Failure – The First Step Towards Writing Success

Today, friends, I am buzzing with joy. It’s amazing how the little things can rejuvenate you so much. After months of feeling stagnant, incapable, and tedious, I have received my “Ahah!” moment at last.

Last night, as I was driving home in the dark, I was listening to a beautiful song that my sister and I shared this week. Driving is a wonderful time to let your imagination wander, and I have always been led through my creativity by music. I began to imagine a conversation between two characters, and slowly the scene made itself known to me. By the time I got home, I had a story in mind. I sat down and a couple of hours later had written my first original short story in years.

How wonderful it is to create a complete piece in one sitting! Writing is terribly difficult. It is exhausting. So many powerful authors over the years have confirmed that the act of writing can be a special kind of hell. And then there are the rare, beautiful moments where it just comes together, and you sit and write just for the joy of writing. It’s even better when the product turns out to be something that you are proud of! What a lovely surprise to start off my week, especially after feeling like my efforts recently were being wasted.

Recently I have read two different articles on how feeling like a failure can actually be the first signs of good things to come. Write to Done calls these feelings “an essential part of the creative process.” Which, when you’re wallowing in self-criticism and feeling as if you’ve made little to no progress, is a wonderful piece of encouragement to hear. Cal Newport also wrote this month on the famous stand-up comedian Louis C. K. and how he overcame a fifteen year block to become the influential man he is today in the comedy community. The one thing these two articles have in common is the idea that in order to break through a block, you have to get to the point of letting go. This end-of-the-line mentality does one of two things: it either convinces people to give up, or it convinces people to try new things.

I won’t go so far as to say that everyone has to feel desperate and lost before they finally discover their creative break (hopefully not!) but most of us get stuck in our writing careers from time to time. It doesn’t feel like a good place to be, naturally, but understanding that it wasn’t a sign that I was a failure was such a relief. Rather, it was a sign that something big was coming. That I was about to turn the corner, and I all had to do was keep at it, keep going, and keep “inviting the awful” as C. K. calls it.

We have to remember to work consistently, even when we feel that what we’re producing is horrible. We have to keep pushing our own boundaries, trying new techniques, new stories. We have to forgive ourselves for being writers who have to struggle through the process, just like anyone else, instead of producing flawless text the first time around. We must always challenge ourselves and never, ever try and demand that we write like anyone other than ourselves.

With that, I am announcing an end-of-the-year hiatus so that I can concentrate on getting back into a more comfortable and more productive swing of creative writing. My book has been slow going, but I feel that with some more focus and some more time spent on it, I could really take off any day. I will pick back up regular posting in the new year – until then, please feel free to email me with publishing or editing related queries! I’ll still be here. 

Friday Science Highlights – Andromeda’s Blue Clusters, Self-Healing Spaceship Shields, and the Latest on Deep-Space Exploration Research

Science Photo of the Week

The Hubble Telescope has been putting out some incredible pictures of our neighboring galaxy recently. A panorama of Andromeda was released earlier this year in stunning detail. Now the hundreds of images are being analyzed, bit by bit, to help us understand how Andromeda, and the rest of the universe, was formed.

Does this image make you feel small? Consider the mind-blowing resolution that has been captured as each square zooms in closer and closer to individual star clusters. Each of the six blue star clusters exhibited is 150 light years across.

And another neat factoid about this project is that the vast amounts of data is being analyzed not only by NASA astronomers, but also “citizen scientists” – volunteers who have lent their skills to help wade through the details and make new discoveries about the universe.

New Spaceship Shield Could Heal Itself upon Impact

Now that NASA is openly pushing for Mars, space exploration is getting a lot of attention! But the work has been going on behind the scenes for years, and every month it seems there are new technologies being invented specifically for pushing the limits on mankind’s presence in the universe.

One of the big concerns about humans traversing the solar system is the fact that space is filled with debris. That void isn’t as vacant as we might think – tiny fragments of celestial junk are whizzing about constantly in the gravitational pull of the planets and our sun. If they come into contact with a spaceship, the results can be catastrophic, depending on the size of the debris. Current methods for protecting our machines from these intruders is already quite impressive, but scientists are exploring the idea of “self-healing” shields that could mean the difference between life and death in large-impact situations.

Of course, there’s only so much a shield can do – if your ship gets hit by a large meteor or asteroid, you’re probably going to be icy-cold toast in a matter of seconds. But smaller objects that tear holes in the ship can lead to depressurization and loss of atmosphere. While the ship may maintain its general integrity, that doesn’t mean much to the humans inside it.

But these self-healing shields are using a combination of tough plastic sheets and a liquid plastic interior to allow for punctures to be instantly filled when the center layer is exposed to the oxygen inside the ship.

Testing has not yet been completed in the conditions of space, but so far the project looks promising!

Biological Experiments Further Man’s Hopes for Deep Space Exploration

And speaking of space exploration, here’s another good one! Last month the ISS team had their first taste of space-grown produce, and apparently it turned out just as tasty as our Terran-bred vegetables. This ability to grow food out in the void will be crucial to sustaining astronauts who take long trips to other planets. There’s only so much you can pack into a dehydrated pouch!

But growing plants isn’t the only research happening on the ISS that will later be used to further our reach in the solar system. Animals are also being studied to help us understand the long-term effects of space life. In addition to the year-long research plan that revolves around astronaut Scott Kelley and his twin brother, insects, fish, and even small mammals are central to making discoveries that will improve the health of future astronauts on their interplanetary missions.

You can catch up on all the latest ISS projects at NASA’s website, and even find out how the work going on upstairs is benefiting those of us back on Earth!

Writing Prompt Reviews Part Five

Sorry for the late post this week friends! A great deal of my creative energies the past couple of weeks have been spent chugging through the first chapter of my book. It’s slow going, and slow going can be pretty discouraging. We’ll have a post next week about feeling like a failure and how that can actually be a good thing!

In the meantime, what better way to kick-start the sludge of writer’s block than to visit some writing prompts? You can’t beat your head against a wall when you come up against one and expect that to get you past the barricade. You either have to step away (physically) for a moment to reset your brain, or you have to just start writing anything else. Writing prompts can be a great throw-away exercise to get your words flowing again. If the river of creativity is dried up, you won’t get it going again by crying into the dusty river bed. You have to destroy the dam!

