Our Twitter handle Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
The next #IWSGPit will be March 27, 2024. 10:00 am – 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, Tweet your pitch using #IWSGPit. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query.
Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch – it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.
Do authors really find agents and publishers through a Twitter pitch party? Yes they do! Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. has found FIVE authors from this event, including one of our best sellers, Damien Larkin.
So, get your pitches ready for March!
What turns you off when visiting an author’s site? Will you be participating in #IWSGPit? Have you had success with a Twitter pitch party?
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. Remember, the question is optional! February 7 question: What turns you off when visiting an author’s website/blog? Lack of information? A drone of negativity? Little mention of author’s books? Constant mention of books?
MY ANWSER:
When I can’t tell what the blog is about or even that the blogger is an author—I guess if I was bothered by it. Also a drone of negativity definitely.
If you’re hoping to write a fantasy novel that involves some kind of magic, you’ll benefit from a brainstorming session dedicated especially to the way magic operates in your fictional world. If you’re a pantser, you can always just leap into it, but you’re more likely to run into inconsistencies or questions you can’t answer as you write, so pausing to organize and flesh out your thoughts before you begin to write is a prudent measure, even if you like to take a more relaxed approach to outlining.
Before you set off, try to make the following three decisions:
1. Establish what the magic needs to be able to do
For your story to be able to go where you want it to go, what kind of magic will be needed? Will your character need to learn to use their abilities in new ways, or pick up a brand new skill to accomplish their mission? Mentorship or learning arcs can be incredibly satisfying for readers — I could name a number of examples from popular culture, from Po in Kung Fu Panda learning to successfully harness the power of his chi to Korra in The Legend of Korra learning how to open a portal to the spirit world.
Your characters won’t have limitless powers, but before you tell their stories, you should be clear about where you want them to end up. If the only magic your book contains is a group of people with healing powers, their power can’t necessarily help them overthrow the government, so you’d have to reconsider either the kind of power they have, or their goal. In other words, beginning with a sense of your end goal can help you write a more clear-sighted first draft.
2. Decide the rules, limits, and cost of this magic
At the same time, no story would ever be satisfying if characters could do anything with their magic, which is why most writers of fantasy novels create complex magic systems where the use of magic is limited in one way or another.
This can be a little frustrating if you were hoping to include all-powerful mages who wield the power to destroy entire worlds: I still remember my first encounter with Lord of the Rings, and the initial disappointment I felt when Gandalf was held captive on Saruman’s tower. I thought to myself, how is this awesome wizard not able to escape? But Gandalf is not Superman — which is crucial in the story, because in his absence, the hobbits must overcome obstacles by themselves, and meet another figure whose role will go on to be crucial. At the end of the day, Gandalf’s fallibility is instrumental to the reliability of the narrative. What would be the point if Gandalf was by the hobbits’ side throughout, sheltering them from every risk? That would be an incredibly low-stakes story premise.
For readers to want to find out what will happen to your characters, then, you’ll have to think of ways in which the reach of magic is limited. This can include:
Rules about the circumstances within which magic can be used, e.g. only on nights with a full moon; when the clock strikes midnight; when lightning strikes; in complete darkness; when specific stars align; when it hasn’t rained for thirteen days; when four mages from the four corners of the Earth are gathered in the same room.
Rules about who can practice magic, e.g. only those born with abilities; blood relatives of existing mages; anyone who’s touched the surface of the moon; children who haven’t yet turned eighteen; the chosen disciples of a Great Mage; those in possession of a special gemstone.
Rules limiting how much or how often magic can be used, e.g. once per day, or the magic may be paid for with blood or life energy, so that it can’t be abused.
In establishing this kind of limits to your magic, you’ll be setting up your own magic system, which is an incredibly fun aspect of building your fantasy world, and can immerse your reader by imbuing your writing with plausibility — after all, perfect worlds aren’t believable.
A favorite example of mine is Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle, where magic costs energy, so the protagonist can deposit energy in his sword gems, but when that runs out, risks dying if he uses more magic than the energy in his body can support. Now that is high stakes magic use!
3. Consider the context of this magic
Now that you’ve got your key rules in place, it’s time to look beyond the plot points of your novel and out toward the universe in which your story is set.
If magic is central to your characters’ lives, that will have significant social implications on the way society operates and is organized. Do mages govern the world, or do they serve a complementary function? Are there warring factions? How did this civilization evolve — was magic always a part of it, or discovered at some point?
