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Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Listen

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” — Parker J. Palmer

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Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

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Our (Martian?) Future

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Can you really survive on Mars? What science fiction gets wrong about off-world living | Space

Arnie said, “Get your ass to Mars”, but is it really a good idea? We asked the experts about our Martian future.

How likely is it that humanity will be able to live and thrive on Mars? Short answer, no. Longer answer? Still no! Doesn’t mean we can’t dream of new and exciting vistas in our future, though!

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Photo by Daniele Colucci on Unsplash

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Stay On the Path

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“To cultivate hope, people need three things, [Jamil Zaki, director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab] said: They first need to be able to envision a better future, either personally or collectively. Second, they need the willpower or motivation to move toward that future. And third, they must be able to chart “a path from where they are to where they want to be.” — Jamil Zaki, quoted in The Morning

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Photo by Damiano Baschiera on Unsplash

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Happy Questing!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2026| 2 Comments »

I started two posts for today but neither have come together (yet!), so let me share a story from David Hankins (a fabulous and funny author from my Writers of the Future cohort!), with a bonus short from Lisa Para. 

Quest Tropes | Cast of Wonders: The audio for David’s story begins at 10m20s. Read the transcript or listen to the audio version, your choice!

The Last Quest of Corbin the Coward, by David Hankins

Corbin collapsed outside the dragon’s lair, acrid smoke wafting from his armor. He was getting too old for this. He’d never asked to be the gods’ favored champion.

Sunlit forests spread out below him, a peaceful world unaware and unconcerned that he’d almost been eaten. Twice.

Corbin drew a shuddering breath and wrenched a dragon tooth from his armor. Yet another pointless quest completed. What the hell did the gods want with a dragon tooth anyway?

No more. Corbin was done.

Enjoy!

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Photo by Daniel Dalea on Unsplash

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Have Fun Exploring!

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on June 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I have no idea what this “game” is supposed to be about but I love it.

Wiki Spy from Neal.fun

Check out all those images; so many interesting people, places, things, and ideas!

Hint: Hovering over an image will pop up a window with the title and source. If you want more info, click the image (a new round of related images will come up) and go to the top of the page. To right of the search field you’ll see a thumbnail of the image you clicked and (even further right) a “View on Wikipedia” link.

Have fun exploring!

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Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash

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Find Your Audience

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“You’re trying to find your audience. And the way to find your audience is by being fully yourself in an engaging and interesting way.” — DongWon Song

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Photo by alex Roosso on Unsplash

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Gibson Riffs

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

William Gibson riffs on writing and the future

So I would recommend that people read a lot, and as broadly as possible, and then I would suggest that people write a lot. You have to have written a very good deal in order to become really good at it. And if you do it often enough and pay sufficient attention, you’re much more likely to get somewhere than if you don’t.

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Photo by Michaela St on Unsplash

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An Encouraging Thought

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on June 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

No effort is wasted. — Wyna Liu

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Photo by Massimo Sartirana on Unsplash

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Advice, Unexpected

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Some days the advice you need comes to you at just the right time, all unexpected.

Lorem Ipsum and Light Bulbs, Hank Green

You’ve probably heard the bowl story, or some version of it, but I’m going to tell it to you again. Some diabolical teacher split his ceramics students into two groups. One group was told to spend the entire semester making one perfect bowl. The other group was graded on sheer volume… just make as many bowls as you can, quality be damned.

At the end of the semester, the group that was told to just make a bunch of bowls made the better bowls.

This is a common idea in creative circles, but Hank’s version popped up in my inbox just when I needed to hear it. 

Maybe it will help you too?

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Photo by Barbara Lies on Unsplash

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Story Ideas

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

It’s a classic question for writers: “Where do you get your ideas?” In my experience, they come from lots of sources, and certainly not the same places for everyone. Find what interests you and follow it. Think big, think small, think sideways.

And if you’re stuck or just looking for new inspiration, you could do worse than follow advice from one of the masters of the field.

“Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.” — Ray Bradbury

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Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

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