D.L. Young's Blog, page 3

The Time I Accidentally Wrote Feminist Fiction

I once wrote a story that unintentionally ended up being a kind of a feminist litmus test. Now you might be thinking, wait, I thought you wrote dystopic science fiction? Let me explain. The story featured a bold, determined female protagonist with an assertive, unconventional sexuality (and in case you’re wondering what that noise is, […]

Photoshop, Creative Cross Training, and the Art of Writing

When I was three, a preschool teacher showed my mom a crayon drawing I’d made of a dinosaur. My mom shrugged and said, “Yeah, he draws dinosaurs all the time at home.” To this the teacher replied incredulously, “Three-year-olds don’t draw dinosaurs.” As a kid, drawing was my first creative love. I’d draw my own […]

Choosing Teams: Science Fiction vs. Literature

I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me. “Oh,” someone says, “so you’re a writer?” His or her eyes light up with admiration.  “What kind of things do you write?” When I answer, “science fiction,” the person’s face goes blank, they nod slowly, and then they say something politely dismissive along […]

Texas Internationalists…Yes, We Exist…

There are two things about me that never fail to elicit surprise from people. The first is the ability to speak Spanish. Native speakers from Latin America or Spain always (and I mean literally every time) do a double take when they first hear me speak their language fluently. The second thing is my love […]