Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Action is hope. At the end of each day, when you’ve done your work, you lie there and think, Well, I’ll be damned, I did this today. It doesn’t matter how good it is, or how bad—you did it. At the end of the week you’ll have a certain amount of accumulation. At the end of a year, you look back and say, I’ll be damned, it’s been a good year.
— Ray Bradbury
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, magic, Thoughts, Writers of the Future on January 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »
tl;dr Mr Man has mad shopping mojo.
Those who know me know that I am not a big shopper. Maybe I’m hard to fit or just hard to please, but shopping trips typically mean returning home empty-handed after hours of “maybe” and “nope, sorry” and ”almost, but.” Frustrating, made doubly so by the fact that I only shop when I really need something. Like an outfit for a fancy writers’ gala.
So when Mr Man and I headed out to search for black-tie-worthy wear last week, my expectations were low. Typically, we go shopping for me and I find exactly nothing, but Mr Man magically stumbles upon that thing he wasn’t even looking for in the perfect color and fit, no hassle necessary. I call it his shopping mojo.
This time, he offered to transfer his mojo to me.
It doesn’t work that way, I said. Magic isn’t something you can just hand off to someone else, like an ice cream sandwich or a toaster. I wish, but no.
Ok, he said, but let’s just go see what’s out there. I’m sure we’ll find something that will work.
I agreed, (not so) secretly braced for potential disappointment.
But then a miracle occurred! The dress I saw online was actually in stock at the store around the corner. It fit. And it was on sale, as was the matching necklace. Unpossible! For what was possibly the first time ever, I had an excellent shopping experience.
I remained unconvinced about the magic mojo, though. Pure coincidence, I said. Or at least, just scale-balancing after my previous bad shopping karma. It can’t last, surely.
And I still needed shoes to go with the dress.
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Today, we went out again, this time on the hunt for that most elusive of prizes, the cute yet (relatively) comfortable dress shoe.
Not a chance, I thought. I mean, I found some possibilities online and they looked good, but would they be in stock when we got to the store? Would they feel as good as they looked? Would the heel be manageable, the color match, my feet agree that three years in slippers was long enough?
I don’t know about that last bit but we got to the store and there they were: the perfect shoes, elegant and comfortable (relatively), with a low yet still stylish heel. (Chances of tripping on my way up to the stage? Minimal, and that’s really all I can ask for.) While they did not come in silver (as a sci-fi writer this did, I admit, cause some sadness) they were available in always versatile black.
Mr Man’s mojo had struck again. And as I was about to check out, Mr Magic had one more spell up his sleeve.
Look, honey, he said, here’s the same style in an even cooler pattern. There’s only one pair left but I think it’s your size?
It was. And because Mr Man’s mojo is top notch, that funky cool pattern was also on sale. Now I have an outfit I feel good in and I didn’t have to drain my Gringotts account to do it.
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And that is how I discovered that you don’t have to be born with magic. It can also be shared.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.”
― Beatrix Potter
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #becauseMonday, creativity, drp, inspiration, Writers, writing on January 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today I give you a funny animal photo, because it’s Monday and my current levels of inspiration could fit into a thimble.
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creative writing ideas, inspiration, science on January 22, 2023| 1 Comment »
My mother, ever curious, wanted to know what all the “green comet” fuss is about. Here’s a quick guide to C/2022 E3 (ZTF), a visitor last welcomed to these parts by Neanderthals.
A lot has changed since then!
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See a rare green comet closest to the sun on Jan. 12 in livestream | Space
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs (NASA JPL) gives the period of this comet as 50,000 years. This means the last time the orbit of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) brought it so close to the Earth, our planet was in the midst of the last glacial period or “ice age” and early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals still shared the planet.
Pretty pictures: A dazzling green comet has stargazers thrilled in amazing photos | Space.
How to Watch the Green Comet During the New Moon – The New York Times
Comets are clumps of dust and frozen gases, sometimes described by astronomers as “dirty snowballs.”…
“They’re alive,” Laurence O’Rourke, an astronomer with the European Space Agency, said. “When they’re far from the sun, they’re sleeping, and when they get close to the sun, they wake up.”
[Nothing to worry about then. It’s fine!]
…
To catch the comet, look north.
On Jan. 21, the night of the new moon and thus the darkest skies, the comet will be close to Draco — the dragon-shaped constellation that runs between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.
Over the following nights, the comet will creep along the dragon’s tail. And on Jan. 30, the comet will reside directly between the Big Dipper’s “cup” and Polaris, the North Star. If you’re accustomed to finding the North Star by following the two stars on the end of the Big Dipper’s cup, then you should be able to spot the comet. Simply scan that imaginary line until you see a faint smudge.
…
For anyone living above the 35th parallel — imagine a curving East-West line running from North Carolina through the Texas Panhandle out to Southern California — the comet will be visible all night starting Jan. 22.
So C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is going to be visible for a while, but you might need binoculars. What did the Neanderthals think of it and its dramatic green halo, I wonder?
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, libraries, Writers, writing, yay on January 20, 2023| 1 Comment »
“Libraries are a force for good. They wear capes. They fight evil. They don’t get upset when you don’t send them a card on their birthdays. (Though they will charge you if you’re late returning a book.) They serve communities. The town without a library is a town without a soul. The library card is a passport to wonders and miracles, glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences, the hopes and dreams and strivings of ALL human beings, and it is this passport that opens our eyes and hearts to the world beyond our front doors, that is one of our best hopes against tyranny, xenophobia, hopelessness, despair, anarchy, and ignorance. Libraries are the torch of the world, illuminating the path when it feels too dark to see. We mustn’t allow that torch to be extinguished.”
― Libba Bray
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, writing, yay on January 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“You are perfectly cast in your life. I can’t imagine anyone but you in the role. Go play.”
— Lin-Manuel Miranda
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Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, random facts, travel, volcano lair on January 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Research for my supervillain lair: Welcome to Volcano Roots – volcanoroots.org
Scientists have been trying to image the intricate plumbing of volcanoes to help understand their dynamics and better predict eruptions… and plan better supervillain lairs.
They didn’t really say that last part. But they should have.
As an example, here’s a handy explainer showing the depths beneath Santorini, a beautiful but geologically unstable Greek island in the Mediterranean. The graphic shows why.
It also tries to give a nod to the volcanically disrupted Minoan culture, late of Santorini, but the Latin placeholder text is less than useful. Here’s a link to help with that: Santorini 1600 BC and the End of Minoan Civilization.
If you have a chance to visit the island, I recommend it. Because nothing says a supervillain lair can’t be pretty.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
On the off chance that you’re having doubts about how you stack up against others, in writing or elsewhere, here’s a thoughtful quote. Follow the link for his whole piece, which is part of a series of posts worth reading.
…I think it’s clear our pop culture and what passes for our media discourse have a dangerously romanticized view of creative work.
“Oh, what a talented person,” our stories go, “oh, how powerful their inspiration must have been!” Talent certainly exists and inspiration certainly exists, but I fear our popular view of creativity artificially centers both, eliding struggle, practice, failure, and the investment of time. Too often, we talk about something akin to magic, about early purity of vision, about the notion that we are chosen or anointed for certain tasks, and while I cannot speak to how the secret machinery of the cosmos operates, I can testify that most of my own moments of lovely inspiration have been purchased with long hours of study, planning, and practice.
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— Scott Lynch, The Post of Christmas Past
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
On a typical day, I usually have X number of words in me. On days when I use those words for, say, an epic treatise to friends on the efficacy of my experimental new toothpaste, I turn to the words of others. Time to make a start on 2023’s to-be-read list.
“Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.”
― Harvey Pekar
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