Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Hugo Awards, inspiration, sff, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on August 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Who won Hugo Awards at this’s year’s Worldcon in Seattle? So glad you asked.
Here’s the final list!
2025 Hugo Awards – The Winners | Pixelated Geek
All nominees are included, with winners in bold. Congratulations to awardees, and to everyone on the roster!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, free fiction, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on August 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today, a little free fiction from Jo Jones, who writes speculative fiction and loves reading, history, writing and Star Wars. A woman after my own heart!
STDD CASE FILE RUS1896JM – by Jo Jones
“This is not the first time we have met Miss Michaels. But….. we are getting ahead of ourselves. Or maybe behind?” He shakes his head. “Even I can’t keep up! Anyway, where are you thinking of this time?”
Enjoy!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on July 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Why Tolkien thought “sub-creation” was the secret to great fantasy and science fiction
There is something about great fantasy that emboldens the spirit and gives fire to the fight. It is found not only in the words and plot but in its atemporality. It tells us that there is something universal to the human condition that ought to be celebrated. It is something as true for Anglo-Saxons in their snowy mead halls as it is for office drones changing their login passwords.
It says that no matter what monsters we face, we shall overcome and live on. We shall not be defeated.
That’s a pretty good secret.
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, free fiction, speculative fiction, Writers on March 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Oh hey, I think I missed sharing this collection of free stories from Reactor Magazine. I haven’t read all of these but Reactor tends to have very high-quality fiction, and all for free free free! Check it out, browse, and enjoy.
Some of the Best from Reactor: 2024 Edition!
The 2024 edition of Some of the Best From Reactor is out today! This bundle features just some of our favorites from the thirty-five original stories published on Reactor in the past year.
Of course, you can always read the selected stories—and all other Reactor stories—for free whenever you’d like! To make it even easier to catch up, we’ve gathered all our stories from 2024 in one convenient post.
Because life’s too short to read bad stories.
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, genre fiction, speculative fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on September 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today, a super-sized interview on the future of speculative fiction from Reactor Magazine.
What do some of the biggest names in SFF have to say about current bookish trends, or what the future might hold?
The authors:
They had me at cozy fantasy. And also “very interesting, complicated, messy, ruthless female protagonist.” And dragons. And Scandinavian werewolves!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Escape Pod, evil ice cream carts, free fiction, genre fiction, more weaponized food, scifi, sff, short stories, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on February 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I have mentioned a story called “The T-4200” on this site in posts before. Originally published at Andromeda Spaceways Magazine in 2017 (yay), it was not available online (so sad!).
Until now.
That’s right, the good folks at Escape Pod looked at this goofy sci-fi adventure featuring a beleaguered civil servant just trying to do the right thing, dimension-hopping animals, and murderous ice cream carts and said, “Yes, please.”
(Fine, I may have added the “please.”)
The thing about Escape Pod is that they are an audio magazine. Because they also publish the transcript, this story (all 9,000 or so words of it), is now available in both audio and text formats.
Which means that you, fair reader (or listener!) are now able to sample the delights of this story for yourself.
Enjoy the audio performance or read the transcript at Escape Pod.
Escape Pod 923: The T-4200 (Part 1 of 2)
Escape Pod 924: The T-4200 (Part 2 of 2)
I had a great time with this story. Hope you do too!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #wotf39, creativity, interviews, podcast, scifi, speculative fiction, Thoughts, writing on October 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I was recently invited to be a guest on the West Virginia Uncommon Place podcast. It was a fun interview, and I enjoyed the opportunity to explore multiple facets of writing, including how the landscapes and ideas we think of as home influence our creativity.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, speculative fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
J.R. Johnson On How To Create Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories
What does it take for a writer today, to write compelling and successful Science Fiction and Fantasy stories?
Click over to Authority Magazine for my thoughts! If you can’t access the file there, here’s a PDF (but the formatting is better at Authority!).
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, publishing, sff, speculative fiction, speculative fiction novels, submissions, Writers, writing, writing a novel on February 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Attention writers!
Are you un-agented? Have you been waiting for a high-profile publisher to send out a call for submissions? Do you happen to have a science fiction, fantasy or horror manuscript lying around the house, waiting for its dare-to-be-great moment?
Then this, my friends, is your lucky day!
Angry Robot has announced a week-long open submission period for un-agented works. I don’t happen to have one handy but maybe you do? If so, may the odds be ever in your favor!
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The Submission period will run for one week, from Monday the 21st of February to Monday the 28th February.
We are looking for:
– Novel length works.
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
– Adult fiction.
– Finished manuscripts.
To apply, please send us:
– A sample that consists of the first three chapters of your work (or first fifteen pages if the chapters are short).
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.
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Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #amwritingscifi, adoption, constraint, drabble, Luna Station Quarterly, on writing, science fiction, short stories, speculative fiction, writing, writing process, writing tools on March 18, 2021| 9 Comments »
There are a lot of ways to write, and a lot of types of writing. Fiction alone comes in novels, of course, but also novellas, novelettes, short stories, screenplays, etc. I happen to have a soft spot for the drabble.
A drabble is a piece of fiction that is exactly 100 words long, excluding title. Explore the history of it at that link if you like, but for me the important part is the constraint.
One hundred words, no more, no less.
It’s an easy number of words to produce, of course, but there’s something I find so satisfying about trying to build a story within the confines of such a concrete target. The limits inspire creativity, make finishing feel not only possible but inevitable, and provide a sandbox to play in, if you will.
It’s also a terrific way to dip your toes in the rapids of fiction. My first two publications were drabbles (thanks, Luna Station Quarterly!):
“Ray of Light.”
“The Witch.”
Go ahead, try it for yourself. And have fun!
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This is my latest drabble, “Adoption Papers.”
I was sixteen when I found the receipt. My receipt.
“What the hell, Dad?”
The paper was old and faded, one tattered corner poking from a manila folder marked “Family Records.” There were maybe ten lines on the page, with a stamp at the top that read “Beta: Final Sale.”
Dad shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“Are you pissed that you’re a bot, or that you didn’t cost more?”
I hadn’t even noticed the total.
“Twelve and a half bucks? Seriously?”
He smiled. “We always said you were special.”
“Not on special!”
I blinked.
“Wait, I’m a what?”
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J.R. Johnson 
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