Johnathan Reid
@reiditwrite.com
Writing speculative fiction whilst dabbling in poetry and shorter stories. Humanist. Skeptic. Futurist. Prefer thoughts to prayers. Not frozen yet.
More: https://linktr.ee/ReidItWrite
More: https://linktr.ee/ReidItWrite
Feeling cheerful today?
June 3, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Feeling cheerful today?
I still remember being told paper is expensive and eBooks will be cheaper, especially if they also don't incur sales tax.
June 3, 2025 at 9:44 AM
I still remember being told paper is expensive and eBooks will be cheaper, especially if they also don't incur sales tax.
This is a good essay.
Why does Elon Musk love this socialist sci-fi series?
The broligarchs share a favorite author, but they might be missing the point entirely.
www.vox.com
May 30, 2025 at 8:08 AM
This is a good essay.
Happy 99th Birthday to Sir David Attenborough, a man whose words have influenced me immensely for decades.
canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/attenborough...
canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/attenborough...
Sir David Attenborough: Influence And Impact
A closer look at the influence Sir David has had on our envirnment and culture
canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk
May 8, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Happy 99th Birthday to Sir David Attenborough, a man whose words have influenced me immensely for decades.
canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/attenborough...
canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/attenborough...
For good or bad, I feel a threshold is being crossed with this approach:
"Bodyoids" are living human bodies that aren't conscious, can't think and do not feel pain.
Creation of such 'spare' human bodies could be useful for research and providing organs for donation.
"Bodyoids" are living human bodies that aren't conscious, can't think and do not feel pain.
Creation of such 'spare' human bodies could be useful for research and providing organs for donation.
Ethically sourced “spare” human bodies could revolutionize medicine
Human “bodyoids” could reduce animal testing, improve drug development, and alleviate organ shortages.
www.technologyreview.com
March 27, 2025 at 9:40 PM
For good or bad, I feel a threshold is being crossed with this approach:
"Bodyoids" are living human bodies that aren't conscious, can't think and do not feel pain.
Creation of such 'spare' human bodies could be useful for research and providing organs for donation.
"Bodyoids" are living human bodies that aren't conscious, can't think and do not feel pain.
Creation of such 'spare' human bodies could be useful for research and providing organs for donation.
You couldn't make this up. Shame on you all, COP30 organisers.
Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit
The infrastructure required to host climate talks in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 12, 2025 at 8:35 AM
You couldn't make this up. Shame on you all, COP30 organisers.
Reposted by Johnathan Reid
Published today by @titanbooks.bsky.social in paperback, ebook, and audio and available at all good bookstores.
“Simply marvellous” – BOOKLIST
“A page-turning adventure” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“An excellent read” – ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
“Another great slice of science fiction” – NEW SCIENTIST
“Simply marvellous” – BOOKLIST
“A page-turning adventure” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“An excellent read” – ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
“Another great slice of science fiction” – NEW SCIENTIST
February 25, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Published today by @titanbooks.bsky.social in paperback, ebook, and audio and available at all good bookstores.
“Simply marvellous” – BOOKLIST
“A page-turning adventure” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“An excellent read” – ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
“Another great slice of science fiction” – NEW SCIENTIST
“Simply marvellous” – BOOKLIST
“A page-turning adventure” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“An excellent read” – ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
“Another great slice of science fiction” – NEW SCIENTIST
Just to be clear that when authors encourage each other to read as much as possible, across a wide range of genres, styles and topics, this isn't like ingesting training data. Humans don't do that.
We learn by using our brains. And apeing our favourite authors. Even subconsciously. Plus: emotions.
We learn by using our brains. And apeing our favourite authors. Even subconsciously. Plus: emotions.
February 16, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Just to be clear that when authors encourage each other to read as much as possible, across a wide range of genres, styles and topics, this isn't like ingesting training data. Humans don't do that.
We learn by using our brains. And apeing our favourite authors. Even subconsciously. Plus: emotions.
