dawn.vogel | October 23, 2023
People are accustomed to scientific developments inspiring science fiction, but what about the other way around? At the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, they do exactly that! They look at science fiction works for technologies described within that might become plausible inventions. This article about the program talks about some […]
dawn.vogel | August 15, 2022
If you’re looking for an unlikely place to learn about a topic, check out the courses on Atlas Obscura! Originally known as a site for strange places, Atlas Obscura has branched out to offering on-demand and live courses. And while not all of them are directly related to writing, some of them may be on […]
dawn.vogel | May 27, 2019
When you’re world building, how much thought do you give to places that have shade and places that are brightly lit? And how do your characters react to the same? In this article, which talks about the lack of shade in Los Angeles, and how it is a marker of economic disparity, there are all […]
dawn.vogel | May 23, 2019
When I write many of my longer pieces, and even some of my short stories, I make a Pinterest board where I collect images that connect to the themes, characters, or other aspects of my writing. For Scenes from a Quiet Apocalypse, which drew on the major arcana of the tarot deck for inspiration, my Pinterest […]
dawn.vogel | March 8, 2019
If you’re looking for writing inspiration, sometimes, you can turn to music and find what you need! This New York Times article suggests nine exercises that can be used for students to get inspired to write, but you don’t have to be a student to use these ideas!
dawn.vogel | February 15, 2019
I’m a very visual person, so it’s not entirely surprising that I get a lot of mileage out of images of unusual things. It might be something as simple as glass-like flowers. The description I found for them says “A flower whose petals turn clear as glass when wet… Diphylleia Grayi otherwise known as the […]
dawn.vogel | February 8, 2019
Some days, the words just aren’t there, the well has run dry, or one of several other metaphors about not knowing what to write. When you’ve reached that point, this list of 31 ways to find inspiration for your writing might be helpful! While not all of these techniques work for everyone, odds are that […]
dawn.vogel | June 4, 2018
With the end of the school year comes the joys of summertime, including a lot of vacations. For authors, vacations can be a disruption to their normal schedules. But they’re also very valuable as a way to recharge your writing “batteries.” While you’re out and about on your summertime adventures, take a moment to look […]
dawn.vogel | November 29, 2017
I’m a music junkie–back in the early 2000s, when large hard drives were pricey, I shelled out for a 300 GB hard drive to house my music. (All that music now lives on my laptop hard drive, with room to spare, because we live in the future!) But I haven’t bought a ton of new […]
dawn.vogel | June 13, 2017
Recently, while I was attending an event as part of DefCon One Publishing, one of the volunteers circulated among all of the authors and asked them a simple question: If they were to make a movie of your book, what song would be the opening song? I didn’t have to think too hard about my […]
