Author: Stephanie Orges

Stephanie is an award-winning copywriter, aspiring novelist, and barely passable ukulele player. Here, she offers writing prompts, tips, and moderate-to-deep philosophical discussions. You can also find her on and Pinterest.

Inspiration Monday: The Dying Sky

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MAY 27 EDIT: Looking for the May 26 prompts? They’re coming tonight! Stay tuned.

I’m behind on everything else, but I DID walk 5k (I don’t run), clean out my closet, remove the harddrive from a 1996 computer, and see Taming of the Shrew under the stars over the weekend.

What did you all do over the weekend?

There’s always good reading material!

Aparna

DJMatticus

Evan

Chris and another and one more

Lucy

Tara

Kate (MC*)

Whoops – missed MOI

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Inspiration Monday logo

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

THE DYING SKY

WHAT NOW?

HANG UP

ALIEN EARTH

FOR THE LAST TIME

Want to share your Inspiration Monday piece? Post it on your blog and then give me the link in the comments below (I’ll also love you more if you link back to me); I’ll include a link to your piece in the next Inspiration Monday post. No blog? Email your piece to me at stephanie (at) bekindrewrite (dot) com. (I do reserve the right to NOT link to a piece as stated in my Link Discretion Policy.)

Plus, get the InMon badge for your site here.

Happy writing!

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*MC = Mature Content

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Inspiration Monday: Street Royalty

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J.R.R. Tolkien had the names “Beren” and “Luthien” engraved on his and his wife’s tombstone. Yes, Pinterest is educational. Unless Photoshop?

I will ponder this.

Meanwhile, read!

Chris (missed him last week) and this week

TheInnerZone

Tara

SAM

Lucy

Tessa

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Inspiration Monday logo

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

STREET ROYALTY

THINGS YOU WISH YOU KNEW

THUNDER CLAPS

THOUGHT INHIBITOR

JUST ONE MORE

Want to share your Inspiration Monday piece? Post it on your blog and then give me the link in the comments below (I’ll also love you more if you link back to me); I’ll include a link to your piece in the next Inspiration Monday post. No blog? Email your piece to me at stephanie (at) bekindrewrite (dot) com. (I do reserve the right to NOT link to a piece as stated in my Link Discretion Policy.)

Plus, get the InMon badge for your site here.

Happy writing!

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Inspiration Monday: Lukewarm Revenge

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Happy late Star Wars Day!

In other news, Redshirts is officially added to my list of Books All Writers Must Read (mental note: compile actual list of books all writers must read). Parental disclaimer: there are quite a few f-bombs and some suggestive dialogue, but OMIGOODNESS it’s brilliant. It’s like the sci-fi spoof version of Stranger Than Fiction and Inkheart put together, but also made me cry a little bit.

But it’s very unlikely there’s a copy of the book lying next to you just now, which gives you the excuse to read these other fun and/or moving pieces!

Aparna

DJMatticus

SAM

Aileen

PrincessDeloso

Lucy

Tara

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Inspiration Monday logo

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

LUKEWARM REVENGE

WILL POWER

MADMAN’S TRICKS

WOODEN KEY

ANTI-MAGIC

Want to share your Inspiration Monday piece? Post it on your blog and then give me the link in the comments below (I’ll also love you more if you link back to me); I’ll include a link to your piece in the next Inspiration Monday post. No blog? Email your piece to me at stephanie (at) bekindrewrite (dot) com. (I do reserve the right to NOT link to a piece as stated in my Link Discretion Policy.)

Plus, get the InMon badge for your site here.

Happy writing!

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87 Authors of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Golden Age

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How well do you know your genre?

I’m on a mission to become better acquainted with mine.

If you’ve ever read Battlefield Earth, you’ve seen the mega list of names to which Hubbard dedicated the book – the Golden Age authors of the magazines from the ’30s and ’40s, such as Amazing Stories and John W. Campbell Jr.’s Astounding Science Fiction.

Though hardly the beginning of the genre, the Golden Age was that sweet spot, when it was just beginning to bud, to find its voice – before the genre grew too big for one person to read in a lifetime.

