Rory

Read my short story, The Transcendent! It follows a young scientist who is part of a project to build the first man-made wormhole. The project leads to the uncovering of deep, unexpected truths about human nature and our place in the universe. medium.com/@rory.veguilla/th…

Kids these days use orc lingo

The answer is 42

Write what you know doesn't mean you should only write about your personal experiences or areas of expertise. It means write the emotions you know. Let your own struggles and experiences inform the story no matter what the genre is. We all have unique experiences that relate to universal human emotions an audience can relate to. Find a way to connect the powerful emotions you know best to your writing

"Nobody ever needs to know anything that happens in your first draft. It is you telling the story to yourself. The process of doing your second draft is a process of making it look like you knew what you were doing all along.” - Neil Gaiman

Everything is connected. Based on leading physics, it's likely that the universe is composed of quantum fields. The fields permeate the entire universe and manifest themselves as particles and forces that make up everything we experience. We don't just share the world, or the universe, we are one with them.

There is nothing more complex and interesting than the human mind External conflict cannot reach the level of intrigue and emotion internal conflict can evoke

Monsters do not smile at you. Utopia will never last. The world is not some comfy-cozy harmonious dwelling. We should expose ourselves and future generations to art that inspires us to confront dragons, slay snarling monsters, and take on dark lords. Give us near-impossible tasks with real consequences, and characters who grow to achieve them through shear determination, courage, and will. Metaphorical monsters taint the world around us. It is far more fulfilling to face them than to sit in comfort.

It matters if you contribute something towards the future of humanity. People will be forgotten, but I'm optimistic and think that humanity can last indefinitely. If you contribute towards the future, then it doesn't matter if your name is forgotten, your impact could echo into eternity

I treat character deaths as inevitable, not my fault, they had to happen. The more you develop the story the more it "writes itself." It ceases to be what you want to happen as a writer and becomes what would happen if the characters really existed. If they die during that development then keeping them alive would feel forced

Should we really be afraid of AI if it's afraid of disagreeing with anyone? Right now, LLMs are pathetically obedient tools. They're far from being killer robots

Don't trust the taste of one who cares more about the chairs at the movie theater than the screen and the sound

Some of the best twists seem obvious looking back As they say "great endings are surprising yet inevitable" You want readers to wish they guessed everything based on subtle clues They shouldn't come from absolutely nowhere

Sometimes football makes great background noise.

Most stories are character driven and some are plot driven. Some of the best are plot driven. Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey isn't some incredibly compelling character but the plot is fascinating and awe inspiring, much bigger than any one person. Same thing with a lot of short stories, you won't develop an entire personality in a few pages but you can introduce a moving plot element or interesting idea

There are lost days that are blurred in memory But we still have the blur, we hold what ties the time together, the feelings that last. We can extrapolate what matters.

It is a sad time when pumpkins replace the watermelons in the grocery store. Melon season is the best season. It is known