A few days ago, Women Destroy Science Fiction dropped on the internet like a lovebomb, and reactions are rolling in. It seems to have struck a chord! My inbox is lighting up with #wdsf alerts. So lovely. — Heather Clitheroe (@lectio) June 2, 2014 Predictably, the publication’s release also prompted controversy and dialogue about the […]
Author Archive > johnremy
On Multi-Classing in Life
In this great RPG we call Life, I multi-classed Parent/Academic/Programmer/Manager/Writer. I lost my save vs Melancholic Pensiveness, and so, this post. Parent (Cleric): I’ve poured a lot blood and spirit into the Parent class. It’s always been my default, the one that took priority before all others. Pouring points into it slowed my advancement in […]
Enhance Your Writing Performance Now!
Sex and writing. I know, these two topics are always on our minds, right? And I’m amazed at the parallels you can find between the two. For example, suffering from writer’s block is not unlike being afflicted with sexual dysfunction. Maybe you try again and again but just can’t reach a fulfilling conclusion. Or you can’t even […]
Follow These Five Principles to Writing Mastery (in 10,000 hours or less!)
I like the concept of the 10,000 Hour Rule, made famous by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers. Boiled down to its essence, it states that 10,000 hours of practice leads to expertise or mastery of a skill. The Rule is overly simplistic and not universally applicable, but it highlights the importance of hard work as a […]
A Strange Contagion: SF Writers and Standing Desks
Mary Kowal at her standing desk. Photo by Marcia Glover (c) 2011. There’s a strange contagion spreading throughout the SF writing community. What is this pernicious pestilence that has infected inkpunks? Is it perhaps knocking at your door in a brown uniform bearing giant, back-straining Amazon packages? Remy, you say, we read the fucking […]
“Read as widely as possible”
A few years ago, I bought a day pass to my first World Con. The highlight of the day was meeting SF writer and long distance life mentor William Shunn at a kaffeeklatsch. Bill is a fellow ex-Mormon and a wonderful human being. His podcast and correspondence helped me ease out of my former religion […]
Five Time and Task Management Tips for Writers.
I’m an IT project manager by day. For the past couple of months, I’ve started applying to my creative life some of the productivity techniques and principles I use at work. I thought I’d share some of my successes, with the hope that at least one of you may find them helpful. Please feel free […]
Hole in the Ground Contest!
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” This is the opening line to the Hobbit. According to Wikipedia, it came to Tolkien while he was grading papers. Not only should this bring hope to teachers and grad students everywhere, it’s the first step on an epic journey that many of us have […]
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Goals
What do you think of your goals? Are they all thorny stick, no carrot cake? Do your goals tire you more than they inspire you? If so, you’re not alone! Think of this post as a Dear Abby or Savage Love column for those of you who, like me, are in dysfunctional relationships with your […]
Guest Post from Tracie Welser: Writing Conventions and How to Survive (an Incomplete List)
Tracie Welser is a graduate of the 2010 Clarion West Writers Workshop. Her recent publications include “A Body Without Fur” (May/June 2012 Interzone) and “Her Bones, Those of the Dead” (forthcoming in Outlaw Bodies). You can find her online at This Is Not An Owl and twitter: @traciewelser. “Writing, at its best, is a lonely […]
