Steven Barnes's Blog, page 20

RIP Harlan Ellison

Harlan was a giant squeezed into a 5’5″ frame, and what you felt around him was a sense of that energy compressed.  He was the first human being I’d met at his level of energy and integration. And…I was fascinated.

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I’d read his articles in the Free Press in the late 60’s, heard him on the radio, seen him on television, and read his stories in Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, as well as a collection of shorts I’d picked up in a used book store. And wow, that episode of THE OUTER LIMIT...

Along Came A Spider (2001)

Along Came A Spider (2001) is nobody’s classic mystery, but it is entertaining in a non-demanding way, and contains a favorite trope.

 

Here’s the situation: Megan Rose, a little girl attending a high-end Washington D.C. school, is kidnapped by Gary Soneji, a teacher at the school.  Detective Alex Cross and Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flanigan must unwind a twisty maze of unlikely plot threads to solve the case.

 

But in the midst of all of their searching, planning, profiling and tap-dancing...

Sick Little Games

I knew a guy whose wife struggled with her weight.   She’d been the sort of person who had ice cream on her waffles for breakfast…with a diet Coke.   Finally, she got serious.     And regardless of what she had said about hormones and slow metabolism and  so forth, the truth was that when she cut out the rich food and bore down on the exercise, the pounds came right off.    She looked great.

 

Then…she caught him making out with a girl at a party.  And…the weight went right back on.      I as...

The “Story Sifu” strikes again!

“I did it! I did it, sifu! Steven Barnes, I used your advice. I wrote a sentence one day. It was when I looked at it, a complete story. I found a market. It’s sold! Industry rates! I did it!”–Brian McNett

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So wonderful to write, and read, and help other writers create.  Standing in the crossroads of the past and future of the field.

Thirty odd years ago, I realized that Campbell’s model of the Hero’s Journey could be applied to life. About twenty-five years ago, I saw that if you asked “ho...

Be Attracted To The Attraction

Yesterday I asked people what “message in a bottle” they would send back to their younger self about relationships, a core exercise of the “Ancient Child” program.   A gush of great answers!  One of my favorites was from Todd Jackson:

 

“Teach yourself to be attracted to a woman’s attraction to you, and disinterested in her disinterest.”

Man, could the “Incels” ever use THAT one.  It triggered today’s conversation.

 

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Many years back, my agent Jonathan Westover asked me if I wanted to write...

So the experiment with Jason’s algebra took a positive st...

So the experiment with Jason’s algebra took a positive step yesterday.   I warned him a month ago that we would be doing tutoring on Fridays.  He rejected the notion, but finally agreed.

 

As the time came closer, I reinforced the notion with rewards-in-advance.  Want an expansion block for your Playstation?  Promise to do good with the tutoring.   Want a “redo” for some transgression (say…taking a cereal box into his bedroom)?  Promise to do his best with the tutoring.

 

My standards for a t...

The Danger of “Woker Than Thou”

I had a friend. White guy.   Brilliant writer, Liberal activist.  Nominated for high awards in his field, but certain that he knew what was right.   In a discussion of black voters, he was certain that they were voting against their own intents in a particular sense.   When I suggested that he ask them what they wanted, he was so certain he knew what was right that the very suggestion seemed to agitate him.

This happened quite a bit. How dare I not accept he knew what was good for black peopl...

Morning M.A.G.I.C. for Writers

O.K….it is definitely happening. I’m recording the “Morning M.A.G.I.C. for Writers” audio this Saturday at 12 noon Pacific. It is part of the larger program I’ll be offering in a few weeks, designed for…well, I’m aiming it right at where I was at the age of 30. I’d sold a tiny bit, was studying martial arts but not yet matured, and was between relationships and a little scared about that aspect of life. That guy needs my help. If you are like that guy, you’ll want to listen in!

Phone Number:...

The Thousand Mile Road

Larry Niven asked me what I was working on.    I mentioned a couple of short stories, a novel in deep outline script form, and a movie deal currently under negotiation. He laughed and said that I was as productive as six ordinary writers.

 

To the degree that this is true, it is due to one thing only: I know how to harvest every day’s supply of creativity.   Sometimes it’s a drip, sometimes it is a gusher. But there is SOMETHING every day.

 

God knows that sometimes it is a grind.  But I know...

Creed 2 is coming!

CREED 2 Trailer (2018)

 

In the Rocky franchise, the best of them take the human dimension of self-love, honor, and love of family and expand them out to the realm of sport entertainment.  Much as a pro wrestling match often has a back-story, without this emotional dimension its just a couple of sweaty guys pretending to want to hurt each other.

 

(And yeah, they really do hurt each other some times.  Its hard to do a really good boxing scene without SOME contact. And actors really do get com...