Timothy Johnson
@timtellsstories.bsky.social
Speculative fiction writer | author of novels The Pillars of Dawn & Carrier | stories in Gamut, Haven Speculative, others | MFA from GMU | HWA | he/him
Today I realized I will never know how many emails I accidentally signed from Tom.
September 4, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Today I realized I will never know how many emails I accidentally signed from Tom.
“In its current form, MAHA is not about making America healthy again. At best, it is about laundering the reputation of an administration that is doing the exact opposite.”
youtu.be/3lzfH86avIc?...
youtu.be/3lzfH86avIc?...
Make America Healthy Again: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
youtu.be
August 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
“In its current form, MAHA is not about making America healthy again. At best, it is about laundering the reputation of an administration that is doing the exact opposite.”
youtu.be/3lzfH86avIc?...
youtu.be/3lzfH86avIc?...
I have a novel I’m looking to publish. I think it’s pretty good. It’s about the end times and America, and there are monsters. Anyway, if you know any decent people who’d like to work with a storyteller like me (or me, in particular), I’m open, or whatever. *shoves hands in pockets and kicks rocks
July 16, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I have a novel I’m looking to publish. I think it’s pretty good. It’s about the end times and America, and there are monsters. Anyway, if you know any decent people who’d like to work with a storyteller like me (or me, in particular), I’m open, or whatever. *shoves hands in pockets and kicks rocks
28 Years Later is a bizarre trip with some interesting filmmaking choices. It feels more Danny Boyle than Alex Garland to me. It’s not what I hoped it would be, but if you’re willing to go on an apocalyptic journey that feels pseudo-hallucinated, you might enjoy it.
July 16, 2025 at 3:13 PM
28 Years Later is a bizarre trip with some interesting filmmaking choices. It feels more Danny Boyle than Alex Garland to me. It’s not what I hoped it would be, but if you’re willing to go on an apocalyptic journey that feels pseudo-hallucinated, you might enjoy it.
Perspective is a vital thing you bring when you consume a story.
In my brief stint teaching lit, I learned it didn't matter how many times I studied a text; new students always showed me new ideas.
Which is to say insight is a product of perspective, not intelligence, and your perspective matters.
In my brief stint teaching lit, I learned it didn't matter how many times I studied a text; new students always showed me new ideas.
Which is to say insight is a product of perspective, not intelligence, and your perspective matters.
July 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Perspective is a vital thing you bring when you consume a story.
In my brief stint teaching lit, I learned it didn't matter how many times I studied a text; new students always showed me new ideas.
Which is to say insight is a product of perspective, not intelligence, and your perspective matters.
In my brief stint teaching lit, I learned it didn't matter how many times I studied a text; new students always showed me new ideas.
Which is to say insight is a product of perspective, not intelligence, and your perspective matters.
I see you. I accept you. I welcome you. I love you. I will ride into battle with you.
Happy Pride Month!
Happy Pride Month!
June 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I see you. I accept you. I welcome you. I love you. I will ride into battle with you.
Happy Pride Month!
Happy Pride Month!
We talk a lot in craft essays about how storytelling works, but ever think about *why* it works? I do. Like, a lot.
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/why-sto...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/why-sto...
Why Storytelling Works by Timothy Johnson,
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay Most craft essays focus on how storytelling works, but we don't talk enough about why it works. I think the question is relevant whether you want to write stories or you j...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com
May 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
We talk a lot in craft essays about how storytelling works, but ever think about *why* it works? I do. Like, a lot.
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/why-sto...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/why-sto...
I have this wacky idea that, while we fiction writers often learn, think about, and teach certain storytelling elements independently, they're vitally and inextricably connected, exerting force on each other. What if we think about them as triads?
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/storyte...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/storyte...
Storytelling Elements Are Connected (in Triangles) by Timothy Johnson,
Photo by Jumping Jax on Unsplash Last time, I wrote about Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals and how they can play a role in storytelling, and it got me thinking about triangles. We often express Aristotl...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com
May 14, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I have this wacky idea that, while we fiction writers often learn, think about, and teach certain storytelling elements independently, they're vitally and inextricably connected, exerting force on each other. What if we think about them as triads?
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/storyte...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/storyte...
Me: Reads book. Enjoys the heck out of it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 3-star book.