Alternatively, if magic is a secret skill in your world, think about how society would react to it if they knew about it. Would they embrace and celebrate witches, or persecute them as villains? Again, how did magic come about? Is all of it known, or are there ancient magic secrets no one must learn? Answering these questions can help you begin your draft with confidence, and will save you editing time later on. With a coherent magic system, you’ll be building on solid foundations. Good luck!
ABOUT ROSE ATKINSON-CARTER:
Rose Atkinson-Carter is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace and blog that helps authors with everything from finding online creative writing classes to hiring a ghostwriter. She has previously written for Chris the Story-Reading Ape, A Writer’s Path, Shortcuts for Writers, First Editing, and the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, among others. She lives in London. Reedsy’s Twitter at @ReedsyHQ
Do you like learning and talking about the writing craft? Are you interested in short story and flash fiction? Writing short can be hard. I love short story and flash and include some tips and resources you may find helpful. I also talk about the bigger picture of the novel. Do you struggle with beginnings, middles, ends of a story? Do you struggle with plotting, scenes, or nailing the endings? I will address such topics off and on in my new writer’s tips and resource bulletin called Writers Talk.
Get my cheat sheets, along with links to their corelated Medium Articles. Such as my Villain Profile, Negative Character Arc Sheet, Finding Your Character’s Flaw Sheet, and the brainstorm sheet. Challenge The Archetype — Create Female Villains That Rock The Protagonist World! But that is not all. I have more goodies planned, plus I have a thank you bonus for joining me set to arrive the next day.
” In working with Juneta I realized things about my story that I hadn’t recognized, issues with pacing and tension, plot points that didn’t make sense..” ~Mark Ingram Vella Author of Steve Saves The World
“I kept abandoning each one and coming up with new ideas. Juneta Key held my feet to the fire, made me choose one world to work on, and helped me plot three books in that world and possibly a fourth! “ ~Megan Stewart Fantasy Author of Where Are My Pants?
I sent this out to my newsletter and thought I would post this edition on my website as well.
TESTIMONIALS
“Juneta is the BOMB! Every time I talk to her about my work-in-progress she whips it into shape. Not by doing the work for me, but by asking the exact right question so that I can see the path for my work. ” ~Shaunta Grimes
“In working with Juneta I realized things about my story that I hadn’t recognized, issues with pacing and tension, plot points that didn’t make sense.” ~Mark Ingram
“Wow!!! I was shocked at how much depth she was able to help me add to the story. She has this almost magical knack for helping you discover what you want to do.: ~Vanessa Wells
Hello Reader and Writer Friends,
A lot of changes going on in my life this month. The one thing that never changes is my love and passion for stories–reading and writing them.
To me, a good story is like an old friend. I was an only child. Books and the characters in them were my playmates. I visited Prince Edward Island in Canada and hung out with Anne Shirley. I played on the farm with Wilbur, from Charlotte’s Web.
I visited Middle Earth. I flew x-wings and wielded a lightsaber. I’ve sailed a thousand ships and experienced multiple lifetimes of love without ever leaving home.
I was never lonely with marvelous stories like these. I am so grateful to all the authors who shared their worlds and characters. They broadened my horizons, touched my heart, and revealed things I could never have learned or experienced in my ordinary world.
Our world is full of stories. Both real life and fictional. I am a series addict because once I find I story I love; I want to return to those characters and worlds over and over.
Powerful stories are loaded with characters that are human, 3-dimensional, and flawed, allowing the reader to connect and understand the motivation and drive behind the character and the story.
If you are struggling to write engaging stories, this is where I can help. I have spent my life learning the writing craft–it’s a passion. I help you develop the story as you write, with one-on-one coaching via zoom.
I help you recognize the elements, monitor your subplots, and deepen your character development—with the goal of moving your story forward to the end with consistency and flow.
If you are a writer or aspiring writer, I have four coaching spots available.
Do you need help with plot points? Is your book middle sagging? Are you having trouble figuring out the ending or getting your story stakes high enough? Maybe you just want to learn where to start. I can help.
I am still revising and expanding Midlife Ghostwalker: Katje Storm series. Editing is a slower process that than I hoped for, but I am moving forward even if slowly.
Other Projects I am working on but on the back burner to Katje are:
My Magic Born or Magic Cursed? series, first draft of prequel is done and in editing stage.
I am outlining a Paranormal Cozy Mystery series set in the same world as my Midlife Ghostwalker series.
Also still working on my space opera periodically.
We will soon release Volume 6 in the Grumpy Old God’s anthology series this year.
When I think of female villains and archetypes, the scariest to me is the mother archetype.
I don’t know, maybe; it is because I lost my mother early in life, or it could be the whole psychological nurturing thing that is associated with mothers, but as villains, they scare me.
