I often figure out writing problems when I don’t consciously try to figure them out. I go on a walk instead and, voila, a solution pops into my head. This has happened too often to be mere coincidence. Relaxing the mind seems to allow creativity to flow. #writingcommunity #amwriting

“I’d rather be happy being myself, than sad trying to please everyone else.” —Jermaine Cole The applies to what I choose to write about as well. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity #amwriting

Part two of my short story “The Expansion of Space” was just broadcast on the AntipodeanSF Radio show. antisf.libsyn.com/bohrmann (In case you missed it, here is part 1: antisf.libsyn.com/bohmia ) #books #booksky #writingcommunity

AntipodeanSF Issue 323 - Ionospherics Now available on the intertubes with thirteen of the best in speculative flash fiction stories to read and enjoy. antisf.com.au #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

Originally published in Italy in 1960. A prescient parable of artificial intelligence. Can a human soul be re-created? The Tartar Steppe is Buzzati’s‘s masterpiece, but this is quite good. Sixty years ahead of its time. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

My short story The Expansion of Space (part one) was broadcast today on the Antipodian Speculative Fiction radio program. Part two will be next week. This is excerpted from a novel in progress, Initial Conditions. 2nvr.org.au/playlist/boh... #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

While vacationing in a hunting lodge in the Austrian mountains, a middle-aged woman awakens one morning to find herself separated from the rest of the world by an invisible wall. An allegory for our times. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

If you find yourself in Durham, North Carolina … *signed* copies of my novel The Astronomer are available at the New Hope Commons Barnes and Noble. Shortlisted for Publishers Weekly BookLife Priza (General Fiction, 2024). #books #booksky #fiction #writingcommunity

First two novels by the Nigerian fantasy writer Amos Tutvola (published in 1952 and 1954). Both are considered tops in that genre. I must say, I’ve never read anything like them. It’s as if Tutuola invented his own syntax. And it grows on you. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

That said, if you have a wealthy and benevolent family member looking to support independent arts, please let us know. Books cost money to write and produce and especially to SHIP. And I'm working as many jobs as I can.

It's time to quote this again. We need (your) (anticorporate) literature now. Listen to Dan.

And let me add a couple: 1.) When you think you’re done, read what you’ve written aloud. You’ll find you’re at the halfway point. 2.) A fictional work should be 20% writing and 80% editing. At least that’s the way it’s always been in my case. #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

GENE WOLFE: WRITERLY ADVICE 5.) Do not start a story unless you have an ending in mind. You can change the story's ending if you wish, but you should always have a destination. (If you don’t do this, you’ll find yourself wandering hither and thither.) #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

GENE WOLFE'S TOP FIVE PIECES OF WRITERLY ADVICE 4.) You do not characterize by telling the reader about the character. You do it by showing the character thinking, speaking and acting in a characteristic way. You simply show it and shut up. #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

GENE WOLFE: WRITERLY ADVICE 3.) Remember that it is characterizing that puts your story heads and shoulders over the others in the slush pile. (Now, that’s not always true—Asimov, PKD, for whom plots usually predominate—but it almost always is.) #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

GENE WOLFE'S WRITERLY ADVICE 2.) Read what you're trying to write, for Godsakes! (Don't read enormous fantasy series if you're trying to write short stories.) I’d add: Read extensively in your genre, yes, but read other genres as well. You learn from them all. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Gene Wolfe is one of my two favorite science fiction writers (Stanislaw Lem being the other). GENE WOLFE'S TOP FIVE PIECES OF WRITERLY ADVICE 1.) Get up early and write. I’d amend to say: “Get up and write.” (I’m not an early bird.) More to follow … #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amwriting

“Why We Need Big, Bold Science Fiction,” by Glenn Harlan Reynolds. We need science fiction that inspires us to dream big. We used to have that, he writes, but it's gone. We’ve either lost the ability to do big things or we no longer have the will. #writingcommunity #scifi #sciencefiction #fiction

Interlocked puzzle pieces. I’m not sure why, but I just love this picture. I suppose because it’s so relaxing to look at. (Don’t be deceived, though; much of the day they’re chasing each other around the house—and not always in fun.) #catsofbluesky #cats #pets #catpics #catlover

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” —W.B. Yeats In other words, pay attention to what is all around you. Good writing advice. Good living advice. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity #amwriting

Szabo paints the most fascinating and unforgettable characters. I’ve read most of her books and this one is probably my favorite. An unsettling exploration of the relationship between two very different women: a well-educated, married writer and her housekeeper. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

The cats just caught this in our house. It was alive, but petrified. I put it outside and after a minute or two it scampered away. What is it? #amphibians #cats #pets #lizards

A husband cares for his dying wife. It takes place at a point shortly before her death and focuses on her past and his future. Anyone interested in experimental books should read this. Long out of print but recently brought back by the good folks at NYRB. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

“The most useful books are those that the readers write half of themselves.” —Voltaire Well, maybe not half, but you want to write so that the reader makes the connections. The trick is that what’s obvious to some is baffling to others. You have to find a middle ground. #books #writingcommunity

