WendyH.Jones-EditorinChief-isalsoourExecutiveCommissioningandFeaturesEditor.Sheisthe multi-award-winning,best-sellingauthorofadult crimethrillersandcozymysteries,children’spicturebooksandnon-fictionbooksforwriters.
SheenaMacleodisourDeputytotheEditorinChief. Sheoverseestheday-to-dayproductionanddesign. Sheis authorofthehistoricalfictionnovels,ReignoftheMarionettesandTearsofStrathnaver,andco-authorofthenonfictionbookSo,YouSayICan’tVote!FrancesConnelly.
PaulineTaitisoursubmissionsmanager.Sheisanaward -winning&bestsellingchildren’sauthor,romantic suspensenovelist,andwriting&publishingmentor tochildren’sauthors.SheisthevoicebehindReluctantReaders,aweeklynewsletterforparentand carersofchildrenwhofindreadingachallenge.
AllisonSymesisourCopyEditor.Sheisanawardwinning,publishedflashfictionandshortstorywriter. Shealsowritesaweeklycolumnontopicsofinterest forwritersforonlinemagazine, Chandler's Ford Today.
Susan McVeyisoneofourContentEditors.Susan writesdystopianfictionandfantasynarratives,tailoredfortheyoungadultandteenageaudience. ShepublishesunderMartiM.McNair.Herworks include Island of Ruin (RuinorRedemptionBook1).
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MaressaMortimeroverseesourmarketingandoursocial mediaengagement.MaressaisauthoroftheElabi Chronicles, Burrowed and Sapphire Beach.
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Stanfords,London byWendyH.Jones
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TheCompleteArtofWorldbuilding:Volumes1-3by RandyEllefson
Thismonthtakesusintotheworldof worldbuilding.Whenthinkingofworldbuilding ourmindsautomaticallyleaptosciencefiction andfantasy,buteverynovelneedsastrong world,orsetting,asthismonth’smagazinewill demonstrate.
Therereallyissomethingforeveryone.OurfeaturedinterviewiswithScienceFictionWriter CraigMartelle,whoisatitaninthegenre.Hehas takentimeoutofhisbusyscheduletogiveus soundadviceonworldbuilding.
Witharticlescoveringwritingyourlocalsetting, towritinghistoricalsettingsandusingmapsto buildworldswehaveyoucoveredwhateverthe worldyouarewriting.
Ofcourse,ourregularsaretherewithwriting bookofthemonth,bookreviews,writing promptsandsageadvicefromSophieouroffice dog.
Whateveryouarewriting,Iwishyouallthebest withit.Remembertoputonewordinfrontof theotherandkeeponkeepingon.Awholenew worldawaits.
Wendy H. Jones EditorinChief
Wendy H. Jones Author, Publisher, Writing Coach
FeaturedInterview: CraigMartelle InterviewedbyWendyH.Jones
CraigMartellegrewupinIowa,joinedthe MarineCorpsandgottoseethebestand theworstthattheworldhadtooffer.Then heearnedalawdegree.Nomatterwherehe went,healwayshadabookwithhim.
Thanksto21stCenturytechnology,henowhas hundredsofbooksloadedonhisphoneandalwayswithhim.Thisbreakthroughallowshimto bingereadhisfavourites.
HelovestheworksofRobertHeinlein,Anne McCaffrey,JRRTolkien,RobertE.Howard,andso manymore.HehasbeencomparedtoAndreNortonanddescribesthatashumbling,asshewas anincredibleauthorwithahugelistofnovelsto hercredit.Witheverynewbook,heaspirestolive uptothosethereaders,havecomparedhimto. Hewritessciencefiction,andtrillers,soadefinite allroundwriter.
Thankyouforjoiningus,Craig,andforagreeing toanswermyquestionsonworldbuilding.
Whatinspiredthesettingofyourworld,and howdidyoudevelopitsuniquecharacteristics?
Ihavetwenty-fivedifferentseriesinnineteen differentuniverses.Keepingthemstraightisthe problemandtheyblendovertime,soItryto writeaseriesfromstarttofinishwithinacouple years.
Howdoyoubalancecreatingarich,immersive worldwithoutoverwhelmingthereaderwith toomuchdetail?
Thegenredeterminesthelevelofdetail,butIexposethereadertotheworldasthecharacters seeit.Ithastomakesense.Ifoaktablesarea thing,therehastobeoaktreesandanindustry tofellthemandprepthemtomakethefurniture.
CraigMartelle
Idon’thavetogointothatlevelofdetail,butI can’thaveoaktablesinamedievalcastleinthe middleofadesertunlessthereissomewayto getthoserawmaterialsthere.Otherwise,build thecastlefromlocalstonewithstonecarved benchesandexoticrugsbroughtinbytraders. There–afewsentencesandyouseehowit makessense.Iwanttheworldtomakesense,be readablewithoutgoingsofarindepththatthe readerthinkstheyarereadinganencyclopaedia. Ihavethatlevelofdetailinmymind,butnever givethereaderareasontostopreading (descriptionsthataremindnumbingorstuffthat doesn’tmakesense).
Whatmethodsdoyouusetomakeyourworld feellived-inandauthentic?
Ihavethecharacterslivethere.Theircomfort andengagementwithintheirworldiswhat bringstheworldtolife.
Howdoyoudevelopthehistoryandmythologyofyourworld,andhowmuchofitdoyou includeinthestory?
Lisa Turley is from West Virginia. She is on numerous ARC street teams and reads in multiple genres. She is passionate about helping authors get the wordoutabouttheirbooks.
Thisisthehardestquestiontoanswerforyour readers.Givethemjustenoughbutnottoo much.Iusedescription,conversationwitha stranger(whereaprotagonistexplainsthrough dialogue),oraplotpointthatdependsonthat elementwithintheworld.
Whatchallengesdidyoufaceinmaintaining consistencywithinyourworldbuilding?
Myworldbuildingnotesareinspreadsheetsor capturedattheendofthebookwhichthenhave atendencytogetdeletedbeforeIgofinal.When Idothat,thenIdon’thaveacopyofthosenotes. I’vedonethattoomanytimestocount,soIhave myinsiderteam,betareaderswhomaintaina concordanceforme.Idon’tknowhowtheydoit, buttheysavemefrommyself.
Howdoyouapproachdesigningdifferentcultures,languages,andsocietalstructureswithinyourworld?
Idon’twantthereaderstostopreading,soIdesignthosethingsbasedonourrealworldsothe readerwillhavesomefamiliarityandsaveme frompagesofnarrativejustsothereadercan movetothenextpoint.Someofthoseelements aren’timportantwhenitcomestothestory,too. IhavetomakesurethatIdon’tunintentionally throwoutinterestingstructuresthatgonowhere.Intentionalityinallthings.Generally,everythinginmybooksbuildsacharacterorsupportstheplot.
Whatroledoesgeographyplayinshaping yourworld’scivilizations,conflicts,andeconomies?
Itouchedonthatabove–geographyisthegame board.It’scriticalinthemilitarysciencefiction thatIwritebecausethewinnerisusuallytheone whochoosesthebattlefield.Cover,concealment,fire,andmaneuver.Everycivilization thrivesontheopportunitieswithintheirenvironment.Coastalcommunitiesfish.Desertcommunitiesriseuparoundawatersource.Inlandcommunitiesmightfarm.Mountaincommunities mightdigminesandworkinpreciousminerals. AsaretiredU.S.Marine,conflictshavetohavea rootcause–warringracesthatmakewarjustto fightdon’tmakeanysensetome.Theywantsecurityinsomeform–removeathreat,gainland, orexpandanempire,butlossofwarriorsisin
thecalculation.Theriskhastobeworththegain. Allriskandnogainmakesnosense.
Howdoyouensureyourworldbuildingenhancesthenarrativeratherthanovershadowingthestory?
