Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, speculative fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
J.R. Johnson On How To Create Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories
What does it take for a writer today, to write compelling and successful Science Fiction and Fantasy stories?
Click over to Authority Magazine for my thoughts! If you can’t access the file there, here’s a PDF (but the formatting is better at Authority!).
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, authoring, Fiction, genre fiction, Writers, writing on July 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A huge thank you to everyone who attended today’s signing of Writers of the Future Volume 39, and to the terrific staff at Ottawa’s Perfect Books. Also, particular thanks to the friends who trekked across the city, wrangled energetic children, or both! You made it a special experience.
Enjoy the book!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“To go from this idea of limitless potential that you have as a young person — ‘Oh, I can do anything! Just give me the chance!’ — and then realizing, well, maybe you can’t do anything. But then what do you do? What do you do after that happens? What do you do after you realize that? Do you give up? Or do you try and make your art out of your own limitations?”
— David Duchovny
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, nonfiction, Thoughts, travel, writing on July 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Thursday
Cairo
Up a few steps and across a pedestrian overpass and we were in the market. The guidebooks warned that getting lost here was easy, and not to be surprised at the incredible number of small passages and alleys in this area. They were absolutely right, but I loved it. The market’s narrow winding paths, busy streets, men sitting outside shops, women herding children they could barely see through crowds, carts, stalled taxis, cats everywhere, and getting lost were all part of the fun. For the first time I felt I was in a true souk, a local market where tourists were not yet driving the economy. Sure, there were tchotchkes on the main streets, but there were also suitcases and socks and nightgowns and shirts. When we did get completely and unbelievably lost, a small boy appeared from nowhere. He led us back to our starting point, but his way out was nothing like our way in. I followed the boy’s slight figure down stairways just wide enough for one, around corners, into shops and out their backdoors, and finally out into the cool night air. We thanked him profusely, tipped him and everyone went home happy.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, authoring, genre fiction, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on July 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
What’s this, what’s this? It’s a book signing, that’s what! I’ll be at Perfect Books in Ottawa this Sunday, July 9th, between 1:00–3:00. I’ll be signing copies of Writers of the Future Volume 39, answering questions about the contest, and generally enjoying the vibe at one of Ottawa’s leading independent bookstores. Drop by and say hello!
proudly Canadian, fiercely independent
258A Elgin Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 1L9
And just for fun, here’s the book trailer again:
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on July 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Recently, I had a chance to talk speculative fiction with the good folks over at Urban Book Reviews. Check out my thoughts on what makes spec fic great, getting started as a writer, themes in fiction and more. Find the full interview here!
Meet This Author: J.R. Johnson – Urban Book Reviews
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, genre fiction, Writers, writing on June 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today, a short story via Nature’s Futures column.
Don’t feed the physicists by Alex Small
We went from ‘Let there be light!’ to dinosaurs in record time. Paolo was radiant. Wouldn’t stop playing with it. Till he got drunk and fired a cosmic arrow at a planet. Bye-bye dinosaurs.
Whoops!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Some thoughts on writing and practice and success:
They taught me not to fail – by Elizabeth Bear
A lot of writing advice books like to concentrate on all the things you’re probably doing wrong, it so happens, and tell you how not to do those things. This—along with modern school systems where the goal is Not To Fail—trains writers to think in terms of not doing things wrong, not making mistakes, etc.
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I’ve often said that following all those rules about what not to do without developing a list of things you do right will turn you into the literary equivalent of a garage band, and the thing about garage bands is that they all sound alike.
And what if what’s new isn’t just the scary unknown, but something that could actually be great?
Quest for Craft: Season 1 | Episode 4: Malcolm Gladwell interviewed by Questlove
[Gladwell] Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking what the audience wants is mastery…. but actually they don’t want to see something done perfectly. What we want is something exciting. Something that challenges us and engages us.
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[Questlove] Practice versus curiosity, what’s more important? Like most deep truths, the answer is not either/or, but both/and. Practice is key, but it only gets you so far. To level up, you need the hunger and openness of a beginner’s mind.
Yes, if you want to get good at something, practice. But, if you want to get great, if you want to add your voice to the world, step out of your groove and try something new.
Ready? Set? Here’s an example of something new.
Secret Agent Man Gayageum ver. by Luna Lee – YouTube
Fun, right? 🙂
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, life, optimism, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I ran across a quote once that said something like “the difference between a tragedy and a comedy is where you stop,” but I like this one better.
“The difference between pessimism and optimism is constructing a good ending.”
— Barbara Kingsolver
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, power, progress, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Martha Wells, creator of Murderbot, the recently published Witch King and other terrific tales, recently posted a copy of her co-guest of honor speech from WisCon. It’s worth reading.
It doesn’t always seem like it from our moment in time, but there actually has been a lot of progress in the science fiction and fantasy world during the 30 years of my career.
In it, she applauds how far we’ve come while pointing out the issues that remain, and that progress is “not a perpetual motion machine.” To keep moving up, it must be protected, cared for, and cultivated.
Which we can absolutely, positively do.
“Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”
— Ursula Le Guin
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