Introduction Dear fellow fiction writers: are we supposed to be consciously leveraging theme or not? Or are deeper stories that address what we find meaningful just supposed to magically emerge out of pure subconscious magic? Is there even a learning process for that? How do we develop meaningful stories, if obsessively planning them out kills […]
Assholes warp reality. People who are afraid of upsetting assholes also warp reality. Assholes, by our definition here, are missing an awareness of anything beyond themselves in the present moment. Anything that threatens an asshole’s sense of who they are or their sense of being in control causes them to split off unacceptable, flawed, or
Asshole Mitigation Plan, Part 16: The Dream, or assholes warp reality Read More »
This post is part of a series on time travel and alternate history fiction — and why we reach for it when the present gets loud. Right now, these books are all available together in the Escape from 2026 Storybundle, through June 25, 2026. What if the thing you needed most wasn’t rescue—but someone who
Leslie Claire Walker’s Time Travel Stories: Time Out of Mind Read More »
This post is part of a series on time travel and alternate history fiction — and why we reach for it when the present gets loud. Right now, these books are all available together in the Escape from 2026 Storybundle, through June 25, 2026. What if you had to leave the present to find a
Kathryn Kaleigh’s Time Travel Romance: Last Stop: Yesterday Read More »
This post is part of a series on time travel and alternate history fiction — and why we reach for it when the present gets loud. Right now, these books are all available together in the Escape from 2026 Storybundle, through June 25, 2026. What if the monsters aren’t the scariest thing on the road?
This post is part of a series on time travel and alternate history fiction — and why we reach for it when the present gets loud. Right now, these books are all available together in the Escape from 2026 Storybundle, through June 25, 2026. What if the real reason to travel through time isn’t the
Douglas Smith’s Time Travel Stories: Into the Time Slip Read More »
This post is part of a series on time travel and alternate history fiction — and why we reach for it when the present gets loud. Right now, these books are all available together in the Escape from 2026 Storybundle, through June 25, 2026. What if the past isn’t as fixed as you think? Colfax
Dean Wesley Smith’s Thunder Mountain Series: Dry Creek Crossing Read More »
What if…what we think of as escapism isn’t limited to entertainment that doesn’t have deep underpinnings? What if…science fiction is particularly suited to asking deep questions that enhance the fun of how escapist the story is? Time travel and alternate history fiction might be the best examples of that. Escapist fiction: fiction which helps the
The only thing an asshole cannot do is de-center themselves. Everyone has asshole moments where they feel like they are or should be the center of the universe (and often not in a good way; “Why me?!?” is often an asshole question). Also, there are areas where you should center yourself, such as managing or
I thiiiink we’ve covered most of the basic concepts we’re going to need in order to take the Asshole Mitigation Plan into a larger context, except one: setting boundaries. It’s a big topic and my brain can’t hold the whole thing all at once, so I’m going to try breaking it down into smaller chunks.