Characters.Everystorythrivesbasedonitscharacters.Thecharacterscarrytheplotforward.If theyaren’tstrongenoughtocarrythestory,then thewholestorywillfail.Theworldbuildingisa backdropandsubplotsbutneverthemainplot.
Whatadvicewouldyougivetoaspiringwriters strugglingwithworldbuilding?
Makeitmakesense.Createrelatablecharacters whodoextraordinarythings.Theworldisabackdrop.Don’tfallinlovewiththeworldsomuch thatthecharactersbecomewindowdressing.
Tellusabitaboutyourownbooks.
Ihavenearly200titles,soaskingmetotellyou aboutthemislikeaskingmetopickafavorite child.I’llsimplytalkabouttwoseries–boththe highestnumbersofreviewsinmybooksforthat genre.BattleshipLeviathan(Sci-Fiover4kreviews)andTheOperator(Thriller/ActionAdventure/RomanticSuspense–over1000reviews). Leviathanisaboutanancients’warshipthatwas thedoomsdayweapon–builttoendallwars,but it’ssentientandapacifist.Asmallteamofhumansintegratethemselvesintotheshipandthis istheiradventurestobringpeacetoawarring galaxy.TheOperatoristhefirstbookinmyIan Braggthrillerseries.IdescribeIanastheantiJamesBond.He’snotadrinkerorawomanizer. Heisfanaticallyloyaltohisgirlfrienddespitehis dayjobofbeingahitmanwhichrequireshimto staylightonhisfeetandleavenofootprintbehindwhileworkingtoremoveunsavoryindividualsfromexistence.
Thank you once again. It really was a pleasure to have you here.
Collaborations: When the Whole is Greater Than the Sum of All the Parts (SuccessfulIndieAuthor,Book3)Writtenby CraigMartelle, NarratedbyChrisAbernathy
Reviewedby WendyH.Jones
Review ISBN-10:1698445660
ISBN-13:978-1698445663
Blurb
Overwhelmed?You’reself-publishingbutsomethingisn’tright.It’s timetomoveforward.Findapartnertosharetheworkload.Anindividual(orteam)whowillstrengthenyourweakspots.Someone whowillflourishwithyourstrengths.Youcanbebettertogether, whenyoudoitright.
CraigMartellebringstheexperienceofdozensofcollaborationsto thisbook,outlinedinaneasy-to-digestformatthatcoversallthe collaboratingbases.Andtherearesamplecontracts,too.
Setyourselfupforsuccessbeforeyoustartwriting.Isn’tthatalife win?Improveyouroddsinallthatyoudo,especiallyinyourchosen profession.Beasuccessfulindieauthor.Figureoutifcollaborating isrightforyou,andthenbeabettercollaborator.Righthere.Listen toittoday.
Audiobook
ASIN:B082YKDDKH
Publisher.CraigMartelleInc.
Listeningtime3hoursandthirtyminutes.
AsanauthorIaminterestedincollaboratingwithothers,soIwaskeentoreadthisbook.IamgladIdid. Itunpackseverythingyouneedtoknowaboutworkinginacollaborationfromchoosingacollaboration partnerrightthroughtopublicationandroyaltyshare.
Settingfirmmutualexpectationsisemphasisedasissettingdatesforkeystagesofcompletionandadheringtothese.Obviously,animportantpartofanyaudiobookisthenarration.Ifthelistenerdoesnot gelwiththenarrator,thentheinformationcanbelost.ChrisAbernathyisanexcellentnarrator,andhis stylesuitsthetoneofthebook.Ifoundthisaudiobookbothinformativeandenjoyableandwouldhighly recommend.
Stanfords,London ForanissueaboutWorldbuildingwhatbetterbookshopcanwevisitthanonewhich takesyouaroundtheworld.Stanfords, whichstockstravelbooksandmapshasbeen tradinginCoventGardensince1853.Ihavevisitedmanytimesandit’saveritabletreasuretrove ofallthingstravel–books,maps,globes,travel accessories,travelnotebooksandsomuch more.Ihavespentmanyhoursbetweenitswalls andsatinthecaféreadingthebooksIhavepurchased.PreinternetavisittoStanfordswasal-
waysmygotobeforeanytravelandbeinginthe militaryItravelledalot.Ifondlyremembergoing therebeforeapostingtoHongKong,leavingwith severaltravelbooksonHongKongandSoutheast Asia,acoupleofJamesClavellnovelsaboutthe foundingofHongKong,andamap.
Oneofthemostextraordinaryanddelightful thingsaboutthebookshopisthatthefloors themselvesaremaps.Thatinitselfisworthavisit andIcanassureyouitreallyisworthavisit.
Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition, she is a writing coach, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.
OurbookshopofthemonthisStanfords,London
ThePastIsaForeignCountry:MaybeonaDifferentPlanet K. G. Whitehurst discusses some genre specific conventions for worldbuilding historical settings.
WhenIsayworldbuilding,youprobably thinkfantasyandsciencefiction(SF), mayberole-playinggames(RPG). Searchbooks,articles,podcasts,websites, YouTubevideos youwillfindlotsofgoodresourcesforworldbuilding andyou’lldiscover thosetwogenresarethefocusofalmostalldiscussionofsubstantial,immersiveworldbuilding, withabarenodtoRPG.Fairenough,buthave westoppedtothinkabouttheworldbuildingwe havetodoforallkindsofhistoricalfiction?
Itrequiresusingthesourcesofactualhistoryto buildafullyrealizedworldwithpeoplewho thinkandbehaveinbelievable,historicalways. Eveninstraight,scholarlyhistory,wemusthave fullcontextfortheactionsanddecisions,taken andnottaken,bythepeoplewestudy.Orprovideacompleteanalysisofwhythingsdidornot changeintheinstitution,town,country,oralliancewestudy.Wegetintoacascadingorderof causationthatleadsintoacascadingorderof effect.
Oh,youcanhangamodernstoryonahistorical background,butthat’sHollywood-stylehistoricalsetdressing,whichisn’twhatyouraudience desires.Manyreaderswishtolearnhistoryina funandentertainingway.Inshort,thepastisa foreigncountry,andwe’rewritingtheMichelin guides.Weneedtoknowwheretheonewiththe fivestarrestaurantsareandhowandwhythey
K.G.
cametobethereattheendoftheuniverse.Or righthereoronanalternativeEarth.
Therearereallytwowaystodohistory.Either youstartwithabroadresearchquestion/idea andworkfromthegeneral(theBoerWar,18991902)downtotheveryspecific(executionof Harry“Breaker”Morant)oryoustartwiththe veryspecific(lettersbetweenThomasJefferson andJamesMadison)andworkoutwardstothe general(colonialAmericainthewiderBritish Atlanticworld).Thefirstlookslikeaninverted triangle;thesecond,aright-side-uptriangleora pyramid.
IfIhaven’tscaredyouofffromwritinghistorical fiction,thenyou’vegottwoquestionstoanswer. First,whatkindofhistoricalfictionwillyou choose?Thereareseveralsubgenres fantasy, alternativehistory,mystery/thriller/suspense, multi-generationalfamilysaga,andfictionalized biography.Thesecondquestionyouhavetoanswer isyourstorysetonplanetEarthoryour owncreatedplanet?(Inbooks/websites/ podcasts/classes,thiswilleitherbecalledreal worldvssecondaryworldorprimaryvssecondaryworld.)
Whitehurst
IfyouchooseEarth,iteliminatessomechoices. Noneedtocomeupwithnewspecies,andthe history,geographyandenvironmentaresetfor you.Youdon’thavetoworryaboutwhattocall things,unlessyoudecideyou’regoingtousethe ancientGreekterms,asMJPankeydoesinher historicalfantasyseries, The Epic of Helinthia. (Thisisaseriesthatisdemonstrablyarchaic Greece;thatthegodsarerealmakesitfantasy.) Youwillhavetogotothehistoricalresources, bothprimarysourcesandsecondaryworks,for yourperiodandyourpartoftheworld.
