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Posts Tagged ‘Motivation’

Iain Banks, 1954-2013

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Iain Banks, 1954-2013 | Tor.com

This piece by Tor editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden gives a kind remembrance of author Iain Banks, who died yesterday from cancer. I particularly liked this description of Banks’s personality:

In the social world of British SF, Banks will be remembered as a larger-than-life figure—irrepressible, fearlessly outspoken, a boisterous lover of life’s many pleasures, and given to unsung acts of kindness and generosity.

We might all wish to be remembered so. And as Neil Gaiman says in his own reaction to the news:

If you’ve never read any of his books, read one of his books. Then read another. Even the bad ones were good, and the good ones were astonishing.

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Passport to Galactic Citizenship

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

In a broader sense, all science fiction prepares young people to live and survive in a world of ever-continuing change by teaching them early that the world does change.… In a more specific sense, science fiction preaches the need for freedom of the mind and the desirability of knowledge; it teaches that prizes go to those who study, who learn, who soak up the difficult fields of knowledge such as mathematics and engineering and biology. And so they do! The prizes of this universe go only to those able and equipped to reach out for them. In short, science fiction is preparing our youngsters to be mature citizens of the galaxy… as indeed they will have to be.

— Robert A. Heinlein (in “Turning Points: Essays on the Art of Science Fiction” by Damon Knight, ed., pp. 26-27)

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Endless Nightmares, Russian Spies, and Other True Tales of Rejection

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Check out io9’s entertaining new list of classic speculative fiction novels originally rejected by publishers. It’s like a mashup of English reading lists from school and some of my favorite books.

Just goes to show, eh? Keep writing!

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Newsflash! Twain Right Again!

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”

— Mark Twain

We spent the weekend refinishing the deck. The wood was a mess, half covered with multiple layers of thick, splintering stain and half exposed to the elements. It was time. The only problem was that I’d never refinished a deck before.

Did I let that stop me? Nope. It helps that Mr Man is ridiculously handy but still. I took Mark Twain’s quote to heart and jumped in, and now, days later, the splinters and uneven steps and flaking are no more. I learned how to use an industrial sander, tons of power tools, and now know that Onion Goggles are perfect for jobs that result in large clouds of airborne particulates. The wood is now smooth, the finish even.

Is it perfect? Well, no. But it’s done. And that’s much better than not doing anything at all.

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Ottawa Comiccon, or, Thanks, Mom!

Posted in Likes, Other, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Just finished Ottawa Comiccon and it was a blast! Saw LeVar Burton, missed Billy Dee Williams because they moved his panel up at short notice 😦 but did get to see Jewel Staite, hear Summer Glau (lost passport = sad pandas but the apology video and panel call-in were nice touches), Nathan Fillion, and Wil Wheaton, all of whom were terrific.

The Con organizers did a good job this year, and thankfully had a huge tent waiting to protect us all from rain. Way to go, everyone, had a great time:) And as it is Mother’s Day, let me just say thank you to to my own mother, who helped me become the sort of person who spends Sunday mornings with people who dress up in tights!

I’m so going in costume next year.

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Thought for a Busy Day

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I’m still busy, mostly with non-writing work, and that makes it harder to focus on being creative than I’d like. That said, you just have to knuckle down and do it. Even when you’re stuck. Even when your work is hard.

Queue this quote. As the Harvard article cited below says, Maya Angelou has been a “cook, streetcar conductor, waitress, singer, dancer, editor, teacher, civil rights organizer, and actress” and oh yes, a writer. If anyone knows how to live a courageous life filled with productive creativity, she’s it.

I realized that one isn’t born with courage. One develops it by doing small courageous things—in the way that if one sets out to pick up a 100-pound bag of rice, one would be advised to start with a five-pound bag, then 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to lift the 100-pound bag. It’s the same way with courage. You do small courageous things that require some mental and spiritual exertion….

I understood early that not everything I did was going to be a masterpiece, but I would try to do it the best I knew how. I’ve listened to an inner voice and had enough courage to try unknown things.
— Maya Angelou

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No Excuses!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2013| 2 Comments »

Today I’m going to pass along a great piece of advice from Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn series and many other excellent books. It helps when I don’t feel like writing (or more likely this month, when I think I have too much to do).

 

“Sit in a chair and write,” Sanderson says.“Ignore this thing they call writer’s block. Doctors don’t get doctor’s block; your mechanic doesn’t get mechanic’s block. If you want to write great stories, learn to write when you don’t feel like it. You have to write it poorly before you can write it well. So just be willing to write bad stories in order to learn to become better.”
— Brandon Sanderson (as quoted here)

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Writing Tip: Crazy? Maybe. Constructive? Yes!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last night I was facing down a story that’s had me stymied for a while, a tedious rewrite I wasn’t sure was going to work. That uncertainty took up so much brain space I didn’t have the energy to actually write. I finally remembered that the best way around that sort of questioning is to turn off my critical brain, or at least keep it busy in another room. So I put on some music, loud, and sang along while editing.

That’s how I finished my dissertation. Something about the singing ties up my internal editor; he’s too busy trying to get the song words right to nitpick over the written words. There’s probably a neurological explanation for this but whatever, it works for me:)

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What Have I Been up To? Dr. Seuss Knows!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
— Dr. Seuss, in “On Becoming a Writer,” The New York Times, May 21, 1986

In related news, I just got a terrific rejection. Yes, acceptances are great but there is a lot to be said for a rejection that offers praise while pinpointing the one thing that’s problematic. I’ve been asking myself what was missing from this piece for months and now I know. That’s helpful in terms of this particular story but also for future work over the long term.

So thank you, Every Day Fiction submission readers, for doing what so many markets can no longer take the time to do: provide useful feedback.

Onward!

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Artists, Wills, and Iain Banks Has Cancer

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

Iain M. Banks Cancer: Author Announces He Has Only Months To Live.

Scottish writer Iain Banks said Wednesday he has been diagnosed with late-stage gall bladder cancer and has just months to live.

(updated) For his personal statement on this, see his website. This is a tragedy for those immediately involved and bad news for anyone who enjoys good writing.

For writers thinking about what comes after this, visit Neil Gaiman’s post on writers and wills, both standard and literary.

Neil Gaiman’s Journal: Important. And pass it on….

Writers put off making wills (well, human beings put off making wills, and most writers are probably human beings). Some of us think it’s self-aggrandising or foolish to pretend that anyone would be interested in their books or creations after they’re dead. Others secretly believe we’re going to live forever and that making a will would mean letting Death in a crack.

Others make wills, but don’t think to take into account what happens to our literary estate as a separate thing from the disposition of our second-best beds, which means unqualified or uninterested relatives can find themselves in control of everything the author’s written.

Neil’s post is from 2006 and applies to the U.S., but it’s a good place to start. No, I haven’t done this myself. Yet. But I will. Soon!

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