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I have spent a good chunk of the past two days a little stuck. It’s a day job thing so I can’t just roll a twenty-sided die or add vampires (sadly!) but it does, in the end, have something to do with writing.

The problem was that I wasn’t 100% clear on the problem. Usually, more research is supposed to clarify issues, but as I dove deeper the assignment made less sense, not more.

How to escape this quandary? In the end, I wrote myself a path out.

My approach? Examining the challenge from multiple angles, breaking it down into pieces as bite-sized as I could make them, and outlining whatever ideas came to mind until they stopped being terrible and started to be interesting. 

Next thing I knew, I was on my way.

This happened to be a day job problem but I find the same strategy also applies to fiction. In case you, too, find yourself stuck.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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The finalists for the 2023 Hugo Awards have been announced! 

The Hugo Awards

Best Novel

See the full list of nominees across all categories at Locus Online: 2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Finalists. Winners will be announced at Chengdu Worldcon in October.

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Photo by Andy Hermawan on Unsplash

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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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Photo by Valentin G on Unsplash

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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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“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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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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Photo by Alex Azabache on Unsplash

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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!

Perfect Books

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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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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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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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.

…

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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Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

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