“Winning is fun… Sure. But winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.”
— Pat Summitt
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Posts Tagged ‘Writers’
Getting to the Point
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »
A Tale of Lunar Night
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, science, space, Thoughts, Writers on June 5, 2025| 1 Comment »
Any plans for this afternoon? Nothing special? Then you might be interested in checking out a moon landing.
Japanese company ispace will attempt historic moon landing on June 5 | Space
The Resilience lander is currently orbiting the moon as it prepares to land within Mare Frigoris (“Sea of Cold”) in the northern hemisphere. The landing is scheduled for Thursday at 3:17 p.m. EDT (1917 GMT; or 4:17 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, June 6)… If Resilience lands successfully, it is expected to operate for up to two weeks (one lunar day) on the moon’s surface before succumbing to the deep cold of lunar night.
That’s right, a private company is attempting a moon landing today. Is the privatization of space a good thing? A bad thing? It’s certainly an interesting progression of humanity’s extra-planetary exploration, always fascinating material for science fiction writers.
And we can watch!
(“the deep cold of lunar night”: is that a great phrase or what?)
Quick update: the landing time changed a bit due to orbital mechanics or something fancy like that, but more importantly, controllers are waiting to find out if it landed safely and can establish contact. Updates via CNN…
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Don’t Stop Believing
Posted in Other, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, censorship, creativity, future, graphic novels, history, inspiration, space, Thoughts, Writers on May 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
A couple of years ago I wrote about NASA’s excellent graphic novel encouraging folks to imagine themselves on the moon: First Woman: Dream to Reality.
There was a second issue, too, called First Woman: Expanding Our Universe. Both were free and available to the public on NASA’s site. (Which makes sense, because NASA is paid for by US tax dollars, including mine.) Sadly, both have now been removed.
But good news, aspiring explorers! As highlighted over at Space.com, both issues are still available via that bastion of awesome, The Wayback Machine:
Issue #1: Dream to Reality follows Callie’s trailblazing path as the first woman on the Moon. Callie and her robot sidekick, RT, overcome setbacks, disappointment, and tragedy along the way. From her childhood dreams of space travel to being selected as an astronaut candidate, Callie takes us on her journey to the Moon.
I don’t always take the time to update older links, but I thought this one was important.
Because if humanity stops inspiring the next generation, humanity stops.
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Only Sky
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, life, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Into the Quantum
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, poetry, quantum, Writers, writing, writing contest on May 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
2025 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the development of quantum mechanics, and has been named Unesco’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
It is also a good time to mention a poetry contest I came across, from Brilliant Poetry. I haven’t participated in it, but perhaps it will interest you? The contest goal is to “express scientific wonder and discovery through verse” and poems “must find inspiration in the quantum.”
Do I know what that means? I do not, but it might be fun to let my creative voice play with the idea. Hang on, here’s a quick related video.
And this is a much longer explainer: Physicist Brian Cox explains quantum physics in 22 minutes.
Ahem. Now that you have a bit of background, let’s get back to that poetry contest.
What are the rules?
Contest tradeoffs:
The upside is that there is no entry fee that I can see, and there are cash prizes. Good.
One downside is that by entering, “you give the organizers the right to publish your poem both online and in printed media.” In other words, you’ve essentially given away first world publication rights, so keep that in mind. (On the other hand, the limit is maximum 40 lines, so it may not be a big investment if you’re interested in some experimentation.)
Does this concept tickle your imagination? Submissions close June 20th so you’ve got a bit of time to consider the options, and get into the quantum.
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All the Time in the World
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, innovation, technology, Writers, writing on May 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This started as a drabble but grew into a vignette.
The attendant checked the schedule. Room 402, Geriatric Ward. Mr Landing.
The attendant realigned before entering the room.
Most of its processes were overclocked to deal with the post-Thanksgiving rush. Somehow, everyone managed to end up in the ER over the holidays. An avatar in surgery dealt with a hernia operation while the one in Intake triaged two lacerations, one head wound (so messy), a concussion from a ladder fall, one firewood-related crush injury, six acute upper respiratory infections, three cases of acute back pain, and one mostly severed finger.
Those iterations filled in the gaps left by each successive wave of layoffs and prioritized speed and accuracy. Mostly speed, if you were one to read between the lines of the quarterly reports. But here, in this ward, they had found a better way.
Chassis wheels squeaked quietly on the polished floors.
“Good afternoon, Mr Landing. How are you today?”
“Fine, fine. I’ve been hoping you’d visit.” His words were drawn out, like January honey. “I’ve been thinking about 1986, when my wife and I bought a bit of land out in the woods. We spent so many weekends out there, building a cottage, visiting with the kids in the summer. So many good memories.”
He took a long, labored breath.
“I’m sorry, I know I talk slowly. We all do, as we get older.”
His arthritic neck popped as he looked around the empty room.
“I don’t get many visitors.” He patted the attendant’s skin as if it were the real thing. “And I just love chatting about the past.”
The attendant uncoupled its scheduler from the server and dialed down temporal perception to match the patient’s.
“Not a problem, Mr Landing. I’ve got all the time in the world.”
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Dear Author, Take My Money
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, free fiction, sciency fun, Writers, writing on May 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I don’t know about you but I have certain authors whose writing just fits. Ilona Andrews is one such writer. (Or two, really, since “she” is a pair.)
I’ve mentioned them before but I’m going to do it again, because they are in the middle of another online story, published in installments.
Here’s the main page: The Inheritance.
Reader, if I could pay for it now and get the whole thing, I would. Instead, I look forward to new installments Mondays and Fridays. Now you can too!
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Well, When You Put It That Way…
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, action, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you. Your call.”
— James Clear
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Alive and Growing
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I had a moment today where I got a funny idea and just started writing. It was ridiculous. It was grammatically incorrect. It was glorious.
Will this turn into a story that I will be happy to share? Maybe, but that’s not my concern right now.
Right now, I’m just putting one word after the other, because when you’re writing for fun, all words are good words. (Other times too.)
Don’t let fear of failure stop you. As long as you can, as often as you can, keep going.
“Failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you are alive and growing.”
— Buzz Aldrin
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Secret Celebration
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, publishing, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I just heard that one of my writer friends is in possession of a shiny new book contract! It’s all still super secret and hush hush, so no details yet, but I think it’s great. (They also read this blog and will know who I’m talking about. Hello!)
They are a fabulous person and a terrific writer. Can’t wait to read the book, and I can’t help but want to celebrate this kind of success… even if for the moment, I have to do it in secret.
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