I tend to write with the notion of a 'narrative dare' and to see what appears out of the murk once I have changed the bedrock ground rules of society.
Making Shana a martial artist was pretty self-serving… she needed a pastime, and I already had some knowledge of karate due to my own experience. I do think drawing on that helps to build emotion and tension, simply because the sensation of sparring with someone is familiar to me.