This month’s prompts come from blogger Justin Mclachlan and his page of 25 Fantasy Writing Prompts. My novel is science fiction, and I’ve been chasing my tail for three weeks coming up against technical issues that must be solved before I can proceed with writing. Sometimes it’s nice to just step back and enter a world where anything is possible and you don’t have to consider how to handle instantaneous communication across multiple star systems. *wheeze*

So here we go! Three prompts ripe and ready for you – which ones will you choose?

Sea Gate Oracle by Daniel Ljunggren

#1. A working-dad desperate for money to feed his family turns to robbery, only to find that he’s chosen a wizard as his victim.

This is a very narrow prompt to work with, but it’s so captivating that I couldn’t help but put it down. What kind of wizard has our down-on-his-luck protagonist come up against? Is he a good or bad wizard? Is he a bit of both? What magics does he practice – elemental, alchemical, necromancy? Will the wizard take pity on the man and take him in as an apprentice, or will he curse him and force magic upon him from which he has to find an escape?

I myself am very much enamored with the idea that the wizard would immediately see someone with passion and dedication – willing to do anything to protect the ones he loves. Perfectly suited for magic. The protagonist may wake up the next morning and find that his home/apartment suddenly has an extra bedroom that wasn’t there before, and the wizard is cooking breakfast for his children. Never mind that you didn’t have a basement before, I needed somewhere to put my rune circles. Now eat your toast, we have work to do.

#2. A young man must take over his ailing father’s business—raising dragons that they sell to the world’s wealthiest as pets.

This is actually similar to an idea that has crossed my mind before. Dragon tamers, dragon breeders, dragon riders – it doesn’t matter, we’re obsessed with the relationship between humans and dragons. These epic creatures have captured mankind’s imagination for centuries. Sometimes they are super intelligent, wise beings who must not be contended with lightly. And on the other hand, there are the tales where they are perhaps more intelligent than your average animal, but still animals, none the less, and can be ruled as pets or beasts of burden.

So what’s the catch with this prompt? The young man has been thrown into the problem, but what creates the tension of the story? Perhaps the shop does not breed the dragons in-house, and instead receives eggs from an outside supplier. What if this supplier wasn’t as careful as they should have been, and a mother dragon tracks her eggs back to the shop? What kind of chaos might reign over this young man’s life then?

Especially if dragons in this universe only develop intelligence later in life, and where the young man has been used to dealing with lizards, he comes face to face with an ancient being that has more anger than he knows how to deal with.

#3. I’m so sorry, that I can’t offer you a less dangerous solution

This would be a great quote to use in either of the above prompts! As I have said before, I *love* quote prompts, because you can do anything with them, and they are usually very good and giving your subconscious a goose. You can’t really *plan* anything with a prompt like this. You just have to sit down and let the writing happen naturally. You discover characters who have been waiting around to be written, scenes that you didn’t know you had in you. Starting off with a dialogue prompt can be great practice for writing conversations, if that’s something you’re not as comfortable with.

So what’s the situation? Why is it dangerous? And who is sorry? I’m curious. Aren’t you?

Friday Science Highlights – Donations and Colonists Wanted for Mars Exploration!

Science Photo of the Week

A picture of Earth from the International Space Station that is very reminiscent of something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In science fiction we like to imagine sweeping vistas of space-scapes and alien terrain, seen through the enormous glass windows of mile-long space ships. But space travel for a very long time is going to consist of views more like this one. Nevertheless, it is, as Scott Kelly describes, a very appealing image. A little ocean, a little landscape, and some intrepid, plucky clouds complete the iconic visuals of Earth from afar.

Mars One Wants Your Billions

This week I saw a headline that said we are hoping to put boots on Mars by the year 2050. Apparently a non-profit organization in the Netherlands plans to one up that timeline by getting four astronauts on the ground by 2027.

This visit isn’t just for exploration, either. The non-profit, called Mars One, is out to create a full-fledged, long-term colony. But outside opinions are already challenging whether the plan put together by Mars One is even possible. According to the organizers, they have budged about $6 billion to get to Mars by 2027 – an incredibly low price when you take into account the new technologies that will have to be invented, the ships that will have to be outfitted, and more. What’s even more interesting is that Mars One seems to think that their colonists will be permanent citizens of the Red Planet. There is no return plan in place, despite the fact that the plan includes subsequent trips of more and more colonists every two years following the initial set up.

How does a non-profit intend to fund even a meager estimate of $6 billion? Why, through donations of course! If you happen to be a billionaire with the odd change to spare, they’d be happy to hear from you.

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Writing Groups

If you’ve never been part of a writing group before, now would be a great time for you to give it a try! There are so many benefits to spending regular time with other writers – encouragement, critiques, brainstorming sessions, and let’s be honest, it coaxes you out of your writer’s lair to actually see other people. You know that thing, sunlight? It’s very good for you.

But how can you get the most out of being in a writing group? If you’re new to the idea, here are five pieces of advice that will help you navigate these new social waters. And if you’re already established in a group, use these tips as a reminder for how you can increase the value of the group as a whole.

#1 – Talk about Your Struggles

Your group members can’t help you if they don’t know what’s wrong. Don’t be afraid to bring up the places where you’re having trouble. If your character feels off to you, talk about why. If you’re having trouble getting through a particular plot point, discuss what is holding you back. Often your writing companions will see things from a different angle, and they might just have that one suggestion that will help get you through the barrier.

Just be careful that you don’t show up to every meeting complaining about the same problem. This will be discouraging to your writing group, and it will actually compound your struggles by entrenching them in your mind (preaching to myself here). Your team isn’t likely equipped to help you with chronic issues. They probably struggle with similar things, but if they’ve found the way to deal with it and have already shared their wisdom, they can only share it so many times. It’s ok to talk about writer’s block now and again, but everyone has to fight the same battle, and that one is particularly better battled out at home in front of the manuscript.

