Athena Grayson

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Soft Focus

It’s getting to be fall, and for writers, that usually means at least an awareness of NaNoWriMo, if not outright participation. Many of us are going to be engaging in some form of all-out, keyboard-smashing orgies of writing some time in the next 60 days. That usually requires focus. I remember well the stories I […]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Ups And Downs

Life has its ups and downs. Busy times and quiet times. So does your fiction. Non-stop action is good for an adrenaline rush, but as science will tell you, adrenaline rushes are, by their nature, short bursts of panic-energy that are designed to get you out of immediate danger. Not prolonged sessions of excitement. Your […]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Making The Most Of It

I’m currently enjoying a vacation of Endless Summer Fun (TM) with the ol’ family. And all that implies. In the course of cramming a summer’s worth of activities in just a handful of days, I think a lot about making the most of limited time. Part of my vacation is the ability to indulge in […]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Empathy In Strange Places

Took a trip to the museum today to see an exhibit on Pompeii. I came away with a sense of how like us the people of the ancient Roman empire truly were. They had plumbing, fast food and take-out (in containers with ads on them, even!), and like us, they had a great cultural pastime […]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Who Built It?

Yeah, I’m capitalizing a little over the political kerfluffle, because hey, I like a policy fight as much as the next guy, but that one’s right on the level of an internet message board fap-fight over spelling and LOLcats. But the point behind it has a place in fiction. Who built your characters? Everyone has […]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Bathrooms on the Enterprise

I’m sure this will come as no surprise to some of you, but I used to be a hardcore, die-hard Trekkie. No, not a “trekker” but a bona-fide Spock-ears wearin’ Trekkie. My dad started me out watching reruns of the original series and dragging us to the movies, and then as a teenager, I got […]