Malinda Lo

Last week someone emailed me this question: “I am writing a short story about a lesbian main character … and almost had it finished when I had a panic attack. I was at a conference talking about my story when a lesbian told me she would never take it seriously because I wasn’t a lesbian and ... More→

A (sort of) tongue-in-cheek list The one question that every creative professional (writer, artist, musician, whatever) gets asked is: Where do you get your inspiration? Well, today I’ve decided to share with the world my top 10 sources of inspiration! 10. The 4-Mile Walk to the Frozen Yogurt Shop When people ask me how to ... More→

I recently read a blog post over at Kate Elliott’s LiveJournal in which she writes about struggling with gender in her novels: I’m a feminist. I’m an athlete. As a child I was what was then called a “tomboy,” which to me means merely that the things I was told were “boy” things, like playing ... More→

I’ve been meaning to write a post about my resolutions for 2012, but I keep coming back to the idea of expectations. What do I (and you) expect for the coming year? A year of virtuous healthful living? The opposite? Or perhaps you expect the apocalypse? (I know, it’s the wrong apocalypse, but isn’t that ... More→

Attention Northern California teen writers! I am teaching a free (yes, FREE!) two-day writing workshop on writing fantasy and science fiction at the Fairfax Public Library in Fairfax, California, on January 21 and 28 from 3-5 p.m. This free two-session writing workshop will cover the main elements of writing fantasy and science fiction, from how ... More→

It is November! Which means it’s National Novel Writing Month. I have never participated in NaNoWriMo, although I’ve always enjoyed the general feeling of writerliness around the interwebs during this month. In honor of all of you who are pecking away at your 50,000 words, I thought I’d round up some of the more practical ... More→