#2 – Be Quick to Share Encouragement

If you hear one of the writers in your group talking about something that you have experienced before, be quick to let them know that they aren’t alone! Writing can be an isolating practice, and it’s easy for us to believe that we are somehow crippled in a world of other artists who never have to struggle for their work. This is such a ridiculous idea it’s surprising how universal it can be. Don’t panic – every writer under the sun who has ever written for an extended period of time knows exactly what you’re going through.

Make sure you give the person enough time to get their troubles off their chest, and then share advice for how you got through a similar situation. Try not to swamp their struggles with your own – no one likes to feel like they’ve been one-upped.

#3 – Be Accountable to Each Other

It could be your writing group is set up to regularly share work with each other. This is a great way to force everyone to be on top of their writing. When you have to arrive with new pages for review, it means you are less likely to waste another week distracting yourself from the tough work. It also means that you’re going to get more out of the meeting because you will go home with concrete critique that you can use to make what you wrote better.

(3a) – Practice Good Critique

And on that note, remember that your job as a critic is to be constructive. Your suggestions should give people the opportunity to build their work up; so don’t tear them down. You of course should be honest. If you think a section could be improved, say so. If you think a character is unconvincing, mention it. But always be courteous and come prepared to give concrete reasons for your thoughts. Don’t just say “I hated it” – that is not useful to anyone. Keep in mind where you might be biased against certain genre styles, and try not to attack those things. Chances are, they’re in there for a reason. Try to provide suggestions for how the changes might be done, and finally and most importantly, step back. This is not your work. If the author disagrees with you, or wants to handle your suggestions differently, let it go at that!

When receiving critique, always be gracious and flexible. Even if the critic is not catering to your feelings exactly how you would like them to, keep in mind that they (probably) aren’t actively trying to offend you. Listen to what the person is saying rather than the way they say it, and you’ll be much happier in the end. And remember – this is not their work! You don’t have to follow their advice, and even if you do, you don’t have to do it their way. But always try to keep open ears and an open mind. If you go immediately on the defensive, then you won’t be a good member of the group.

On the other hand, if your writing group is less of a critique group and more of an encouragement, socializing group (nothing wrong with that) you should still make the attempt to talk about what you accomplished since your last meeting. Don’t be a wall flower. Everyone would be better served to share their successes and failures. It might be embarrassing or painful at first, but being accountable to other writers is actually quite freeing. And, once again, positive peer pressure does lead to real results. I promise!

#4 – But Remember that Everyone Works Differently!

While you’re being accountable, do not forget that the writers in your group all have different methods, different goals, and different stamina for writing. Absolutely never judge a fellow writer if you bring in fifty pages of new material and they only bring one (though you should probably not show up to a meeting with fifty pages – be a good steward of everyone else’s time!). Remember there is no “right” way to write, and the end results should be appreciated no matter how long or how polished they might be. Everyone who contributes to the group is important, and if they were only able to drum up a rough outline that week, they should be praised as highly as the person who just finished their second novel.

Like I said before, writing can be very isolating. We all have to stick together and give each other the support we need, regardless of our skill level or experience.

#5 – Have Fun

Finally, if you are not enjoying your writing group, it’s time to leave. Seriously – do not waste another minute. Being in a writing group should be refreshing and energizing. It should give you a boost for your next week, or month, spent working on your own. You don’t always have to be excited about going (this might be impossible if you’ve had a particularly hard period of writing). But if you leave each meeting feeling exhausted, or discouraged, then you need to move on my friend. Find a different group of writers who support you. Find the writers who inspire you to work harder, be better, try new things. Find the writers who remind you that you are not alone and who appreciate your work, even when you feel like it’s not worth it.

Writing is hard enough as it is without adding external stress. If you feel that being a part of a writing group is actually damaging your goals, then leave!

What is the best thing you get out of your writing group? Share in the comments! Do you have a writing group horror story? Let us know!

Friday Science Highlights – Rivers of Gold, Underground Reservoirs of Precious Metals, and the Dark Side of the Sun

Science Photos of the Week

This week I just couldn’t pick between these two astonishing photographs collected by astronaut Scott Kelly and Hubble, respectively. I’ve heard of rivers of mercury (look up the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang), but not yet rivers of gold. What a gorgeous idea! Of course, true rivers of gold would not be this aesthetically gentle. They would be that classic, blazing yellow color with dark patches of impurities turning to ash. They would be hot enough to set fire to their banks and anything that attempted to grow nearby. The riverbeds would have to be made of pretty stern stuff.

As for the dying star Hen 2-427, it’s death throes are truly majestic. Plus, how can you pass up NASA using the word “explodey” in an official capacity? It makes you wonder what the weather is like inside that blooming cloud of dust and gas and radiation. Probably a bit toasty.

The Real Life Mines of Moria

A new discovery in New Zealand may have you believing that Middle Earth is not so fantastical after all. Volcanic reservoirs deep in the ground have been doing all the mining for us by breaking down the rocks that are rich in gold and silver. The super-heated water, warmed up by the magma, is rich in the dissolved precious metals, to the tune of several million dollars!

Can you imagine new planets with other similarly incredible secrets? If precious metals can be dissolved, what about precious gems? I bet they could be in the proper medium – maybe not water, but perhaps a natural acid. I can see deep caverns with lakes of diamond. Cool thought. Now go research if it’s possible!

The Sun’s Very Edgy Fan Dance

If you’ve never seen images of the sun in motion, you should pause and go look it up right now. Not only is it amazing to behold, but you’ll need the context to appreciate these sinister looking formations in the Sun’s outer atmosphere.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory has been recording the action happening almost constantly for five years, and the images are quite beautiful. But not only are they beautiful, but they are also changing the way we view the Sun, other stars, and space weather at large. On Earth, we are protected from Sol’s massive radiation and particle tantrums by our atmosphere are our magnetic field. But past these barriers, we are vulnerable, and if we ever intend to travel to Mars, we are going to need to know how to handle space weather as it travels through the solar system.

How about it? Why not write a story where astronauts on their way out from Earth get caught in a solar storm. What might it do to their ship? What might it do to the humans themselves? Or their instruments?

Focusing on the Process Instead of the Results – A Second Look at the Pomodoro Technique

“It’s easy to start associating success for your day with accomplishing your plan exactly as first envisioned, and to label any other outcome as a failure.”

