SF Archives - Maaja Wentz https://www.maajawentz.com/category/sf/ Worlds of Mystery & Wonder Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:27:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.maajawentz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-maaja-at-the-mic-32x32.jpg SF Archives - Maaja Wentz https://www.maajawentz.com/category/sf/ 32 32 Can-Con Conference and World Fantasy 2016 https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/09/01/can-con-conference-world-fantasy-2016/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/09/01/can-con-conference-world-fantasy-2016/#respond Thu, 01 Sep 2016 15:43:38 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=1815 Appearing at Can-Con Conference and World Fantasy Convention I love meeting and speaking to readers, writers, and editors. That’s why I’m so excited about my upcoming participation at Can-Con Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature. I am equally looking forward to participating in the World Fantasy Convention at the end of October. […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/09/01/can-con-conference-world-fantasy-2016/feed/ 0 Robert J. Sawyer — Quantum Night https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/04/11/robert-j-sawyer-quantum-night/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/04/11/robert-j-sawyer-quantum-night/#respond Tue, 12 Apr 2016 02:44:09 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=1712 Book Launch There was such a snowstorm March first for the Toronto launch of Quantum Night, that some feared attendance would be sparse, but Canadians are hardy. Returning home afterward I saw one cyclist on the road, riding through blowing snow.   Despite the blanket of flurries, Lansdowne Brewery was packed, even before the advertised start time. […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2016/04/11/robert-j-sawyer-quantum-night/feed/ 0 Shared Writing and the Classroom Novel https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/12/29/shared-writing/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/12/29/shared-writing/#respond Mon, 29 Dec 2014 17:55:51 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=1178 The popularity of fantasy adventure novels hasn’t dwindled since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Teachers capitalizing on this popularity can inspire student writing, without marking more pages than Lord of the Rings. Today, I’m going to talk about shared-world ‘novel’ writing. This is something I did with a class of gifted grade four students, […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/12/29/shared-writing/feed/ 0 Reading at Can-Con https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/09/13/conventions-for-creativity/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/09/13/conventions-for-creativity/#respond Sat, 13 Sep 2014 16:03:25 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=987 I will be doing a reading of short fiction and poetry at Can-Con in Ottawa, Saturday October 4, 2014. My co-reader will be novelist S.M. Carriere. One of the best things about conventions is meeting and discovering new authors and making new friends. Conventions are magnets for creative people in the arts and multimedia. Can-Con is an Ottawa […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2014/09/13/conventions-for-creativity/feed/ 0 Spies are From Mars – The Horse can see the barn! https://www.maajawentz.com/2013/08/12/spies-are-from-mars-the-horse-can-see-the-barn/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2013/08/12/spies-are-from-mars-the-horse-can-see-the-barn/#comments Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:57:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2013/08/12/spies-are-from-mars-the-horse-can-see-the-barn/ Have you ever had a feeling of regret as you finished reading a book? You knew you would miss the characters and their stories, as if they were old friends. Well, it’s a little different when you are writing the book. Sure, I’m a little sorry to finish rewriting Spies are from Mars, but I’m happy […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2013/08/12/spies-are-from-mars-the-horse-can-see-the-barn/feed/ 3 Ark of the Convenient — I don’t get ‘writer’s block’ https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/08/03/ark-of-the-convenient-i-dont-get-writers-block/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/08/03/ark-of-the-convenient-i-dont-get-writers-block/#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:46:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2012/08/03/ark-of-the-convenient-i-dont-get-writers-block/ I never have writer’s block in the pure sense. Ideas are easy to come by and if I sit down to write, I can always write story, character, scenario, scenes. What slows progress, is feeling my story is going down the wrong path. It means reevaluating, making changes, rewriting. Until all the problems are resolved, […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/08/03/ark-of-the-convenient-i-dont-get-writers-block/feed/ 2 Ark of the Convenient: A new novel inspired by Douglas Adams, Red Dwarf and Doctor Who https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/07/08/ark-of-the-convenient-a-new-novel-inspired-by-douglas-adams-red-dwarf-and-doctor-who/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/07/08/ark-of-the-convenient-a-new-novel-inspired-by-douglas-adams-red-dwarf-and-doctor-who/#comments Sun, 08 Jul 2012 14:19:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2012/07/08/ark-of-the-convenient-a-new-novel-inspired-by-douglas-adams-red-dwarf-and-doctor-who/ Progress Update 7/27/2012 34180 / 80000 (42.73%) I reached page 90 today. It’s take stock time and, although I can see myself making progress, I am simultaneously discouraged. My writing will never be brilliantly scientific and philosophical in the way that Douglas Adams’ novels are. Instead of getting blocked, I spent a few hours on […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/07/08/ark-of-the-convenient-a-new-novel-inspired-by-douglas-adams-red-dwarf-and-doctor-who/feed/ 1 Positive Rejection https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/01/19/positive-rejection/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/01/19/positive-rejection/#respond Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:04:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2012/01/19/positive-rejection/ I had a very positive rejection for a poem I submitted to Strange Horizons recently. The editor suggested two other markets I could try and invited me to submit to Strange Horizons again. Yeah!

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2012/01/19/positive-rejection/feed/ 0 Bios by Robert Charles Wilson https://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/24/bios-by-robert-charles-wilson/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/24/bios-by-robert-charles-wilson/#respond Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:02:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/24/bios-by-robert-charles-wilson/ To inform my current novel-in-progress, I went to all the vendors at WorldCon, requesting books of biological takeover and spores from outer space. Bios was one of the recommendations. There is a much more thorough review here, which you might want to look at, since I read Bios with impure motives. This is half-review, half encouragement […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/24/bios-by-robert-charles-wilson/feed/ 0 @ontent by Cory Doctorow https://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/21/ontent-by-cory-doctorow/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/21/ontent-by-cory-doctorow/#respond Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:16:00 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2009/08/21/ontent-by-cory-doctorow/ If you like SF or issues of fair use for intellectual property, it’s likely you have read some of Doctorow’s opinion pieces online. If you haven’t, he has collected many of his previously published essays into book form, which is free to download. I bought an autographed, paper copy of @ontent at WorldCon. I’m old-fashioned […]

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