Though I’ve read a lot of science fiction, I’ve only read seven of these authors. Seven!

I want a better grasp on the classics than that. I’m starting with Before the Golden Age: A Science Fiction Anthology of the 1930s, compiled by Isaac Asimov. These are his favorite stories from when he was growing up – ones that influenced his own journey to writerdom. Some of these authors aren’t on Hubbard’s list, but of course I’m going to read them anyway.

How have you studied your genre? What authors most influenced your writing style? Tell me in the comments!

And if sci-fi and fantasy are your game, take a gander at this infographic. Hubbard’s full list is in text below, so you can copy and paste anywhere (I made myself a little Evernote checklist).

infographic listing 87 authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Click and it can be yours.

And the text version:

Science Fiction & Fantasy Golden Age Authors

He mentions these first:
Robert A. Heinlein

A.E. van Vogt

John W. Campbell, Jr.

And then all these:

Forrest J. Ackerman

Poul Anderson

Isaac Asimov

Harry Bates

Eando Bender

Alfred Bester

James Blish

Robert Bloch

Nelson Bond

Anthony Boucher

Leigh Brackett

Ray Bradbury

Fredric Brown

Arthur J. Burks

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Karel Capek

E.J. Carnell

Cleve Cartmill

Arthur C. Clarke

Hal Clement

Groff Conklin

Ray Cummings

L. Sprague de Camp

Lester del Rey

August Derleth

Ralph Milne Farley

Hugo Gernspack

Mary Gnaedinger

H.L. Gold

Edmond Hamilton

Robert E. Howard

E. Mayne Hull

Aldous Huxley

Malcolm Jameson

David H. Keller

Otis Adelbert Kline

C.M. Kornbluth

Henry Kuttner

Fritz Leiber

Murray Leinster

Willy Ley

Frank Belknap Long

H.P. Lovecraft

R.W. Lowndes

J. Francis McComas

Laurence Manning

Leo Margulies

Judith Merril

Sam Merwin, Jr.

P. Shuyler Miller

C.L. “Northwest Smith” Moore

Alden H. Norton

George Orwell

Raymond A. Palmer

Frederik Pohl

Fletcher Pratt

E. Hoffman Price

Ed Earl Repp

Ross Rocklynne

Eric Frank Russell

Nathan Schachner

Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)

Clifford D. Simak

C.A. Smith

E.E. “Doc” Smith

Olaf Stapeldon

Theodore Sturgeon

John Taine

William F. Temple

F. Orlin Tremain

Wilson Tucker

Jack Vance

Donald Wandrei

Stanley G. Weinbaum

Manly Wade Wellman

H.G. Wells

Jack Williamson

Russell Winderbotham

Donald A. Wollheim

Farnsworth Wright

S. Fowler Wright

Philip Wylie

John Wyndham

Arthur Leo Zagat

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Inspiration Monday: Squandered Vision

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I was just shopping around for an audio book to keep me company on an upcoming drive. I looked at a couple of inspirational/historical books I’ve been meaning to read but meh. I really just wanted something fun. Then I thought of Redshirts.

I looked it up. And it is narrated by…

Will Wheaton.

Anybody know a good field of tulips? I feel like I need to be skipping through one right now.

But I’ll contain my joy and tell you to read these lovelies:

Moi

DJMatticus

Tara

PrincessDeloso

Elmo 

Lucy

Tessa

Evan

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Inspiration Monday logo

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

SQUANDERED VISION

SEE IN THE DARK

BROKEN  CLOCK

ILLEGAL SPICE

ORNITHOPTER

Want to share your Inspiration Monday piece? Post it on your blog and then give me the link in the comments below (I’ll also love you more if you link back to me); I’ll include a link to your piece in the next Inspiration Monday post. No blog? Email your piece to me at stephanie (at) bekindrewrite (dot) com. (I do reserve the right to NOT link to a piece as stated in my Link Discretion Policy.)

Plus, get the InMon badge for your site here.

Happy writing!

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