Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, interviews, read stuff, sci-fi, sff, Thoughts, William Gibson, write stuff, Writers, writing on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
William Gibson riffs on writing and the future
So I would recommend that people read a lot, and as broadly as possible, and then I would suggest that people write a lot. You have to have written a very good deal in order to become really good at it. And if you do it often enough and pay sufficient attention, you’re much more likely to get somewhere than if you don’t.
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Bloomsday, classics, James Joyce, Thoughts, Writers on June 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
A relative of Irish descent reminded me that today is Bloomsday, or a day to celebrate the life and work of James Joyce.
What is Bloomsday? – Bloomsday Festival
Bloomsday celebrates Thursday, 16th June 1904 — the day immortalised in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, one of the novel’s protagonists. The novel follows Bloom’s life and thoughts (as well as those of Stephen Dedalus and a host of other characters, real and fictional) from early in the morning to the twilight hours of the following day.
It may also be helpful for other writers to know that even Joyce worried about his work being forgotten.
No chance of that today!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #keepwriting, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, helpful advice, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Some days the advice you need comes to you at just the right time, all unexpected.
Lorem Ipsum and Light Bulbs, Hank Green
You’ve probably heard the bowl story, or some version of it, but I’m going to tell it to you again. Some diabolical teacher split his ceramics students into two groups. One group was told to spend the entire semester making one perfect bowl. The other group was graded on sheer volume… just make as many bowls as you can, quality be damned.
At the end of the semester, the group that was told to just make a bunch of bowls made the better bowls.
This is a common idea in creative circles, but Hank’s version popped up in my inbox just when I needed to hear it.
Maybe it will help you too?
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
It’s a classic question for writers: “Where do you get your ideas?” In my experience, they come from lots of sources, and certainly not the same places for everyone. Find what interests you and follow it. Think big, think small, think sideways.
And if you’re stuck or just looking for new inspiration, you could do worse than follow advice from one of the masters of the field.
“Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.” — Ray Bradbury
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, aliens, contests, free fiction, scifi, Writers, writing, writing contest on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you remember the “Dear Aliens” contest? Maybe you even submitted a story to be shared with our alien visitors?
Mr Man and I have had a lot going on over the past few months so I did not get a story together, but I’m glad that many of you did. And now, the winners have been announced!
To Those Arriving Soon by MacEagon Voyce
“You’ll know by now that we humans fear the unknown, and that we fill that chasm with stories, imagining endings we have some agency over.”
See the full list for the top ten stories, and enjoy!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »
A little Star Wars-based humor to get you through your day. Because:
“…my task is to try and make you smile despite the state of the world. I will not pretend the world doesn’t exist.” — Scott Lynch
MODERATOR: In one or two words, finish this sentence: “I’m feeling ‘blank’ about the Empire these days, now that the galactic superweapon I willingly supported hovers overhead.”
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, awards, Nebulas, SFWA, Writers, writing on June 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »
This weekend, The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association presented the 61st annual Nebula Awards. If you saw the finalist roster I shared in March and thought, “Gosh, I wonder who will win?” well, wonder no more!
Just some of the winners of the Nebula awards for the best speculative fiction from 2025:
The Nebula Award for Novel
★ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones (Saga; Titan UK) ★
The Nebula Award for Novella
★ The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia) ★
The Nebula Award for Novelette
★ “Uncertain Sons”, by Thomas Ha (Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, Undertow Publications) ★
The Nebula Award for Short Story
★ “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything”, by Effie Seiberg (Diabolical Plots 5/25) ★
For more, see the complete list of finalists and winners at SFFWorld!
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“One is not born, but rather becomes, oneself.” — Simone de Beauvoir
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #messyfeels, creativity, current events, drabble, Fiction, free to be, music, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »
I try to keep things fairly light here, so when I write a piece that is… not that, I can end up in a bit of a bind.
Do I share because that’s where I was on that particular day? I don’t, usually. For example, I recently wrote a drabble that has not even a sprinkling of humor to lighten the mood. That’s how it goes sometimes.
I’ve been writing less than I’d like, and what I do write is darker than I’d like. It’s easy to get distracted by the world. But that’s also our context right now, and what we need to get through in order to move on to the next better thing.
It’s like football great Rosey Grier’s classic song, “It’s Alright to Cry”:
“It’s all right to cry
Crying gets the sad out of you.”
So today I’m going to share one of my darker drabbles, because what is art if not a reflection of the maker’s time and place? (But I’ll add an extra step to view here in case this isn’t your thing right now.* I get it!)
“I love you,” she would say as I ran outside.
Determined, I searched for water, scrap metal or other goods extricated from the rubble. Fuel, usually the kind that used to be someone’s house. Food, always.
Anything to keep the family going. I learned that from my mother.
She stayed with my little brother. He stopped crying two days ago.
“Remember I love you,” she’d say, her eyes turned away from the morning sun. She watched our last pot simmer, making stew with whatever she could find.
Her hand could still grasp the wooden spoon.
She had three fingers left.
Told you it was dark. But if that’s the rain, I think we’ve earned a rainbow!
* With apologies to my email subscribers, who apparently get the unfiltered version.
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