Primarysourcesincludeletters,diaries,newspapers,householdaccountbooks,ships’logs,musterbooks,liturgies,poems,taxrolls,lawbooks; thelistisendless.TheregistersoftheBlack Princetoldmehowmuchhisfootsoldiersmade perdaycomparedtohislongbowmen;sixpence perdayfortheformerandtwoshillings(twentyfourpence)forthelatter.Longbowmenmade fourtimesasmuchbecauseoftheirimportant skills.Secondaryworksincludetextbooks(good forthebroadestoverview),monographs,biographies,magazineandjournalarticles.Don’tforgettoraidthebibliographiesofthesecondary workstofindrelevantprimarysources.Ifanauthorgivesyouwebsitesforrelevantclimatologicalandarchaeologicaldata,asSamWhitedidin A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter with North America, usethem.
Ifyou’rewritinghistoricalmystery/thriller/ suspensestoriesorfictionalizedbiographies, thenyou’regoingtostoprighthereandgetto workonyourhistoricalresearch.Ifyou’rethinkingoffantasyoralternativehistoryorevencurio fiction,thenyouhavenewquestionstoanswer. Magicornomagic?Whateventdoyouchangeor eliminateandhowdothechangesripple throughsociety?Ordoyouchangeonething, butnotanythingelse?
JohnM.Ford’s The Dragon Waiting changesone thingintheItalianRenaissance Lorenzothe Magnificentismurdered andthischangesthe natureandtrajectoryoflate15thcenturyEu-
rope.HarryTurtledove’s The Guns of the South hasapartheid-supportingSouthAfricanscoming backthroughtimetogiveAK-47stoRobertE. Lee’sarmy.Turtledove,themasterofalternative history,indulgesinwildcounter-factualhistory byaskingwhatwouldavictoryoftheConfederacymeanfortheUnitedStatesandtheworld?
Ifyou’vedecidedtotakeyourhistoricalstoryoffplanet,you’llstillneedtodohistoricalresearch, butyou’regoingtohaveaddphysicalgeography toyourresearch.Getatextbookonthatsubject towalkyouthroughallthethingsyou’llneedto thinkabout.Thisstorywillbeeitherfantasyor sciencefiction.HowmuchandwhatEarthhistory willyougoingimporttothissecondaryworld? Youhavemoreroomtoplayhere,butyoushould beasoriginalaspossibleinyouradaptation.You don’twanttogettaggedwithbeingderivativeor culturallyappropriative.
G.R.R.Martin’s Game of Thrones takesplaceon anotherplanetwithtwomajorcontinents, WesterosandEssos,InWesteros,theSevenKingdomsarerecognizably15thcenturyEnglandduringtheWarsoftheRoses,butwithdragonsand climatemagic.GuyGavrielKay’s Tigana isRenaissanceVenicewithmagic,andhis Lions of AlRassan isthestoryofElCidretoldonaunique worldcreatedfromwholecloth.
Whileworldbuildingisimportantineverystory typeandgenre,includingRPG,whatkindsand howmucharedeterminedbygenreconventions andyourstory’sspecificneeds.Withanytypeof historicalfiction,allowyourstoryandcharacters togroworganicallyfromthesourcestoprovide thedepthandbelievabilityneededforasatisfyingstory.
A former college professor, K. G. Whitehurst holds a Ph.D. in British history from the University of Virginia. Her work has appeared in the online magazine, Everyday Fiction, and at www.diymfa.com. A writer of both historical mystery and SF & F, she is currently working on a mystery set in 18th century England during the Gordon Riots.
Alas,PoorSetting,IKnowYouWell Editor In Chief Wendy H. Jones discusses worldbuilding in relation to getting to know local settings.
Yes,IdoknowtheoriginalShakespeareline inHamletwas‘Alas,poorYorick!Iknew him,Horatio’.However,likemostwritersI loveaplayonwords.Thisisalsoafittingmetaphorfortalkingaboutwritingourownlocalsetting.Ifyou’realittleconfusedrightnowreadon, Macduff.(Original–Layon,Macduffbutthe worldandhisdogknowitasLeadon,Macduff). Okay,IpromisetostopmanglingShakespeare ashe’sprobablyturninginhisgraverightnow.
Whenitcomestowritinglocalsetting,Iamsure youwilljoinmeinsayingweknowitwell,sonot ajotofresearchneedstobedone.Butdowe? Gettingthesettingcorrectgivesyourstoryauthenticitywiththereaderfeelingitisrootedin authenticity.Getitwrong,andyou’relikelyto getnastyletters–oremails–andreadersare equally likelytostopreadingyourbooks.Inthe widersensesettingcanhelpsetthetoneofthe book,givingitatmosphereandisessentiallyone ofthecharacters.Oursettingcanshapecharacterbehaviour.Inessence,gettingthesetting rightiscrucial.
Inordertodoso,thereisnosubstituteforwalkingthewalk.Weneedtogetoutthereandlook atourlocalsettingwithfresheyes.Walkingup anddownthestreets,visitingparks,goingup anddownalleyways.Whilewedosoyouneedto takeeverythingin.Lookup,lookdown,look
around.Lookatthebuildings,thepaving stones,thedoorsandwindows.Arethereflowers,grass,arethepavingstonescracked,are therepotholesintheroads?Avoidgenericdescriptions.Bespecific.
Here’sanexamplefrommyowncity.Wehavea lotoftenementblocksinDundee,someare beautifullykept,othersareinsomeneedofTLC. DespitehavingwalkedupanddownLochee Roadnumeroustimes,itwasonlywhenI walkedthewalkandreallylooked,Irealised oneofthetenementblockshasthedatebuilt intothebuildingasanornament.Itislittledetailslikethisthatbringthebookaliveforthe residentsandgiveagoodflavourofthecityto therestoftheworld.Itmayseeminconsequential,butitshowsyouhavedoneyourresearch andknowtheareawell.AnotherexampleisI alwayscallthenameofoneoftheroadsinDundeetheQueen’sRoad.ThatisbecauseQueen ElizabethIIopeneditwhenIwasachild.Thatis notit’srealname.Iwouldliterallyneedtogo thereandfindouttherealnameifIwantedto getitrightinmybook.
Whatweoftenforgetisthatsensorydetailsare alsoimportantwhenitcomestosetting.Asyou walk,feelwhatyourcharacterswouldfeel. Smellwhatyourcharacterswouldsmell.Is thereaburgervan?Bringintheoverwhelming smelloffriedonionsbutdon’tjustsay‘there wasaburgervanandthesmellofonionswas overwhelming’.Showittoyourreaders.John, gagged.“I’llbestinkingofonionsallday.”The lookhethrewatthevancouldfrytheonions withnoneedofpropane.Don’tsaythepavementwasuneven.HaveJohntrippingovera looseslabandthuddingtothegroundwherehe comesnosetonosewiththeoffendingslab.
Walkthestreetsatdifferenttimesofdayandin differentweather.Howdoesthischangethe characterofyoursetting?
Lookatthecoloursindifferentlights.Observe howthesuncastsabeautifulglowonthelocal stone,ortherainturnsitamenacinggrey. Ifthereareriversorstreamsobservehowthey lookindifferentlight.Whatdoessun,windor raindotothemovementandthecolourofthe water.
Aretherecertainstreetsthatfloodduringheavy rain?Whileyouaredoingthis,thinkabouthow theplayonsettingscanlendatmosphereto yournovel,shortstoryorflashfiction.Everythingyouobservewillbringauthenticitytoyour narrative.
Talkingoftimesofday,settingdoesnotjust includethephysicalinfrastructure,itincludes thepeople,cars,bikesetcthatusetheroadsor areenteringandleavingthebuildingsatdifferenttimesandondifferentdays.So,researching yoursettingondifferentdaysoftheweekisalsovital.Takingintoaccountschoolholidaysis alsoimportant.Theremaybelesspeopleas familiesareonholidayortherecouldbemore peopleincertainareassuchasparksand
beaches.OurlocalbeachhasadifferentambienceonaweekdayinFebruarywhereitmaybe mainlydogwalkersorasummer’sdaywhere therewillbeabustlingairoffestivity.
