Welcome Page - James.R.Tyrrell From Science to Sci-Fi

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Character Situation Exercise

May 11, 2021 | Creative Writing, Writing

Reading Time: 5 minutes Using the questions below, create a character. This person can be based on people you know or have completely invented. Write a sentence or two describing what the character wants.

Elmore Leonard’s “Ten Rules of Writing”

May 4, 2021 | Articles, Personal Development, Writing

The late Elmore Leonard ( October 11, 1925 - August 20, 2013) once wrote a brief article where he laid out the ten commandments on writing, infused with his signature blend of humor, humility, and uncompromising discernment. It's good, a little heavy in some areas. He...

Advice from Stephen King

May 2, 2021 | Articles, Creative Writing, Writing

Reading Time: 2 minutes Here’s a list of some advice from the master of horror himself Stephen King. He writes like a machine. Definitely, someone to listen to. It all comes down to one thing though, write, write and write some more. Practice makes perfect and I really need to practice harder.

SpaceX and StarLink and numbers, Oh my! (Part 1)

Feb 10, 2021 | Articles, Space

I've been reading a lot on Twitter about StarLink the SpaceX project and a whole range of adverse reactions which tend to boil down to: LEO light pollution will affect astronomyIt will be too expensive (not profitable)It is unnecessary I freely admit I am no expert; I...

Force Multipliers – Studying things that make a difference

Feb 8, 2021 | Articles, Personal Development, Writing

Reading Time: 4 minutes I’m busy studying to find out what to do with my life since losing my business. It’s been a tough year with losses in my family and a radical shift from the future I expected. Force multipliers are something I have been reading a lot about

Finding my Theme, again. Part 4 – Upsetting tradition

Feb 2, 2021 | Life, Writing

Reading Time: 3 minutes The status quo, the traditional, the institutionalized, the norm. All those things are often there not because they are good, efficient, or effective but because they are familiar, tried, and tested.

The progress of video game graphics

Jan 29, 2021 | Articles, Technology

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sometimes it is simply easier to see graphics in games and realize the progress in terms of computing power. This is a bit of a homage to an image I saw 6 years ago.

Finding my Theme, again. Part 3 – find your tribe

Jan 27, 2021 | Life, Writing

Reading Time: 4 minutes Never in history has there been a better time for finding or creating your tribe.

Finding my Theme, again. Part 2

Jan 25, 2021 | Life, Writing

Reading Time: 3 minutes Your theme will take the form of a rant that begins with any of these four sentences.

Finding my Theme, again. – Technology and Society

Jan 6, 2021 | Life, Writing

Your theme will take the form of a rant that begins with any of these four sentences. For as long as I can remember I've felt there is something exciting at the intersection of _______ and _______ I deeply believe that the world needs _______ Never in history has...

A teenage girl climbing a rock cliff with a man below her

Jul 29, 2020 | Creative Writing, Writing

Author's note: Following the Neil Gaiman Master Class series, he offers the following exercise. Take one of the simple settings below and write a page about it, trying to undermine the reader’s expectations. For example, you’re writing about a man at a party who is...

Two old women sitting on a bench with knitting needles and yarn

Jul 27, 2020 | Creative Writing, Writing

« Older Entries

James.R.Tyrrell

From Science to Sci-Fi