This week I've been mainly reading, no 91.

Taking the form of an extended mission message to earth from an intergalactic exploratory mission, Becky Chambers' #scifi novella, To be Taught if Fortunate (2019), is a quick read. While lacking narrative fireworks its a pleasing matter-of-fact description of space exploration & the ethical dilemmas it will encounter. While ultimately rather melancholy, it is an interesting afternoon's read if you like procedural #speculativefiction
@bookstodon

#WordWeavers 9/9 MC POV: What do you hate most about the author?

JIB: Wow...that's a lot. I mean, there's a lot going on in this world that makes me wonder what the heck he was on when he wrote it.

For starters, why make dung beetles so stupid? No actually, why make dung beetles at all? Maybe the fertilizer could just scoop itself, y'know with magic, and I wouldn't have to try to herd huge, smelly, stupid beetles all day!

Also, couldn't he have given me some pecs?

#SpeculativeFiction

Has anyone listened to #TheMagnusArchives? It's a #horror #anthology #AudioDrama from Rusty Quill. Every episode is excellently written, and I think the overarching story is one of the best pieces of long-form #storytelling on the internet.

I listened to every #podcast episode on #Youtube and it's stayed with me ever since. They're working on a sequel series called #TheMagnusProtocol which I'm really looking forward to.

#SpeculativeFiction #TMA #Lovecraft

https://rustyquill.com/show/the-magnus-archives/

How about another story?

I loved "Where Are You Right Now?" by @culagovski in Translunar Travelers Lounge
http://translunartravelerslounge.com/2023/02/15/where-are-you-right-now-by-rodrigo-culagovski/

#SFF #SpeculativeFiction #ShortSFF #ShortStory

#WordWeavers 9/8 What do you pay attention to when describing the surroundings?

Depends on what kind of scene I'm trying to set up. A cozy scene might warrant a description of the crackling fire, the steam curling up from the tea cup, ect.

I also tend to mention the play of light in the scene. Is it warm, amber sunlight creeping up the walls in the early morning, or is it starlight reflecting in cold still waters? I find that can set the atmosphere well.

#SpeculativeFiction

Michael Frayn (1933-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?66131

L, Paul Lehr, 1969; R, uncredited, 1969

#scifi #speculativefiction #sciencefiction #literature

#WordWeavers 9/7 Why did your villain become the villain?

The Czar is the great hero of his nation! It's his army that 's winning access to trade routes, land, and resources. If certain backwood villages need to be cleared for development and military recruitment, well, surely that's a sacrifice his loyal subjects are willing to make.

#SpeculativeFiction

Assassin for hire... what are your fave spec fic tales featuring assassins? Writers, what have you written?

#Reader #Readers #Discussion #WritersofMastodon #Writers #Authors #Writer #Author #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Paranormal #Horror #SpeculativeFiction @Assassins

What makes a fictional world come alive for you?

#Reader #Readers #Discussion #WritersofMastodon #Writers #Authors #Writer #Author #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Paranormal #Horror #SpeculativeFiction

Check me out on episode 120 of Postcards from a Dying World, hosted by author and Philip K. Dick scholar David Agranoff!

https://youtu.be/49CMknEtjhY?si=WIwF0IsmRX3APcd4

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-120-interview-w-cliff-jones-jr-author-of-dreck/id1524359471?i=1000626805354

#dreampunk #dreampunkBooks #cyberpunk #cyberpunkBooks #weirdFiction #absurdistFiction #bizarroFiction #satire #sf #sff #sffh #scifi #scienceFiction #speculativeFiction #paranormalFiction #horror #litfic #literaryFiction #PhilipKDick #CliffJonesJr #DavidAgranoff #books #podcast #podcasts

I really enjoyed this panel from last year's QuaranCon about neurodiversity in SFF
https://www.youtube.com/live/tXFCESKW_o4?si=S4_RBHkzS275wjyg

#SpeculativeFiction #SFF #Neurodiversity #AmWritingFantasy #WritingCommunity

Just had a little flurry of sign ups for my upcoming online workshop about the uncanny 🖤 Not sure where they came from but they're very welcome 😊 Still plenty of places left!

Write The Uncanny ✨💀✨
Sat 7 October, 3-5pm BST, £7-£18

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/write-the-uncanny-tickets-682760423807

#Uncanny #HorrorFiction #Horror #WeirdFiction #SpeculativeFiction

#WordWeavers 9/4 Can the antagonist become a better person?

Well...without spoiling it I can say this.

-There will be a transformation
- The Czar is going to come out "better" for it, at least from his perspective.
- Nobody is going to be happy about this except for the Czar.

That's it. It's not exactly an Ebeneezer Scrooge redemption arc but I sure ain't no Dickens!

#SpeculativeFiction

Another exciting project: I'm teaching a 5-week online course at @sagetyrtle's fabulous Crow Collective this autumn!

It's all about how to use speculative metaphor to write about real world stuff, looking at examples from contemporary SFF and horror authors.

Registration just opened! Find out more and grab your place here:
https://crowcollectiveworkshops.com/2021/11/15/metaphor-2/

#WritingCommunity #WritingWorkshop #WritingClass #WritingCourse #SFF #SFFH #SpeculativeFiction

What are your fave spec fic tales where art and/or artists are central to the story?

#Reader #Readers #Discussion #WritersofMastodon #Writers #Authors #Writer #Author #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Paranormal #Horror #SpeculativeFiction

#WordWeavers 9/3: MC POV: You find out you're a character in a book, now what?

JIB: A book!? Wow....like with letters? Or is it just pictures? I mean, I am the pictures right now, aren't I?

Or am I just letters? I can't even read letters.

Is it a cool book? Am I the hero? Also what part are we up to? We're near the end right? I mean, I'm about to crawl out of the desert and get a big happy ending, right?

....right?

#SpeculativeFiction

#WordWeavers 9/2: What could you change to make your world better for most?

The world is tough. Maybe a self-help book?

How to not develop your nation on the backs of an oppressed labor class.

STEP 1: Don't place your elite class in mile-high trees where they will be dependent on resources imported from ground dwellers.

STEP 2: Learn to grow your own food instead of raising a host of yellowjacket soldiers to oppress ground dwellers.

There. Fixed.

#SpeculativeFiction

Readers - what spec fic book(s) are you reading this month? Any good?

#Reader #Readers #Discussion #WritersofMastodon #Writers #Authors #Writer #Author #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Paranormal #Horror #SpeculativeFiction

#WordWeavers 9/1/23: Introducing the antagonist (nicely)

(I'm jumping back to my Spec fic #WIP for this month)

Behold loyal citizens of Cedan, your exalted, infallible, and above all, misunderstood Czar! A wise and just ruler, the grand Czar cares deeply for all of his subjects. He even welcomes constructive dialogue with his few detractors, but he cautions them to take care as his palace has very, very slippery floors, especially near the open balconies.

#SpeculativeFiction

We have a special interest in speculative stories
- about neurodiversity
- about mental health, psycho-emotional distress, or Madness
- about the perspectives and experiences of marginalised groups.
But we're open to everyone, and we want to know how it feels to be *you*. We'll walk with you in the dark places, but we'd love to read about your joy and pleasure too!
http://www.inner-worlds.org

#ShortSFF #SFFH #SpeculativeFiction #LitMags