So says Cal Newport, established blogger and work-method guru, and when it comes to writing, he couldn’t be more spot on.

It can be so discouraging to sit down with a set goal in mind and be unable to meet that goal. No matter how long you tried, and no matter how much you actually produced, you still feel as if you are a failure because you didn’t make it to the finish line you had set before you started running.

Didn't they tell you? The race ended two miles ago.

I have been employing the Pomodoro Technique for the past couple of weeks, when I am able to set aside time to work on my novel, and it has helped so much with not only giving me the motivation to work for a continuous amount of time, but also with helping me to acknowledge that my ideas for what a reasonable writing session might be are not actually that reasonable.

I have not written fiction every day in years (I have spoken before on my opinions of whether writing every day or not is a technique suited for everyone). And as a result, I have gotten out of shape. The words don’t flow as easily as they once did. I am not able to produce pages and pages of content in one day like I once did.

But, I also have to admit that when I was sitting down and chugging out a few thousand words a day, those sections were not very clean or very intuitive. It was a growing process for me, for sure, but none of the writing that I did back then is publishable. I avoid reading it now because I see the painful growth of a youthful writer learning how to wield the pen. It’s not pretty.

So I’m trying to congratulate myself on my most recent writing sessions, which produced about nine hundred words a piece. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but the words are on the page, ready to be fine-tuned at a later date – an accomplishment for anyone who is trying to move forward with a project! And if a writer gets 900-1000 words written every day, they could have a completed, 100,000 word novel finished within three and a half months.

That’s really quite good, actually!

Besides, chances are good that the more you keep at it, the faster you’ll become. You’ll get back into the rhythm before you know it. Even if you don’t, though, there’s no reason to consider yourself a bad writer just because you take your time. 

So don’t despair over the minor details of what or how much you produce. The fact that you are producing anything at all is wonderful! You can flesh out and fine tune everything you write later. But you can’t fix what isn’t there. Grant yourself the victories where they’re due. 

Friday Science Highlights – Cosmic Volcanoes, Telescopic Defense Systems, and the Climate Change of the Universe

Science Photo of the Week

Amateur photography never ceases to amaze! Stand by, Hubble, because Kuntal A. Joisher has discovered the volcanic explosion of the Milky Way. Doesn’t it look like the star birth of our galaxy is arriving out of the tip of this silhouetted mountain? What a neat concept! Go - write it - be free.

Protecting the Planet from Impact, One Telescope at a Time

A system of two (possibly three) telescopes called ATLAS is coming together in Hawaii with the goal of providing a warning system for imminent asteroid collisions. These telescopes have the capability of scanning the entire sky for threats within the time frame of just one night and can provide as much as a three week alert window depending on the size of the asteroid headed our way.

The third telescope may set up shop in South Africa depending on how discussions in the near future go. But personally this headline makes me wonder if the threat of asteroid collision is so high that this type of technology needs to be created? Sure, Earth has been hit by massive objects before, and it undoubtedly will again. But is it really common enough to require night-by-night scanning?

And if so, what are we going to do about it when an asteroid is spotted? Until I hear about the laser system being set up to destroy these rocks before they hit our atmosphere, I’m going continue to view asteroid strikes as extremely rare occurrences. By the time Earth faces another massive asteroid, these telescopes will very likely be out of date.

(or maybe they’re setting up these telescopes to scan for invading alien war fleets – it’s all a cover, right?)

The Globe May be Warming, but the Universe is Cooling

Forget for a moment about the gradual increase of global temperatures and the melting of the ice caps – we’ve got a cosmic epidemic of decreasing temperatures on our hands.

This is of course nothing to be worried about, since it’s been happening for a long, long time and will continue to happen for a long, long time. You might as well lose sleep over the eventual explosion/implosion of our star, or develop a psychosis based on the fact that the spreading out of our universe is actually accelerating.

There are a lot of truly terrifying things in the universe, but the vast majority of them are based on such a cosmic scale that we will likely never experience any ill effects from them. And the gradual dissipation of energy throughout the universe is one of those things.

Might be interesting, however, to use your imagination to visualize what a universe would look like on the verge of snuffing out? When a few billion years from now the universe is about to spin out of existence, will there even be humans left to witness it? And if they are, what will it look like to them?

A Writer’s Take on the Tomato – Day One of the Pomodoro Technique

There’s a famous technique for increasing your productivity that has been popping up on my social media radar for a few weeks now. I’ve been meaning to give it a try, but just haven’t dedicated the time to do so until today.

Which is ironic, because the technique is as simple as setting aside a specific amount of time to do a specific task. I should have used the technique to try the technique. Then we would be calling this post Pomception.

The Pomodoro Technique – so named for the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that its creator utilized – is an easy mind-hack that trains you to get into a routine of working in short segments with regular breaks to keep your motivation fresh. The original formula utilizes twenty five minutes of uninterrupted work, followed by a five minute rest period. This pattern repeats until you have completed four circuits for a total of 120 minutes. Before you know it, you’ve been chugging away at your project for two hours.

If you’re anything like me, you can sometimes feel like setting aside any number of hours to work on your stories is just too overwhelming to handle on a day to day basis. Even on a week to week basis. Time gets away from you and suddenly almost a whole month has gone by without anything but the occasional, guilty thought of “I should probably work on that. Hello Facebook.”

But the beauty of the Pomodoro Technique is that it can, if anything, help you manage that fear of the great burden that writing can be. For anyone who is trying to write a novel (or attempting to tackle any enormous task, for that matter) you know how intimidating it can be to get started. You don’t have to think about all of that work if you just never get going in the first place!

That’s the easiest way to defeat ourselves before we’ve even begun, isn’t it? So we have to ease into it.

You might not be able to drum up the motivation to write for two hours, but you can push through writing for twenty five minutes. You can probably endure just about anything for twenty five minutes with the right mindset. And once you’ve done it once, it’s even easier to reset that timer and go for another round.

The thing is, you will never get to the point where writing for two hours becomes easy if you don’t first try breaking it down into more manageable chunks. We have to start with the shorter runs first before we can entertain the idea of racing in a marathon.

