recapture joy

Speculations: Recapture Joy in Your Writing

Greetings, Speculators! Last time, I made my public autism disclosure. That article was written in the middle of August and since that time, I’ve been struggling creatively. Autistic burnout has made my go-to place of joy largely inaccessible. It’s ironic that the very thing that’s pulled me out of depression and anxiety in the past… Read more »

team awesome thanksgiving post

Team Awesome Thanksgiving Post

Hey y’all. Lori here. As many of our readers know, today is American Thanksgiving. Many families take a turn going around the table and everyone says what they are thankful for. Fortunately, my family does not do this because I find the answers typical, saccharine, and not very sincere when you compare them to words… Read more »

Title Image: Ten AAPI Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors to Read Right Now

Ten AAPI Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors to Read Right Now

Greetings, Speculators! May was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. So, yeah, I’m a little late with this recommended reading list, but you can read these great books any time. Diversify your reading game and include some of these suggestions in your to be read (TBR) list. Ken Liu Ken Liu is author… Read more »

Celebrating Perseverance

Celebrating Perseverance

My dear Speculators, the Perseverance Rover, AKA “Percy,” landed on February 18th. I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate perseverance and all the awesome that this innovation in automated extraterrestrial exploration has to offer writers of speculative fiction. NASA intends for Percy to determine some key information about Mars, including whether there is evidence… Read more »

Mythic Storytelling: The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger

Greetings, Speculators! As you might guess from the title of this column, I’ve found another mythic structure to expound upon. I’m going to take a slightly different approach this time, however. When I read Gail Carriger’s interpretation of the heroine’s journey, it struck a chord with me (imagine angelic chorus here). I thought that Instead… Read more »

Indigenous Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors to Read Now

I know Indigenous Peoples’ Day was back on October 12th. Heck, Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day was way back on June 21st, but I wanted to share some of my favourite Indigenous Science Fiction and Fantasy authors with you in the interest of diversifying your reading. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse I first encountered Roanhorse’s… Read more »

How the NASA-SpaceX Collaboration Can Inspire Your Writing

On May 30, 2020, NASA astronauts Bob Behken and Doug Hurley were launched in the Crew Dragon capsule by a Falcon 9 rocket, both capsule and rocket provided by SpaceX. The Falcon 9 returned safely to its barge. The next day, Behken and Hurley successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS). This was the… Read more »

Ten Black Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors to Read Now

Shortly after I submitted my last Speculations, COVID-19 made its presence felt. The world shut down and we all self-isolated and waited for health authorities to tell us that the danger had passed. It hasn’t. Then May 25, 2020 arrived, and 8 minutes and 46 seconds changed everything. Though George Floyd was not the first,… Read more »

Melanie Marttila

Mythic Storytelling: Tarot for Writers, Part 3

Greetings, my lovely Speculators! I hope you’re keeping safe and well in these remarkable times. I also hope you’ve enjoyed this miniseries on the tarot for writers so far. To recap, in Part 1, I offered a brief introduction to the tarot, in Part 2, I reviewed five books on the tarot for writers, and… Read more »