My mother was my world. I knew I was loved; safe, and I was secure in that knowledge. The contrast to that is a betrayal beyond imaging to me. I know it happens in real life.
Two movies pop immediately into my mind. The first is a drama based on the real life of Christina Crawford, Joan Crawford’s adoptive daughter, in Mommy Dearest.
Faye Dunaway played the mother in the movie. It was disturbing to watch such basic human betrayal, and horrifying to know a child lived it. Part of the fascination was the extreme contrasts in personality from good mother to evil mother.
The fear factor of what happens behind closed door, and the image the rest of the world sees created a compelling, disturbed character with many facets, that was hard to imagine in one sense, at least for me.
It was not a horror movie, but still a nightmare.
The second is a horror film, Ma, about a lonely mother who invites a group of teenagers to party in her basement, but with specific rules. Octavia Spencer plays the mother.
The story goes from being a teenage dream of liberty to a teenage nightmare of survival, as the mother-archetype morphs and twists into an obsessively dangerous monster, mentally unhinged, through her own obsessions.
The mother archetype is universal. The twist to the abnormal takes human expectation and comfort levels from safety to the ultimate betrayal and evil.
Challenge the expectations for universal archetypes.
What makes these types of antagonist/villains so interesting?
Well, for one because it is so universally human. Everyone has a mother. Mothers take care of their children, or at least we expect them to nurture, as they are raising the next generation.
Unless you have lived it, you don’t expect mothers to act in villainous or in evil ways. The above movies challenged society’s expectation of the typical-mother archetype and prevalent stereotype.
The mother/child relationship is universal, whether you grew up with a mother or without one. It is globally relatable, and matters, broken or unbroken, it’s part of who we are.
Create Creditable Female Villans.
Make the motive creditable, layer the reasons, dress them in a pure motive layered with the undertones that are linked to selfish motives, such as power, revenge/vengeance, or perhaps a twisted justice.
1.Motives require substance: Alma’s veiled motive involved freeing her oppressed people. Her true motive involved vengeance and bloodlust on behalf of fallen victims. While morally upsetting, this was still a believable and tangible motive for Alma.
2. Motives can have a moral gray area: some would say Alma was right to seek vengeance on behalf of her people. After all, it was just getting back at the Capitol for their heinous crimes- Right?
3. Motives can (and should) have layers:Alma sought justice, but her imbalanced thirst for power and blood had her justifying heinous ambitions.
How far will your villain go for love? Think of Kathy Bates in Misery.
Sexuality — use it skillfully. Don’t make it all about the sex, but give the antagonist complexity and depth. The movie Fatal Attraction plays on the protagonist weakness and the antagonists obsession, which is not obvious at first.
Try not to use romance as the primary motive. Add layers to make a more 3-diminishable female antagonist.
Color your character in shades of gray, creating a tug-a-war and uncertainty in choices and principal motive.
There is not really any such thing as villainous traits. Traits are just traits and can have a positive and negative side. Even positive (the good traits) can produce negative consequence and morph it into the monstrous.
Find the strengths and weaknesses of your antagonist/villain and then, Flip the Trait, like a two-sided coin, allowing it to be their strength and their greatest weakness. Such as confidence morphed into the trait arrogance that blinds the character to their faults or missteps.
Or ambition that drives them to kill, or admiration that takes it to the level of stalking, or love that forces them to recreate, preserve, claim, perfectionism, or own aspects of that love e.g. serial killer or maniacal futuristic societies and so forth.Â
These are extremes, but there are many shades of gray in between positive and negative.
And nothing says your villain cannot have some positive traits with good results either. That just makes them human and more relatable, despite their bad deeds or monstrous acts.
“Female villains are notorious for fighting other women in novels, movies, TV shows and comics. The implication often being that women can defeat other women, but it takes a man to bring down a fellow male. While we all know that’s not true and we also know there is a lot of interesting material in pitting women against each other, make sure you don’t fall into any territory where you are assuming the only match for a female hero is a female villain and vice versa. “ ~SHE WRITES
Challenge the stereotype of female. Women can be just as powerful antagonist/villains as men.
Hella from the Marvel Universe faces off with her brothers and holds her own.
In the movie Fatal Attraction, the female antagonist becomes terrifying in stalker pursuits, creating a feeling that she’s unstoppable. This would give me nightmares for years.
Mystique in the Marvel Universe is one of my favorites. She is both supervillain and an antiheroine.
She started as one of the X-Men’s deadliest foes in league with Magneto, the main Superbad, and then her character arch carries her into the status of antiheroine. She is just a cool character, able to shift hiding in plain sight.
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