“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”
― Steve Martin
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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
Thankful
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, persistence, some days, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »
How to Be Real, Writers Edition
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, espionage, Fiction, how to, master of disguise, spies, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today’s Now I Know (a fun free newsletter, recommended) talks about some of the fundamental elements of being a successful spy. Essentially, the key is to play a character as truthfully as possible.
When I moved to Canada I was suddenly surrounded by people and places that were just subtly different from what I was used to. The way people dress, talk, eat, smile, and yes, stand, are all signifiers of culture and place. It made me more conscious of what was the same and what was different, or what made me look at an actor in a commercial and immediately say, “Sooo Canadian!” when Mr Man didn’t register a difference.
Here’s the video referenced in the article, with Jonna Mendez, former CIA agent and Chief of Disguise:
What makes a character look “right” or not, or act as if they are rooted in a particular time and place? Understanding those fundamental cues is a great way to think about adding depth to stories and the characters who drive them.
While we’re here, Mendez also has a fun video critiquing scenes in spy movies, useful to anyone writing a story with espionage:
Alias for the win!
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Words of Wisdom
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Thoughts on February 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »
My high school teacher accidentally gave me a lifelong mantra: “If you think you hate everyone, have something to eat. If you think everyone hates you, go to sleep.”
— Wendy Syfret
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Psych Eval
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, drabble, genre fiction, Thoughts, writing on February 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
One of my first drabbles, originally published in Grand Science Fiction. Scroll right to read it in full.
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You Win
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, courage, creativity, fear, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts on February 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »
For anyone facing a challenge today, two quotes:
“…very often a risk is worth taking simply for the sake of taking it. There is something enlivening about expanding our self-definition, and a risk does exactly that. Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges.”
— Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
“So do it. If you win, you win, and if you lose, you win.”
— Jake La Motta, Raging Bull
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Forget the Sugar
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, adaptation, climate change, Thoughts on February 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »
One of our neighbors is installing a home generator. Our area has relatively stable power but events like the Great Power Out-ening of 2022 do tend to stick with you, and they have had it.
Now they’ll be equipped for a future of ice storms and high winds and general grief from the joys of climate change.
We do have a portable generator, but in case of another long-term outage event it’s nice to know that we can pop next door for a cup of electrons.
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Random Thought: What If Clouds Were Alive?
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on February 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”
― Terry Pratchett
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Glad You’re Here
Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #FTRWeek, libraries, reading, Thoughts on February 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »
It is Freedom to Read Week here in Canada. What is it, you may ask?
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
Well, I am all about that. The more readers in the world, the better.
And while we’re on the topic, if you happen to live in a place where access to books is not what it could be, allow me to introduce you to the Open Library.
Open Library is free and open to anyone. Some features require that you have an Open Library account.
Have an email address? You’re in.
And welcome. We’re glad you’re here.
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Empathy Engines
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, cognitive behavior, creativity, genre fiction, science, Thoughts, writing on February 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today, an essay by Cecilia Tan in Uncanny magazine: A Novel Is an Empathy Engine.
The idea that story can have an effect on the humans that consume it is not new. It’s well accepted across many cultures, and well supported by studies, that children’s development is aided by hearing stories, with benefits ranging from emotional development and improved communication skills to increased vocabulary and social maturity. But adults are also affected and changed by story.
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Being Human
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, quotes, Thoughts on February 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
— Desmond Tutu
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