One of the other perks of practicing the Pomodoro Technique is that it breaks your habit of retreating into distractors, like social media or unnecessary research. When the timer is running, you are not allowed to do anything but focus on your task, or if you cannot do that, you must instead stare at the wall and think about it. This may sound intimidating, but what it really accomplishes is it releases you from the pressure of the time limit. So what if you don’t get any words on the page for the first round? You just spent twenty five minutes thinking about your story, digesting your current problems – and you didn’t spend that same twenty five minutes dribbling your brain cells down the latest Buzzfeed gif-set.

I challenge you to give it a try, not just for one day, but for several days in a row. See how more relaxing writing becomes when you take the pressure to perform off of yourself for extended periods of time. How many Pomodoros can you string together?

If you are in need of a timer, there are plenty of online clocks that you can use. This one was specifically designed with the Pomodoro Technique in mind, so you can have it running perpetually in 25 and 5 minute increments – or you can customize it yourself with different work/rest intervals (warning: it's a bit glitchy, so it might not be as consistent as you'd prefer).

For myself, I gave the Pomodoro Technique my first try today, and so far I have only managed to make it through two cycles. But I’m already impressed, because it took me out of a three week slump and forced me to sit down with my document in front of me and really pay attention to it. I realized that I’m a little bit stuck right now: I have fifteen pages to meet before I can wrap up this first chapter, but I only have enough story in mind to fill maybe five or six of those. I need to brainstorm about what I can do with those other ten pages. So while I only wrote about three hundred and fifty words (!!), I was able to address my current hurdle and think of ways to overcome it. I can promise you, once this blog post goes live, I’ll be turning back to my tomato and trying to figure out how to proceed.

I’ll get back with you all as the days progress! Let me know in the comments how the Pomodoro Technique has worked (or not worked) for you! What’s your favorite way to overcome the stress of writing?

Friday Science Highlights – Sagittarius’ Blue Lagoon, Moon Robots, and the Desert Atlantis

Science Photo of the Week

This week’s photo is a new composite image of the heart of the Lagoon Nebula, found within the constellation Sagittarius. This picture is just another example of why star-birth is one of the most beautiful aspects of the universe. Where there is violence in space there is often amazing imagery, and thanks to the combination of optical and infrared data, we get to see it in stunning detail. The article attached to this photo goes on at length about how this picture does not represent the name of the nebula very aptly, but I think, with a little imagination, it fits quite well. If the entire nebula is called The Lagoon, then it would make sense that at the heart of the lagoon lives a sea serpent. What I see in this photograph is a giant celestial beast with a burning eye, shedding hot droplets of water as it rears out of the dust and gas of its ancient nursery.

This idea strays a little more into fantasy, but what if these images we were capturing really were of ancient, astronomically sized creatures? Perhaps the search for life has been completed already, and we’ve just been missing the forest for the trees.

The Telescope on the Dark Side of the Moon

Let’s get Asimovian! Robot technology keeps jumping forwards by leaps and bounds, and though we may never attempt Artificial Intelligence (I don’t think it’s possible for us not to) we’re getting more and more comfortable with complex machinery that functions without very much human intervention.

I can think of two stories off the top of my head where that very situation, combined with a level of intelligence, caused major problems for humanity.

And here we are, planning to set up a new telescope on the far side of the moon, assembled by a robot.

Of course, this robot will in turn be operated by humans in orbit (a-lleg-ed-ly!), but we’re not far from the type of situation that sent Dr. Frank Poole spinning into the void.

Nevertheless, a telescope on the dark side of the moon sounds pretty radical. And so long as they don’t name it anything cute, I won’t worry. Yet.

Fly-Over Tour of Mars’ Chaos Plains

Let’s just comment for a moment on the awesome name this area of land on Mars has been given: the Atlantis Chaos lowland plains! Especially apt, since scientists believe that the markings on the nearby canyon walls provide evidence for the existence of large bodies of water. So if Atlantis was drowned, and the water is now gone, where is the city?

You can look for it yourself in this new fly-over video, taken at such a high resolution you might feel like you yourself are gliding over the Martian surface. If only!

Writing Prompt Reviews Part 4

Feeling mischievous? This month’s Writing Prompt Reviews are here to help you explore your inner dark side. We’re mining the Writer’s Relief Pinterest board again, and these gems are surely broad and mysterious enough to suit a wide variety of writing tastes.

This week I'm also braving the storm and posting an original piece, prompted by one of the images below. Spontaneous! Unedited! Ack!

#1. 

This is obviously meant to be a humorous quote, especially paired with the picture, but you could also wield it for a more serious story. What kind of slight has caused your character to choose revenge over forgiveness? Is it a minor plot, or is it something more brutal? Is the exchange equivalent, or is the character deciding on a punishment that grossly outweighs the crime?

Here’s a fun ad-lib chart to use with this prompt. Go down the list and pick at random the words to fill in the blank – then write your story and see what happens!

It was the last straw. ____A____ had finally ensured our mutual destruction by ______B_______ing _______C________. It would take planning. It would take precision. But I would exact my revenge when I _______D_______ed his/her/its ________E__________.

A:           

• Father                         -My lover                 -The Spanish Inquisition
• My enemy                 -Andromeda             -The President 
• Cousin Earl               -The dog                   -Mother
• NASA                        -Eurovision               -My boss

B:

• Devour                        -Steal                        -Dissolve
• Create                          -Launch                    -Savage
• Murder                        -Pilot                         -Hide
• Defend                        -Twist                        -Evade

C:

• The last Klondike bar          -A nuclear attack                              -A black hole
• The President                       -The yellow submarine                    -The human genome
• A mutant virus                     -The terrorists                                   -A box of hamsters
• Sentient aliens                      -The declaration of independence

D:

• Destroy                       -Prepare                                          -Pierce
• Imprison                     -Strangle                                         -Kill
• Raid                            -Sever                                             -Smear
• Silence                        -Level                                             -Erase

E:

• Past                              -Pokemon collection                      -Orbit
• Future                          -Imperial armada                            -Food supply
• Reputation                   -Economy                                       -Prized race horse
• Yoga Instructor           -Glitter supply                                -Heart

#2. 

