Valentine’s Day has been an important part of my blogging career. I’m not going to lie – having the opportunity to pitch and write Suvudu posts which featured art of my favorite Star Wars couples were some of coolest things I have ever done. And my love for Han/Leia, Jaina/Jag, and Wedge/Iella has not faded […]
I have a long tradition of sharing something special with my readers for the holidays. This year, I wanted to celebrate Wynde and the holidays at the same time, and continue my goal of supporting female creators. So here is my treat for you this year: an audio excerpt of Chapter One from Wynde. Kay […]
Here’s the thing you learn as a storyteller: sometimes you have to take a leap and see where it gets you. ~Tricia Barr To me, stories aren’t just words on a page, but whole ideas realized in my head. When I write a character, I know who they are, which made it really fun to […]
I recently celebrated the four-year anniversary of FANgirl. For much of that time, we’ve highlighted Strong Female Heroines and the Heroine’s Journey as major themes in the blog’s discussions about storytelling and writing. Two weekends ago at GeekGirlCon 2014, I participated on a panel about the Heroine’s Journey; the room was filled to capacity. Now […]
Writers often talk about “the voices in my head” as part of the creative process. I too am afflicted with characters who talk to me, often in the form of dialogue. Two particularly troublesome characters, Utara Fireheart and Gemini Reed, each seemed to enjoy giving me a piece of her mind about where their respective […]
Watching Brave in the movie theater, I tried to keep a blogger’s keen eye on the story. At one point, though, I became totally captivated, lost in the moment of Merida galloping her black steed Angus through the forest. I found myself transported to another world because the scene created a very real and emotional […]
In my first entry to Shaping a Heroine, a series of blogs discussing the design of my novel’s heroine, Vespa Wynde, I talked about her father. Daemyn Wynde had always been easily identifiable in my mind as an amalgamation of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. When I tried to identify […]
The more I write, the more I’ve come to the determination that writers really do write what they know, and if you really want to know who you are, it’s as simple as looking back at what you’ve written. Ultimately that requires being critical of your flaws and weaknesses. And it’s true, self-awareness can be […]
Happy Thanksgiving! I’ve had a tradition dating back to my childhood of sharing my creative side with family and friends around the holidays. My parents can tell you about cabarets full of song and dance, and friends often found a fun story or inventive Christmas letter pop up in their inboxes. So in the spirit […]
As I head off to San Diego Comic-Con, I thought I’d leave you with a new excerpt from Part One. It’s a Vespa scene, but you’ll see a whole other cast of characters emerge in her fight. One of my big tasks for this week is to start the hunt for the person to do my […]
