Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's Blog: #42 Pencil: A Writer's Life, the Universe, and Everything, page 58

Calculated (and Uncalculated) Risk

One of the stronger recent shocks to the horse community came when what had been viewed as a nuisance case in Connecticut was judged, not just once but again on appeal, against the horse owner and in favor of the plaintiff who wanted horses declared “inherently vicious.”

From the horse world’s perspective, here was a small child provoking a horse into biting it, and getting what he deserved (and the view on the parents is about what you would expect, as well). But from the outside, and from th...

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

We have often discussed on this blog where writers get their ideas. I am reviving the old thread, because this dynamite resource is becoming available! Have a look at this!!

In which, as a result of the need for computerized medical records, they’re about doubling the number of codes in the ICD-10, better known as the Tenth Edition of the International Classification of Diseases. You now have a numerical designation for all kinds of things: squirrel injuries! Being bitten by an orca! Falling o...

Report from the set of THE MOON AND THE SUN

Keely Brosnan has posted her photos from the set of The Moon and the Sun at Pierce Brosnan’s Instagram page. The movie is filming in Melbourne, Australia, and at Versailles, France, at the chateau de Versailles.

Frivolous Little Sugar Cookies

I write in different genres; I like different kinds of cookies. Today I was in a frivolous mood, so to celebrate Spring I made some little decorated sugar cookies. These are tiny, about one inch across, so one cookie has only a few calories. (Go ahead and have another!)

If you don’t have tiny cookie cutters, for heaven’s sake get some! Tiny cookies are wonderful and always delight guests. They’re great for tea, or as a decorative addition to a dessert plate. If you decorate cakes, the cookie c...

How To Be A Dog: Walkies

When she came to live with us, our retired seeing eye dog, Tajji, had on on/off switch. “On” meant working on a rigid guide harness, focusing on all the things she had been taught to do for her blind handler, to the exclusion of all else. Guide work is enormously demanding for the dog, both physically and mentally. The dog must learn many behaviors (such as looking both ways when passing through a door or stepping off a curb into a street) and must perform them reliably. In addition, she must...

Writing Retreat, Part 3: Writing as an Act of Faith

As I said in my last two posts, I recently went on a writing retreat to work on my current science fiction novel, The Reefs of Time. There was an interesting faith component to this retreat. While the act of writing is almost by definition a leap of faith (Will this book I’m spending years writing actually turn into something good?) there was a little more to it this time. As part of my church’s annual Leap of Faith experiment during Lent, I have been praying for a creative breakthrough, and...

Legal Fictions: A Side Trip Into the World of Co-ops

Last weekend I went to the Co-op Summit put on by the Austin Cooperative Business Association. I came home very energized about the future of co-ops, so I wanted to share some of my experiences.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the summit is that all kinds of co-ops were represented there: food and other retail, worker owned businesses, housing, rural electric service, farm co-ops, credit unions, and producer co-ops like Book View Café. This one-day conference was an effort to get people...

Brave New Sci-Fi!

We are very pleased to announce that David Levine’s Hugo-winning short story”Tk’Tk’Tk” has been adapted into a short play, which will be presentedas part of an evening of “Brave New Sci-Fi” at the Jack London Bar inPortland, Oregon on April 24!

Seehttp://thepulpstage.weebly.comformore details.

The adaptation was written by playwright Matt Haynes, and the eveningwill also include “Why I Left Harry’s All Night Hamburgers” byLawrence Watt-Evans, “My Heart Is A Quadratic Equation” by ShaneHalbach,...

The Bag: Creative Chaos

I give a writing workshop on generating speculative fiction ideas that has become a sort of fan favorite at conventions I attend. I did it for the first time with a group of writers I was mentoring and discovered that the main exercise—something I call The Dig—gets people to think outside of their own reality and generate some pretty weird and wonderful ideas.

The exercise goes something like this: I collect a bag of odd items. Right now The Bag contains a shaker egg, a garlic press, a guitar...

Milford: Go to Wales and Work (Hard) on Your Writing

The Milford SF Writers’ Conference is holding two sessions this year, one a few days after WorldCon in London and the other at the usual time in September. Both will be held in Wales in the Snowdonia National Park — i.e., in beautiful country far from the distractions of daily life.

Milford is a peer workshop — no teachers, just other writers. To apply, you need at least one professional publication. They are taking up to 15 people for each session. And while it’s a British organization, they...