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Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Get Bored – Apex Magazine

Most writers, and indeed, most creatives could tell you that quite often we are at our most creative when we’re staring into the middle distance, our mind engaged only with itself, silent and otherwise unoccupied.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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“If you’re only going to accept winning as the condition for your participation, you play a very small game.”

— Michael Bungay Stanier

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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Scott Lynch is the author of a favorite series, The Gentleman Bastard (start with The Lies of Locke Lamora). His writing is crisp, clear, and clever, but not what I’d call copious. So imagine how pleased I was when a notification popped up in my inbox, letting me know that he has a short story out. Even better, it’s part of a free multi-author newsletter dedicated to sharing science fiction and fantasy every Sunday: The Sunday Morning Transport.

Here’s the story. If you’d like more weekly fiction, subscribe at the link above.

Selected Scenes from the Ecologies of the Labyrinth by Scott Lynch

Akayla Sethrys’s boot hits the door just below the lock.

She’s been kicking these things in for eight or nine years now and she knows where to put her emphasis. She favors a pair of bespoke basilisk leather and steel sabatons for this purpose; today some additional luck is with her in the form of rotten wood. Jagged wet splinters fly as the broken door slams inward, peeling out of its frame. Another dungeon chamber breached.

“Onward!” cries Sethrys, crouched over her shield, blade up for quick thrusts past the rim.

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Photo by James Wood on Unsplash

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“Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

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Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

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When you hear “Medieval Times” you may think of a slightly cheesy yet fun afternoon outing with knights and mead halls, but it was more than that. Populated by living, breathing (and dying) people just like us, this era laid the groundwork for civilizations to come. The fact that many of us know so little about it is our failing, not theirs. (Well, that and the fact that literacy was much less common than it is today!)

Not to worry! Professor of English and Medieval Literature Dr. Dorsey Armstrong is here to answer our questions.

Enjoy!

Why is it called the “Middle” Ages? What activities did people do for fun? Why were animals tried in court for crimes? Answers to these questions and many more await—it’s Medieval Support.

(Although it seems to have given George R.R. Martin far too many gory ideas.)

Why do I share this? You did see my previous post on time travel, right?

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Photo by Tom Podmore on Unsplash

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For those of you who enjoy time travel, thought exercises, physics, Doctor Who, or just hate bad time travel concepts (me!), here’s a fun and informative article.

The invisible dangers of travelling through time

The mishaps caused by time travellers exploring the past are a staple of science fiction. But what does physics think?

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Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash

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“Think of many things; do one.”

— Portuguese proverb

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Photo by Mohammad Bagher Adib Behrooz on Unsplash

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I recently signed up for artist Louisa Pressler’s newsletter. Because someday, I’d love to have her illustrate one of my books.

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Photo by Mediamodifier on Unsplash

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As a follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of animal crossings as one way we can be kind to the other creatures with which we share this world, I decided to resurface a post from last year:

We Are Mirrors | J.R. Johnson

I came from the stars to meet you. I was happy. Excited, even. First contact with your verdant world. Think of all that we could share with you.

“You” could have meant a lot of things. I started with one of the most populous. An insect.

Go forth, and be kind.

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Photo by Ioana Cristiana on Unsplash

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Are you the sort of writer who can imagine a better future? Do you care about the climate? This may be the contest for you!

Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2024: Submit your story | Grist

Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world. We dare you to dream anew… 

In 2,500 to 5,000 words, show us the world you dream of building…

There is no cost to enter. Submissions close June 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time.

Here’s an example of a climate positive / “hey, maybe we will get out of this alive“ story:

Fishy by Alice Towey – Clarkesworld Magazine

I enjoyed it. Because I too dare to dream.

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Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

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