short stories | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘short stories’

The Future Powered by Fiction

Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged awesome, comics, competition, creativity, fun, genre fiction, Motivation, multimedia, science fiction, sff, short stories, Tomorrow Project, writing, YA, young adults on October 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If you or someone you know is between the ages of 13 and 25 and into science fiction, check out the Tomorrow Project’s new competition. Together with the Society for Science & the Public, ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination and the Intel Foundation, they have put together “The Future Powered by Fiction” competition:

… an innovative fiction competition geared at 13- to 25-year-olds worldwide, asking them to contribute science fiction stories, essays, comics and videos to explore the kinds of futures we want to work toward together.

Fun! Prizes! A chance to shape the future! If this sounds good to you, visit the above link for full submission details.

I think this is a terrific idea and only regret that my crazy cool nephew isn’t old enough to get in on the action. Even if you don’t qualify, or you’re a teacher interested in this as the groundwork for classroom activities, the site has some great material for building these kinds of creative projects, including examples of previous winners, themes and tools to get started.

It’s free to enter, is open to entries from anywhere on the planet (sorry, extraterrestrials!) and the deadline is November 14, 2013.

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What Makes a Good Short Story

Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged Fiction, genre fiction, Heidi Pitlor, literature, perfection, short stories, writing on October 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

While this article* might be more appropriately titled “What Makes a Bad Short Story,” it’s still an interesting read from Heidi Pitlor, editor of The Best American Short Stories series and someone with an astonishing exposure to the depth and breadth of short stories.

…”Sometimes, story writers seem to forget to write scenes.” This sort of thing is fine if scenelessness is done intentionally. But too often, we as readers enter a story via a small action (a door opening, a phone ringing) and then are held captive while the author utilizes a disproportionate amount of space introducing a character, his marriage, his children, his divorce, his parents and his emotional limitations before we return to the room he just entered or the phone call that just begun. In a 17-page story, each page matters. Each sentence matters. Pacing matters.

This may be more of an issue in literary fiction than genre fiction, but it can happen anywhere. (I’m currently reading a genre novel where life-and-death chase scenes are regularly interrupted by peaceful jaunts down memory lane. Srsly?) If you want me to rush headlong into a story, don’t put up speedbumps. And while we’re at it, don’t take life so seriously:

Here are some things I wish I saw more frequently: humor, genre-bending, humor, risk-taking, a more direct addressing of real world matters, humor.

Having somewhat goofy tendencies myself, I’m pleased to see her emphasis on humor. Because what’s the point if you can’t laugh, am I right?

* Yes, there’s a typo in the article. No, it’s not a big deal, no matter what she does for a living. Would you rather she’d refused to publish the piece in an obsessive attempt to ensure its perfection, before finally giving up and tossing it in the trash? I would not:) Do the best you can, but keep moving ahead.

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Busy Day

Posted in Writing, tagged creativity, finishing, genre fiction, Motivation, rejection, short stories, writing, yay on September 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Busy, busy today, too much to do and not enough writing time. I did just get a great rejection (or as I like to say, a pre-acceptance), from a senior editor who asked to see more material. If that isn’t fuel for the fire, I don’t know what is.

Here’s hoping your day is also productive and encouraging…

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The Scent of Things to Come

Posted in Writing, tagged awesome, finishing, Futures, genre fiction, sff, short stories, writing, yay on September 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

I’m very pleased to announce that “The Scent of Things to Come” is now available online in Nature‘s September 5th issue. The artwork is gorgeous, too.

I have to say this absolutely makes my day:)

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Submit!