Also me: Reads book. Really struggles through it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 4+-star book.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also me: Reads book. Really struggles through it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 4+-star book.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
May 1, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Me: Reads book. Enjoys the heck out of it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 3-star book.
Also me: Reads book. Really struggles through it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 4+-star book.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also me: Reads book. Really struggles through it. Pulls it up on Goodreads. Finds it’s a 4+-star book.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m not sure I can trust people who walk by the best coffee shops in the area to go to a Starbucks or Dunkin. No disrespect if you like those places. They definitely have their utility. But try the local places. They’re usually awesome.
April 29, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I’m not sure I can trust people who walk by the best coffee shops in the area to go to a Starbucks or Dunkin. No disrespect if you like those places. They definitely have their utility. But try the local places. They’re usually awesome.
Now that Microsoft has made Copilot so fully integrated in Word with no option for installing without it, I’m canceling my O365 and switching to an open-source alternative. I hope publishers will forgive any future issues in compatibility and formatting.
April 24, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Now that Microsoft has made Copilot so fully integrated in Word with no option for installing without it, I’m canceling my O365 and switching to an open-source alternative. I hope publishers will forgive any future issues in compatibility and formatting.
What if we think of stories as arguments and apply Aristotle’s framework for rhetorical appeals? I know that’s been bugging the heck out of you. Fret no more, because I explore it here!
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/four-ar...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/four-ar...
Four (Argumentative) Questions to Ask for Better Storytelling by Timothy Johnson,
All stories are arguments. I know what you’re thinking. That’s a bold claim, and what’s a fiction writer doing talking about argumentation anyway? Well, I’ll have you know I taught it at the universit...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com
April 16, 2025 at 11:07 PM
What if we think of stories as arguments and apply Aristotle’s framework for rhetorical appeals? I know that’s been bugging the heck out of you. Fret no more, because I explore it here!
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/four-ar...
timothyjohnsonfiction.com/blog/four-ar...
Hey Disney, here’s a pitch: an office sitcom about people who work during the Empire’s reign and casually discuss how awful everything is and how there’s nothing they can really do about it.
April 15, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Hey Disney, here’s a pitch: an office sitcom about people who work during the Empire’s reign and casually discuss how awful everything is and how there’s nothing they can really do about it.
Okay, you go to a fiction writer’s website. What are the top two or three reasons you’re there?
April 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Okay, you go to a fiction writer’s website. What are the top two or three reasons you’re there?
Reposted by Timothy Johnson
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social highlights the common ground that can be found with liberals, conservatives, and libertarians, around the Trump administration’s lack of constraint.
April 11, 2025 at 5:59 PM
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social highlights the common ground that can be found with liberals, conservatives, and libertarians, around the Trump administration’s lack of constraint.
Reposted by Timothy Johnson
Trump says he’ll use revenue from tariffs to “offset” more big tax cuts.
Those tax cuts will disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans and big corporations.
But revenue raised from tariffs will be coming disproportionately from average working people.
See how this works?
Those tax cuts will disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans and big corporations.
But revenue raised from tariffs will be coming disproportionately from average working people.
See how this works?
April 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Trump says he’ll use revenue from tariffs to “offset” more big tax cuts.
Those tax cuts will disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans and big corporations.
But revenue raised from tariffs will be coming disproportionately from average working people.
See how this works?
Those tax cuts will disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans and big corporations.
But revenue raised from tariffs will be coming disproportionately from average working people.
See how this works?
If you’re querying, don’t check your email before you get out of bed every morning. It just makes for bad starts to your days. Do as I say, not as I do.
April 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
If you’re querying, don’t check your email before you get out of bed every morning. It just makes for bad starts to your days. Do as I say, not as I do.
Why don’t we have matchmaking services for writers and agents? The infrastructure is right there with dating apps. You like Severance, dogs, and mountain vistas and are looking for stories with deep characters in rich, speculative worlds and are willing to get weird sometimes? Me too!
April 1, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Why don’t we have matchmaking services for writers and agents? The infrastructure is right there with dating apps. You like Severance, dogs, and mountain vistas and are looking for stories with deep characters in rich, speculative worlds and are willing to get weird sometimes? Me too!