Localsettingshouldbeusedtopresentasense ofspatialawareness.Again,thisiswherewalking and/ordrivingcangiveyouasenseofdistances involvedandwhatwouldbeseenontheway.As anexample,Ihadmydetectivedrivingfromthe hospitaltoherhomeattheothersideofthecity. WhilstIdidn’tgivedetailssuchasshepassedthis buildingorthatpark,Ididsayshetookinthe fireworkslightinguptheskyfromapacked LocheePark.Ithenbroughtinhowthatmade herfeel.
AswestartedwithShakespeare,letusendwith him.
“Let us not burden our remembrances with a heaviness that’s gone.”
TheTempest ThoughIsaygoodbyeinthisarticle,thisisnot theendforyou.Inordertomakelightoftheinformationinthisarticle,itisnecessarytoputit intopractice.Mychallengetoyouisnottowait butdoitrightnow.Theworldawaits.
Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, bestselling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition, she is a writing coach, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.
WorldbuildingandtheShorterFictionForms Allison Symes discusses how to worldbuild in the shorter fiction forms.
The problem with worldbuilding is it can take up a lot of room. It’s why science fiction and fantasy novels are expected to be at least 100,000 words and can be more. So how can any writer successfully world build if they are writing short stories (1000 to 2000 words for magazine stories) or even flash fiction withitsupperwordcountlimitof1000words?
WhatDoestheReaderNeedtoKnow? The secret is to work out first what your reader does need to know to understand your story. If they must know characters can fly, show your characters doing this and how. Do they use wings,magicaltransport,portalsetc?
What your reader won’t need to know is how these things work. You won’t have the room to gointothatamountofdetail.Whatyouhaveisa scene where your character is flying using wings, say, so this tells your readers immediately this is a magical world and this is how charactersgetaround.That’sallyourreaderneeds.
But in their imaginations your world is beginning to become clearer. They can make certain assumptionsfromwhatyouhaveshownthem.A character having wings must be of a reasonable size to literally carry them around. It can also be assumed your characters would have some sort of flying lessons, perhaps similar to how we learn to drive a car. All of that is worldbuilding
Allison Symes
butcompressedtosuitashorterwritingformat.
WhatDoestheWriterNeedtoKnow? Ask yourself what you need to know when writing the story. Work this out but you should find you won’t need all of this in the tale itself for yourreaderstomakesenseofit.Youmightneed to know your character’s ability to fly is influenced by how much of a certain drink they have before take-off. You will work out roughly what hastobeinthatdrink.
All your readers need to know and see is your character having a drink before take-off and for thattothenberepeated,yeseveninaflashtale, so readers spot the pattern and see that drink matters. Bear in mind because you cannot go into a huge amount of detail anyway, having a repetition like this is (a) not going to use too much of your precious word count and (b) is the bestwaytoreinforceanideaforthereader.
Lisa Turley is from West Virginia. She is on numerous ARC street teams and reads in multiple genres. She is passionate about helping authors get the wordoutabouttheirbooks.
You can also use a character type to help set the world in which your story must be located in your reader’s mind. In some of my flash tales, I simply refer to a fairy godmother doing X, Y, and
Z. I don’t need to tell you she’s in a magical world. The fact she is a magical character shows that.
The only exception is if she is not located in her usual setting in which case you need to make that clear early, but you can have a line or two showing where she is and an indication of why she is there. The why here will almost inevitably beaquestionthestorywillanswer.
In one of my tales, I have a character refusing to kill a dragon. That shows a setting without me saying too much about it. The story then shows who this character is and why he is not doing what he is clearly expected to do. It’s the refusal whichisodd.
TheRightTellingDetails The right telling details in a story linger in the mind and have a powerful impact. If you are writing linked short stories/flash fiction (maybe for a potential collection), there is nothing to stop you having these set in one world. Over the course of your stories, you can reveal more of that world as you go along through the characters.Soaworldbuildcantakeplaceoverseveral talesinonebook.
Where tostart? It pays toknowwhat isexpected from fantasy. You must know at least some of the rules before you play with them or even breakthem.
I love fairytales and have re-read them many times. I get a “feel” for the fairytale world and know what I expect to see in it for the stories to make sense. I can use that knowledge when I create my fairytales. You can use tropes here effectively. I wouldn’t need to show you a fairy godmother has a wand. You would just expect hertohaveone,right?
It also helps to think about what we know here.
You can use our geographical types, for example, to work out what would exist in geography in your fictional setting. Would your world have rivers aswe knowthem? Ifso,are they the same colour?
Details such as a character noting the River XXX seemed to be a deeper red than normal for the time of the year shows us this is a fantasy setting, the rivers are meant to be red but there is something not quite right here. We can also assume the character is about tofind out why that red is deeper than normal (and I would expect from this the news probably won’t be good but then I would read the story to find out if I was right, which is precisely what you want your readerstodo).
Conclusion So you don’t need to lay your worldbuilding on with the proverbial trowel. For the short form, you certainly don’t want wads of description. You won’t have the space and it can send readerstosleep(guesshowIknowthat!).
But a tellingdetail here, another here, all shown through your characters, those will keep me reading and I will get to know more of your fictionalworldasIread.Jobdone!
Allison Symes is a flash fiction/short story writer, blogger and editor based in Hampshire. She runs writing workshops, judges competitions, and writes weekly for writers for Chandler’s Ford Today. She has two flash fiction collections published (Chapeltown Books) with a third in the pipeline.
TheHuitain Lis McDermott explores the Huitain, a French poetic form which was popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries.
ThismonthI’mexploringtheHuitain,a Frenchpoeticformwhichwaspopularin Franceinthe15th andearly16th centuries. Theformwasassociatedwiththeballadewhich comprisedofthreeeightlinestanzas,withthe lastlinebeingarefrain.Also,theballadewasset tomusic,buttheHuitainignoresboththerefrainandmusicalelement.
GeoffreyChaucerwrotethefirstknownEnglish HuitainwhenhewrotetheMonk’sTaleStanzain theCanterburyTales.
Anexcerpt:
Lucifer
WithLucifer,thoughhewasangelfair
Andnotaman,withhimwillIbegin; ForthoughFortunemaynotanangeldare, Fromhighdegreeyetfellheforhissin DownintoHell,andheliesyettherein. OLucifer,brightestofangelsall, NowartthouSatan,andthoumay’stnotwin Frommiserywhereinthoufardidn’stfall!
LisMcDermott
Itisaneight linepoemwith8or10syllablesin eachline.
Theformismadeupforthreerhymeends,one ofwhichappearsfourtimes.
Therearetwoversions: ababbcbcorabbaacac
ChaucerhasusedthefirstrhymingpatternandI havewrittenusingthesecondrhymingpatternabbaacac
Iparticularlylovetheflowersthatareoutduring MayintheUK,soItookthemasmyfocusforthe poem.
TheHuitainformeisnotparticularlyaformthat flowseasily,probablybecauseitworksbetterin itsoriginalFrenchlanguage.
Formyfirstversion,aftercreatingawordbank andlookingatrhymesthatworked,Ijustwrote thepoemoutwiththecorrectrhymingpattern, butnotworryingtoomuchaboutthenumberof syllablesused.
aThismonthweallbecomeaware
bOftheair-filledperfume
bEmittingfromflowersthatbloom
aTheiraromawaftsonspringair,
aAstheblossomsandbudsshare
ctheirbeauty;tulips,lilacsandroses
aafloraldisplaynothingcancompare
ctotheirscentwhichdelightsournoses.
Inthesecondversion,Ievenedthesyllablesout to8perline,whichmeantchangingsomeofthe wordsaround.Thisbecamemyfinishedversion.
