryn Yu

Would you like to know more? Here’s an article about the project.

There are so many ways to be creative, and it’s nice to be reminded that most limits are ones we put there ourselves:)


* * *

Photo by Monica Silva on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

I’m Doing It Again

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 7, 2021| 1 Comment »

Hey hey, dispatch from the NaNo mines here, and I’m sorry to say that I may be a tiny bit stuck at the moment.

I don’t want you to think that my projects are always a breeze so full disclosure, we’re talking stuck as in deep underground trapped between a boulder leftover from the Pleistocene and a jagged hole leading onto a tiny ledge winding down into darkness, from which I can just hear a river rushing over the sound of war chants echoing through the uncharted cave system in which I find myself trapped for all eternity!

Ahem.

I keep starting and restarting my project, which is a problem I have sometimes. NaNoWriMo’s word count is a tool to get beyond that issue, but my goal for this month is not just writing but finishing. So yeah. It’s time for more thinking, prepping, checking to see how my favorite authors did it, reworking my whole premise, stalling doing.

The good news is that I’ve noticed there’s a problem and now I can fix it. Go me:)

There’s a light at the end of every tunnel, even if you have to turn around to see it.

* * *

Really, it’s fine. Photo by Daniel Burka on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

NaNoFinMo

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 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.

  • Contractions? Nope, they only counted as one word, and why write one word when you can use two?
  • Blah blah blah descriptions that were far wordier than necessary? Absolutely.
  • Unnecessary plot detours? Oh yes. Have my character stop off at a roadside ice cream stand and discuss the relative merits of lemon lavender versus pomegranate basil flavors on the way to the dramatic shootout? Sure, if it helps me meet my word count target.

That part of NaNoWriMo wasn’t as helpful to me. This year, I’m rewriting the rules.

  • I know I can write a lot of words on demand. Check.
  • I know I can write every day. Check.
  • I don’t need more of that. What I want to practice now is finishing.

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:)

* * *

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

* * *

* 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?

Read Full Post »

Looking Ahead

Posted in Likes, tagged , , , , , on October 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Between house stuff and criss-crossing the city for errands I haven’t had time to do anything special today. I did finish up a reread over breakfast, one I knew would satisfy, so I’m feeling pretty good. (I’m one of those people who enjoys rereads. It’s like ordering your favorite meal, knowing that you’ll love it.) The fact that this book is one in a long series is even better.

Isn’t it nice to have something to look forward to?

* * *

Photo by Mohammed Ajwad on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

The Answer

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Forty-two years ago this month, we learned the answer to life, the universe and everything. Even if humorous sci-fi isn’t your thing, Douglas Adams’ work has permeated pop culture.

42 years later, how ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ has endured

The influence of the Hitchhiker’s Guide “is everywhere,” says Marcus O’Dair, author of The Rough Guide to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

“We can see it in culture, where Adams’ story is rumoured to have inspired everything from the band Level 42 to comedy show The Kumars at No. 42,” he says. “We can see it in tech: in the real-life ‘knife that toasts,’ for instance, or in-ear translation services reminiscent of the Babel fish. The most visible sign of its ubiquity, though, might be the fact that we can celebrate its anniversary not at 40 or 50 years but at 42 — and everyone knows why.”

This book let me know that there was a place for humorous absurdities in writing, and that it really doesn’t pay to take yourself too seriously.

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an indispensable companion to all those who are keen to make sense of life in an infinitely complex and confusing Universe, for though it cannot hope to be useful or informative on all matters, it does at least make the reassuring claim, that where it is inaccurate it is at least definitively inaccurate. In cases of major discrepancy it’s always reality that’s got it wrong.

This was the gist of the notice. It said “The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.”

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

* * *

Cake with bypass, made by me. To scale.

Read Full Post »

Let’s Go To The Moon!

Posted in Entertainment, Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 12, 2021| 1 Comment »

What am I reading with lunch? How about a graphic novel about a woman, space, and a spunky little robot? App and interactivity are optional (but could be fun).

NASA – First Woman (read online, download PDF)

* * *

NASA

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »