Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus)

Writer. Lover of words and music you can feel. Fascinated by clouds.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Two current WIPs

✨#MermaidWIP✨
🌊cinnamon roll boy
🌊angry girl
🌊best friends-to-lovers(also royal/guard)
🌊grey morality

✨#MidnightMusicians✨
🎵a pop-punk band that may or may not be breaking up
🎵an aspiring singer
🎵NYC after dark
🎵shenanigans!

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I am not a short story writer, and it shows every time I take a writing workshop.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

@AWanderingMuse 👀👀

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

@literarilyjess The seasons definitely vary in quality, but it’s heartfelt, funny, and has some absolutely brilliant character work. And some phenomenal acting at times.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Have the playlist for #MermaidWIP on shuffle and, uh, jumping from "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" (soaring Broadway love song) to "The Wolf" (a rock/electroncia song that opens with an electronic screech) is quite the transition.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

@ARFrederiksen I think it's fine as long as it's consistent. Like, I think it'd be a little strange/confusing if some female gods were called gods and some goddesses, but I've got no issue with god being a genderless title.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I…don’t really have anything. I feel like most of my stories are sitting right on the border between YA and Adult (and I don’t necessarily have strong feelings about which side they should fall on), so 🤷🏼‍♀️

#WIQChat

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Kai would do pretty well, cause she’s trained with various weapons since she was young and she’s quick on her feet.

Brendan, notoriously terrible with weapons and probably too brave for his own good, would die on the first day. 😂

#WIQChat

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

A disgraced ex-soldier travels to a dangerous kingdom to find the mysterious ruler who is key to her future.
#WIQChat

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Hi #WIQChat, I’m Stephanie! 👋🏻
I write various flavors of fantasy, as well as the occasional contemporary.

Most difficult thing about writing is coming back to a project after time away. It always feels like I’ve forgotten how to write that particular story.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

@AWanderingMuse Sometimes I find writing sprints with a partner help. Having someone else who’ll actually *see* whether or not I actually worked usually circumvents the whole “I’m the only one making me do this, so I can just…not” problem for me.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

@AWanderingMuse 👀 These are some top tier vibes

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Last Young Renegade is such a good album.

It makes my heart hurt in the best possible way.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

It's so helpful when I know/remember the big inspirations behind a WIP, because then if I need a refresher on what I'm trying to do, I can just...go back to the things that inspired it in the first place.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I don't entirely know how to fix that (or at least, how to fix it while also fixing the structural issues that prompted the revision). But I'm going to try and focus on what I love about the story - try and put that front and center for a while.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I think maybe the reason I've been struggling so much with rewriting the first act of #MermaidWIP is that I've been thinking too much about things that aren't what *I* want to see in the story.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I've been so busy trying to make sure it fits a proper story structure and things like that (and, by extension, that it fits the expectations/conventions of fantasy) that I haven't actually been focusing on what draws me to the story. What makes it fun for me.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

Why isn't there a punctuation mark that's halfway between a period and an exclamation mark? I need something that conveys excitement without looking like I'm straight up screaming.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

And when I say I've had a crappy year with reading, I don't mean a reading slump, per se. I've read a ton; most of it has just been disappointing or unsatisfying. A lot of popular books that don't live up to expectations, sequels that fall flat, etc.

[Stephanie Kasko (Mostly On Hiatus) @KaskowithaPen]

I've had such a crappy year when it comes to reading, and I'm pretty sure that's part of why writing has been so difficult recently and I just...I don't know how to fix it. How do you refill the creative well when your usual sources let you down? Rereading only goes so far.