May Ofsummersbirthweareaware, Breathinginthelovelyperfume emittingfromflowersthatbloom; Theiraromawaftsonspringair, Beautifulblossomsandbudsshare theirscent;tulips,lilacs,roses, Aboveall,nothingcancompare astheirscentdelightsournoses.
J.R.R.Tolkien1892-1973
"Thebiggestadventureiswhatliesahead."
J.R.R. Tolkien
JohnRonaldReuelTolkien(J.R.R.Tolkien)was theEnglishauthorofthehighfantasyclassics The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
TolkienwasbornintheRepublicofSouthAfrica toArthurReuelTolkienanEnglishbankmanager,andMabel,néeSuffield.Hehadayounger brother,HilaryArthurReuelTolkien.Atage3, alongwithhismotherandbrother,hewentona familyvisittoEngland.HisfatherdiedinSouth Africabeforehecouldjointhemthereandthe familyremainedinEngland.
In1916,duringWW1,Tolkienwaspostedto France.Incommandofabattalionofsoldiers,he wassenttotheSommewherehedeveloped trenchfoot.Whileinvalidedhome,hestarted writing A Book of Lost Tales - a mythology of England butdidnotcompletethis
In1916,hemarriedEdithBrattandtheyhadfour children.Hereturnedtoactiveserviceuntil1919.
In1920,TolkientookupapostasReaderinEnglishLanguageattheUniversityofLeeds,returningtoOxfordasaprofessorin1925–45witha fellowshipatPembrokeCollege.Itwasduringhis timetherethathewrote The Hobbit andthefirst volumesof The Lord of The Rings.
TolkiendiedinBournemouth,Englandaged81.
Publications include:
Tolkien'sfantasybooksonMiddle-earth:
The Hobbit (1937)
The Lord of the Rings in3volumes
Lis McDermott is a multi-genre author, poet and writing mentor. Visit Lis’ website: https://lismcdermottauthor.co.uk
The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
The Two Towers (1954)
The Return of the King (1955)
TinyWorlds,BigHearts:WorldbuildinginPictureBooks Fiona Lowrey gets to the heart of worldbuilding for children's picture books
We’veallhadatleastonebookinourlife thathastakenustoanotherworld.The wordsoftheauthorhavepaintedapicturesovividlythatwearetransportedtoanexactmomentinthestory.Thisistheskillofan author:tobuildaworldsoclearlythatweare there,withthemaincharacters,standinginthe sameroomandfeelinghowtheyfeel.
Whenwethinkofworldbuilding,ourmindsoften leaptoourfavouritebook.AsIwritethis,forme it’s The Witches byRoaldDahl.Iamthegrandmother,sittinginthegranddiningroomofaseasidehotel.Myheartinmymouthasmydarling seven-year-oldgrandson,nowamouse,scurries beneaththetables,weavingbetweenthesquare -toedshoesoftheWitches,havingjustpoured themagicalformulaintotheirsoup.
Often,children’sbookscanbesprawlingfantasy landscapeslike The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe orTolkien’s The Hobbit.Butinpicture books,especiallythosewrittenforveryyoung children,worldbuildingcanhappeninthesmallestofplaces.Sometimes,itstartswithasimple flickofatailbeneathagardenstone.
Theideafor Mousey Mornings firstcametome whilevisitingmychildhoodhome.Iwaswatchingbirdsflitaroundafeederinthegardenwhen, justbelowit,amousepoppedhisheadoutfrom underastone.Iheldmybreathashecautiously
edgedtowardsomefallenfood.Inthatmoment, Iwondered: Where does he live? What might his home look like? Does he have a routine, a favourite snack, a friend?
Andjustlikethat,Melvinwasborn.Iimagined himinacosylittlehome,withfurnitureand shelvesforhisstoredfoodtositon.Iwondered whohemightbefriendswithandwhetherhe livedwithothermice.Shortlyafter,Zarafollowed,andtheirstorybegantotakeshape.A taleoffriendship,teamwork,andmorningritualsemergedalltoldingentlerhymeandsetina warm,biscuit-bakingworldbeneaththestairs.
Watchingthattinymousesparkedastorybut, morethanthat,itsparkedaworld.AsMelvin andZaracametolife,sotoodidtheirhome, theirroutines,andthetinyobjectsthatfilled theirdays.That’swhenIrealised:buildinga worldforyoungchildrenisn’taboutscale,it’s aboutheart.Anditstartswiththesmallestof details.
In Mousey Mornings,readersareinvitedintoMelvinandZara’ssnuglair,aspacefilledwithtiny chairs,beds,andbowls,allofwhichchildrencan relatetointheirownlives.Forchildrenaged threetofive,settingsliketheseofferaunique kindofmagic.
Asanauthor,buildingminiatureworldsforthis agegroupmeanscraftingsettingsthataredetailed,familiar,andlovinglyimagined.However, thisprocessisonlyinparttheskilloftheauthor. Theillustratoralsoplaysacrucialroleintheformationofasuccessfulbook.Often,whilewriting thestory,theauthorhasavisionalreadyinmind, howthecharactersmightlook,howthekitchen feels,howbigabedshouldbe.Itisacollaborativecreativeprocess,withtheauthorasthe guideandtheillustratorteasingthatvisionoutof theauthor’sheadandontothepage.Fromthere, theillustratormayaddfurtherdetailsandnuancestotheworld,enrichingitvisually,alwaysin harmonywiththestory’sheart.
Together,authorandillustratormustbringthe worldtolifeinawaythatfeelscompleteandimmersiveforyoungreaders.Buthowexactlydo webegintoshapethesetiny,tangiblestoryspaces?
ThinkSmall,butLayered Youngreadersaredrawntotheintricatedetails ofeachpage,oftenwithelementstheycanrelate tointheirownlives.Thethoughtsofatinydoor underthestairsbecomesawholeecosystem: withitsownfurniture,rooms,andobjects.Melvin andZara’sworldinviteschildrentoreimagine theirownworldandwhatcouldbehappening aroundthemiftheylettheirimaginationrun free.
Inpicturebooks,anauthor’swordsarethefoundationincreatingafavouritebookachildpicks uptimeandtimeagain.Theirwordsaretranslatedbyanillustratorwhoaddslayerstotheworld buildingprocess,enhancingtheimage.Forexample,in Mousey Mornings,Melvinisawonderful chef,andhecarriesaloafofsteaminghotbread
intothelivingroomforZaratoenjoy.Suddenly, thereader(oratleasttheparentorguardian) rememberstheincrediblesmellofwarmbread, andtheycanimaginethetastiesttheyhaveever enjoyed.
LanguageasLandscape Wordchoice,languageandtoneshapethe world,especiallyinearlyreaderandpicture books. Mousey Mornings istoldingentlerhyme whichisflowingandsonglikeforthechildtoenjoy.
Duringtheclimaxofthestory,Zarabecomes confused.Hermindisracingindifferentdirections,andsheisunsurewhyMelvinhas‘stomped off to bed, huffily saying ’Goodnight.’Thewords usedinthissectionemphasiseZara’sbewildered stateandtheillustrationsbecomeasecondary supporttothetheme.
Wordscanpaintathousandpicturesandarekey toanygoodstoryandworldbuilding.
ConsistencyisComfort IamaMum,sohavehadmyfairshareofcreating routinesovertheyears.Preschoolersthriveon theconsistencyofroutine,andtheirexpectationswhenreadingabookisnodifferent.
In Mousey Mornings,Melvinhascreatedhisown routineofdoingeverythingforZara,andZara hasgottenalittletoousedtotheirroutine,until thepointwhereMelvincracks,throwshisapron onthefloor,andgoestobedexhausted.Thestoryissetmostlyinthekitchen,andalthoughthe wordsandcharactersdeveloptoaclimaxwith Zara’srealisationsheneedstodomoretohelp, thesettingoftheroomremainsconsistent throughout.Childrencanseewiththeturnof eachpagethatthesamecakeisontheshelfin thesamelocation,andthekettleonthestoveis thesamecolour.