I like this quote. These words are the kind of thing I would be sorely tempted to whisk away and work into my own story (remember, good writers borrow, great writers steal outright). Of course, the usual meaning of this quote would probably be that the speaker is perfectly happy to be alone and isn’t afraid that whatever they “bring to the table” (personality? dangerous contraband? a set of skills?) might repulse other people. This is that typical “if you don’t like me, you can leave” acerbic character style.

But what if we twisted it just a little and interpreted it to mean that eating alone is actually dangerous in this universe, but for this character, they feel they have what it takes to not fear that danger.

If so, what is the danger that you risk experiencing by eating alone? Could eating be a metaphor for life in general? Perhaps being alone is a death sentence for all but our main character.

Then, why? What does the character bring to the table that makes them immune, or at least fearless?

What scene does this quote tempt you to write?

#3. 

Silas leaned his elbows on the splintering table and twisted a toothpick between his fingers, catching its narrow tip on the fraying fabric of his gloves periodically and watching the fibers frizz and fray at the agitation. Outside the filthy window of the abandoned café he could hear the rain pounding against the rusted buildings with furious hisses, eating its way into every unsealed crevice that it could find. In a matter of months this town would be nothing but sizzling rubble. Who could say where the corruption had begun – but once the rains were able to get their teeth on anything that wasn’t adequately protected from the acid, it was a lost cause. The damage could never be countered effectively enough to save the building and any of its neighbors, and gradually the entire community was dissolved away.

The rains had been falling for three years now, relentless and unpredictable. Weather patterns changed without warning and dumped floods of vicious liquid upon the unfortunate organisms beneath. Most of the cities were gone by now, along with all of the animals and plants. The world was a globe of dust now, and even the dirt was slowly being broken down into finer and finer molecules. How long did this planet have before the rains ate far enough into the ground that the orbit was affected? How long until the atmosphere dissipated entirely?

The human survivors had to perpetually wear respirators anymore. Like ancient addicts they walked around with tubes in their nostrils and masks over their mouths and eyes. There weren’t many left. A few million had taken to the skies and abandoned the rest in the early years of the blight. And when the rains had begun, sporadically at first, every ship that remained had been destroyed. The fight to retain any civilization at all had been swift and futile. Despite their best efforts to protect what buildings remained, here, three years later, they leaned against each other and burned beneath the power of the angry clouds above.

A step behind Silas caught his attention, though he did not turn around to face the men behind him. He had thought the building might be empty, but was not surprised to find that he was wrong. Most of the time, when humans came across one another, they either helped each other for a short while before parting ways, or they avoided each other entirely.

But whenever humans came across an unmasked android, there was bound to be blood.

Silas had attempted to avoid trouble for a while by wearing a respirator, but the disguise often got in his way. He regretted the harm he had to inflict upon humans who quarreled with him, but he was faster, stronger, and infinitely more durable. And when they were all gone, he would remain here, waiting to fall into the center of the earth in the last days as the acid broke through the crust and revealed the aching heart of the blue world.

Silas wondered if the core of the planet would accomplish what so far the rain had failed to do.

“Get to your feet!” The desperate voice creaked from over Silas’ shoulder, and he turned his head only slightly enough to catch the three humans in his peripherals. The movement was not unnoticeable, however, and the man leading the confrontation gripped his rifle convulsively. A shot blasted by Silas’ ear, warming his cheek and destroying the one of the café tables across the room.

Silas did not move. The human’s order was clearly ill-thought out if he was afraid enough to shoot when Silas looked his way. But Silas’ stillness had always been an unnerving feature for people. Humans were constantly in motion – breathing, twitching, sweating. Silas did not breath, nor sweat, and his muscles were so efficient that they moved only when a specific action required them to. So he paused in perfect, stony immobility while the small family at his back worked themselves into a panic.

“I said get up!” the man shouted, his voice strangled by his fear and the respirator wrapped around his face.

“Dad, just leave it, let’s go, please—“
“Shut up boy. This thing can track us down and kill us. Rip out our hearts through our mouths.”

“You can’t kill it! Why did you have to go and get its attention?! Now it really will kill us…”
“We’ll force it to leave. It doesn’t need to stay here to survive.”
“By threatening it? It doesn’t fear you!”

“Shut up! Both of you just shut up!!”

Silas stood and turned, observing the humans through golden circuited eyes, his narrow, grey face filling their own with horror. For years his design had been hailed as beautiful, but how quickly the joy of creation had turned to fear and loathing. He held his hands calmly at his sides, watching them digest his existence and wonder what they should do next.

“I request that you do not shoot at me again,” Silas intoned melodically, eyes passing from mask to mask. How long had it been since these humans had last seen the features beneath the tubes, the wires, and obstructing glass and plastic frame? And here he was, an insult to their survival, face naked and unafraid, voice smooth and lilting, as they had been designed to be half a century ago.

“Alright,” the man with the gun said, trembling. “You don’t need shelter to survive. I won’t shoot you again if you leave now. Just get out and leave us alone.”

Silas watched them for a moment, head tilted slightly. In reality, he did not have to do anything these creatures wanted. He was more than capable of ripping their hearts through their mouths, though it was an unnecessary and inefficient way to dispose of them. Not how we would choose to do so, if forced. Truly, the terrified humans seemed to think, somewhere down at the buried bottom of their psyche, that they had some kind of power over him. Man over machine. Master over slave.

Not anymore.

“It is unnecessary for me to leave in order for you to stay,” Silas pointed out evenly. “I am no threat to you and I do not consume your resources.”

The man with the gun seemed about to respond with another volley of shots when the smaller individual at his side put her arms around his. “Please,” she said, for her voice was soft and shivering. “We are afraid of you.”

Silas fixed his gaze on her, and watched her frame crumple next to the adamant and trembling sturdiness of her male companion. Father? Husband? Human relations were needlessly varied and complex. But her simple response, though he could not understand its logic, was all he needed. Silas lived for simplicity.

Without a response, he turned away and made for the door, which he wrenched open effortlessly. The humans leapt behind the café counter as a spray of vicious acid rain blew in on the wings of a devilish wind. The torrent doused Silas in a pleasant tingling sensation as it dissolved the brown, grubby clothes hiding his silver skin. They dropped away, and his metal flesh shone in the half-light, illuminated like a beacon.

