J.K. Ullrich's Blog, page 11
September 2, 2018
Decaying Dreams: When Fiction-Writing and Reality Collide
If you’re one of my regular crew, you may have noticed that I’ve been AWOL for the past few weeks. I could, with some measure of truthfulness, attribute it to natural causes like being busy at my Day Job or taking a vacation. But to borrow from Jane Austen, “disguise of every sort is my … Continue reading Decaying Dreams: When Fiction-Writing and Reality Collide
August 5, 2018
#WIPSneakPeek: 31 Hints About My New Cyberpunk Novel
August already! Summertime is flying (good riddance; this Viking girl prefers chilly weather), and so is progress on my third novel. I banged out about 90% of the rough draft in three months. Not bad for an indie author with a demanding full-time day job, huh? Still plenty of work to be done, but it’s … Continue reading #WIPSneakPeek: 31 Hints About My New Cyberpunk Novel
July 29, 2018
Visit the Moon for 99c: Celebrating NASA’s 60th with a Sci-Fi Book Sale
Sixty years ago today—July 29, 1958—President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA. The U.S. space agency pioneered numerous exploration efforts around our home planet, into our local solar system, and beyond towards the far reaches of the universe. What better way to celebrate NASA’s 60th anniversary than with a journey to the … Continue reading Visit the Moon for 99c: Celebrating NASA’s 60th with a Sci-Fi Book Sale
July 22, 2018
Literary Laboratory: Powered Exoskeletons
After weeks of roasting heat that the local weather forecasters dubbed a “flash drought”, the rain finally came in yesterday. Which would have been great, if it weren’t the scheduled delivery date for my box of bargain books from Amazon Prime Day. The mail carrier’s knock barely penetrated the hammering drops, but I caught the … Continue reading Literary Laboratory: Powered Exoskeletons
July 15, 2018
The Accidental Mirror: What Flawed Characters Reveal About Ourselves
Running solves most of my problems. Bad day at work? Fight with the family? Mad at the world in general? After half a dozen sweaty miles, I reach a place where I’m better equipped to deal. It’s especially helpful for working through story issues. My feet go on autopilot, carrying me not through neighborhoods and … Continue reading The Accidental Mirror: What Flawed Characters Reveal About Ourselves
July 8, 2018
Review: “The Rain” (Netflix)
Some stories are like favorite family vacation spots. They promise a certain kind of experience and, even though you’ve done it before, it doesn’t diminish your enjoyment. On the contrary, the good-time guarantee is what keeps you coming back. The Netflix original series The Rain is a summer-vacation kind of story, familiar narrative territory with … Continue reading Review: “The Rain” (Netflix)
July 1, 2018
The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt III: Three Traps to Avoid When Writing Female Characters
Even when writers describe and develop female characters well, they still must navigate a minefield of stale and unhealthy cliches. Tumbling into one of these pernicious pits can ruin a great heroine, and sometimes the entire story along with her. In this final post of my series on writing female characters, I’ll identify three common … Continue reading The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt III: Three Traps to Avoid When Writing Female Characters
June 24, 2018
Game Review: “Horizon: Zero Dawn”
After moving three times in as many years, my Laddie and I vowed to accumulate less stuff. And so last December, instead of exchanging presents, we bought ourselves a single joint gift: a new game console. We agonized for weeks over which system to get, but finally settled on the PS4 because it was the … Continue reading Game Review: “Horizon: Zero Dawn”
June 17, 2018
The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt II: Three Tips for Writing “Strong” Female Characters
In the first post in this series, we discussed subjectivity and objectification when describing female characters. But “beautiful” isn’t the only contentious adjective frequently applied to them. Lots of readers claim to love “strong” heroines; what does this actually mean? As a kid in the 90s, I caught the leading edge of the “more strong heroines!” … Continue reading The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt II: Three Tips for Writing “Strong” Female Characters
June 10, 2018
Book Review: “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula K. LeGuin
The late Ursula K. LeGuin is one of my favorite thinkers on the writing craft. Her essays on the speculative genre, The Language of the Night, arguably saved my authorial ambitions from withering in an undergraduate English department. But I’d only ever read one of her novels. When she departed this plane in January, I … Continue reading Book Review: “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula K. LeGuin