Thisrepetitionoffersemotionalsecurity,while gentlyreinforcingthemesofcooperationand care,hintingthatthefinalpagesofthestorywill allworkoutintheend.
CosyMood Themostpowerfulpicturebookworldsdon’t justshowaplace,they feel likeone.Themice’s homeissoftlylitandwarmfeeling,withacosy fireplaceforMelvinandZaratositbeside.Allthe illustrationsusegentle,mutedcolourstoemphasisetherelaxingatmosphere.
Myfavouriteillustrationintheentirebookisthat ofthebedroom.Melvinhasgonetobed,fedup thathedoeseverythingaroundthehouse,with nohelp.Feelingalittletakenforgranted.Whilst helaysinbed,peekingoutoneeyeatZara,the readercanenjoyamyriadofdetailsfromtiny slippers,bunting,and‘bestchef’trophies.
Cosinessiskeywhenwritingforthisagegroup. It’snotjustdécor,it’samood,asensoryhug.
BuildRelationships,NotJustRooms Arichlybuiltworldismorethanabackdrop,it’s shapedbyitscharacters.MelvinandZara’slair feelsalivebecauseofhowtheymovethroughit: bakingcookieswithlove,pouringteawithcare, sharingfoodtogether,andultimatelysolving everydayproblemsasateam.Thesesmallgesturesturnasettingintoa home,andhelpyoung readersinternalizevalueslikeempathyand friendship.
ThemouseIsawthatafternoonatthebird feedermayhavescurriedoff,butheleftbehind aseedofcuriosity. Mousey Mornings grewfrom thatmomentofquietwonder,andthedesireto giveyoungreadersaglimpseintoaworldboth tinyandtender.
Becausesometimes,thebiggeststorieslivein thesmallestplaces.Allittakesisalittleimaginationandapeekbeneaththefloorboards.
That’stheheartofworldbuildinginpicture books:notjustcreatingasetting,butcraftinga spacewherechildrenfeelsafeenoughtoexplore,dream,andimaginetheirownadventures.Whenwebuildminiature,detailed,emotionallyresonantworlds,wehandyoungreadersthekeystotheirownstorytelling.Weshow themthateverycorneroflife,evenamousebelowabirdfeeder,canholdthebeginningofa storyworthtelling.
Fiona Lowry is a multi-award-winning children's author based in Perthshire. Her books share her power of positive thinking through stories of encouragement, self-growth, and imagination.
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Shroud byAdrianTchaikovsky Reviewedby LouiseCannon
ISBN-10 : 1035013797
ISBN-13 : 978-1035013791
Publisher: Tor;MainMarketedition(February2025)
Blurb Theylookedintodarkness.Thedarknesslookedback...
Acommercialexpeditiontoadistantstarsystemdiscoversapitch -blackmoonalivewithradioactivity.Itshigh-gravity,highpressure,zero-oxygenenvironmentisdeadlytohumanlife,but ripeforexploitation.TheynameditShroud.
UndernocircumstancescanahumansurviveShroud’sinhospitablesurface–butacatastrophicaccidentforcesJunaCeelander andMaiSteEtiennetomakeanemergencylandinginabarelyadequateescapevehicle.Alone,andfightingforsurvival,thetwo womenembarkonagruellingjourneyacrossland,seaandairin searchofsalvation.
Butastheytravel,JunaandMaibegintounderstandShroud’sunnervingalienspecies.Italsobeginsto understandthem.IftheyescapeShroud,they’llsomehowhavetoexplaintheimpossibleandtranslate theincredible.Thatis,iftheymakeitbackatall...
Review Shroud iswrappedinaneerieatmospherethatcreepsintoyourverybeingasyoureadabouttheinhospitableworldTchaikovskyhascreated.Thisalienworldisvast,butamongstthisisaveryhumanstoryof emotion,uncertaintyandsurvival.
ThebookhassplitperspectivesbetweenthehumansandtheShrouded,writteninawaythatgivescompletevisionoftheworld.Thecharactersarewrittenwell,withabitaslow-burn.Theresultisthatyouget toknowandunderstandJunaandMaiandtheShroudedintimately.
Shroudhasgravedangerthatkeepsyougripped,humanityandalittlehumourthatsoftenstheedges. Shroudisafascinatingreadofsci-fimixedwithhorror,createdwithhighintensity.
Louise Michelle Cannon lives in Central Scotland with family and a cute but wily cat. She writes a blog – Bookmarks and Stages, reviewing books, theatre, festivals and conducts the occasional Q&A sessions.
UsingMapsForWorldbuilding Sheena Macleod discusses the value of making maps when creating fictional worlds.
There’ssomethingaboutopeninganew(to me)fantasy,sci-fiorhistoricalnoveland seeingamapthatmakesmewanttodelve straightintothefictionalworldofthatstory.The mapsoftencontaindetailsaboutthelandscape, placenamesandgeographicallandmarks(such asriversormountains)thatformthesetting.
Formanywriters,astoryjourneyoftenstarts here,too.Mappingouttheworldofthestorybeforewritinghelpstodevelopthestoryplot,plan travelwithintheworldofthestoryandkeep trackofwherecharactersareandthelandscape thatsurroundsthem.
Beforewritinghishighfantasynovels,J.R.R.Tolkienhand-drewmapsofthesettingforhisfictionalworldandthenbuilthisplotsaround them. (1) Themapshelpedhimwithplotdevelopment,somethingwriterscannowrelateto. Manyfantasyandothergenrewritersalsonow includeamapoftheworldtheyaredepicting.
Thehighfantasynovels The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings byJ.R.R.Tolkienaresetinthefictional, human-inhabitedrealmofMiddle-earth,the maincontinentofEarth,duringanimaginaryperiodinthepast.Thedetailedmappeddepiction ofMiddle-earthbroughtTolkien’sfictionalworld tolifeformanyreaders.Indoingso,hedevelopedaworldthatpreviouslycouldneverhave beenimaginedbythem.
MapsofTolkien’sMiddle-earthareavailableto buyseparatelyandareasmuchanentityasthe novelsthemselves.AllenandUnwincommissionedPaulineBaynestopaintamapofMiddleearthandpublishedthisasaposterin1970.I rememberfollowingthecharacters’journeys
withamapofTolkien’sfantasyworldpinnedto awallasIread.Trackingplacesandthemovementsofthecharactersbecameahugepartof thereadingexperience.
Spin-offbookssuchas The History of MiddleEarth (atwelve-volumeseriesofbooks)edited byTolkien’sson,Christopher,developedfrom hisfather’sunpublisheddrafts.Thevolumes trackthecreation,overtime,ofthepeople,historyandlanguageofTolkien’sfictionalworld.It chronicleshowhebreathedlifeintoandestablishedMiddle-earthasafictionalsettingwithits ownplacesanduniquepeople.
Mapsareextremelyusefultoolswithinthefantasyandotherfictionalgenres,notjustasguides tohelpstorydevelopmentbuttobringfictional worldstolifeforreaders.Evenwhenthereisno plantopublishamapalongwiththestory,they arestillworthcreatingtohelpwithworldbuilding.
(1) Letter to Rayner Unwin 12th May 1955 Accessed April 2025 from Tolkien Gateway online
Sheena Macleod lives in Scotland where she gained her PhD at the University of Dundee. Sheena mainly writes historical fact and fiction. She also writes crime fiction, including a number of published Cozy Crime short stories.
How To Map Your
World: An Author’s Guide To Mapping Fictional Worlds (Step by Step Worldbuilding Book 6) byA.Trevena
Title: How To Map Your World: An Authors Guide To Mapping Fictional Worlds (Step by Step Worldbuilding Book 6) by
A.Trevena
ASIN: B0C26B38CZ
Publisher: MaythornePress(April2023)
AvailableasbothanebookGuidebookandapaperback Workbookwithspaceforansweringeachprompt.