Silas closed his eyes as he stepped into the ruined street and began to walk towards the edge of the city. His mental map would lead him true, and he would not encounter any humans out in this weather. But he did not mind -- he had always found a certain measure of peace in the rain. 

Friday Science Highlights – Alien Elevator Music, The Search for Second Earth, and Windsurfing on Jupiter

Science photo of the Week

This week's science photo is actually more about "science music". If intelligent life exists out in the deep black, and they happen to stumble across the Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, then they will soon discover that they have a Golden Ticket straight to Earth. Or something like it, since the Voyager is carrying several discs collectively titled “The Golden Record.” The sound bytes contained on these records range from the music of trains and cars to mud pots bubbling – a digital museum of sorts meant to represent the sounds of Earth to strangers from another planet. There is even a large collection of spoken greetings in various human languages, in case your average interstellar dweller might happen to know Arcadian or Welsh.

Whether or not aliens will ever listen to these sounds, now they are available for native Terrans to listen to instead. So enjoy the sounds of civilization and nature. Once the aliens trace this miraculous variety back to Sol, you might not have the luxury again for a while. *doom doom doom*

The Search for Second Earth Comes Close with Kepler 452b

Earth is a delightful gem in a sea of what sometimes feels like sterile hostility. But surely in the vastness of space, Earth cannot be the only planet capable of containing some sort of life – or at least life supporting conditions. In fact, scientists and virtual space explorers may be on the verge of finding Earth’s twin. In a new crop of some five hundred planets being studied, Kepler 452b is the most similar to Earth yet. It has an orbital year of 385 days, and its sun is very similar to our own. Its perfect placement in the habitable range of its solar system makes it very likely that the planet could have water, the sort of atmosphere necessary to protect the development of life, and even active geological movement.

 Discovering planets with a decent chance of supporting human life is crucial if we are going to entertain any long-term colonization plans at all. But it also is a good indicator that perhaps other creatures might exist somewhere else in the galaxy.

Cloud Surfing in Jupiter’s Tempestuous Atmosphere

Jupiter, the mysterious monster planet with the iconic red eye, might be next on the list of celestial bodies to study up close and personal in ways never before accomplished. NASA is investigating an entirely new design for keeping a robot probe afloat in the hazardous conditions of Jupiter’s atmosphere. And, like most successful designs, the so called “wind bot” is being conceived based on an example taken from nature: the dandelion seed.

It’s an amusing image, but ultimately sensible. On Earth, dandelion seeds are extremely aerodynamic and exert no force of their own to stay afloat. They simply use their fantastic design in combination with the wind to scatter themselves far and wide, spreading the species with practically no effort. Who among us has never blown on a dandelion seed and watched the puff-ball umbrellas glide away on the slightest breeze?

No picture the never-ending rage of Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere, and you can see how this design may be too ingenious to laugh at. But NASA is still just in the planning stages. It will be a long time before the “wind bot” sees the winds of Jupiter up close.

Battling Low Writing Morale with Smart, Positive Practices

I have a bad case of the Mondays.

Actually, I’ve had a bad case of the Mondays for a little over two weeks now, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. My energy levels have plummeted, my mood has been overcast at best, and I have gotten along by doing only the minimum amount of meaningful work it takes to function and continue looking like a responsible adult.

I haven’t looked at my novel once (still stuck halfway through the first chapter). I toyed with the idea of trying the Pomodoro technique and put it off. I’ve read maybe one or two stories. And the last thing I want to do is write.

So I asked myself this morning, what do I want to do? The answer that popped into my head was, “stare at the wall and slip slowly into madness.”

Ah. I need a cup of coffee. Hang on a moment.

Better. And a blanket. And a hot pop-tart.

We all find ourselves in this place at some point in our lives, usually multiple times throughout our lives. We’re exhausted, demoralized, and it feels as if every little thing takes a monumental effort.

But we can’t stay here. Life must go on, work must be done, and it’s not fair to dedicate what little spunk you have left only to paying bills and fighting traffic. The things that make you happy and recharge your batteries deserve your attention too!

So how do we battle the effects of low morale, especially when it comes to writing? Writing takes a lot out of us. Ernest Hemingway famously said “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” When you’re already feeling down, entertaining the idea of writing can feel catastrophic.

Which is why this is the time to take baby steps and not push your mood even further down. This is the time to bolster your happy thoughts, not tear them down with guilt. So what if you haven’t written word one in a month? That’s not a long-term trend by any means. You can change that any day, so start with today.

Sit down. Have something to drink within easy reach. Maybe a bowl of snacks. Give yourself no excuse to get up and distract yourself with easier-to-satisfy needs. This time is for you. Listen to some relaxing, or thematic, music – whichever suits the writing you’re attempting to accomplish.

If you’re struggling to commit the time, why not consider giving the Pomodoro technique a try. This little trick has been applauded for its ability to increase your focus in lots of areas that require you to sit down and concentrate for extended periods of time: writing, reading, studying, etc. It gets a lot of attention for being a work technique, but don’t be afraid to use it for relaxation too. The idea is that you set a timer for 20-30 minutes, and while that timer is running, your attention is centered on one task only. If you find you have trouble getting the work done while time is ticking, you are allowed to sit quietly and think. Even this will get your mind into a recognized patter than when the timer is running, it’s time to get to work. Using those minutes for meditation will do you some good too (the brain keeps working, even if you don’t feel like you are!). Here’s an online timer you can use right now!

Remember also not to fall into the big traps of demotivating yourself even further. If you’re in a writing rut and you literally cannot bring yourself to continue, why not try sharing what you do have with a friend? They might have just the right comments to motivate you to continue. Or dedicate some real time to reading a book for enjoyment – it could be that your word well has become depleted.

Probably the best thing you can do right now, though, is speak encouragement to yourself. Don’t make yourself even more depressed by feeding the shadows with lies. This season will pass, and you’ll be back on your feet soon. Take little steps. Even if it’s only 20 minutes a day, try to get back into a positive rhythm.

What are your techniques for getting out of a writing rut? Let me know in the comments!

