I’m Kat! Professional Storyteller & Neurodivergent Creative

Here to help you vanquish those story construction obstacles, slay that imposter syndrome clawing at the back of your brain & stomp boredom flat with heart-pounding Boys Love fiction. Join the Saga and choose your inbox obsession, whether it’s helpful advice to get your writing unstuck or my twice monthly newsletter featuring book recommendations & chapters of my ongoing magikal Dark Academia series ExSpelled to devour during your coffee break.

‘Let’s face it, we all want to be that writer speedily banging out words like they’re possessed by a muse. But sometimes we’re like, “Words. Words would be nice.”’ — Kat Vancil, “The dreaded Blank Page Syndrome”, The Storytellers Saga

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...

about 1 year ago • 3 min read

‘A Beach Read should require minimal mental effort to consume, making them ideal vacation reads. The sort of thing you could read while kids screech and splash in a pool, dogs bark on a scorching hot day, and fireworks explode in the near distance.’ — Kat

What the frisbee IS a beach read anyways? 🏖️📖

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 104 Walk into any big box store or small-town indie book shop from May to the last embers of August and you’ll find displays dedicated to the Beach Read, Reader. But what the frisbee IS a Beach Read? Well, the designator was first used as a marketing tool by publishers in the early 90s. Now it’s become so commonplace that, come May, the “Beach Read” is featured on the new release lists of every magazine and book site. Beach Reads are usually light,...

5 days ago • 3 min read

‘Does recasting a character from a classic story as queer heighten the emotional impact of the original? Not always, but it definitely CAN.’ — Kat Vancil, “But what if it was queer…?”, The Storytellers Saga

But what if it was queer…? 🤔 🏳️‍🌈

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 103 Fellow fairytale lover Liz Gotauco is quoted as saying, “Looking for gay characters in fairytales can feel like a fruitless endeavor.” Prince of Endless Tides By Ben Alderson And she’s not wrong. Though the sexuality of the authors of many fairytales and classics is constantly debated, what is plain to see is that fairytales and classics have a serious diversity problem. So how do we fix it, Reader? By adapting the stories to make them more queer...

14 days ago • 4 min read

‘When it comes to writing, you’re routinely told: “Write what you know.” But that advice can often be too vague to be helpful.’ — Kat Vancil, “THEY say ‘Write what you know’”, The Storytellers Saga

THEY say “Write what you know” ✍️

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 102 Lights. Curtain. Dancers, take your place. Cue music. This upcoming weekend will be a team effort as the 49th annual dance showcase of the studio I attend comes together. And if you’ve never performed on stage, Reader, here’s a small taste… It’s sequins and sweat. Runs in your tights and running to grab your prop in time to reenter the stage on cue. It’s bruises and bows. Ankle braces and applause for a job well done. It’s the exhilarating thrill of...

25 days ago • 5 min read

‘And isn’t that the most important thing about stories? To not only entertain us, but to help teach us something about ourselves along the way? To make us feel less alone. Less alien. Less…other.’ — Kat Vancil, “But which one DID she mean?”, The Storytell

But which one DID she mean? 🤔

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 101 Just after the pandemic, I was with a bunch of my dance classmates at a farewell dinner for a friend. We’d all had a great meal and were waiting to pay when one of them bemoaned 😭 “Ugh. I should have asked for his number.” “Whose number?” I asked. “The server.” “Which one? I can go ask for you,” I offered. You see, I’m already married and have zero ability to feel shame. She perked right up. “The hot one.” I looked around the burger restaurant...

about 1 month ago • 4 min read

‘Using micro-achievement rewards, a seemingly daunting task like “writing a novel” or “editing your book” instead becomes “write a thousand words today” or “edit 2 chapters.”’ — Kat Vancil, “Have you earned your brownie today?”, The Storytellers Saga

Have you earned your brownie today?

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 100 Well hello there, Reader! Last week, my husband baked a sheet of brownies for himself to use as rewards while redoing our downstairs bathroom. 🚽 It was a large task—the whole half-bath needed to be gutted right down to the cement foundation. But by breaking it up into small tasks (with a brownie reward), it’s something he can accomplish mostly on his own. Where’d he get the idea to do such a thing? Some self-help guru? A YouTuber? A genius...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

‘A logline is basically that short 1-2 sentence Netflix-style pitch about your book you use for marketing materials.’ — Kat Vancil, “You’ll never guess what I found on my Portland adventure”, The Storytellers Saga

You’ll never guess what I found on my Portland adventure…

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 99 My last month has been a series of hotel rooms, hospitals, and airports between all my family members’ ill health, Reader. And on a recent adventure in Portland, we got stuck in traffic because of… The Cinco de Mayo festival (sponsored by Toyota!🛻). Protesters on the overpass. Then, well, who knows 🤷🏻♀️ the roads in Portland are like spaghetti 🍝 and we weren’t the only ones that seemed to be lost. But I really didn’t mind because one of my favorite...

2 months ago • 4 min read

‘NaNoWriMo isn’t the ONLY pen in the case. There are plenty of fun and welcoming writing communities out there.’ — Kat Vancil, “NaNo has gone the way of the dodo”, The Storytellers Saga

NaNo has gone the way of the dodo 🦤

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 98 Well hello there, Reader! Yes, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat. Back in your inbox 📥 with more helpful advice 😸 Amidst all the chaos of mass protests and the dumbest president in history tariffing penguins 🐧 maybe you heard the other, other news this past month. You know, about National Novel Writing Month (and all of its companion challenges) being dead. Like super dead. 😵☠️🪦 If you read my post last fall, literally no one is...

3 months ago • 3 min read

‘Sometimes your story idea is too advanced for the skills you currently have. And that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. Or that you should give up.’ — Kat Vancil, “The most embarrassing thing ever!”, The Storytellers Saga

The most embarrassing thing ever! 😱

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 97 If you’ve ever been to the SF Bay Area, Reader, you know we have this thing called False Summer in March and April. The temp jumps up to the mid-80s, and we all have to break out the tank tops and fans for a few days. All of mine are generally from the Men's section of Target (or were). Mainly because they’re long and go up to my collar bone. And now that I think about it, they sorta remind me of the very first “big girl” swimsuit I ever had when I...

4 months ago • 4 min read

‘All of these situations parallel very human ones—feathers aside. Which is probably why these celestial maiden stories are so prevalent that nearly every culture on earth has one in its fairytales and lore.’ — Kat Vancil, “What do shapeshifting waterfowl

What do shapeshifting waterfowl & nutcrackers have in common?

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 96 Beautiful and graceful-limbed dancers balancing on the point of a toe as they spin in feathered, moon-pale costumes. Timeless and tragically evocative music you’ve definitely heard in a commercial or two. A maiden transformed into a bird by a dastardly sorcerer. An enchantment that can only be broken by an oath sworn by one who has never loved before. I’m of course talking about Swan Lake, 🦢 my second favorite ballet. My first, of course, being The...

4 months ago • 4 min read

‘Hats off to Rebecca Yarros for her choice to make Violet Sorrengail a waif with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. Because as someone with chronic illnesses I can in NO WAY relate to a character that’s the equivalent of an Olympic marathon runner, scaling mountains

Damsels in distress need not apply

KAT VANCIL THE STORYTELLER'S SAGA QUEST 95 Well hello there, Reader! After returning home from our nieces’ 5th birthday this past weekend, 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 the watch. Damsel’s plot is...

4 months ago • 4 min read

Here to help you vanquish those story construction obstacles, slay that imposter syndrome clawing at the back of your brain & stomp boredom flat with heart-pounding Boys Love fiction. Join the Saga and choose your inbox obsession, whether it’s helpful advice to get your writing unstuck or my twice monthly newsletter featuring book recommendations & chapters of my ongoing magikal Dark Academia series ExSpelled to devour during your coffee break.