writing | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Know Better, Do Better, Be Better

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, activism, centenarians know better, inspiration, politics, quilting, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

How much do I love this?

101-Year-Old Grace Linn: ‘Banning Books and Burning Books Are the Same’

“Banning books and burning books are the same. Both are done for the same reason: fear of knowledge,” Linn said. “They’re afraid that people will know better than they did.”

But each generation should know better, do better, and be better, Linn said. Society can’t grow and evolve without the education and empathy-building that come from the free exchange of thoughts shared through books.

All the hearts, forever.

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*Photo by Sansern Prakonsin on Unsplash*

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Free to Read, This Week Only!

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Good news, fellow seekers of good fiction, my fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins has made his award-winning story “Death and the Taxman” available free for this week only! If you haven’t already read it in Writers of the Future Volume 39, I highly recommend it.

Read Death and the Taxman

The story is funny, well-written, and the springboard for his upcoming novel (I supported the highly-successful Kickstarter; the book will be widely released on Tax Day because David’s sense of timing is as on point as his humor!).

Enjoy!

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Want to Read

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, Uncanny Magazine, Writers, writing on January 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

An ode to the stories I want to read but haven’t quite managed, yet.

The Coffin Maker – Uncanny Magazine

Every so often, audio crackles through the room, too loud, and the crowd stills and quiets as one. Stephani knows that they are all like her, waiting, waiting, waiting to find out how this mission will fail, hoping it will be a small thing with no ripples, praying they won’t have to hear it, knowing they will listen if a surveyor’s last words are broadcast across the ship.

Have I read this? I have not, but Uncanny stories are always high quality and often hopeful (if sometimes disturbing; fair warning in case this story turns out to be one of those!). Perhaps you will have more time today than I do.

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Your Very Best

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.”
— Colin Powell

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*Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash*

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What Comes Next?

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, goals, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 6, 2024| 1 Comment »

As I’ve mentioned here before, I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions. That said, I am not immune to the “fresh start effect,” which can make it easier to begin new projects, habits, or other goals around a new week, month, or year.

So today I’m considering what new projects, habits and goals I want to bring with me into 2024.

And whether you’re the sort of person who makes resolutions or not, this article may help with next steps.

How to keep your New Year’s resolutions according to a behavioral economist (Planet Money podcast, with transcript)

It’s the first full week of 2022, and many of us are already feeling the “fresh start effect,” according to behavioral economist Katy Milkman. We’re excited to pursue new goals and we feel a renewed sense of purpose that new beginnings can bring. Still, keeping New Year’s resolutions is often easier said than done.

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Just Living

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
— Joan Didion

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When It’s Ok to Quit

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, reading, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

For the days when I look down at the book I’m reading and think, “No research is worth this.”

“If a book is tedious to you, don’t read it; that book was not written for you.”
—Jorge Luis Borges

I’m also a firm believer in this:

“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures… If you like something, like it.”
— Dave Grohl

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And It’s a New Year

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
— Pablo Picasso

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*Photo by Mason Kimbarovsky on Unsplash*

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Visions of the Future

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, future, genre fiction, predictions, science fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

For me, the end of a year is a great time to think about the future.

What did one of science fiction’s most acclaimed writers think about the future back in 1980, what’s changed, and which of his predictions have already come to pass?