Posted in Writing, tagged creativity, failure, Fiction, finishing, inspiration, Motivation, persistence, rejection, short stories, success, writing on August 27, 2013| 1 Comment »

If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.
— Thomas J. Watson

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A post shared by Department of the Interior (@usinterior)

Today I finish two new stories and submit them. At least, that’s my plan. It’s a good plan. Even if I lose, I win:)

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Coding My Way Out of a Corner

Posted in Writing, tagged Applescript, code, creativity, Fiction, fun, macs, Motivation, practice, short stories, work, writing on August 24, 2013| 1 Comment »

Some days I stand here at my desk trying to generate a creative thought (or even two!) and it doesn’t happen. If I can’t do the thing I set out to do I still try to do something, so on those days I look for alternatives to get my mind working. My latest filler project is a little Applescript (sorry Windows, I just don’t swing that way) that pops up a window with practice ideas for writing projects. Not what to write, but what to practice while writing.

Here’s the code with a sampling of my current list of practice topics. If this is your sort of thing, substitute your own practice topics as necessary:

set x to some item of {"*action*", "*all five senses*", "*catchy beginnings with a hint of the speculative*", "*characterization*", "*cliffhangers*", "*conflict*", "*distinctive dialog*", "*emotion*", "*grounding*", "*imagery*", "*immediacy*", "*openers*", "*scenes*", "*settings*", "*showing instead of telling*", "*smart science*", "*visual detail*", "*writing without 'was'*"} set textToType to "Practice " & x & " in your story today." set answer to the button returned of (display dialog textToType as string buttons {"Excellent idea, thanks!"} default button 1 with icon note)

So it’s code today, perhaps cake tomorrow. Chocolate. Triple tier. With Bailey’s icing:)

/unless that’s a lie

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Over at Clarion: Post on Place Settings by Gregory Frost

Posted in Writing, tagged arts, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, literature, sff, short stories, Writers, writing on July 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

>> note: this is a repost to get around an editing problem; ignore if you’ve seen it or reread at your leisure…

Over at the Clarion Foundation‘s blog, Gregory Frost shares some terrific advice about the importance of establishing place in writing. I agree that authors need to use their details wisely, but too many people forget the importance of place, and I’m not just saying that because I spent time studying Geography.

Quick, what’s the first question you would ask if you woke up in a strange place?

“Where am I?”

Settle that and you can move on to other issues (like “Why am I perched on a tower fifty stories in the air?” or “Who tied me up and how the hell do I get out of here?”). Without it, all the conflict in the world can’t keep the story from feeling like it’s taking place in front of a green screen.

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Ooh, Tasty: Download Five Years of Tor.com’s Original Fiction for Free!

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged awesome, books, creativity, e book, Fiction, free, fun, genre fiction, literature, original fiction, scifi, sff, short stories, space, speculative fiction, Tor.com, Writers, writing, yay on July 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Tor.com is celebrating its fifth birthday this week. I’m glad that this bastion of quality speculative fiction has both survived and thrived, and that they are celebrating that fact with a collection of stories. View it online or download to your e-reader, as you prefer:

Download Five Years of Tor.com’s Original Fiction for Free!

Thanks, and Happy Birthday, Tor!

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Writing Advice Mashup

Posted in Writing, tagged artists, arts, books, creativity, finishing, genre fiction, inspiration, joss whedon, kurt vonnegut, literature, Motivation, sff, short stories, work, Writers, writing on July 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

It’s Monday, and I like to start the week with a healthy dose of motivation. This list is a mashup of writing advice from a number of sources, arranged in no particular order except that I believe the last one to be the most important. Bracketed initials at the end of each entry refer to the author key below. Today’s post is brought to you by the letter F (as in “finish!”).

Don’t use generic beginnings. [lb]
Don’t use slow beginnings. [lb]
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. [kv]
Don’t try too hard. [lb]
Don’t use clichés. [lb]
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. [kv]
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. [kv]
Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action. [kv]
Start as close to the end as possible. [kv]
Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them-in order that the reader may see what they are made of. [kv]
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages. [kv]
Structure, a.k.a. know where you’re going [jw]
Have something to say [jw]
Everybody has a reason to live, know who everybody is and why they’re there [jw]
Cut what you love [jw]
Listen to feedback [jw]…but also…
Don’t listen, and do the unexpected [jw]
Don’t sell out [jw]
Finish it! [jw]