The Storyteller’s Saga & Kat’s Quest
Just your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat here to help you vanquish your story construction obstacles, slay the imposter syndrome clawing at the back of your brain, and stomp your boredom flat with heart-pounding Queer Fiction. Join the Saga and choose your inbox obsession. Whether it’s helpful advice with your storytelling or my twice-monthly newsletter featuring book recommendations & chapters of my ongoing magikal Dark Academia series, ExSpelled to devour during your coffee break.
The dreaded Blank Page Syndrome 😱
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 64 Well hello there, Reader! Right before we kicked off our bi-monthly D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) game this past Saturday, our friend asked me for some storytelling advice. “You’ve had writer’s block before, right? So how did you handle it?” She looked beyond frustrated and a bit defeated. But she’s far from alone in that regard. Because if you type “writer’s block” into Google you’ll get about 18,500,000 results. No joke. So clearly a huge amount of...
Why do teens get to have all the fun? 🤷🏻♀️
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 125 Well hello there, Reader, I was scrolling through Threads a day before Horse Cover Gate when I saw a different complaint on Bookthreads. This reader was bemoaning how all the Legendary Characters (main leads) in Fantasy books nowadays were in the 14-19 age range. But how was she, a 40+ year old person, supposed to relate? Now, back when I was a newly minted adult, Reader, I remember having the exact opposite complaint. “I’m 18. I’ve just taken...
Who rules the world? 👸🏾👸🏻👸🏽👸🏼
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 124 Well hello there, Reader! After a fantastic weekend of tabletop roleplaying sessions (D&D 5 and One Ring/Lord of the Rings) me and my husband were flipping through the streaming networks looking for a movie to watch. Crime Dramas…Chinese TV SciFi & Fantasy…Epic Worlds…Period Dramas…Strong Female Characters…What’s this…? Among the various shows and movies you’d expect to see was Damsel (2024). And if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s well worth watching....
Once upon a time… something new happened. 🧚🏻♀️🪄🐉👑
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 123 Yesterday was National Tell A Fairytale Day, Reader. Which got me thinking about my own Dark Cozy Fantasy WIP, Seventh Swan. 🦢 But more so, how you can’t take a step in the Fiction section of any bookstore or library without your gaze landing on a fairy tale retelling. Cinder by Marissa Meyer You’ve got Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses, and who can forget Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. I mean, it was a Newbery...
They lived happily ever after… But then…
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 122 …And they lived happily ever after… That’s how most fairytales end, Reader. With family and friends. A big party and a delicious feast. And all problems solved and tied up with a nice little bow. 🎀 It’s how most stories end…with the happily ever after. The slaying of dragons. The defeating of evil wizards. The takedown of corrupt governments… The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald And of course, the wedding of two characters destined to be...
Are you in 😍 with love stories?
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 121 It’s that special 💝 filled day again on Saturday. You know the one Reader, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day. And in the week leading up to the day of love 💖, sales of chocolates and flowers have been massive. But what about… Books? 📚 Yep, you heard me correctly. Over 2.2 billion books are sold each year worldwide. And of those billions, 25% were Romance books. That number jumps to 40% if you’re just counting books within genre fiction. Crazy right?...
Do you think a Time Loop would fix it? 🤔
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 120 It’s going to be Groundhog’s Day 🦫 again on Monday, Reader. Yes, that weird US holiday observed every Feb 2nd based on a German tradition using a…badger? 🤷🏻♀️ However, in the 3 decades since the release of the beloved American cult classic of the same title, the plot of Groundhog’s Day has become a storytelling device used in numerous books, movies and TV shows. So what is this famous plot device? Basically: Your Legendary Character is stuck in a...
A little rebellion now and then is a good thing
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 119 It was a blisteringly hot day in late spring, Reader. The sorta day where the cheap plastic of your desk chair sticks to the back of your thighs. It was 2001 in California, so absolutely NONE of the classrooms had air-conditioning. And it was over 100 degrees out. But what made EVERYTHING worse was the fact that they were tarring the roof. Of the classroom I was in. WHILE I was in it. And yes, I was perfectly aware that it was a code violation. But...
Feeling like that 2025 raccoon? 🦝 Read this!
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 118 Did you end 2025 feeling like that raccoon on the liquor store floor? Yeah, me too, Reader. Me too. 😮💨 After losing 2 family members and being diagnosed with lupus, I was nearly 😵 by an antibiotic. And that’s just the big stuff. And maybe nothing really big happened in your life per se, but 2025 still felt like a lot. And your winter holiday ended up feeling more stressful than restful. 😵💫 And the thought of jumping back into anything creative...
Forget regrets and resolutions 🙅🏻♀️
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 117 Well, Reader, this year has been a hot mess, hasn’t it? 😮💨 The death of my mom and father-in-law. Being diagnosed with lupus and spending June down sick with bronchial phenomena and a partially collapsed lung. Nearly dying from an antibiotic allergic reaction. 😵 The rise of fascism and the collapse of our Republic. And let’s not forget a construction crew clipping a gas line and blowing up a house a mile from my home. 🔥 With all that going on, I...
Surviving the Wicked Winter Dash 😵💫
KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 116 Well hello there, Reader! If a month were a marathon, it would be December. Forget the Twelve Days of Christmas. It’s more like the Wicked Winter Dash. 😮💨 On Saturday alone, I had to go to my little cousin’s (my cousin’s son) 4th birthday party. 🥳🎂 Then go home, change, feed the cats, 🐈🐈 and drive an hour across the Bay to a dinner with my dance friends. Then head to my dad’s to help him and my brother clean out all my mom’s old clothes to donate to...
Just your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat here to help you vanquish your story construction obstacles, slay the imposter syndrome clawing at the back of your brain, and stomp your boredom flat with heart-pounding Queer Fiction. Join the Saga and choose your inbox obsession. Whether it’s helpful advice with your storytelling or my twice-monthly newsletter featuring book recommendations & chapters of my ongoing magikal Dark Academia series, ExSpelled to devour during your coffee break.