Reshaping Reality

July 6, 2021

My Open Letter to City Designers

I originally wrote this email for the Des Moines City Council. For the past year, I’ve adjusted the verbiage to reflect what I’ve heard in their City Council Meetings with the Public. I also adjust the bullet points and actions I (and others) wish to see them take. Otherwise, most of the letters are verbatim Continue reading

activism, Author, disability, Race, transgender

ableism, access, accessibility, Accessible Cities, disability, disability justice, Disability Pride, Fight Ableism, Homelessness, No More Ableism
September 14, 2014

Let us go Write! — Horror Edition

I write speculative fiction, where most of my focus is on science fiction with a dabble of horror. However, my roots were in fantasy, partly because when I first started writing in middle school I simply did not have the scientific foundation to write science fiction well, but that didn’t stop me. I tossed aliens Continue reading

Aliens, Characters, World Building, Writing

aliens, fear, horror, horror fiction, scary, science fiction, speculative fiction
September 10, 2014

Battle For The Net

I decided to support Battle of the Net. Why? Because Net Neutrality is incredibly important. John Oliver really sums it up in the following video: Also, here is a message from the Battle of the Net site itself. Picture a loading screen, since I can’t seem to get that bit of code to work on Continue reading

Blogging

battle of the net, john oliver, net neutrality
September 8, 2014

Traveling the Internets Again

I may make this a regular post. I read a lot, and sharing what I read may be helpful to some. So without further ado, here is what I’ve read this past week: Writing How to Structure a Premise for Stronger Stories <— Great article to help you strengthen your stories. The Different Levels of Continue reading

Author, Blogging, Feminism, History, Writing

Articles, feminism, gender, narrative, Race, science, sexism, spirituality, video games, writing
August 29, 2014

Traveling the Internets

I have been a bit swamped at work and so am behind in my posts for this blog. Below are articles I found interesting sorted by category: Video games: Trigger warning: Discussion of death threats and harassment. Yes, her life was threatened to the point she had to seek safety away from her home and Continue reading

Blogging, Writing

Articles, writing
August 18, 2014

Not Breaking Viewpoint

I listened to this podcast from Writing Excuses the other day, and found it fascinating: World building without breaking viewpoint. I often think about how I can explain bits about my world without breaking the viewpoint of my characters. First, if I’m writing in first person or very close third, it’s a lot harder to Continue reading

Characters, World Building, Writing

Characters, first person, limited third, not breaking viewpoint, omniscient, point of view, POV, viewpoing, world building, writing excuses
August 10, 2014

To stand on an alien world

Our eyes can’t see Infrared light, so a world that thrives on IR might look like the above picture to us. Though the color of the sky might be a different color than this picture shows. Our Moon What is it like to stand on a world that is not Earth? For those that have Continue reading

Aliens, Physics, Science, World Building, Writing

atmosphere, gas giant system, habitable moon, infrared light, infrared sight, red dwarf stars, science fiction, world building series, world-building
August 4, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy

I watched this movie with my younger sister this weekend. I admit I didn’t have very high expectations for the movie; I assumed it would be somewhat humorous and at the very least a run romp. In this I was not disappointed, and to my delight, it turned out to be far better than I Continue reading

Aliens, Reviews, Writing

guardians of the galaxy, marvel, movie reviews, review
August 1, 2014

When the writing is dry

I sit at my desk and consider the fact that I have not written anything beyond a blog post in over a month. My novel sits in its folder, languishing in that guilt-filled pool of depression, where I tell myself I will write but cannot bring myself to type the words. The energy flows out Continue reading

Author, Poetry, Writing

babylon 5, creators, delenn, emergent consciousness, writing, writing process
July 20, 2014

Resources and Worldbuilding

This subject was brought up in the forums I help moderate. In this thread, the economy of a story was discussed in depth. One member in particular, Victor N, brought up an excellent point: the economy of your story can play a role in the plot. Definitely read the link above because he provides excellent Continue reading

Characters, World Building, Writing

conflict, food, plot, resources, spaceship, world building series, worldbuild
July 13, 2014

Review: Darkout

As a lover of science fiction, when I saw this video game, I knew I had to try. Your escape pod crash lands on this hostile planet, where the majority of the world is covered in cloud cover. You rarely get any sunlight, and thus creatures that thrive in the shadows have evolved on this Continue reading

Reviews, Writing

craft, darkout, review, science fiction, video game