Make this tale live for us in all its many bearings, O Muse Homer’s Odyssey, translation by T.E. Lawrence My muse has been very sleepy. I was prepared for 2023 to be easier than 2022. A cross-country move through a spanner in the works of my writing life during 2022. Things started to settle downContinue reading “2023 Goals: Creating While Your Muse Sleeps”
Author Archives: katezerrenner
Why Food is a Great Storyteller
It’s that time of year when food becomes a central part of almost every conversation. Although, to be fair, it’s a year round hobby for me to talk about food. Now, everyone seems to be planning their holiday meals and baking. And maybe, for the first time since the pandemic began, go to actual holidayContinue reading “Why Food is a Great Storyteller”
World Building in Historical Fiction: Layering in the Details
A child’s stiff leather shoes still in the box. A stack of undergarments. Bags of flour. Bulk teas and spices. A license to operate a business. Chopsticks. All things we would recognize today. Going about our daily lives, we wouldn’t consider any of them museum-worthy. But put them alongside an abacus, assay equipment (for determiningContinue reading “World Building in Historical Fiction: Layering in the Details”
Midyear Writing Check-in is a Reality Check
Somehow, we’re halfway through 2022! I set myself some ambitious writing goals in January, so thought it’d be a good time to check in on those. Never mind that my family’s also going through a major life change (insert face palm emoji). More about that below. 2022 Goals: Reality Check For my 2022 writing goals,Continue reading “Midyear Writing Check-in is a Reality Check”
Creating in the Midst of Chaos
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein War in Ukraine. Climate change. Two years in a pandemic. Division. Anger. The world feels scary, out of control. Creating something may feel like the furthest thing from your mind. But it can beContinue reading “Creating in the Midst of Chaos”
2022 Writing Goals: In With the New
2021 has ended, which proves that time flies even when you’re not having fun. Seriously, 2021 was a doozy. 2021 in the rearview mirror I leaned into writing as self-care because, let’s be honest, our options remained limited. I managed three writing retreats at AirBnBs, which helped considerably—having a different view and being in nature.Continue reading “2022 Writing Goals: In With the New”
NaNoWriMo’s Almost Here: How to Get Your Story Ready
Last year, I wrote about doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) during the COVID-19 pandemic. And here we are again in 2021. But this year we’re all a bit more ragged after 19 months of the pandemic. Last year, I tried plantsing: the liminal space between plotting and pansting (as in, write by the seatContinue reading “NaNoWriMo’s Almost Here: How to Get Your Story Ready”
Maps Orient Us In Historical Fiction
Historical maps are windows into other worlds. They connect us to the past in a concrete way, allowing us to visualize how to get from the marina to the nearest thermopolium in Ancient Ostia, how to reach the King’s Apartments in Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, or figure out the names of streets as theyContinue reading “Maps Orient Us In Historical Fiction”
Historical Fiction Shines When It Reflects Our Diverse History
Every February, we celebrate Black History Month. Still, we haven’t yet heard many stories—stories that deserve to be told because they are part of our collective history. Understanding the complexity of the human experience requires inclusivity. Resetting how we learn history As a History major at the University of Texas, I took a writing seminarContinue reading “Historical Fiction Shines When It Reflects Our Diverse History”
A Writing Plan for 2021: Taking Stock and Setting Goals
Like most people, I won’t be sorry to see the back of 2020. Setting goals for the new year feels odd when I know we’ll still be in quarantine for several months. In some ways, 2020 has shifted the way we view goal-setting overall; allowing ourselves some breathing room to do the best we can.Continue reading “A Writing Plan for 2021: Taking Stock and Setting Goals”
Kate Zerrenner 