Wanttocreateafantasylandscapethatfeelsrealand immersive?
Needhelpdraftingamapthatenrichestheexperienceof yourworld?
HowtoMapYourWorldbreakstheprocessdownintoeasy-to-followsteps.Bycompletingaseriesof creativeprompts,thisbookwillshowyouhowtomapoutanengagingworldfullofstoriesandadventure.
Thisworkbookwillhelpyouto:
Layoutyourworldinawaythatcomplementsyourstory
Usehintsandplothooksinyourmaptoenticeyourreaders
Findsurprisestoriesandinspirationinyourlandscape
Drawanattractiveworldmapthatreinforcesyourworldbuilding
Workyourwaythroughthecreationofamapthathooksandintriguesyourreaders,leadingthemdeep intotheworldofyourstory.Learnsimplemethodsfordrawinglandscapedetailsfrommountainsto coastlines,andhowtoputthemtogetherinafinishedworldmap.
MonthlyWritingPrompts Wendy H. Jones and Tami C. Brown set this month’s writing prompts. Inspired by a theme of worldbuilding they provide a range of prompts. Why not give them a try?
Words:
Whentheworldstoppedspinning
Bonedryearthisnever…
Newworld.Wordwarriors.Telephone
WritingPrompts (Photographic images by Tami C. Brown)
Ihopeyouenjoythismonth'smagazineprompts thatremindstorekindlethatpartofyoursoul.
Music:
AWholeNewWorldfromAladdin
RockingallOvertheWorld
DystopiabyOneOkRock
Images:
Worldbuildingtomeiscapturingamomentthat isanormaleventinyourlifeandturningthatintotheartistwithin~destinationimagination.A sunsetthatissoblindingyoumustturnaway,a snowstormthat'sbeautifulbutablackandwhite pictureleadsyoutolookpastthesnow.Aswe getolder,wetendtosnuffoutthepartofusthat cravesimaginationandplay.
1NorthernLightsInMaryland
Image
WendyH.Jones TamiC.Brown
Editor in chief, Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award -winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition she is a writing coach, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.
Tami C. Brown loves to have her camera ready to snap beauty wherever she goes. Her family and friends, affectionately known as the Queenies, are well prepared for random stops along the journey to have a photo op. She’s grateful for all photography opportunities and the adventures that come along with it.
Image2:Sunset
Image3:Feathers
TheOutrageousSausageSandwichSwindle Office dog, Sophie, ably assisted by Peter Thomas highlights the need to write things right.
Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledged,thata publishedwriterinpossessionofagoodfortune,mustbeinwantofalegalrepresentative.Ifindmyselfinthatposition,huntingforan enterprisinglawyer.
Letmeexplain.Thereisonlyonethingbetter thangoingforawalkonthebeachandaswimin theseaandthatiswhentheadventureincludes aSausageSandwichwithmyhumansatoneof ourfavouritecafes.Wehavemovednearerto thecoastandtheseoutingsareaweeklyoccurrence.Butnowmyworldhasfallenapart.
MybestfriendDottyisacockapoo–asthesong says,halfaspanielisbetterthannone.Lasttime IsawDottyshetoldmesomethingdeeply shocking–dogsdon’teatsausages.Notsausagesintendedforhumansanyway.It’ssomething ridiculoustodowithsulphitepreservatives causingthiaminedeficiencyindogs.Ididn’tbelieveher,butsincethenIhavebeenpayingvery closeattentiontothetreatswearegivenonour tripsandIhavecometorealisethetruth.
ApartfromthegenuinedoggysausageanddoggybaconintheFullSpanielBreakfastsatour favouriteholidayBandB,Ihaveneverbeengivenanyactualsausage.Notever.EverytimeIjust getgivenafewbitsofcrustbrokenoffmydaddy’sSausageSandwich.HescoffsallthesausagesandallIgetisthecrumbs.Howcouldhehave deceivedmesocruelly?Ishouldhaverealised
agesagoonthewonderfuldaywhenthewind blewhissandwichoffthetable.WithmylightningreflexesImanagedtosnafflethewhole thingbeforeithitthefloor.Ihadnevertasted anythingsodeliciouslymeaty!Otherthanthat, everysingle“SausageSandwich”hasbeenalie!
Ialreadyknewthatin2006acompanycalled WelshDragonSausageswerepursuedbyTradingStandardsbecausetheirproductsdidnot containanydragonmeat.Allthe“Sausage Sandwiches”Ihaveeverbeengivenwereequallylackinginsausage!IbelievedIwasreceiving thesausage,thewholesausageandnothingbut thesausage.Itwasallacon.
Aftertenyearsofbeingfooledbymorselsof breadwithjustthefaintaroma,Iamdefinitely entitledtocompensationtothetuneofseveral hundredSausageSandwichesatleast!Pluspunitivedamageswhichwillguaranteemedaily servingsinperpetuity.
Regrettably,TradingStandardshaveignoredall myletterssoIhaverealisedthatmyonlycourse
forredresswillbetotakemyhumanstocourt.I approachedanumberofthepersonalinjurylawyersthatadvertiseontheinternet.“Didyourhumanbreakatreatinhalfandpassitoffasthe wholetreat?Thatisfraud!”“Whenyourowner promisedyouatreat,didtheysellyouapup?”
TheyallagreethatIhaveaverygoodcase.Well, noneofthemhavetoldmethatIdon’t.Butthey haveallrefusedtoactonmybehalf.According tothem,thelawdoesnotapplybecauseIama spaniel.Nowthisisobviouslydisgracefulspeciesismagainstthoseofuswhoaredifferently furred.Doesn’tadogdeserveabsolutelythe sameprotectionunderlawasanyothercreature?
SonowIamlookingforatenaciousandvisionarylegalbeagle.Ihaveallthegroundsforaclass actionforblatantdiscriminationagainstallthe firmsthathaverefusedtorepresentmejustbecauseIamadog.
Dottyhasspeculatedthattheyareallactually beingsoobstructivebecausetheyknowtheonly currencyIwouldbeabletopaytheminisSausageSandwiches.Iwon’texpectanybodytoact probone-o.Justtobesurethatisnottheissue, mydaddyhasgratefullyagreedtolendme enoughhumanmoneyfortheretainerifIdrop mycaseagainsthim.
Ifanyofmyreaderswishtostandwithmeinthis landmarkcase,dogetintouchthroughWriters’ Narrative.Everydogwillhaveherdayincourt. Andwewillbevictorious!
Rev Peter Thomas has published three non-fiction books and is delighted now to assist Sophie in her creative writing projects. Originally a teacher and author in the fields of chemistry and computing, Peter retired in 2023 after 36 years as a Minister of local Baptist Churches. He continues to add to his blog and videos of more than a thousand sermons and reflections found at www.pbthomas.com.
SubscriberNews Tonominateyourlocallibrary orbookshoptobefeaturedinfutureissues email writersnarrative@gmail.com subjectheadedfortheattentionoftheEditor inChief.
PeterThomasandSophie
Malapropisms Jenny Sanders discusses the problems and pleasures of malapropisms and shares some examples .
Arecentpostthatpassedacrossoneofmy socialmediaplatforms,wentlikethis:
A malapropism walks into a bar, looking for all intensive purposes like a wolf in cheap clothing, muttering epitaphs and casting dispersions on his magnificent other who takes him for granite
Thisisthesortofthingthatmakessocialmedia worthwhile,asfarasI’mconcerned. Youcan keepyourshoutyTwitter/X,andfileyourairbrushedInstagramsinabinofobscurity;thisis thestuffIhangaroundfor. Itmakesmesmile;it makesmelaughand,quitefrankly,wecouldall useabitmoreofthat.
