Author Archives: Richard Murray

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About Richard Murray

I've been interested in astrophotography for some time now and more recently began writing science fiction. Half a million words plus later, I continue to write every day. I share some of the things I learned along the way as well as some of my writing, plus an occasional astrophoto I’ve taken just for fun on my blog site Fictional Astronomer at www.rmurrr.com .

Remain Calm No Matter What

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Richard Murray

This is a drawing my wife did of me at the telescope which a neighbor said looks exactly like me. There’s a story here somewhere but I’m not sure I want to write it.

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Penguin and the Caped Crusader

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Richard Murray

                                Penguin and the Caped Crusader        Better known as the Soul Nebula, IC1848, Constellation- Cassiopeia ©2008-2013 Richard Murray Science Fiction Stuff: The total exposure time for this image was 11 hours and 20 minutes. You might be thinking, “That poor … Continue reading →

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The Collaborative Novel

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Richard Murray

Have you ever thought about collaborating on a novel with another writer? I’m working on a novel off and on with my wife and believe it or not we’re still speaking to each other. She supplied me with the initial … Continue reading →

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Wake Up Call

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Richard Murray

Here’s a first draft excerpt I wrote this morning from my Novel in progress ‘Freeman’s Ocean’ which is pertinent for today and contains a little future history as well: A few generations back Stephen Hawking had staunchly ranted about how the … Continue reading →

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The Writers Room

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Richard Murray

For anyone curious about what a writer’s room creative process is like and how they crank out all of those weekly episodes, there’s a new series on the Sundance channel called ‘The Writers Room’ where the original writers of a series … Continue reading →

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The Process of Writing

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Richard Murray

Here’s a brief outline of my current writing process (a good exercise for me to clarify what I do and what I need to change). After my initial story idea I use Keynote for a brief plot outline and begin … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction and Religion

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Richard Murray

                                                I said laser pointer not laser cannon! When you mention the words religion and hard sf in the same breath it brings to mind The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Although technology is not central to the story, the passages … Continue reading →

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Backstory

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Richard Murray
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Approaching Editing

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Richard Murray

I’ve just started editing my first novel draft so I’ve been tuned in to any books/articles on the editing process. I’m reading ‘Self-Editing for Fiction Writers’ and next up is ‘Revision & Self-Editing’ by James Scott Bell. I just ran across … Continue reading →

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World Building With Elon Musk Geordie Rose and Tony Stark

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Richard Murray

Speaking of world building, there are two living people who are in the process of doing that in real life and in real time. I’ve been watching them lately trying to gain some insights for world building of my own … Continue reading →

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