Author Archives: Katie Yen

2022 Sejong International Sijo Competition Winner

I’m ecstatic to share that my poem, Grandmother’s Hair, is the winning entry of the 2022 Sejong International Sijo Competition, hosted by The Sejong Cultural Society. Keep reading to be treated to this poem, which reaches across boundaries of borders and time.

“The Registration” is Coming: Interview with Author Madison Lawson

The opening lines of “The Registration” read: Dallas is busier today than on a usual Thursday. The first Thursday of the quarter, April 4th, brings promises of vengeance, clarity, relief, justice, and love. It’s Registration Day. The registration – a novel by madison lawson If that doesn’t get your spine tingling, the next 300 pagesContinue reading ““The Registration” is Coming: Interview with Author Madison Lawson”

Rose Rosette Disease: What is it?

If you’re like me, more than once this past summer you walked through your precious rose garden to see your lovelies, then, spotting an oddly deep red and thorny shoot, you clutched your chest and gasped, “NO! NOT ROSE ROSETTE!” Then, after snapping a few photos of the treacherous canes, you took to the InternetContinue reading “Rose Rosette Disease: What is it?”

The Story Behind the Poem: Love is Walking in the Dark

It was the evening of Independence Day, the first summer in our new home. We had just moved from the ocean to the Ozarks, where everything from the landscape to the local culture was miles apart. Like Christmas without a tree, for me, Independence Day is incomplete without fireworks. In the city where I livedContinue reading “The Story Behind the Poem: Love is Walking in the Dark”

Inspiration from Writing Prompts: Your Story from Writer’s Digest

Sometimes, when a writer gets stuck, they turn to other, finished works of art for inspiration. Movies. Poetry. Photographs. Even nature itself. Writing prompts crafted by others can also serve as inspiration (Write about a time when …) as can limiting yourself to a certain form, like haiku or flash fiction. Writer’s Digest has aContinue reading “Inspiration from Writing Prompts: Your Story from Writer’s Digest”

Crafting Character through Music

When I approached my novel, IN THE POISON GARDEN, I only had the main character Roxanne in mind, though I ultimately felt that a whole cast of characters would be best to fulfill my creative vision. This felt like an intimidating, and nearly impossible task. While writers hew personas from shapeless marble all the time, to date I had mainly focused on one or at most two main characters. I asked myself, could I use music and song to alter my perspective and get into the right headspace to create more and different characters?

A Cure for a Case of the Mondays: Thoughts on Writing & Life

Having a manuscript out on submission is yet another step on the road to publishing. It’s sobering to remember that this still does not guarantee that your work will be published. How does one continue in the meanwhile?