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Posts Tagged ‘Writers’

Telling Stories for the Future

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on February 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“To care about climate change, you only have to be one thing, a human living on Planet Earth.”

— Katharine Hayhoe

(I submit that other animals and any Earth-bound aliens also qualify, but “humans” is a good place to start.)

If you are a creator concerned with the livability of the planet, this guide from This Is Planet Ed may be useful. It’s designed for works aimed largely at younger audiences, but the ideas apply across the board.

A Toolkit For Climate Storytelling

Whether you want to develop a whole show, a story line, or embed climate solutions in your character’s world, this guide offers ideas, strategies, and tips to help.

Because as my landing page reminds us:

“Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

— G.K. Chesterton

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Photo by Klim Sergeev on Unsplash

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Time to Move

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2025| 1 Comment »

“Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can affect change. It can not only move us, it makes us move.”

— Ossie Davis

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Photo by Varun Gaba on Unsplash

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You’re Ready

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on February 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“If l’d waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started ‘being creative,’ well, I’d still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are. You’re ready. Start making stuff.”

— Austin Kleon

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Photo by Steph Wilson on Unsplash

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Wishing You Happy Endings

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on January 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“To survive, you must tell stories.”

— Umberto Eco

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Photo by Kelly Ziesenis Carter on Unsplash

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Happy Book Birthday, David Hankins!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2025| 2 Comments »

It’s release day for friend and fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins, who has published the second book in his fun, funny and well-written Grimsworld series. The series started off with the award-winning Death and the Taxman, and keeps rolling with book two, Death and the Dragon. He’s also got a new collection of related stories out called Grimsworld Tales.

Maybe you were part of David’s Kickstarters, in which case you already know what I’m talking about. If not, I highly recommend you pick up these books.

Want to get a taste for David’s writing? Check out sample chapters at your online bookseller of choice or read this free multi-award winning* story at DreamForge.

To Catch a Foo Fighter by David Hankins

To catch a foo fighter, you need three things: tech, speed, and bait. I’m the bait.

Hehe. Recommended!

* David wins lots of awards because he’s just that good. He’s also a great guy, even if he does have a thing for rubber duckies.

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Photo by Rajvir Kaur on Unsplash

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Have Fun Writing

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on January 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“We are the opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilities.”

— Rudyard Kipling

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Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash

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To a Future of Promise and Ingenuity

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Perhaps you remember me mentioning the submission call for this year’s Grist climate collection. Folks submitted (1200 of them!), editors did their editing thing, and now we have a brand new collection of free climate stories for 2025!

Here’s the full collection, including twelve new stories with the goal of looking “beyond the current moment to picture what could be.”

Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest: The 2025 collection – Grist

Welcome to the 2025 Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors collection. For four years, this contest has celebrated stories that invite us to imagine the future we want — futures in which climate solutions flourish and we all thrive. These stories have never pretended the path will be easy — some of the most compelling Imagine stories showcase the struggle as well as the successes — but they all offer the promise that through the transformative power of radical imagining, we can envision a better world and work toward making it our reality.

Yes, please!

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Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash

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If We So Choose

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

My mother sent me an article about Octavia Butler, one of a number I’ve seen recently in the wake of the LA fires. Butler was an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author know for her all-too-realistic versions of the future. Although she died in 2006, a week of devastating fires in LA fit right in with her vision of 2025.

In fact, she was once asked how she was able to predict the problems of the future as accurately as she did, and her answer is a telling lesson for writers but also for people who want to make a difference.

“A Few Rules for Predicting the Future” by Octavia E. Butler – Seven Good Things

“I didn’t make up the problems,” I pointed out. “All I did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters.”

Ouch.

But that’s not all Butler said. I recommend you read the essay in full. It’s not long, but it packs a punch.

“Okay,” the young man challenged. “So what’s the answer?”

“There isn’t one,” I told him.

“No answer? You mean we’re just doomed?” He smiled as though he thought this might be a joke.

“No,” I said. “I mean there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers, at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.”

I so choose, and I hope you do, too.

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Photo by Luwadlin Bosman on Unsplash

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Follow Your Own Tune

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on January 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Oh God, the terrible tyranny of the majority. We all have our harps to play. And it’s up to you to know with which ear you’ll listen.”

― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

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Photo by Jules D. on Unsplash

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A Christmas Carol, The End of It

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Merry Christmas! Today we have the final installments of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol (Dickens, 1843): Stave 4

THE LAST OF THE SPIRITS.

The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently, approached. When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

…

A Christmas Carol (Dickens, 1843): Stave 5

THE END OF IT.

Yes! and the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in!

“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob; on my knees!”

He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call. He had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.

…

Read the last two installments of the story here and here, and thanks for sharing this Christmas classic with me.

May you keep Christmas well!

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Photo by Elin Melaas on Unsplash

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