We learn by using our brains. And apeing our favourite authors. Even subconsciously. Plus: emotions.
Reposted by Johnathan Reid
A while back I learned something mindblowing about the geological history of the Mediterranean Sea, and I just can't get it out of my head.
Now I'm going to make it *your* problem too. Sorry.
Hang onto your hat. This is wild.
1/
Now I'm going to make it *your* problem too. Sorry.
Hang onto your hat. This is wild.
1/
November 8, 2024 at 1:22 PM
A while back I learned something mindblowing about the geological history of the Mediterranean Sea, and I just can't get it out of my head.
Now I'm going to make it *your* problem too. Sorry.
Hang onto your hat. This is wild.
1/
Now I'm going to make it *your* problem too. Sorry.
Hang onto your hat. This is wild.
1/
For all the fellow ‘INFJ’ authors out there.
<so many, so not required, now so in denial>
For me, it’s mainly Tuesdays…
<so many, so not required, now so in denial>
For me, it’s mainly Tuesdays…
Jason Hreha on LinkedIn: Your Myers Briggs personality type is nearly meaningless. That’s not just… | 445 comments
Your Myers Briggs personality type is nearly meaningless. That’s not just an opinion—research on its reliability and validity backs it up...
And yet Fortune… | 445 comments on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com
February 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
For all the fellow ‘INFJ’ authors out there.
<so many, so not required, now so in denial>
For me, it’s mainly Tuesdays…
<so many, so not required, now so in denial>
For me, it’s mainly Tuesdays…
I've a notion that, similar to how philosophy, astronomy and evolution repositioned our previously vaunted place in this universe, the artificial intelligences which could in future arise will diminish the majesty of the human mind, leaving only ignorance and religion to coddle our superior nature.
February 12, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I've a notion that, similar to how philosophy, astronomy and evolution repositioned our previously vaunted place in this universe, the artificial intelligences which could in future arise will diminish the majesty of the human mind, leaving only ignorance and religion to coddle our superior nature.
February 3, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Johnathan Reid
The chosen POV isn't a monolith that can only be done in one way.
There's a close third-person that's virtually first-person, for example. You can also go the other way seeking a kind of distant omniscience.
You can be 'cinematic', or get deep into character's minds.
Your preference is not law.
There's a close third-person that's virtually first-person, for example. You can also go the other way seeking a kind of distant omniscience.
You can be 'cinematic', or get deep into character's minds.
Your preference is not law.
January 15, 2025 at 10:53 PM
The chosen POV isn't a monolith that can only be done in one way.
There's a close third-person that's virtually first-person, for example. You can also go the other way seeking a kind of distant omniscience.
You can be 'cinematic', or get deep into character's minds.
Your preference is not law.
There's a close third-person that's virtually first-person, for example. You can also go the other way seeking a kind of distant omniscience.
You can be 'cinematic', or get deep into character's minds.
Your preference is not law.
We'd all be healthier and wealthier if only governments were as rigorous in regulating our food as they are our drugs.
‘I feel blessed to get Wegovy weight-loss jab’ - but can the NHS afford it for all?
We meet some of the first NHS patients, as expert says funding everyone eligible would
www.bbc.co.uk
January 13, 2025 at 1:09 PM
We'd all be healthier and wealthier if only governments were as rigorous in regulating our food as they are our drugs.
Another nail in the coffin of humanity being significant in this universe. After geocentricity and divergence with the CMB, the Standard Model's ‘universal' constants may arise from us being in a gravitational backwater in the infinitely expanding void. Any eyes we build will continue to deceive us.
Huge if true – dark energy doesn’t exist, claims new study on supernovas
A new study on exploding stars has provided the first evidence for an alternative model of the universe, known as Timescape.
theconversation.com
January 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Another nail in the coffin of humanity being significant in this universe. After geocentricity and divergence with the CMB, the Standard Model's ‘universal' constants may arise from us being in a gravitational backwater in the infinitely expanding void. Any eyes we build will continue to deceive us.
