by Amelia Loken | May 8, 2026 | Writing
Most fantasy and sci‑fi stories begin with the same assumption: if a character is disabled, the plot must eventually cure them. Magic restores what was “lost,” technology repairs what was “broken,” and the hero’s journey becomes a quest for normalization. My creative...
by Amelia Loken | Apr 30, 2026 | Disability Models
When we talk about disability, many people default to one idea: charity. Helping. Giving. Doing good. But the Charitable Model of Disability is far more complicated than simple kindness. It grew out of centuries of moral judgment, industrial pressures, and religious...
by Amelia Loken | Apr 28, 2026 | Creativity
Sixteen years ago, Chicago bullied me into reclaiming my creativity. Last week, it reminded me why I still need it. Back then, I had just weaned my fifth child and was clawing my way out of the gray world of postpartum depression. I arrived in Chicago wrung out,...
by Amelia Loken | Apr 11, 2026 | Disability Models
What is your first reaction when you encounter a disabled person? What are your instinctive beliefs about them? How do you interact? Are you natural? Fake-friendly? Do you ignore them? Do you try to figure out “what happened” while not seeming to stare? Welcome to the...
by Amelia Loken | Apr 7, 2026 | Writing
Last Fall (2025), my writing group decided to do its own NaNoWriMo, and my stomach clenched with dread. National Novel Writing Month was born the same year as my oldest child, twenty-six years ago. NaNoWriMo started as a writing community in 1999 and later became a...
