What Fictional Relationships Teach Us About Writing Romances

I know. We already did a relationships post. But we didn’t do one focusing specifically on ROMANCE. So now we’re going to. I’m not even sorry. Now, I write science fiction and fantasy, not romance, but I love a good romantic subplot. Emphasis on good. Because, let’s face it, a badly done or even *cough

An Interview with the Main Characters of My WIP

Welcome back to Mikayla Talks About Her Story Whether You Wanted to Hear About It or Not! Today, we’re going to interview Rory and One from Family of Nobodies, my WIP. Mostly because I want to. So… yeah, let’s do this. Before we start, I have to give a big shoutout to Julia Witmer. Her

Enola Holmes and Good Female Characters

So I watched Enola Holmes. And, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t expecting that much — no shade to the writers, producers, and actors! I just figured it was going to be teenage adventure movie with a Strong Female Protagonist that was likable enough but fell into the Epic Girl Who Can Kill a Man

Villains Are Characters Too

Hehe, sorry for the title. I had to. Anyway. In my early writing days, villains were hard for me to write. They usually came off as creepy cardboard cutouts. Boring — at least to me. I want my readers to be intimidated by my villains, and it’s hard (in my opinion) to be afraid of

My WIP: Family of Nobodies

Hi! So, here’s the story tour that literally none of you asked for. Okay, that’s not true — ONE person asked for it. She actually suggested this post, so thank you, my friend! I swear I do have original ideas for blog posts, but, first of all, I’m super lazy and, second of all, everyone

Why Your Theme Ties Literally Everything Together

Thanks to one of my Twitter followers for inspiring this post! Now. Does anyone else kind of have a hate/love relationship with themes in stories? I know they’re important, and I love stories with good ones that make me feel things. But when it comes to putting them in my own story… well, it’s not

Creating Authentic Character Relationships

For me, writing relationships between characters is either instinctual or highly annoying. Sometimes, I just know which characters will click, and everything comes easily. Other times, I’m stuck staring at two characters going “now, kiss“, and they look at me, asking why. And I don’t have an answer, so I just tell them to quit

A Cheat Sheet to Creating Characters

Let’s get real for a second. Making up characters that feel like actual people with agency is hard. People are complex, so creating fictional ones isn’t a simple task. The thing about people is that our foundational values and beliefs define us in so many ways. They often drive our decisions, interests, actions, and words.

How I Brainstorm

I made a discovery recently (embarrassingly recently, to be honest). I discovered that deliberate brainstorming is incredibly helpful, especially if you’re an outliner/plotter. I’ll explain why in a second, but, before I get started, I have to give a huge shoutout to Katytastic from YouTube. Her video on brainstorming is the reason I figured this

Welcome Storytellers!

Hello, friends! Welcome to my little corner of the Internet. It’s nice to meet you!  Speaking of meeting people, I should probably introduce myself. *Baymax voice* Hello. I am Mikayla, your personal blogging companion.  Hehe, sorry. Let me try that again.  Hi! I’m Mikayla. I’ve loved storytelling for as long as I can remember, and