If you’re wondering where my story ideas come from, how magic systems are crafted, or love tidbits about lesser known fairy tale and fantasy creatures, this is the blog for you. New posts are released at the beginning of each month.
Woven throughout my fantasy blog posts are “how to” articles to help you craft magical items and some of my favorite cosplay and writing videos from my TikTok account @caitlinberve. Through these short videos, I get to dress up as my favorite characters and be creative.
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Fangs and bite marks are a part of the iconic look of the modern vampire, but they weren’t part of the first stories of the monsters. This tutorial will share a brief history of the creation of vampires and how you can apply a quick and easy bite mark to enhance your next costume.
Read MoreWhat do you do with books you don’t want to keep and can’t donate? Some books are damaged or early drafts that bookstores don’t want. I use these in my craft projects. A book wreath is one such project. Here are the steps so you can make one too.
Read MoreDo you know what your favorite character’s name means? Do you care? Authors put more thought into their characters’ name than you might realize. Some authors choose a name because of the way it sounds or where it comes from. Others choose a name because of its meaning. Here’s why I picked the names I did in When Magic Calls.
Read MoreDo you know the difference between a dragon and a drake or wyrm. You might want to double check before dressing up as your favorite, scaled, mythical creature. Each dragon-like creature has a different number of limbs, ability, and level of intelligence. Once you know that, you’re ready to use makeup to transform into one of them.
Read MoreHave you ever wanted to break into a new genre or find another author to follow but been afraid to wade through all the not-so-good books out there? You might have better luck if you start with a list of books that have already been vetted for quality. Awards like the CIPA EVVYs are one such list.
Read MoreLittle Red, her grandmother, and the big, bad wolf have been reimagined over and over, and the adjustments to the fairy tale lead to new messages while sticking with the original theme. At it’s core, “Little Red Riding Hood” is a metaphor for a girl becoming a woman, and what that entails has evolved over the years. Find out when Little Red became the wolf and how to create your own wolf makeup scratches.
Read MoreFairy tales, fables, and folktales are ripe for retellings because they were designed to be altered to fit a specific audience. The original tales are slightly generic and use archetypes to allow them to be malleable. This is why storytellers like me have so much fun putting our own spin on the stories and why fairy tales are able to evolve to stay relevant in modern society.
Read MoreWolf stories have been around as long as people, but the origins of werewolves can be tracked. Whether you want to transform into a girl raised by wolves or a fierce werewolf, a yarn wolf tail can make your costume. But be warned, this is not a quick project.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered why science fiction and fantasy are lumped together even though the genres, ideas, and plots are so different? Other than the obvious world building similarities, I like to think it’s because science is magic. And I incorporated that idea into my short story “In Pursuit of the Bitter Berry.” Here’s how.
Read MoreIf you could wield magic, how would you do it? Through incantations? Rituals? Potions? There are lots of different types of magic wielders, just like there are different kinds of magic and mystical creatures. To learn what kind of magic wielder you are and how you would fair in a battle with a demon, take this quiz.
Read MoreFairy tales, fables, and myths use archetypal characters like the hero, evil step-mother, or wise mentor. These were meant to be more representative of a type of person than to be an actual character and to help conserve space. One of the short stories in my collection of modern fairy tales When Magic Calls began as an oral tale and that form had a huge influence on the characters of the finished piece.
Read MoreWhile I love getting real cut flowers for special occasions, I also enjoy the occasional, creative alternative. If you have someone in your life who doesn’t care for cut flowers or is allergic, an origami flower bouquet might make them smile. Here’s how I make them and how origami inspires my writing.
Read MoreOne of my favorite New Year’s traditions is the practice of opening the front and back doors of a home at midnight to let the old year out and the new year in. When I first learned of this, my writing brain immediately started to ask what if. What if you left the doors open too long? What if you got the wrong year? Here’s how these questions created a twisted fairy tale.
Read MoreBecause of their rarity, dragon eggs are precious. Glittering like stained glass or gemstones, they are the perfect ornament for your fantasy Christmas (or other holiday) tree. This quick tutorial will tech you how to make both the scaled and filigree dragon eggs.
Read MoreSometimes personal challenges lead to unexpected inspiration and motivation. When I created my 31 days of Halloween costume challenge, I didn’t think it motivate me to write or inspire me to return to an old favorite character.
Read More31 days of October and 31 Halloween costumes. That’s how I made 2020 better. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I LOVE writing fantasy books, so I decided to combine the two as way to celebrate my passions in a partial quarantine. $100 and a full closest later, these are the final week’s results.
Read MoreHalloween has always been my favorite holiday and fantasy is my favorite genre to read and write, so I decided to combine the two to make my 2020 better. That’s how I came up with 31 days of Halloween costumes. I already had a closet full of clothes, so I gave myself $100 and this is the result.
Read MoreTo made 2020 a bit better, I decided to wear a different costume every day for the month of October. I love Halloween and cosplay, so this was my way of rebelling against all the festivity and conference closures that disappointed me. I had a lot of costumes already and gave myself a budget of $100. Here’s the middle of the month’s costumes.
Read MoreBecause 2020 was a disappointing year for everyone, I decided I wouldn’t let it take my favorite holiday too. So I wore a different costume every day for the month of October. With a budget of $100 and a healthy costume closet, this is what I came up with.
Read MoreWhy are traditional fairy tales so dark? Because they were meant to be warnings and lessons, not just entertainment and bedtime stories. Fairy tales don’t hide monsters from children, they teach kids how to overcome the demons in the dark.
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