Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, ughs, weather on July 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Things I’d rather not do today, but will:
My future self will thank me. Probably.
“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”
— George Burns
* * *
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, genre fiction, Hugo Awards, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The finalists for the 2023 Hugo Awards have been announced!
Best Novel
- Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree (Cryptid; Tor)
- Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)
- The Spare Man, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)
- Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)
- The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)
See the full list of nominees across all categories at Locus Online: 2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Finalists. Winners will be announced at Chengdu Worldcon in October.
* * *
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!).
* * *
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #thebalance, Chicago, secrets, Thoughts on July 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
It’s been a weird day. (Do I say that a lot? Feels like I might, but whatever. It’s definitely true today. And maybe I just expect too much in the way of normality.)
Yesterday was signings and beer and gelato. All good. Today? Things that can go wrong, do.
I’ve written about this before, in The Balance. It’s still funny, and still (mostly) true. And now I’m off to set things right.
You, on the other hand, might be interested to know that (checks extensive list of interesting factoids) there is a secret tunnel network under Chicago.
* * *
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“To go from this idea of limitless potential that you have as a young person — ‘Oh, I can do anything! Just give me the chance!’ — and then realizing, well, maybe you can’t do anything. But then what do you do? What do you do after that happens? What do you do after you realize that? Do you give up? Or do you try and make your art out of your own limitations?”
— David Duchovny
* * *
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on July 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I recently sent a birthday card to a friend and in it, tried to capture the essence of my wishes for her. Now I share those wishes with you, too.
I hope you have a wonderful day, one where you can see beyond the sharp edges of the world to the beauty and mystery that surrounds us all.
* * *
Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, nonfiction, Thoughts, travel, writing on July 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Thursday
Cairo
Up a few steps and across a pedestrian overpass and we were in the market. The guidebooks warned that getting lost here was easy, and not to be surprised at the incredible number of small passages and alleys in this area. They were absolutely right, but I loved it. The market’s narrow winding paths, busy streets, men sitting outside shops, women herding children they could barely see through crowds, carts, stalled taxis, cats everywhere, and getting lost were all part of the fun. For the first time I felt I was in a true souk, a local market where tourists were not yet driving the economy. Sure, there were tchotchkes on the main streets, but there were also suitcases and socks and nightgowns and shirts. When we did get completely and unbelievably lost, a small boy appeared from nowhere. He led us back to our starting point, but his way out was nothing like our way in. I followed the boy’s slight figure down stairways just wide enough for one, around corners, into shops and out their backdoors, and finally out into the cool night air. We thanked him profusely, tipped him and everyone went home happy.
* * *
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, history, hope, inspiration, Thoughts on July 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“The happiness of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she is destined to become the safe and venerable asylum of virtue, of honesty, of tolerance, and quality and of peaceful liberty.”
— Marquis de Lafayette
* * *
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, craft, making stuff, Thoughts on July 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I like making things and I like learning about making things. This predilection may have its roots in family trips to places like the Kellogg and Hershey factories (mm, Fruit Loops and chocolate samples), but whatever the reason, I dig a behind-the-scenes perspective.
You too? Then perhaps you will also like these deep dives into the wonderful world of pencils:
* * *
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on July 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Recently, I had a chance to talk speculative fiction with the good folks over at Urban Book Reviews. Check out my thoughts on what makes spec fic great, getting started as a writer, themes in fiction and more. Find the full interview here!
Meet This Author: J.R. Johnson – Urban Book Reviews
* * *
You must be logged in to post a comment.