Seven years on: advice to new writers
Last week, on 9 December to be precise, was what I consider the anniversary of my writing career. In December [...]
Looking at the Earth through different eyes: the GRACE mission
Adapted from a talk given at #CSIROTweetup by Dr Daniel Shaddock (laser systems) Dr Paul Tregoning (geo data) ANU, supplemented [...]
Mars Curiosity Tweetup in Canberra!
On 25 November 2011, NASA will launch the Mars Science Laboratory mission in the form of the rover known as [...]
Entering Space by Robert Zubrin Another book I would highly recommend for writers of science fiction. This book goes through the history of space flight, the basics of rocket flight, realistic directions for the future of space flight, and a few pie-in-the-sky ones as well. [...]
Aliens and Alien Societies Stanley Schmidt, edited by Ben Bova People often ask where to start reading up on factors to consider in worldbuilding, and I think this book should be up there with the advice to use sites like Wikipedia. In each chapter, it [...]
Electromagnetic waves, whether gamma ray, microwave, radio or visible light frequencies, travel through vacuum at the speed of—well, uhm—light. When on Earth, this means communication is pretty much instant. If the distance travelled in one second by a photon, a light particle, were a string, [...]
It’s happened to me, and I’m seeing it happen to several of my writing friends. In the race to be published, you submit pretty much indiscriminately to agents and publishers who publish your genre and are open for submissions, and are not on the Predators [...]
The search for terrestrial extrasolar planets in the habitable zone of stars suggests that these planets may not be all that rare. However, examination of the solar system points to the fact that planets with a satellite similar to the Moon are probably a lot [...]
A post based on my recent reading of some of these books. That is, of course, a very good question. It seems that at the moment no one has a satisfactory answer. Space travel is expensive, it’s risky, only few people appear to benefit directly, [...]
My fiction recently gave me cause to examine interstellar travel. Many writers tend to shy away from the reality that we’re a long way from anywhere. It’s too hard, too intimidating, too depressing. I, too, have done the wormhole thing, you know, where your characters [...]
To be taken with the usual grain of NaCl. It seems to me that during the learning process from beginning science fiction writing to pro-level, we writers have to successfully hurdle three stages. None of these are exclusive of each other, neither do they have [...]
This is a post I’ve long thought about to write, about the purpose and consequences of critiques, about critique psychology, if you like. Like this post? I’ve collated this, and some other posts with other information I’ve gained in more than six years’ extensive membership [...]
Red dwarf and planet. Image pilfered from the Hubble Space telescope site, a great source of space pictures, all of which are free to use. Last week, scientists analysing data obtained by the Keck ‘planethunting’ observatory (located at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii) revealed [...]
Welcome to the website of Patty Jansen, writer of SF and fantasy. Patty is a member of SFWA and winner of the second quarter of the Writers of the Future contest. As well as in volume 27 of the contest, she has published fiction in various magazines such as Redstone SF and the Universe Annex of the Grantville Gazette. She has also 'indie' published a number of longer works. Patty lives in Sydney, Australia.
Patty has a PhD in science, and before becoming a writer, Patty worked in agricultural research.
Reviews:
An original premise, nicely done, particularly the scenery.
Lois Tilton, Locus Online, about 'Party, with Echoes' in Redstone SF, May 2011
Five stars from me, Patty's just scored herself a fan.
Book blogger Sean, about 'His Name In Lights', at Amazon.com
5 members
