The term “antihero” gets thrown around a lot. Everyone seems to have a different definition, and they bring up every character from Severus Snape (who was most definitely not one) to Han Solo (also not an antihero. Lando in Empire Strikes Back maybe, but not Solo.) A true antihero is not a hero who does … Continue reading My 5 favorite antihero characters from books
Vicious by V.E. Schwab is one of those books that I could read in a single sitting, but I didn’t, because I wanted to make it last. And I still haven’t finished it, so no spoilers in the comments! Vicious is the closest I’ve ever seen anybody come to creating a superhero novel. (Though I’m … Continue reading Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I’m writing this from on a train. It was a gorgeous day to depart Seattle, the sun high in the sky above the bay. It will be dreary and drizzly when we get back to Portland, but I love that just as much, if not more. The country going by is still verdant green, even … Continue reading ‘All The Ugly and Wonderful Things’ While Traveling The Cascades by Train
About four years ago, I moved more than a thousand miles away from my family, to a state I had never set foot in before. I ended up in a quiet little suburb of Portland, Oregon, where the trees grow to fantastic sizes and the air smells thick and rich and verdant when it rains. … Continue reading The City of Roses, and why I loved Worth The Wait by Karelia Stetz-Waters
*Note: there are spoilers for Silent Hill 2 in this post. The game came out more than ten years ago, but I figured I should still mention it. Today’s blog post comes from one of my favorite games, Silent Hill 2. Video games are a medium where writing is hugely important, and writers of fiction … Continue reading Writing lessons from Silent Hill 2
From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted my novel Dark City to have a very strong sense of place. I wanted the city to be alive, like Camorr or The Shire or Sin City in the graphic novel series. I wanted my book to have a noir aesthetic, a kind of Gotham vibe. … Continue reading How to make a setting come alive
Recently, I started studying Spanish again for the first time in six or so years. Maybe it's that I want to reclaim my Latina heritage, or maybe volunteering for a Latino serving non-profit organization has inspired me. Or likely, a little bit of both. Whatever it is, I've felt very drawn to studying the language. … Continue reading Why learning a second language is good for writers
My novel Dark City (which you can read about here) is reaching the final stages. That means that right now, I’m waiting for a few beta readers to get back to me before I jump into the last round of edits. While I’m waiting, I’d like to start a new project, but I’m struggling to … Continue reading Finding the inspiration to start your novel
Writing can be such an incredibly subjective endeavor that sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out. Did I do this right? Did I do this wrong? Who knows?! The subjectivity also makes me a little insecure when I’m critiquing other writers’ work. Every story and every writer’s style is so different, so … Continue reading Some thoughts on critiquing other writers’ works
Sarah Kay Moll 