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Posts Tagged ‘Writers’

For the Writers Among Us

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Attention writers!

Are you un-agented? Have you been waiting for a high-profile publisher to send out a call for submissions? Do you happen to have a science fiction, fantasy or horror manuscript lying around the house, waiting for its dare-to-be-great moment?

Then this, my friends, is your lucky day!

Angry Robot has announced a week-long open submission period for un-agented works. I don’t happen to have one handy but maybe you do? If so, may the odds be ever in your favor!

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Angry Robot

The Submission period will run for one week, from Monday the 21st of February to Monday the 28th February. 

We are looking for:

– Novel length works.

– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.

– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

– Adult fiction.

– Finished manuscripts.

To apply, please send us:
– A sample that consists of the first three chapters of your work (or first fifteen pages if the chapters are short).
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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Holes, the Filling Of

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on February 2, 2022| 1 Comment »

I have a minor confession: I have never read Charles Dickens. I may have started A Tale of Two Cities but I don’t think I finished it. Scratch that, I know I didn’t finish it.

Many of Dickens’ major novels were written for publishers who paid by the word. The man wasn’t stupid. He wrote A Lot of words. He also wrote across class boundaries, giving readers a window into the lives of those they might not otherwise encounter.

We live in a world shaped by his works and ideas. Movies, characters, what makes up some of the foundations of modern Christmas, a lot of that has to do with Dickens’ works. 

But I haven’t read the original source material.

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If someone wanted to remedy a hole like this in their literary education, where to start?

One nice thing about the classics, they are everywhere.

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Photo by Hert Niks on Unsplash

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Writing A Better Future

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2022| 1 Comment »

tl;dr scroll for climate fiction contest info

You may have noticed that we are in the midst of a climate shift that is affecting all facets of life. What comes next, and how do we fix it?

Science is great for understanding what will change but to better understand the squishier bits like how it will impact our lives and societies? That is where fiction excels.

I’ve mentioned climate fiction before but if you’re interested in what’s out there, here are a few examples:

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Want to try at hand at writing us all into an optimistic future? Good news, Fix is back with another short story contest titled Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors.

We’re looking for stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of climate progress — roughly seven generations. The winning writer will be awarded $3,000, with the second- and third-place winners receiving $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. An additional nine finalists will each receive $300. Winners and finalists will be published in Fall 2022 in an immersive collection on Fix’s website and celebrated during a virtual event.

  • Entry is free!
  • Submissions close May 5, 2022, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Standard Time.
  • The contest is open to writers anywhere in the world.
  • Authors must be 18 years or older at the time of submission.
  • Submissions must be fictional stories between 3,000 and 5,000 words.
  • We do not accept previously published or simultaneous submissions (stories can only be submitted to this contest and not to others, until we have informed you of the result).
  • Only one submission will be accepted per entrant.

There is no cost to enter and story copyright and ownership remains with the author. More details here.

Let’s write ourselves a better future!

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Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash

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How to Get Where I’m Going

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on January 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Today’s debate: Do I push ahead on the story idea upon which I am currently stumped, update the family cookbook, or head to the workshop for the first time in ages?

The good news is that no matter what I decide, I’m likely to make progress on at least some of these fronts (or on something else entirely, but whatever, progress is progress).

Productive procrastination for the win!

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Photo by Mario Dobelmann on Unsplash

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It’s Alive!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on January 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Today, some useful writing advice from award-winning writer Nalo Hopkinson.

The point of fiction is to cast a spell, a momentary illusion that you are living in the world of the story. Fiction engages the senses, helps us create vivid mental simulacra of the experiences the characters are having.

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Photo by Sean Pierce on Unsplash

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Working on My Writing

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on January 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

― Stephen King

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

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Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

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On A Mission

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on January 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

I’ve always liked coins. 

Maybe it was my love of fantasy tales where every dragon had a horde and every economic transaction involved coinage (paper bills? what are those and why would I accept them when I could have a lovely gold piece?). Or the fact that coins encapsulate a wealth (see what I did there?) of information about a society’s evolving history, economy and culture. Or it might have had a little to do with my not-entirely-transitory pirate fixation (they were often bad, sometimes misrepresented, always fascinating). 

Regardless, I like coins. Back when we still went out and touched other people’s money, I saved the shiniest examples of each new coin I came across. I have a pressed penny collection. And I love new coin designs. When they have one of my favorite female writers on them? Win!

Maya Angelou becomes the first Black woman to appear on the U.S. quarter

Check out the U.S. Mint site for more on the America Women Quarters program.

And next Christmas, shiny new Maya Angelou quarters will be on my list!

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“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

― Maya Angelou

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Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash

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Word of the Day: Supermarine

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on January 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Ha ha ha ha, this is 110% amazing!

More info and videos on this obviously critical area of scientific research:

So if humans visit underwater environments in a submarine, are these fish driving around in a supermarine? 

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Oh hello, nice of you to stop by. Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

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Making Magic

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on January 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic.” 

― Carl Sagan

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Photo by JoelValve on Unsplash

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The Professor

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

You never know whose life you’re going to touch. I trace a line between my own love of reading and writing to a relatively obscure (at the time) fantasy series read to us by my father, back to his department secretary, and eventually to Oxford professor and World War One veteran JRR Tolkien, born 130 years ago today. 

Tolkien Birthday Toast: raise a glass to the Professor in honour of his 130th birthday

If book sales, movie earnings, popular culture and Peter Jackson’s knighthood are any indication, millions of other people also have a similar connection to an academic whose books were once dismissed as simple tales for children.

They were wrong about that.

Hobbits and hippies: Tolkien and the counterculture – BBC Culture

I’m taking this as a reminder to do my best. As a children’s author, chef, engineer, teacher or whatever else you may be, you never know what impact you may have.

For myself, I hope that impact stirs even a little of the positive impact Middle-Earth had for me.

The Professor!

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Photo by Nikhil Prasad on Unsplash

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