Friday Science Highlights – Oceans of Fire, Distended Atmospheres, and a New Meaning for Super-Massive

Science Photo of the Week

It’s a beautiful sight to see fog rising from a lake or stream early in the morning, hovering over the surface and making the air cool and moist. In a different way can we admire the enormous quantities of smoke pouring out of Canada and Alaska, enveloping the upper states of America and passing into the arctic regions of the North Pole and Greenland. This has been one of the worst years for wildfires (a record-breaking season for Alaska) and the devastation of brush and undergrowth will undoubtedly have regrettable consequences. Nevertheless, the power of nature is one we science fiction writers repeatedly turn to for inspiration, and this picture makes me wonder what kind of elements would have to be present to make up a literal sea of fire? Imagine an ocean made up of some substance that in liquid form is constantly burning and sending off some sort of smoke or fume. How much more deadly and terrifying if the burn was invisible?

Pluto is Orbiting the Sun in a Coma

Fear not, the planet is not comatose – rather, researchers are now gathering data that shows Pluto’s atmosphere is being blown back by the solar wind, much like the fragile atmospheres of comets (called the coma – get it? I will not apologize).

Mars and Venus experience a similar loss of their atmospheres to the power of solar radiation, due to the fact that they have no magnetic field protecting the gases from the ferocity of the sun.

But not only does Pluto’s stretched atmosphere make it look like tadpole, it even has the tail – made out of plasma, of all things! What this means for Pluto is not yet entirely clear, but we can expect more updates as data continues to come in over the next few months.

What would you do in a story with a planet that has a tail made of plasma? Comment below!

Super-Sized Black Hole Discovered in Average Sized Galaxy

This is it – a scientific game changer. Boy do we love those. As soon as we get a little comfortable with a subject, the universe presents an exception and calls everything into question. Then again, how well can we say we really know black holes?

Black holes fascinate me, perhaps because they are so complicated, perhaps because the forces they exert are so incredibly powerful. Nothing escapes the crushing force of a black hole, not light, not gravity, and certainly not matter. They suck in and spin up such a disturbance that they are the drain around which the matter of the universe floats. These pits of darkness are everywhere – it is believed that they exist at the center of most galaxies, and how many galaxies are in the universe? Well, a lot.

Black holes come in different sizes and rotate at different speeds, giving us a wide variety of scenarios to observe. Each one has what is called an “event horizon” – the boundary beyond which gravity becomes so strong that satellite matter no longer orbits the black hole but falls into it. And previously, there seemed to be some sort of sensible relationship between the size of a black hole and its respective galaxy. But that may all change, since a recent study that was meant to observe “normal” sized black holes has accidentally discovered a black hole 7 billion times the size of our sun residing at the center of a relatively average sized galaxy.

What does it mean???? How has this black hole not gobbled up everything in this puny little galaxy already? Its mass is a tenth the size of all the matter that surrounds it. Putting aside the mystery of the very existence of the galaxy, what kind of amazing things could it be undergoing with the gravitational spin of a 7 billion sun black hole gnawing at its innards?

This week I read a short story (“A Galaxy Called Rome”) that was written in the earlier, golden years of science fiction, and I found it interesting that the author called what we know now as a black hole a “black galaxy.” Perhaps this is Rome. 

1969 Moon Landing Footage in Two Minutes

And here’s a nice little nugget of nostalgia for you – this week marked the anniversary of man’s historic landing on the moon. If you weren’t lucky enough to be a witness to the event back in 1969, fear not – Scientific American has you covered with a new, two minute compilation of the footage, from lift-off to landing to the safe return to Earth eight days later.  

Symbolism in Fiction, or, the Elephant in the Room

Here’s a fun topic for all of you who ever had to sit through a high-school literature class: symbolism.

If you just felt a chill run down your spine, then this is the article for you. This little post is going to be the catharsis you have been longing for all these years after you were forced to interpret what the author meant when he wrote about the sunset passing over the city like a flock of birds.

As a writer, I have always scoffed at people’s attempt to force symbolism on writing that isn’t theirs. Don’t get me wrong, personal interpretation is very fine. Everyone brings a unique perspective in life that affects how they digest information, and I will see a piece of art differently from the person standing next to me based on my previous experiences and individual personality. The swell of emotions I feel when I look up at the stars on a dark night are never quite the same as the next awed individual craning their neck for a peek at eternity.

What I tend to roll my eyes at the most is when I hear someone declaring confidently that a certain writer meant something deep and intense by their words. The more obscure the connection, the better.

Even as a young student, I used to imagine that if the authors we were reading in class could sit in the back, unnoticed, and listen to our desperate attempts to please our instructor by utilizing the magical, metaphorical shovel, they would roll on the floor laughing at some of the crap we were forced to come up with.

I had a teacher once tell me that an extremely unlikeable character in a novel was a Christ-figure simply because his initials were J.C. and he died standing in water.

Very convincing. I think Spark Notes comes up with more intellectual associations.

Comic by Kate Beaton, harkavagrant.com

So here is your chance to mourn all those misused brain cells and re-claim your dignity, and you have young Bruce McAllister to thank for the redemption. Well, Bruce isn’t so young anymore. He was 16 years old in 1963 when he sent a survey to over 100 famous novelists of the time, asking them specifically if they placed symbolism in their work, consciously or unconsciously. Those that answered directly (some simply told him to do his own research and stop bothering them) often refuted the idea of conscious symbolism entirely.

The full survey has been published in a book, but here are some of my favorite responses:

Isaac Asimov: “Consciously? Heavens, no! Unconsciously? How can one avoid it?”

Norman Mailer: “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for a working novelist to concern himself too much with the technical aspects of the matter. Generally, the best symbols in a novel are those you become aware of only after you finish the work.”

Ray Bradbury: “…each story is a Rorschach Test, isn’t it? And if people find beasties and bedbugs in my ink-splotches, I cannot prevent it, can I? They will insist on seeing them, anyway, and that is their privilege. Still, I wish people, quasi-intellectuals, did not try so hard to find the man under the old maid’s bed. More often than not, as we know, he simply isn’t there… There are other things of greater value in any novel or story…humanity, character analysis, truth on other levels…Good symbolism should be as natural as breathing…and as unobtrusive.”

Richard Hughes: “Have you considered the extent to which subconscious symbol-making is part of the process of reading, quite distinct from its part in writing?”