Here's a summary of my past year's writing:
36 newsletters, including:
- 4 short stories
- 13 flash fiction pieces
- 10 poems.
- 2 StoryVerse nodes (12z+13z)
+ 32 serialised novel chapters.
My 2024 published output was ~85,000 words (equivalent to a decent-sized novel).
Looking forward to 2025!
36 newsletters, including:
- 4 short stories
- 13 flash fiction pieces
- 10 poems.
- 2 StoryVerse nodes (12z+13z)
+ 32 serialised novel chapters.
My 2024 published output was ~85,000 words (equivalent to a decent-sized novel).
Looking forward to 2025!
My ReidItWrite 2024 Review
The stories, the poems, the awards, the novels...
reiditwrite.substack.com
December 30, 2024 at 4:22 PM
Here's a summary of my past year's writing:
36 newsletters, including:
- 4 short stories
- 13 flash fiction pieces
- 10 poems.
- 2 StoryVerse nodes (12z+13z)
+ 32 serialised novel chapters.
My 2024 published output was ~85,000 words (equivalent to a decent-sized novel).
Looking forward to 2025!
36 newsletters, including:
- 4 short stories
- 13 flash fiction pieces
- 10 poems.
- 2 StoryVerse nodes (12z+13z)
+ 32 serialised novel chapters.
My 2024 published output was ~85,000 words (equivalent to a decent-sized novel).
Looking forward to 2025!
Reposted by Johnathan Reid
For first novelists only.
9 things not to do in that first draft of your first novel.
#writingcommunity #writing #firstnovel
open.substack.com/pub/awriters...
9 things not to do in that first draft of your first novel.
#writingcommunity #writing #firstnovel
open.substack.com/pub/awriters...
9 Things Not to Do in Your First Novel's First Draft
Revisited
open.substack.com
December 14, 2024 at 2:46 PM
For first novelists only.
9 things not to do in that first draft of your first novel.
#writingcommunity #writing #firstnovel
open.substack.com/pub/awriters...
9 things not to do in that first draft of your first novel.
#writingcommunity #writing #firstnovel
open.substack.com/pub/awriters...
Would you Adam & Eve it?
Humans may not have survived without Neanderthals
A new DNA analysis has shown that the arrival of modern humans from Africa was far from smooth.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 12, 2024 at 11:02 PM
Would you Adam & Eve it?
Predicting that authors will use their novels as training data for the private AI models they'll spin up to facilitate generation of new material (audio, graphical or text). But then Amazon will eventually spin the tables and its AI models will generate novels without the help of any authors at all.
Amazon announces Nova, a new family of multimodal AI models | TechCrunch
At its re:Invent 2024 conference, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's cloud computing division, announced a new family AI models called Nova.
techcrunch.com
December 11, 2024 at 11:32 PM
Predicting that authors will use their novels as training data for the private AI models they'll spin up to facilitate generation of new material (audio, graphical or text). But then Amazon will eventually spin the tables and its AI models will generate novels without the help of any authors at all.
Reposted by Johnathan Reid
Why write NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS? 🪲👽
In Ep. 133, author @aptshadow.bsky.social tells co-hosts @adrianmgibson.bsky.social @mjkuhnbooks.bsky.social about how he uses non-human characters in his stories to build empathy for the other.
Stream/download/watch:
linktr.ee/SFFAddicts
youtu.be/uivznXQr9zM?...
In Ep. 133, author @aptshadow.bsky.social tells co-hosts @adrianmgibson.bsky.social @mjkuhnbooks.bsky.social about how he uses non-human characters in his stories to build empathy for the other.
Stream/download/watch:
linktr.ee/SFFAddicts
youtu.be/uivznXQr9zM?...
December 5, 2024 at 4:39 PM
Why write NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS? 🪲👽
In Ep. 133, author @aptshadow.bsky.social tells co-hosts @adrianmgibson.bsky.social @mjkuhnbooks.bsky.social about how he uses non-human characters in his stories to build empathy for the other.
