CONTEST: Sleeping Beauty Story

Exciting news, word nerds! Today marks the beginning of my first ever contest!

As you may know, I’ve recently been posting a short story. I wrote it for a contest last year, but unfortunately missed the submission deadline. But guess what! The publishing house that ran the contest is doing another one! This time, it’s retellings of Sleeping Beauty.

But this post isn’t just to tell you about the contest. (Though for all you writers out there, go for it!) No, I am asking for your help. I want to enter, but I want you to come up with the premise. (And no, this is in no way me being lazy because I can’t think of an idea. At least, not entirely.)

But Kate, you might be asking, what’s in it for me?

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Character Types: Fairy Godmothers

I was recently (and by recently, I mean like a month and a half ago) talking to a writer friend who wanted to write a fairy tale. She asked me what some of the traditional characteristics of fairy godmothers were. That of course turned on the little light bulb over my head. I decided to do a series here on my blog exploring some of the standard fairy tale characters and their generic traits. I’ll list the characteristics I’ve seen most often, but as is the case with many lists, there are exceptions.

Let’s begin with fairy godmothers!

1. Fairy Godmothers are women. Like their name suggests, godmothers are females who are not related to, but care deeply for, a character.

2. Fairy Godmothers are protectors. Fairy godmothers have one purpose: helping those in need. They only arrive when the situation has become dire. The godmothers aid and protect their wards with all of their ability so their charge can have a happy ending.

3. Fairy Godmothers have magic. Whether an actual fairy or a human magician, godmothers possess supernatural talent. It seems a little unfair, but fairy godmothers have the ability to solve any problem with a wave of their wands. It’s not a power they use lightly, though.

4. Fairy Godmothers reward kindness and goodness. Fairy godmothers often test strangers they meet. They reward kind actions and punish the wicked. The most common disguise: a beggar woman, most often old and/or ugly.

5. Fairy Godmothers often disguise themselves. And understandably so. They don’t want to be bothered by every Dave and Nancy for favors or quick fixes. Plus, it makes it easier to test people (see number 4.) if they don’t look like their normal attractive or magical selves.

What are some other common characteristics of fairy godmothers?

Until next time, word nerds.

The Little Voice

I’ve made an astounding discovery, word nerds: human beings are friendly creatures.

No, really! Throw a group of strangers together and they’ll (generally) make an effort to befriend each other. This is especially true if those people already have something in common, like an internship at the same company.

Still, I was more than a little nervous when I went in for my first day as an intern.

My usual reaction to most social situations.

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How to Come up with Ideas (AKA, I Don’t Know What to Blog About)

Every week, I find myself running through the same train of thought: It’s Tuesday. I’m supposed to blog today. Crap, what should I blog about?!

So I’m using that panic as an out. My chosen topic today is coming up with ideas! Here are three ways I generate ideas, for blogs or stories.

1. Play the “What If” game. This is more for stories than for blog posts, but I suppose it could work in a pinch. Take an everyday occurrence, a common cliche, or a random event. Turn it on it’s head by asking “What if…?” For example, I got the idea for the book I’m working on by asking “What if Cinderella didn’t want to be at the ball?”

2. Ask friends. Now, every writer is different in this respect. Some hate being told what to write, preferring to rely on their own muse. But most writers tend to (and in my opinion, definitely should) cultivate a group of writer friends, or at least friends who understand their creative processes. So if you’re stuck, ask them for input. Whether they give you ideas, or just let you run through your thoughts out loud to organize them, they often help spark a new topic or story.

3. Observe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: writers observe. Watch and analyze what goes on around you. People watch and give people back-stories. Make up conversations. If something catches your eye, observe. Follow any train of thought that pops into your head. (But don’t be creepy about watching people.)

These are just a few ways to spark ideas. How do you find things to write about?

Until next time, word nerds!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Imagine my surprise when I got on my blog today only to see a nice little message from WordPress. I created this blog two years ago!

Hooray!

Another reason to celebrate: I’M DONE WITH SCHOOL! Well, for the next three months. BUT I’M DONE!

And in the vein of exciting news: In one week, I will be flying out to Colorado to begin my summer internship!

I love summer.

With the arrival of summer come a few changes here on my blog. I’ll still post every Tuesday. However, I won’t be putting up videos every Saturday. (I won’t say that I won’t make any videos, just not every week.) And starting in June, I’ll be posting a short story every week on Fridays (and by that, I mean I’ll be posting one story, in parts. Not a new story every week.).

So thank you, dear readers, for putting up with my ramblings. It’s because of you that I post each week. Here’s to another year!

Until next time, word nerds!

A College Student’s Guide to Surviving Finals

Finals week is in full swing here at school and I, like so many college students, am battling exhaustion, stress, and not wanting to be here. But we must push through, so I’ve compiled a list of what I’ve found to be the essentials of surviving the last week of school.

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Reluctant Romance Writer

For the majority of my life, I wanted to be a writer. But never once, in all those years, did I want to be a romance writer.

I was that kid growing up who would rather read adventure books, watch war movies, and live vicariously through fantasy stories. I would even go so far as to say that I kind of hated romance. I mean, as late as high school, I could be seen looking away from screens if the characters were kissing.

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