Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
I've recently come across a couple of writing podcasts that are worth checking out for any aspiring sci-fi or fantasy authors. The first is On Writing With Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson is a bestselling epic fantasy author with a number of major series under his belt, not the least of which was completing Robert Jordan's Wheel … Continue reading Sci-fi and fantasy writing podcasts and advice worth checking out
The podcast: Tales From the Bridge: All Things Sci-fi is worth checking out. I listen to a lot of podcasts. They're handy for keeping the mind occupied on daily walks. Most of these are science and philosophy shows. But as an aspiring writer, I also listen to writing podcasts. Among them are Writing Excuses, a group of … Continue reading Tales From the Bridge
James S. A. Corey is the author of The Expanse series and the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Abraham and Franck are writing a new novel. And they're opening up the entire process to a Patreon audience. Membership allows you to watch the entire process, from figuring out what they're going to … Continue reading Watching James S. A. Corey work
As many of you know, I spend a good amount of time listening to podcasts while on daily walks. Over the years, I've highlighted some writing podcasts, notably Writing Excuses and the Odyssey Writing Workshops. But these are oriented toward science fiction and fantasy writing. Recently I discovered Kelton Reid's The Writer Files, a podcast … Continue reading The Writer Files
(Warning: Here be spoilers!) Last week was the series finale for Game of Thrones, a series I'd been watching from the very beginning. Indeed, I first discovered George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books way back in 2002. I still remember seeing the first book in the store, with the cover … Continue reading Reflections on Game of Thrones
When thinking about human history, it's tempting to see some developments as inevitable. Some certainly were, but the sheer amount of time before some of them took place seem to make them remarkable. The human species, narrowly defined as Homo sapiens, is about 200,000 years old. Some argue that it's older, around 300,000 years, others … Continue reading Breakthroughs in imagination
One of the categories here on the blog is Science Fiction, mainly because I read and watch a lot of it. Occasionally, someone wanting to get into the literary version of the genre asks me for recommendations on good initial books to start with. My recommendation often depends on the person, but I frequently suggest they try … Continue reading The success of John Scalzi’s descriptive minimalism
Someone called my attention to an Aeon article by Craig Mod describing his abandonment of digital books, returning to the traditional paper variety. From 2009 to 2013, every book I read, I read on a screen. And then I stopped. You could call my four years of devout screen‑reading an experiment. I felt a duty … Continue reading The odd animosity toward ebooks
A while back, I did a post noting the podcast Writing Excuses, an awesome resource for aspiring science fiction or fantasy writers. This weekend, I discovered another podcast that I had inexplicably missed until now. The Odyssey Podcasts are excerpts from their writing workshops, an exclusive and intense writing work camp for select beginning SFF … Continue reading Odyssey writing podcasts
Writing can be a tricky business. Whenever you do it, it has to be with an audience in mind. When I do blog posts here, I'm usually aiming for a general audience. I try not to assume that my readers know obscure scientific or philosophical terminology. That's a decision I've made, hopefully one I've lived up to. … Continue reading Thoughts on knowing and targeting your audience
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