“One should never so exhaust a subject that nothing is left for readers to do. The point is not to make them read, but to make them think.” —Baron de Montesquieu #books #booksky #writingcommunity

On the Marble Cliffs by Ernst Junger. An allegory about the rise of fascism. Should be required reading for these times. Five stars. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Australia’s oldest speculative magazine. Issue #322 just out. “AntipodeanSF is devoted to the regular monthly publication of fabulous and original science-fiction, fantasy, or horror mini-stories of about 500 – 1000 words each, with occasional feature stories of 2000 words and beyond.” #writing

Two baby deer nursing in our front yard while our black-and-white cat watches fascinated from the dining room window. It’s noon and the sun is shining brightly. Just an ordinary lunchtime in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. #wildlife #deer #catsofbluesky #cats

The account of a journey to a mysterious—and possibly mythical—place dubbed “The Ice Mine.” The writing reminds me of Alvaro Mutis (Maqroll), a South American magical realist. One of those books you immediately want to read again (which I did—twice). #books #booksky #writingcommunity

A teenage girl murders her newborn child. Style is comparable to early Cormac McCarthy or Ron Rash. The writing is intoxicating, ebbs and flows like the river that is at its core. My third-time through. Very moving. Runner-Up for the Paris Literary Prize. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

“Finish every day and be done with it … Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne #books #writingcommunity

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — ‘tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” — Mark Twain #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Contains Gobble-Up Stories (a collection of fables) and the novellas The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland, and Chi Po and the Sorcerer. If you like fabulist tales, give these a try. I really enjoyed them. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Hari Krishna Kaul was a Kashmiri writer. He wrote four collections of short stories and one novel between 1972 and 2000. At one point he was booted out of Kasmir for being too political (you wouldn’t know it from reading these stories). Borges-like writing style. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Many people don’t realize that Big Box retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble) take a large percentage of what would otherwise go to small independent presses, literally leaving them with pennies. Consider supporting small presses by buying from them directly. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Published in Argentina in 1958. A 16-year-old girl living on a farm in Argentina is raped by a farmhand. Abortions are frowned upon and she is too ashamed to confide in anyone. Was considered scandalous for its time. How little we’ve progressed in 60+ years. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

"Writing is an absurd and heroic activity." —Sara Gallardo (23 December 1931 – 14 June 1988). Influential Argentine author and journalist. Truer. Words. Never. Spoken. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

How many cats can fit in a cat tree perch (before a fight erupts)? Note: a fight did not take place this time, but has in the past. #pets #cats

Death of an Author by E.C.R. Lorac. I don’t often read mysteries but when I saw the title of this one I snapped it up. And the first two sentences of Chapter One sealed the deal. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

Piranesi by Susana Clarke. I’m not sure where this is going and I’m not sure I want to know (okay, I want to know). It’s unsettling. And rather disturbing. Like a dream that almost makes sense. Writing style reminds me of Gene Wolfe. #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amreading

Published in 1955, this novel about global catastrophe is also a scathing critique of religious fundamentalism. The dystopian community, known as Waknuk, reminded me of the Puritans in The Scarlet Letter. Thought provoking and very well-written. #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amreading

Audiobook coming. Stay tuned. #books #booksky #writingcommunity #amreading #amwriting #amlistening

Shadows in the Sun by Chad Oliver. Written in 1954. Anthropologist Paul Ellery discovers that the small Texas town of Jefferson Springs is actually an imitation of small-town America created by aliens who offer him a chance to explore the universe. Love it! #books #booksky #writingcommunity

This book consists of two 1930’s novels, To Walk the Night and The Edge of Running Water. Sloan’s only written works. Much like Lovecraft, but less flowery. They are also genre-defying: part science fiction, part horror, part gothic. Well-written. Intriguing. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

Clifford Simak, one of the grand masters of science fiction, and one many people have never heard of. If you like literary sf, he’s for you. City (1952) is his most well-known work, narrated by pacifist dogs who have inherited the Earth after an apocalypse. #books #booksky #writingcommunity

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” - Joan Didion

28 short stories that explore the nature and politics of memory, family, and the imbalances of love. I’d call them epiphanies, actually. Eruptions. Ocampo‘s first collection, it was published in 1937. Her prose is hallucinogenic. #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity

We have now seen 3 interstellar objects passing through the solar system--and each is distinctly different. Comet 3I/ATLAS is by far the biggest, fastest & oldest: probably older than our solar system, making it the most ancient object we've ever seen up close. 🧪🔭 bigthink.com/starts-with-...

I love when people review our books, regardless of whether they generate sales. We need more people reading and writing about literature critically and thoughtfully. Support those brave fools willing to take on reviews. "Engage" with all of them. And FFS buy yourself a damned book.

A man enters a cave, intending to commit suicide. He’s unable to do so and emerges from the cave into a world that only he inhabits. Or did he kill himself and now is in purgatory? One of the first “last man left on earth novels.” Interesting! #books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity