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Writing Science Fiction: Tips for Beginners

We’ve seen a lot of science fiction stories over the past year or so. It’s not like they sci-fi ever went out of style, but it seems to be gaining popularity recently.

For some, writing science fiction might seem like a daunting genre to break into. Do you need to know complex mathematical equations? Do you need to know exactly how space travel works? Did you need to major in astrophysics?

Sure, those things don’t hurt, but they’re absolutely not necessary. You can write a great sci-fi novel without years of research. And you can tell a really interesting story, even if you’re not a science pro.

Here are a few tips to get started:

Consider ‘What-if’ Scenarios

This isn’t just a great rule for sci-fi novels, but I think the best ones use this approach. Start off with a simple what-if scenario. For example: what if we lived on a world made of ice? What if in this particular world only consisted of women? Obviously, you’ll need to expand on those scenarios and spend time really developing what those caveats would mean, but you get the idea.

Start with a small what-if scenario and brainstorm!

Figure Out Your Rules

I don’t think writing great sci-fi depends on being 100% scientifically accurate ALL THE TIME, but I do think you need to stick to your own rules. Whatever is a hard rule for your own universe, it’s important to keep it that way. Does your world have ships that can travel quickly from planet to planet? Sure, that’s great! Figure out your own rules for space travel and develop your world. How do the inhabitants on one planet act/grow/eat/interact compared to the inhabitants of another? Spend time developing these ideas!

No Info Dumps!

Sometimes when people write science fiction, they tend to explain their universe all in one big info-dump. Don’t. This is boring and it does nothing to serve your story. Slowly reveal information. Every plot point in your story should serve a purpose. Develop your characters through the action and show off your worlds through them. Get creative.

Keep it Vague

If you’re unsure about the science of something, write to your strengths. Don’t understand how space travel works? Maybe your MC is put to sleep during a long trip. This is just one example, but try to figure out a way to make it work for you. Maybe avoid space travel altogether if it doesn’t serve your story.

Listen, this isn’t a substitute for research, but I also don’t want you to avoid writing science fiction if you just don’t get a lot of the concepts involved. If you’ve got a great idea for a story, work it out to fit your style. Science fiction is a great platform for unique and compelling character studies, so don’t get scared off! You don’t have to write hard science fiction in order to write a good novel.

-Kris Noel

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What would you like to happen during an apocalypse?

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Missing you

My Dearest Nica. I couldn't sleep last night because I know that it's over between us. I'm not bitter anymore, because I know that what we had was real. And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I'll smile at you with joy and remember how we spent February together, learning from each other and growing in love. The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that's what you've given me. That's what I hope to give to you forever. I love you. 

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How to Create Awesome Headshots

One of the most essential elements to a great company website are awesome company headshots. When I see a website or pitch deck with bad or inconsistent headshots, I cringe. It’s sloppy and not professional, and it carries over to the way people perceive your brand. It’s not worth damaging a professional reputation with amateur headshots. You need headshots with consistent style, expression, wardrobe, location and photographic quality so your team looks pulled together.

Many of our clients get new headshots when they work with us, whether it’s a team of 3 or 60. That’s because headshots are important components of the larger branding picture. When you’re trying to sell who you are as a company in today’s media-driven business world, you need great images of your people. After all, your people are the face of the company.

So no more excuses. It’s time to ditch the iPhone selfies, the dated shots with stonewash blue backgrounds, and pictures taken by co-workers against a brick wall. This post explains what you need to know about getting the shots your company needs to bring out the diversity of each individual in a way that is congruent with your company’s overall brand.

Here are 6 tips to remember when planning your next company photoshoot:1. Work with professionals.

If you work with a branding agency, let them direct and guide your company headshots to align with the vision and style of your brand. They will select the right photographer and help you establish headshot standards for your company. These standards will set the foundation for all future shoots, and ensure consistency as you bring on new employees over time. If you don’t have a branding partner, make sure to hire a professional photographer who knows how to work with people. No, not a friend of a friend with a camera. Someone with real chops who will act like a film director to guide your posing and expressions on set. You don’t want an amateur behind the lens.

2. Establish wardrobe standards.

Everyone on your team should wear something that creates a cohesive branded look. Your wardrobe decisions should reflect your company’s everyday work attire. If you’re a casual crew of jean-wearing folks, don’t overdress and tell everyone to wear suits and ties. Establish wardrobe standards for ladies and gents so the team is on the same page about how to dress for the shoot. Create a wardrobe style guide with tips and examples of what to wear and send it out to all employees at least 2 weeks before the shoot to allow time for personal shopping. To get shots that both you and your team members adore, stress the importance of well-fitting clothing. Our clients love when there is a stylist on set to help with pinning clothes that are too big and advising on clothing choices. Be sure to tell everyone to stay away from crazy or distracting patterns like stripes, flowers, and big geometric graphics — they detract from your face and can cause the photo to become outdated more quickly.

3. Establish a standard facial expression.

Whatever your company’s personality is should be reflected in your facial expressions. If your company is fun and outgoing, ask for big, happy smiles or playful expressions that bring out each individual’s personality. If you’re a going for a more serious or pensive look, try a closed-mouth smile with a softer gaze that looks calm and relaxed. It is very helpful for your employees to know what their expression should be on camera. Your photographer will work with each person to find their “best side,” guide their expression according to the overall goal, and capture a look that’s unique to each person.

4. Create background and lighting guidelines.

Background standards and a finely tuned lighting setup make it easy to add new employees without disrupting consistency. When choosing a location, go with a background that will appear the same over time so that new employee headshots match with the rest. Great options for outdoor shots are on city streets, in front of cool buildings and architecture, and in local parks. If you’re growing fast and headshots for new people need to be taken regularly, you should only take them outside if you live in a climate where seasons don’t have much of an impact. Otherwise, the bare winter trees in Kara’s background won’t match the green ones in Lori’s. If you can’t count on the seasons to create a consistent outdoor background, headshots can be taken in a certain spot inside your office or coworking space near windows, statement walls, or exposed brick. Indoor environmental shots put your people in their element. However, if you have a remote team, you may be better off doing a studio session using colored background paper on white, black, light grey, dark grey, teal, pink or any other color of your pleasure. This is the easiest type of headshot to replicate. Establishing background and lighting standards now will help future photographers adhere to this standard moving forward.

5. Determine a Crop Standard.

One of the best ways to uphold a consistent appearance across each photo is to determine a crop standard. Photos taken from the chest up work well for social media profiles because they can be cropped into a tight, face-featuring square. If you’re taking these photos to be featured on your website, in presentations, marketing materials or in a company portfolio, you have a bit more flexibility. Headshots taken from the waist up radiate an approachable look, and full body photos can appear quite sharp when posed correctly.

6. Hire a hair and makeup artist.

To ace professional headshots, we encourage our clients to have a professional hair and makeup artist on set for both men and women. It’s important to add definition to your features, and to add more makeup than usual without looking overdone. Both guys and gals should come to the shoot makeup-free and with clean hair. Don’t worry, the guys won’t look like they’re wearing makeup — for them, it’s mostly just translucent powder to ensure shine-free skin.

Here are some general tips and best practices to share with your team:Everyone

Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel and look great.

Bring 2-3 changes of clothing to have choices on set.

Clothes should be neatly pressed and should look new or like new (make sure there’s a steamer on set).

Avoid busy patterns, bold graphics, and distracting stripes.

Cream, beige, pastels, peach or yellow colors typically don’t work well on camera.

Don’t cut or dye your hair right before the shoot. A new haircut looks its best after a week, and freshly colored hair can look too vibrant and unnatural on camera.

Do not try or use any new product on your hair, face or body the days before your shoot in case you have a bad reaction to the product.

If you want to whiten your teeth before your session, start as early as possible and use a natural whitening method, or have your teeth whitened by your dentist.

Ladies

The standard corporate look is a suit jacket and blouse.

For a no-jacket casual look, bring solid colored blouses or collared shirts that are darker than your skin tone. Keep patterns to a minimum.

A white blouse by itself isn’t recommended unless you plan to wear it under something.

Don’t wear sleeveless tops or dresses unless worn under a jacket or sweater. Bare arms can be distracting.

Avoid shiny and sheer fabrics.

Keep jewelry simple – small is better.

Avoid statement jewelry that would distract from your face or that looks dated or too trendy. The picture is about your face, not the jewelry.

Gents

The standard corporate look is a suit jacket, dress shirt and tie.

A casual business look can be an open jacket and shirt, collared shirt under a thin sweater, or button-down shirt with rolled cuffs.

Short sleeves are typically not recommended for guys, even for casual looks. Exception to the rule are branded company polos or tshirts.

Wear solid colored shirts or small patterns that are darker than your skin tone.

A white dress shirt by itself doesn’t work well on camera unless you plan to wear it underneath a jacket or sweater.

Bring a v-neck undershirt or no undershirt at all so it doesn’t show.

Make sure your jackets and shirts fit you properly. Not too tight. Not to big. A poor fitting jacket or shirt will be obvious in the photos especially around the neck and shoulders.

Don’t wear shiny ties or fabrics.

The best rule of thumb for facial hair is to commit to your look- either a beard, mustache, or nothing at all. Anything scruffy or stubbly in between is not advisable. If you have a beard, trim it evenly so it’s nicely groomed. If you’re going clean-shaven, get a good shave the morning of your headshot.

After you’ve checked all of these pre-photoshoot to-do’s off your list, you’ll be ready to take professional company headshots that make your employees and your brand look amazing. You may want to get really creative and break some best-practice rules for headshots. We’re all for breaking rules. Just make sure the results are better off for it. Most importantly – have fun with this. It’s a great way to get your team bonding!

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3 Powerful Marketing Strategies Used During the Rio Olympics

Millions of patriotic spectators across the world tuned into the excitement and passion of the 2016 Rio Olympics. The ability to view live video coverage and access near real-time updates on social media meant that these spectators weren’t just watching the Olympic games; they were experiencing them. As people tapped into gymnastics on Snapchat and streamed swimming on their iPads, brands were testing out bold new marketing strategies to interact with their audiences like never before.

1. Partnering with Influencers to Reach Millennials

Paying for cable television seems unnecessary when you’ve got Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube at your disposal. And with the millennial generation opting for social media feeds over nightly news, major networks like NBC are struggling to maintain viewership ratings among this demographic. That’s why NBC took a new approach during this year’s games and focused on a multi-pronged advertising campaign that included partnering with dozens of social influencers in music, comedy and lifestyle categories.

NBC tapped influencers like The Fine Brothers, Matt Cutshall, Becca Tilley and Cole LaBrant to produce their own social content promoting the Olympics on television. This helped attract the attention of heavy social media users (who might not typically watch the Olympics on cable) and persuaded them to tune in. Hiring a popular social media influencer can cost a pretty penny, but smaller brands can capitalize on this strategy by working with niche industry influencers to reach a targeted audience.

2. Advertising on Snapchat During Live Event Streaming

If you did stick around for the frequent commercial breaks during the opening ceremony, you’d have noticed an overarching theme across every advertisement. While some took a playful, humorous route and others struck a more heartfelt chord, they were all united by themes of hope, strength, and harmony.

NBC’s Rio stories on Snapchat conveyed a similar tone by broadcasting events in full millennial fashion — with selfie interviews from leading Olympians, inspirational messages and playful filters. This put the Olympics directly into the hands of everyday people to create a greater sense of both national patriotism and world unity. By advertising directly within these instant updates, brands like Ford, Walmart, and Sony achieved a much more personable tone.

3. Using Virtual Reality to Drive Brand Awareness

While virtual reality is quickly gaining momentum in the tech space, it has yet to become popular as a branding strategy. That’s why Kellogg’s high-tech, interactive send-off in New York City was a bold move. Displayed in the city’s Union Square, Kellogg’s #getmestarted event hosted five different Olympians, giving everyday citizens a chance to see their talents in action and meet them in person. The technological advancements in Kellogg’s campaign included a live stream of Ajee Wilson running in Central Park and a virtual reality experience recreating the underwater perspective of swimmer Tom Shields.

The #getmestarted campaign also called on social media users to tag their own posts according to the theme #getmestarted and served as an effective way to drive engagement online. Kelloggs’ brand activation shows how in-person brand interactions can be merged with new technologies to provide a truly memorable experience.

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40 Immediate Ways to Be an (Even) Better Leader

You’re a good leader. You run a good organization. You have a good product and a good brand. You have good customer service. Your sales are good. You have good people on your team and a good culture. So if everything is so good, why are you unsatisfied?

My bet is that you have finally arrived at the point where you see it too — good is not enough.

Being good might have got you to here, but it doesn’t have the power to take you and your company into your next magnificent chapter.

There is no better time than right now to question your current standards of leadership and set new, extraordinary ones for yourself. Start by focusing on the little things that inspire, motivate, and move people to dream bigger and reach higher.

Here’s 40 Ways You Can Go From Good to Extraordinary:

Stop focusing so much on financial and material gain. It is not the only measure of success.

Practice patience. When you always look for the short cut, the easy way, or the trick, you don’t develop mastery.

Put away your phone in meetings and during conversations with other people. They deserve your attention.

Keep your north star in focus 100% of the time.

Give your employees a paid day off on their birthday.

Stop huffing and puffing when things go wrong. It puts people on edge.

Uncross your legs and arms. Open body language makes people feel less tense.

Clean the toilet and mop the floors. You’re never too good to do the dirty work.

Look someone straight in the eyes and say, “You make the world a better place.”

Include your employees’ spouses or partners at work events, social gatherings and on trips. Work is easier for your employees when they have support at home.

Hand-write thank you notes. It’s a lost art.

Get out from behind your desk and step into the trenches. Sit next to employees, listen to their feedback, and walk in their shoes. You’ll see things on the ground that you’ll never see from the sky.

Smile more. Smiles are contagious.

Be intensely vigilant about who you allow into your organization. One bad apple spoils the bunch.

Don’t just talk, do. Talk is getting cheaper by the minute.

Never lie, cheat or make excuses.

Never belittle an employee. It says more about you than it does about them.

Be all in. Part-time leaders don’t win the game.

Accept responsibility for creating the culture, like you’re a parent creating a childhood. Their experience is on you.

Make your values mean something. They shouldn’t just be words on your website or posters on your walls. Embed your values into your systems and processes. Hire by them, dream by them, fall on your sword by them.

Don’t settle for mediocrity. When you’re in the middle, you’re just as close to the bottom as you are to the top.

When someone asks you for a piece of advice, give it to them with enthusiasm and tell them to come back if they need more in the future.

Find a mentor who inspires you. All great leaders need a great leader.

Intervene if you witness something you don’t like.

Don’t stand by and watch people be mistreated.

Give people a path so they see their future with you. Turn up the volume on training and personal development.

Move away from command and control toward co-creation and participatory management.

Talk face-to-face. Discussing important matters over email, text and Slack can backfire.

Keep your word. Your word is your bond (shout out to Michelle Obama).

Keep calm and cool in turbulent times. How else do you think Brady won the Super Bowl?

Show, don’t tell. Employee behavior is a direct result of your own actions.

Send an email of appreciation to someone–and let them know you just wanted to express your gratitude, so they don’t need to write back.

Shut up and listen. Not only to what people say, but to what they don’t say. The absence of words speaks loudly when you pay attention.

Share a specific example with your team of something an employee did and how it made a difference.

Speak from the heart.

Write a blog post about how your team helped you see things differently and dedicate it to them.

Give someone a book you’ve read and inscribe the inside cover with a meaningful message.

Share things that inspire you. That uplifting article? That tear-jerking documentary? That video that blew your mind? Send them to your team.

Kneel at the altar of the brand. Continuously invest in it, nurture it, and improve it. Don’t just leave it to the marketing department.

Have some courage, man. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

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Maybe one day you'll come back. Maybe you never will and that'll suck, but you can't keep doing this. The blame and the self-loathing and the bullshit. I can't watch that. It makes me hate you for hating yourself. I don't want to lose you. But I'd rather lose you if it means you'll be happy. I think if you come back with me today, you'll never be okay. And I'll never be okay if you aren't. I need to know that there's a way for people like us to end up okay. I need to know that there even is such a thing as okay, maybe even good, and it's out there and we just haven't found it yet. There's got to be a happier ending than this, here. There's got to be a better story. Because we deserve one. You deserve one. Even if it doesn't end with you coming back to me.

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Clarity before intimacy. Tigilan ang MU (malabong usapan). Don't date someone you are  not planning to marry. Date with a purpose.

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Year 2017

2016 was bittersweet, there were highs and lows as usual, probably lots of frustrations, but somehow got up and took some opportunities along the way, that helped brought back my spirit, there were lots of realizations, lots of trust issues, but there were knocks on my head, a voice telling me to not give a fuck on small matters, cause there’s always a solution to them, even if it doesn’t totally resolve things, but at least it lessens and it stops them from growing horribly, I was also ungrateful, but then I turned stuff around and became thankful on what I currently have, but still strive on what I could accomplish soon, I did screwed up stuff and got back, I also thought I could do things on my own, and then I called some trust worthy ones and got some helped, I have lost, I have gained, I was hopeless, but there were other paths and options I picked along the way, I could go on and on about what this year felt like, truth is 2016 doesn’t really totally suck, it’s just like a heart rate monitor, where at the end we’re all panicking cause of the turn of events, it affects everyone, we never noticed the good things that happened in between, though I couldn’t deny that it wasn’t a pleasant year for the whole world to see, at least we saw some hope, and for that we hope 2017 will bring more greener pastures to all.

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Pride

My Foundation is Built Upon Achievements and Perfection

I Can Never Admit When I’m Wrong

Because Agreeing You Are Right Makes Me the Weaker Link

I’ve Spent Years Sewing Myself Together-

Cutting Loose EndsTightening the Bond

Sewing and Stitching Until my Work is Done

Then I Burn the End of What I Started, Waiting for the Next Chapter to Begin so I May Start Anew

I Work Hard and I Try my Best to Accommodate to my Changing Surroundings

But Things Don’t Always Go as Planned

When I Feel it Falling Apart, I Grab the Needle and Thread

And I Sew Faster

I Prick my Fingers I Watch them Work

The Cloth Starts to ReddenMy Sin’s at Work

The Pain Starts to BurnBut I Make it Subside

It Screams for me to Stop

But It Wanders to the Back of my Mind

I’ve Worked too Hard to Watch my World Unravel at the Seams

And I’m not Ready to Admit my Defeat

So I Sew and Prick, I Bleed and Wince

My Needle Drops at the Point

It Clatters with a Ting

And Splatters Little Bloodlets to the Tile-

Now my Work is CompleteAnd I Can Easily Breathe

As Society’s Burden Starts to Weigh on my Shoulders

I Turn to Walk Away

As I Begin my Journey Down the Uncertain Path

That Seemed so Familiar to Me Yesterday

Even Though I Am Alone

My Cloth Follows Me

It’s the Companion I’ve Always Held Dearly

But Wished I Didn’t Need

My Nose Held High

Confidence in Every Step

I Smile with a Laugh

And Say at the Top of my Lungs

“They are All Just Envious

All they do is Feed of their Greed

But One Day they Will All See

They Will Never be as Perfect as Me”

But No Matter Where I Go

That Blood Will Always Follow Me…

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True Love

People don’t understand what it means to love someone. Love is not something you can be selfish about. It is a give and take situation, notice give being the first word in that. Love is not about what the person you’re with is doing to make you happy, it’s about what you’re doing to make them happy. Now the person you’re with should be thinking along the same lines so it’s not a take-take situation on their part. All ideals about love being completely intense and passionate all the time should be thrown away. Love is not an entertainer, it is not going to constantly create excitement and passion. I’m not saying it never will but don’t expect it to constantly be exciting. Know that even in the quiet times love is there, even as you do mundane tasks, it is there. If it is true and you are not lying to yourself about it, it will always be there. I don’t believe you can fall out of love with someone because if that happens you never really loved them, you were infatuated yes, but not in love. A relationship that lasts years and ends doesn’t mean you truely loved the person, you did “love” them in a way but you never had true love. The sad thing is not many people in this world find true love. They find common everyday love that cannot stand the test of time but not true love. True love lasts and though I know this is a cliche you really have to understand what I mean by “true love”. By this I mean that if you are selfish about love and believe that it must make you happy at all times you will never have true love. True love is an understanding of what it means to be in love. It means giving and sacrificing more than you think you can. Now there is no right person. There are many millions of people in the world so how could you hope to discover a “soulmate”? Only when you understand true love can you be with someone and be truely in love.

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Art is

As an artist I constantly find myself bombarded with the question: “how can you make this stuff up?” And for the most part I am bothered by this question, for as Julia Cameron once said “art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite – getting something down.” To create a body, to give it flesh and bone and breathe life into its shadowed eyes and form a personality through expression, this cannot be done from nothing. There is no possible way to create such a character from nothing. How arrogant would it be of the artist to think that his almighty pen can stretch into the void and like the magic of the stars illuminate the dark circle with life. It is not possible. Even the imaginary creatures that sometimes spill upon the paper before me do not come from nothing. They come from hard research of the muscular and skeletal structure of various creatures, of studying the sweat on the flank of a horse, of noting the slight flex of the gymnast’s knee. Art is not magic; it does not suddenly appear from out of nowhere. Art must be practiced, studied, and twirled over and over in the mind’s blender, hatched together with a composition, a feel, and colors as well. Art is not an accident; it is all there in the creator’s mind. The artist’s greatest task then is to take what is thought of in the brain and translate the wonderful image to a portrait visible to other’s eyes. In this way art is not the making of things up but of translating a conglomeration of imagery and ideals into one frame of existence.