Genesis Earth is now officially over 50,000 words. That means, by most standards, that it is officially novel length. What’s more, I’m on the verge of finishing it. I’m only about 2,000 words from the ending, and despite the fact that this story has hung me up so many times (including right now, in the… Continue reading It’s a novel!
Author: Joe Vasicek
Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He claims Utah as his home.
3rd novel? I’m going for it.
Ok, I have officially decided. I’m going to write a new novel this semester instead of simply rewriting The Phoenix of Nova Terra (or Terra Nova?) for English 318. The working title is Bringing Estella Home, and it is going to have a lot more action than Hero in Exile and Genesis Earth, my last… Continue reading 3rd novel? I’m going for it.
Assessment
Well, it’s a new year now, and English 318 has started! We had a wonderful class yesterday, getting things set up, figuring out our writing groups and all that. I am so looking forward to this semester! With all of these changes happening, I thought I’d do a little recap and assessment of the last… Continue reading Assessment
Back in school
So, school has started again! As fun as the vacation was, it’s good to be back. I think I’ve more or less finalized my schedule by now. I’m taking an Arabic grammar class, a poli sci class on Islamic politics (taught by an Arab guy who drove ambulances in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion/occupation in… Continue reading Back in school
New Blog
Hey, I have a new blog! You should check it out. It’s called One Lower Light Shining, and it’s a place for me to write about spiritual experiences and insights on the gospel. Essentially, something that (hopefully) will motivate me to study the scriptures more frequently. Check it out and let me know what you… Continue reading New Blog
What does your muse look like?
I’m reading this interesting book by Stephen King that is a mix of personal memoir and writing advice. It’s a very interesting book, even if the language is much more colorful than anything you hear in Provo (except while in traffic, that is). At one point, Stephen King got off on a tangent and described… Continue reading What does your muse look like?
Happy New Year!
There must be a law that states that the climax of your story takes three times as long to write as you thought it would take. Back on Monday, I finished the previous chapter and thought I could bang out the major climax of the story in a day. Look how time has flown since… Continue reading Happy New Year!
Finishing this novel is harder than I’d thought
So is trying to hit 3,000 words each day. For the past week, I’ve been doing between 1,500 and 2,500 words every day, but lately it’s just been really hard. I’m on break, and I know that I should have more time for this kind of stuff, but I don’t know. It has been a… Continue reading Finishing this novel is harder than I’d thought
The Mongol hordes…in SPACE!
A while ago, I wrote a post on this blog about what we were learning in History 240 about the Turks, the Seljuks, and the Mongols. Fascinating stuff! Really epic! Genghis Khan, Tamarlane, Tugril Beg, and all the rest of those guys may have been bloody, totalitarian rulers, but they did some incredible stuff, especially… Continue reading The Mongol hordes…in SPACE!
Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
Bella and Svetlana have both struggled hard to break into leadership positions in DeepShaft, an interstellar mining company that pushes comets to mining platforms back near Earth. Bella is the second in command of the Rockhopper, and Sveta is one of the chief engineers. Both women are the best of friends. While conducting an operation… Continue reading Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds