“Stuff your eyes with wonder,” he said, “live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
See the World
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers on August 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Best In Neighborhood
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, Thoughts on August 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today, a moment of happiness.
Picture it: the sun has finally come out, the day is warm and the wild things have voted our little yard Best in Neighborhood. Mr Man and I are having lunch under a canopy on the deck out back. This is not a day to consider the cracked boards or the layers of pine needles or the gutter gunk. It’s a day to see the four juvenile robins play-fighting to determine who will get the upper bird bath first, and then squawk when they are all pre-empted by a grackle. It is a day to notice that we are hosting not just animals, but families. The chipmunk has two smaller companions, Mr and Mrs Cardinal are both present, a pair of mourning doves stop by, there are three woodpeckers at the feeder, and the black-capped chickadees shepherd smaller versions of themselves first to the suet, and then to the nyjer, and finally to the sunflower seeds. Squirrels also visit, black and brown and grey, including one flicking the longest, plushest tail I’ve yet seen. There are sparrows and more finches than I can count, a mix of brownish, reddish and a vibrant shade I’m calling Attention-Grabbing Gold.
The extra shot of happiness comes when I realize that our yard is doing an admirable job of being exactly what our wild neighbors need.
The yard is not particularly photogenic. The bushes are a little scruffy and what grass persists is overlong. Hastas and honeysuckle and sweet woodruff sidle up next to lamb’s quarters and dandelions, violets and goldenrod, clover and daisies and oxalis. I don’t mind. It provides water, food and shelter, and is homey and inviting in a way that over-manicured spaces frequently are not.
And our wild neighbors don’t mind a bit.
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Today’s Motivation
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genius, inspiration, Motivation, myths, productivity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“The more shots you get at the target, the more likely you’ll eventually score a bull’s-eye, but the more misses you’ll accrue as well. The bull’s-eyes end up in museums and on library shelves, not the misses. Which, when you think about it, is a shame. It feeds the myth that geniuses get it right the first time, that they don’t make mistakes, when, in fact, they make more mistakes than the rest of us.”
― Eric Weiner, The Geography of Genius
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Tiny, Big
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, adventure, inspiration, Thoughts on August 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Summer can be a time to plan big, but today I am going to suggest that you consider adventures a little closer to home.
The Microadventure-Filled Life of Alastair Humphreys
Humphreys defines a microadventure as “a shorter, simpler, cheaper, more local, more accessible version of what you deem to be an adventure. It’s something that you can squeeze in around the margins of real life.”
I kind of love this idea, of finding what’s interesting right around the corner.
Now I’m off to consider what might be fun to do around town. Like this, which holy crap, looks both scary and crazy cool!
Interzip Rogers – The interprovincial zip line.
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Good Advice
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, STEM stuff, Thoughts, writing on August 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
All good advice, and the world needs more inventors because the world needs more solutions. But if you’re not into soldering or whatever and still want to create, remember kids, writing fiction is always an option!
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Writer, Know Thyself
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #don'twanna, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 30, 2023| 1 Comment »
Some days you just don’t wanna, you know? On such days, it helps to rely on the motivating power of a streak.
I’ve written daily posts here since January 1, 2021. That’s not a lot of time compared to some writers (Dean Wesley Smith and John Scalzi, I’m looking at you), but it’s long enough that I don’t want to break it for no good reason.
So here I am, writing and posting, even though I’d rather be chilling with Chewbacca and Mr Man.*
Which is exactly why I started this streak in the first place:)
* Now that’s an excellent band name.
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Rainy Day with Books (and a Cat)
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, reading, Thoughts, Writers, yay on July 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“The world should take note: not everything is getting worse.”
― Ian McEwan, Saturday
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A.K.A.
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, back to work!, Thoughts on July 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Tuesday, also known as “the most acceptable day of the week to eat marshmallow fluff with a spoon.”
Mmm, delicious.
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Important Information for a Sunday
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cool stuff, creativity, fun, Thoughts on July 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Dear Readers,
Attached please find important information for your enjoyment and edification. It may be particularly appropriate for a quiet Sunday afternoon.
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Schrödinger’s Submission
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, genre fiction, submissions, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have a submission out right now. If you’re a writer, you know the type. Average turnaround time for this venue is 27 days and my story is currently rocking a cool 135 days right now.
One can’t help but hope.
The fun thing, however, is that as long as the submission is still out there, still under consideration, it hasn’t been rejected.
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A fellow writer was wondering how to interpret the rejections he was getting, many of which were personal. Here’s a version of what I wrote in reply:
You should absolutely feel good about personal feedback. That is rare and precious gold there, my friend. It means that what you are submitting is publishable, just not by that particular editor and outlet at that particular time. Maybe the fit isn’t perfect or maybe it is, but your story is about a magical stag with a drinking problem and the editor just bought a story about a magical stag with a drinking problem. Or it’s twice as long as the space they have left in the current issue, and they will remember the day they had to send your rejection with despair every time your name and list of awards comes up in future conversation.
It means that your stories are working, and that’s critical. A broken story isn’t ready for primetime, but a publishable story just needs to find the right home.
When I say “market research,” I mean that I’m working to send my material to someone who could reasonably be expected to publish it. Happy magic unicorn stories are not a great fit for a grimdark horror venue;) I try to narrow down the list of possibilities. Submissions tend to take a long time and most places are not cool with simultaneous subs, meaning that every month a story is out at the wrong place is a month that it’s not being evaluated by someone who might actually buy it. So I try to write the best story I can and then work to find a place likely to give it a home. And the Submission Grinder also lets you sort possible venues by turnaround time.I do try to follow the “write, edit, put it away and then come back to it when you can look at it as if someone else wrote it” advice, if possible. Too much editing can suck the life out of the story.
I may have mentioned that I had a hard time with rejections at the beginning. No longer! One day I realized that I was completely unfazed by my latest rejection. I just opened my submission template and filled in the next possible target.
So, you’re killing it. Keep going!
Because you never know.
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