Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, learning, productivity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 4, 2022| 1 Comment »
“I have two questions for you,” I said. “One: Do you want to do better?” …
“Here’s my second question: Are you willing to feel the discomfort of putting in more effort and trying new things that will feel weird and different and won’t work right away?”
— Peter Bregman, If You Want to Get Better at Something, Ask Yourself These Two Questions
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“If you don’t imagine, nothing ever happens at all.”
― John Green
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it.
Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”
― William Faulkner
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“The thing about creativity is, people are going to laugh at it. Get over it.”
― Twyla Tharp
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, sff, Writers, writing, yay on February 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Looking for new fiction? Like free stuff? Me too, and Tor.com has just released its free compilation of delicious good stuff from 2021. Click the Buy Now button here to access the ebook via major retailers.
Have fun!
Some of the Best From Tor.com 2021 Is Out Now!
Table of Contents
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, publishing, sff, speculative fiction, speculative fiction novels, submissions, Writers, writing, writing a novel on February 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Attention writers!
Are you un-agented? Have you been waiting for a high-profile publisher to send out a call for submissions? Do you happen to have a science fiction, fantasy or horror manuscript lying around the house, waiting for its dare-to-be-great moment?
Then this, my friends, is your lucky day!
Angry Robot has announced a week-long open submission period for un-agented works. I don’t happen to have one handy but maybe you do? If so, may the odds be ever in your favor!
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The Submission period will run for one week, from Monday the 21st of February to Monday the 28th February.
We are looking for:
– Novel length works.
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
– Adult fiction.
– Finished manuscripts.
To apply, please send us:
– A sample that consists of the first three chapters of your work (or first fifteen pages if the chapters are short).
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, continuing education, Fiction, inspiration, reading, Writers, writing on February 2, 2022| 1 Comment »
I have a minor confession: I have never read Charles Dickens. I may have started A Tale of Two Cities but I don’t think I finished it. Scratch that, I know I didn’t finish it.
Many of Dickens’ major novels were written for publishers who paid by the word. The man wasn’t stupid. He wrote A Lot of words. He also wrote across class boundaries, giving readers a window into the lives of those they might not otherwise encounter.
We live in a world shaped by his works and ideas. Movies, characters, what makes up some of the foundations of modern Christmas, a lot of that has to do with Dickens’ works.
But I haven’t read the original source material.
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If someone wanted to remedy a hole like this in their literary education, where to start?
One nice thing about the classics, they are everywhere.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, sff, Writers, writing, writing contest on February 1, 2022| 1 Comment »
tl;dr scroll for climate fiction contest info
You may have noticed that we are in the midst of a climate shift that is affecting all facets of life. What comes next, and how do we fix it?
Science is great for understanding what will change but to better understand the squishier bits like how it will impact our lives and societies? That is where fiction excels.
I’ve mentioned climate fiction before but if you’re interested in what’s out there, here are a few examples:
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Want to try at hand at writing us all into an optimistic future? Good news, Fix is back with another short story contest titled Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors.
We’re looking for stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of climate progress — roughly seven generations. The winning writer will be awarded $3,000, with the second- and third-place winners receiving $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. An additional nine finalists will each receive $300. Winners and finalists will be published in Fall 2022 in an immersive collection on Fix’s website and celebrated during a virtual event.
There is no cost to enter and story copyright and ownership remains with the author. More details here.
Let’s write ourselves a better future!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, procrastination, Thoughts, woodturning, Writers, writing on January 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today’s debate: Do I push ahead on the story idea upon which I am currently stumped, update the family cookbook, or head to the workshop for the first time in ages?
The good news is that no matter what I decide, I’m likely to make progress on at least some of these fronts (or on something else entirely, but whatever, progress is progress).
Productive procrastination for the win!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #theCreativityWars, creativity, Thoughts, writing on January 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s cold here today and I mentioned to my mother that we had condensation on the windows.
Now, you should know that my mother is very artistic and has an arts and languages background. She’s been to the creativity wars, you know?
Here’s what she said:
Great advice, right? And while I didn’t have enough condensation to draw anything real (and oh right, I can’t draw anyway, see above lopsided grimace for proof), the important thing is that I didn’t stop there.
I woke up thinking about Impressionist art (as one does) so I decided to try my hand at computer aided pointillism using this tutorial.* Here’s the result.
Thanks, Mom!
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* I also learned that Mary Cassatt, one of the “three great ladies” of Impressionism and an artist who focused much of her work on the social and domestic lives of women (subjects often ignored by male artists), was from Pennsylvania.
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