Inspiration Monday: Lukewarm Revenge

  By

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

—

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!

–

87 Authors of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Golden Age

  By ,

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

–

 

Inspiration Monday: Squandered Vision

  By

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

–

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!

–

Inspiration Monday: Cardiac Arrest

  By

I watched a documentary over the weekend about the film version of Dune that was never made, but would have had Pink Floyd music, and Salvador Dali as the emperor.

It would have been awesome. I probably wouldn’t have liked it (the director, Jodorowsky, changed the ending; also, Dali refused to be in the movie unless there was a flaming giraffe in it somewhere), but it would have been awesome.

Look at all the names this week! And several who took on the 50 word challenge.

Sarah

Moi

Mike

Der

DJMatticus

Lucy

PrincessDeloso

TheInnerZone

Evan

TheImaginator

–

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:

CARDIAC ARREST

FINGERLESS

GHOST OF THE LIVING

WASHING MACHINE

FRIDGE MONSTER

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!

–

Inspiration Monday: New Names

  By

Alright, me hearties, if it please you to take a finer challenge upon yourselves, look no further than this special edition of Inspiration Monday, whereupon if you wish to limit yourself to writing only 50 words, you are welcome to do so.

But, as always, the rules are only rules if you wish them to be. There is no spoon.

But look, there are InMonsters!

DJMatticus

TheInnerZone

Tara

K~

Lucy

–

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:

NEW NAMES

LEARNING TO FAIL

UNREAL

SHORT ARM OF THE LAW

WRONG VICTIM

 

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!

–