Skolion News

Xan van Rooyen shares their insights when unpacking their favourite fictional character Art by Puhnatsson “Ronan could hear the night horrors coming, in love with his blood and his sadness.” In the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to get away from the stress and worry and focus instead on something that brings me joy and solace – my favourite fictional characters! In this post, I’ll be exploring what makes a character come alive to me, what embeds that fictional soul in my heart and brain, and makes me keep coming back for more.  There are many amazing characters I could’ve chosen for this: Eric Draven from The Crow , Kaylee from Firefly , Camina Drummer from The Expanse , Ghost from Lost Souls … the list goes on, but I decided to go with Ronan Lynch from Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle and Dreamer trilogy, because this is a character still fresh in my mind from my recent read of Call Down the Hawk . For those who haven’t yet, but plan to read these books, be aware thi...

Xan van Rooyen shares how they pair music with writing Music has always been a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are listening to Mozart with my grandfather or wiggling away to Elvis with my parents. I’ve dedicated my life to music, first with grandiose ideas of becoming a world-renowned flutist, and now as a music teacher for elementary school kids. The latter is far more rewarding, and enjoyable! I couldn’t imagine a day going by without music and I absolutely couldn’t imagine writing without it either! Music as Inspiration Music often serves as my muse. Sometimes it's the lyrics that get me, conjuring a certain emotion or even a whole scene in my head that plays out like a movie, which I inevitably end up incorporating into a story. I often seek inspiration from visual sources, scrolling through Pinterest, hoping to stumble upon something that speaks to me. Music videos prove doubly rich sources of inspiration, combining both visual and auditory stimuli, telling...