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“Viruses” In The Environment
Read more: “Viruses” In The EnvironmentOver the past few weeks or so, I’ve noticed on Facebook several posts about how climate change has caused warming in the northern parts of the Earth, especially in northern Canada and Siberia. The posts give information about how carcasses of dead animals (and, possibly, humans) are being exposed for the first time in ten, twenty,…
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The High Tension of Life
Read more: The High Tension of LifeIn this blog post I want to talk a little about putting tension and conflict into story telling. I’ve just completed reading two science fiction novels (written by the same author) in which I believe the concept of tension was handled badly. I’m not identifying the novels or the author for two reasons. One, this is not a book…
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The Final Revision?
Read more: The Final Revision?I’ve just finished a serious and rather lengthy revision of my first novel, a science fiction work of—in its final form—about 124,000 words. This revision was prompted by reading about and talking to people about that nemesis of novel writers, the dreaded backstory. You’ve got too much backstory in your novel, some people will say, many times without even…
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Where Are You?
Read more: Where Are You?The title of this post isn’t meant to ask where you are in a spatial location, but in terms of time. Where are you—where are we all, for that matter—in the life of this universe? I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. We all live on a rather attractive blue, white, green and brown…
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The Caine Mutiny, A Critique
Read more: The Caine Mutiny, A CritiqueA few days ago I watched the movie “The Caine Mutiny,” for about the fourth or fifth time. A great movie, and a solid member of my Favorite Movies list. (You can see the list on this blog site.) But as I watched the movie, a couple of strange and odd things gnawed at me. I can remember…
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The Introverted Writer On The Internet
Read more: The Introverted Writer On The InternetAs a somewhat introverted person and aspiring novelist, I have a tendency to sit in front of a computer and watch the world go by electronically. (Isn’t it amazing what electrons can do for us?) Like many introverted people, I spend a lot of time alone. Not lonely, mind you, but alone—there’s a big difference. …
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Science vs. Politics: A Personal View
Read more: Science vs. Politics: A Personal ViewI’m not by nature a political person. I do have my own strongly held convictions on the political issues of the day, and I vote in every election I can get my hands on, but I generally refrain from discussing politics in person, in writing, on Facebook, or in this blog. I’d much rather write about writing…
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Affect vs. Impact
Read more: Affect vs. ImpactRecently, over I-don’t-know-how-many-years, maybe ten, the word “impact” has become a verb. It’s now commonplace to hear how something “impacted” something else. We even hear it used on the usually staid evening news. We hear how a hurricane “impacted” a state or town. We hear how new federal regulations will “impact” our daily lives. The use of…
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Life On Venus?
Read more: Life On Venus?Could life ever arise on the planet Venus? That is, Venus as it exists today. Venus is a hellish place, with temperatures of around 462°C at the surface, rain composed of sulfuric acid, lava-flows over much of the surface, and an atmospheric pressure around 90 times that of Earth at sea level. It’s not a pleasant place,…
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So You Want To Be A Writer
Read more: So You Want To Be A WriterNot long ago I happened to overhear someone say they like to write, and were starting to write short stories. They didn’t ask me this question specifically, but I began to wonder, what would I say if someone asked me, “How do I go about becoming a writer and get published?” It helps, of course,…
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Some Of The Older Books
Read more: Some Of The Older BooksIn this Christmas season, I decided to look back at some of the books I’ve purchased or been given over the years. Of all the books I have, two stand out as being almost unique. Back in 1955, my grandfather gave me two books which I’ve kept longer than any others I own. I still use them…
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A Slight Disagreement
Read more: A Slight DisagreementI’ve been trying to get a science fiction novel published for over fifteen years now, and during that time I’ve learned a lot about the art and craft of writing. I’ve read magazines and books, both about writing and in my chosen genre, I’ve attended meetings and conventions, I’ve heard speaker after speaker both at meetings and…