My favorite part about xAI buying X is Elon stole mountains of IP to create a product to bail himself out of his incredible incompetence, and we not only let him do that but also are still letting him monetize the federal government. Even if he fails, he succeeds just because he has a lot of money.
March 31, 2025 at 6:34 PM
My favorite part about xAI buying X is Elon stole mountains of IP to create a product to bail himself out of his incredible incompetence, and we not only let him do that but also are still letting him monetize the federal government. Even if he fails, he succeeds just because he has a lot of money.
It’s okay to read narrowly. It’s important to push yourself to read widely, but it’s also healthy to, every once in a while, reread a book you love or dive deeply into an author’s work if you know you like them. I think that’s a benefit of pushing yourself into new stuff: you learn where to dig.
March 27, 2025 at 6:34 PM
It’s okay to read narrowly. It’s important to push yourself to read widely, but it’s also healthy to, every once in a while, reread a book you love or dive deeply into an author’s work if you know you like them. I think that’s a benefit of pushing yourself into new stuff: you learn where to dig.
Sure. What we really need is for our food, medication, healthcare, and pandemic preparedness to suck more. Super.
Most of the cuts will come from the public health agencies: The FDA, responsible for setting standards for Americans’ foods and medications, will shed 3,500 workers, while the CDC, which tracks infectious disease outbreaks, will cut 2,400 positions.
Department of Health and Human Services to cut 20,000 positions, public health agencies hit hardest
The agency made the announcement Thursday. The agency is responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals and overseeing health insurance programs for nearly half the…
buff.ly
March 27, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Sure. What we really need is for our food, medication, healthcare, and pandemic preparedness to suck more. Super.
Reposted by Timothy Johnson
We're open to submissions this month by authors of historically marginalized backgrounds!
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and other folks writing their truths!
Send us something!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and other folks writing their truths!
Send us something!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
Haven Spec Magazine, Submission Page
Fiction for the 21st Century!
www.havenspec.com
March 10, 2025 at 4:27 PM
We're open to submissions this month by authors of historically marginalized backgrounds!
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and other folks writing their truths!
Send us something!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and other folks writing their truths!
Send us something!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
Artistic creation happens when you’re crawling around in the dark with no idea where your piece is going. It’s hard and messy and that floor is somehow both mucky and dusty, but then your fingers find an object or, if lucky, a light switch, and the work is worth it. Gen AI denies you that.
I get why techbros and their ilk like gen-AI: artists and writers to them are just an obstacle to be bypassed. But I'll never get an author/artist/musician who uses it. "I want to be a writer." No you don't. You fetishize ideas but hate the work. You don't respect the craft or its practitioners.
March 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Artistic creation happens when you’re crawling around in the dark with no idea where your piece is going. It’s hard and messy and that floor is somehow both mucky and dusty, but then your fingers find an object or, if lucky, a light switch, and the work is worth it. Gen AI denies you that.
Reposted by Timothy Johnson
ICYMI: We're back cataloging Trump's cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes.
Lest We Forget the Horrors: An Unending Catalog of Trump’s Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes
Early in President Trump’s first term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We...
www.mcsweeneys.net
March 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
ICYMI: We're back cataloging Trump's cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes.
Quick coffee tips you didn’t ask for:
- If your coffee tastes bitter, you’re over-extracting it. Try a lighter roast, lower temp, coarser grind, or shorter brew time.
- If your coffee tastes sour, you’re under-extracting it. Try a darker roast, higher temp, finer grind, or longer brew time.
- If your coffee tastes bitter, you’re over-extracting it. Try a lighter roast, lower temp, coarser grind, or shorter brew time.
- If your coffee tastes sour, you’re under-extracting it. Try a darker roast, higher temp, finer grind, or longer brew time.
March 11, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Quick coffee tips you didn’t ask for:
- If your coffee tastes bitter, you’re over-extracting it. Try a lighter roast, lower temp, coarser grind, or shorter brew time.
- If your coffee tastes sour, you’re under-extracting it. Try a darker roast, higher temp, finer grind, or longer brew time.
- If your coffee tastes bitter, you’re over-extracting it. Try a lighter roast, lower temp, coarser grind, or shorter brew time.
- If your coffee tastes sour, you’re under-extracting it. Try a darker roast, higher temp, finer grind, or longer brew time.