Stream/download/watch:
linktr.ee/SFFAddicts
youtu.be/uivznXQr9zM?...
In Ep. 133, author @aptshadow.bsky.social tells co-hosts @adrianmgibson.bsky.social @mjkuhnbooks.bsky.social about how he uses non-human characters in his stories to build empathy for the other.
Stream/download/watch:
linktr.ee/SFFAddicts
youtu.be/uivznXQr9zM?...
Ireland's new Adverse Weather Shield (AWS) has been activated to mitigate the impact of Storm Darragh.
Please note this is an entirely different cloud-based service to any which might collect data to help you spend money on stuff you don't need.
And there's BlueSky forecast for the weeks ahead.
Please note this is an entirely different cloud-based service to any which might collect data to help you spend money on stuff you don't need.
And there's BlueSky forecast for the weeks ahead.
December 5, 2024 at 10:33 AM
Ireland's new Adverse Weather Shield (AWS) has been activated to mitigate the impact of Storm Darragh.
Please note this is an entirely different cloud-based service to any which might collect data to help you spend money on stuff you don't need.
And there's BlueSky forecast for the weeks ahead.
Please note this is an entirely different cloud-based service to any which might collect data to help you spend money on stuff you don't need.
And there's BlueSky forecast for the weeks ahead.
Wow.
So much abolishing.
So much liberty.
So much money.
So much chaos.
(NB guns still allowed.)
So much abolishing.
So much liberty.
So much money.
So much chaos.
(NB guns still allowed.)
December 2024 Archives
The December 2024 issue of Reason magazine
reason.com
December 5, 2024 at 9:40 AM
Wow.
So much abolishing.
So much liberty.
So much money.
So much chaos.
(NB guns still allowed.)
So much abolishing.
So much liberty.
So much money.
So much chaos.
(NB guns still allowed.)
So I'm doing this.
Take a look if dystopian #SF with cli-fi & first contact appeals. The novel features a near-future world devastated by climate change, a desert society at war with an orbital techno-religious cult and a young woman with a desperate plan, an unnecessary man and a limited lifespan.
Take a look if dystopian #SF with cli-fi & first contact appeals. The novel features a near-future world devastated by climate change, a desert society at war with an orbital techno-religious cult and a young woman with a desperate plan, an unnecessary man and a limited lifespan.
The Consilience Series | Johnathan Reid | Substack
INGRESSION is the first speculative fiction story in The Consilience Series. Chapters published twice weekly. Dystopian / Post-Apocalyptic / Cli-Fi / First Contact. Click to read The Consilience Serie...
consilienceseries.substack.com
December 3, 2024 at 8:17 AM
So I'm doing this.
Take a look if dystopian #SF with cli-fi & first contact appeals. The novel features a near-future world devastated by climate change, a desert society at war with an orbital techno-religious cult and a young woman with a desperate plan, an unnecessary man and a limited lifespan.
Take a look if dystopian #SF with cli-fi & first contact appeals. The novel features a near-future world devastated by climate change, a desert society at war with an orbital techno-religious cult and a young woman with a desperate plan, an unnecessary man and a limited lifespan.
Why the surprise? I see lots of folks misinterpreting the act of creating a manuscript with publishing automation. The publishing industry doesn't possess unique immunity or characteristics negating the process automation of digital content. It's like protesting against robots on car assembly lines.
New publisher Spines aims to 'disrupt' industry by using AI to publish 8,000 books in 2025 alone
A new publisher has claimed it aims to “disrupt” the books industry by publishing 8,000 books in 2025 alone using artificial intelligence.
www.thebookseller.com
November 27, 2024 at 11:14 AM
Why the surprise? I see lots of folks misinterpreting the act of creating a manuscript with publishing automation. The publishing industry doesn't possess unique immunity or characteristics negating the process automation of digital content. It's like protesting against robots on car assembly lines.