Shaking The New Year Up

By Katie Lewis As a young child, I filled notebooks with stories based on my favorite television shows and movies. Digimon, Pokémon, and The Land Before Time. In fourth grade, I wrote a horrifically unscientific murder mystery starring Scully and Mulder of The X-Files for a short story assignment. I was twelve when I began posting my stories online forContinue reading “Shaking The New Year Up”

The Year I Wrote for Myself

By Katie Lewis Looking back at 2022, I’m tempted to be disappointed by how much I wrote (or rather how little). Every year brings new challenges, both to life and in writing. This year had different challenges from last year, so comparing the two is only partially fair. While I may not have produced theContinue reading “The Year I Wrote for Myself”

Down in The Exposition Dumps

By Katie Lewis In 7th grade, my best friend lent me the first Wheel of Time book by Robert Jordan. As a veteran of Tolkien, including The Silmarillion, I was excited to dive into another high-fantasy series. Over a hundred pages in, after a detailed description of the Bel Tine festival and one village’s preparations, there was noContinue reading “Down in The Exposition Dumps”

Developing A Formula

By Katie Lewis We’ve all become overly familiar with isolation in the last two years. While it’s undeniable that on a worldwide scale, the vast experience tended toward the negative, setting aside time to be alone remains an essential part of the creative process.  Many writers find the act of cloistering important to their creativeContinue reading “Developing A Formula”

Feeling Seen: Representation Matters

By Katie Lewis Representation matters. I don’t think any socially conscious writer in the year 2022 really needs to be told that. However, I want to share the absolute elation I have felt at increasingly seeing characters I can relate to more frequently in recent years. It truly is the best feeling to stumble acrossContinue reading “Feeling Seen: Representation Matters”

Subverting Tropes

By Katie Lewis I’ve always been very interested in Japanese mythology and media. But recently, I’ve been more inspired by other East Asian cultures. Mainly, I’ve been immersing myself in Chinese stories as research for a book I’m working on (since I’m half-Italian and half-English/German mutt). As a result, I often have to explain ChineseContinue reading “Subverting Tropes”

Some Things Are Too Strange And Too Strong

By Katie Lewis Growing up, I was a voracious reader. I always completed the reading challenges to get my personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. I circled at least one book every month when we got the Scholastic book magazine back in ye olden days before the internet. And every summer, I completed the summerContinue reading “Some Things Are Too Strange And Too Strong”

Adventurer: Answer The Sirens’ Call

By Katie Lewis Choosing to attend a writer’s conference can be a daunting quest. Beyond the general social anxiety, there’s also the practical worry of wanting to ensure we spend our limited time and money wisely. I put out the call to adventure, dear wanderers lo though we are sometimes wary of putting ourselves atContinue reading “Adventurer: Answer The Sirens’ Call”

Healthy Habits, Hearty Word Counts

By Katie Lewis You would get a hundred different answers if you asked a hundred authors how often and how much writing we should all be doing daily. From conferences to advice blogs, the recommendations vary widely. Some claim you can only improve your skills by sticking to a daily writing habit, while others sayContinue reading “Healthy Habits, Hearty Word Counts”