MrsMalapropwasacharacterinSheridan’seighteenthcenturyplay, The Rivals,inwhichshesparkledinhermisuseofwordstocomiceffect(‘He was the very pineapple of politeness’ etc)evoking gloriouslyludicrousimages. Hederivedher namefromtheFrench, mal à propo,meaninginappropriate.Hercharactermadeenoughimpact toseethenameadoptedpermanentlyintothe Englishlanguageforwhenanunsuitablewordis usedeitherinconversationorthewrittenword.
Therearen’tmanypeoplewhodon’tenjoya goodmalapropism. Indeed,Ionceknewalovely ladywhoscatteredmalapropismsthroughout herconversationlikecolouredsprinklesona cupcake;frequentlydelightfulforthelistener, butprobablynothavingquitetheeffectshehad intended. Shewouldtellherhusbandquite plainlythat,‘noneofusisinflammable’. Of course,shemeant‘infallible’,andeitherwayshe wasn’twrong. Shewasn’ttryingtobefunny,but continuedtoentertainusformanyalongyear whileblissfullyunawareofherverbalmissteps.
JennySanders
Andthat’sboththeproblemandthepleasureof malapropisms. Aswriters,wejustneedtocheck thatwe’veusedallofourwordstotheirbest effect.Wherenocomiceffectisintended,the wholethingcanfallapartveryquicklyleavingthe reader,orlistener,eitherterriblyconfusedorin fitsofhopelessgigglesshouldwehaveselected aninappropriatewordorphrase. Yourserious scenewillunravelbeforeyoureyesshouldyou blunderhere. Ifindoubt,checkwithatrusted dictionary,orMrGoogle.
NotsolongagoIspentaninordinateamountof timeexplainingtosomeonethatanasteriskis notthesameasAsterix.WhilethelatterisafictionalGaulwhowieldshisphenomenalstrength againsttheinvadingRomans,andwhichisderivedfromthemagicpotionhedrinkscookedup bythedruid,Getafix,theformerisaveryuseful typographicalsymbol,helpfulformarkingqueriesandthelike.Itallgotrathersillyand,inthe end,Iabandonedthewholeconversation;itreallydidn’tseemthatimportantandbesides,I’denjoyedagigglewhilebaulkingathumiliatingher justforthesakeofbeingright.
WhileI’mallforpeopleexpandingtheirvocabulary–especiallywhensomany(particularly,but notexclusivelytheyoungergeneration)resortto writingandspeakinginthetruncatedlanguage
oftext-speak – inadvertentlygettingitspectacularlywrongcouldpotentiallyleaveyoushamefacedandmortified.
Malapropismsarereallybestleftinthecomedic realm(GeorgeWBushwouldhavedonewellto realisethis).Forthecomicwriter,themalapropismisatotalgiftwhenusedinacomediccontext. Ofcourse,italwaysworksbetterwhenthecharacterintowhosemouthyouputthosenot-quiterightwordsisunawareoftheirmistake. Shakespearehimselfusedthemforsomeofhislowerclasscomiccharacters:Dogberryin Much Ado About Nothing,Bottomin A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Wemightconsidersuchrusessimplistic andclassistthesedays,buttheyservedapurposeintheirday,andstillraiseasmileamong audiences. Indeed,thesearesomeofhismost endearingcharacters.
Thatcleverclashofmeaningsthatsoalmost works,isperfectforconjuringuphilariousimagesforareader. Whowouldn’tenjoythepicture
evokedby‘dancingaflamingo’,or‘illiterating someonefromyourmemory’,orevenbeing ‘putrefiedbyaghost’? Beforeyouknowit,you canhavedoctorsdelivering‘anecdotes’, ‘auspiciouspersons’hangingoutindarkalleys, and‘inferiordecorators’creatingenormous ‘flowerderangements’givinganewlookto whichevernoblehouseyourwordshavecreated.
Theworldisbasicallyyourtoaster,andI’mlookingforwardtocreatinganewcharacter whocan indulgeinsomeoftheseplundersverysoon.
Onthathappynote,I’lltakemyleafandwish youswell.
Jenny writes faith-based non-fiction [Spiritual Feasting (2020); Polished Arrows (2024)] and humorous short stories for 7-11 year-olds [The Magnificent Moustache and other stories (2022); Charlie Peach’s Pumpkins and other stories (2023)]. She is available for author visits for creative writing sessions with Key Stage 2 children in the UK and writes for a number of online magazines
WorldbuildinginFiction “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
Worldbuilding.Itreadslikeanunsurmountable,mammothtask.Worldbuilding.Issomethingthatfantasyauthorsdo,isn’tit?Closeyoureyesandruminate onthatwordforasecond.IcanpicturethemovingstaircasesfromHarryPotter,andassomeone justaweebitterrifiedofescalators,Igetjitters justthinkingabout‘worldbuilding’.
Doesithavetobetallgothicspires,dragonsand wands?Whataboutthosecuteplacesfeaturedin everyHallmarksmalltownholidayromance?Or Midsomer?NowthosearetheplacesIcouldinhabit.AlthoughmaybeIwouldsettleforatourof Midsomerratherthanlivingwherepeopledrop deadeverysooften.Still,weallknowandadore theplace,thepubs,Barnaby’shouse,thepolice station.
Obviously,Midsomerisn’tarealplace.Otherwise,itwouldbeoneofthemostdangerous placesintheUK.So,ifIweretotakefantasyout ofMidsomer,whataboutShetland chez DIPerez orJaneAusten’sromanticBath?Bynowyou knowwhichtwogenresIfavour,andyou’ve probablyguessedwhatI’mabouttosay: Ifyou’rewriting,youareworldbuilding.
Mystoriesarebasedinareal-lifetownwith real-lifepeople.
Nomatterhowclosetofactwefly,afictional storywillcontainfictiouselements.Evenifthe placeyou’rewritingaboutisreal,asincontemporaryShetlandorGeorgianBath,yoursetting andthepeopleinitfollowasetofrules.
Forexample
Stars glittered overhead, moonlight flirting over the rippling waters of the River Avon. The river’s gurgle added a beat to the wailing of the orchestra’s cello and violin adding much needed merri-
ment to the chilly Spring air. Spring, oh spring with its pretty flowers, longer days and balls…
Following the long, wet winter, silent homes of the ton came alive with music and candlelight. With every eager debutante flitting about the ballroom in search of a handsome bachelor, and bachelors in search of a woman with a handsome dowry, the road leading up to Mrs Buckley’s first ball of the season was a sea of carriages, ballgowns and feathers.
Fromtheextractabove,Ihavepresumed:
Noone’sstruttingaboutinjeans,they’reallwearingballgowns.
Theevening’sentertainmentisaballwherepeople,probablysinglepeople,aremeanttosocialise.
We’reinEngland,assignalledbytheRiverAvon. Peopledrivecarriages,notcars.
Andwell,theideaofmarriageisn’texactlylove, especiallyforthebachelors.
Noneoftheaboveisanexaggerated.Ifyouwere totravelbacktoGeorgianEngland,thepeople livinginthatworldwouldwear,behave,andact, justso.
Toputitsimply:ifcharacters,setting,plot,pacing wereflowers,worldbuildingisthevaseyouplace themin.
Itgivesyourstoryastructure,anditletsyour
ShanayaWagh
readerknowwhattheboundariesofyourworld are,andtherulesandtheconsequencesof breakingthoserules.
Whatdoesworldbuildingencompass?
Geographicallocation:You’llneedtodetermine factorsinfluencedbylocationandgeography. Thatcouldmeantheboundariesofyoursetting, theenvironment,thetopography,etc.Youmight notneedanactualmapofyourworld(whether it’sfictionalorareal-lifeplace),butyouneedto knowwherethingsaregenerallylocated.Forexample:weknowNetherfieldisafewmilesfrom theBennets’LongbournHouse,andPemberley isclosetoLambton.
Culture&Society:Cultureplaysakeyrolein buildingyourworld.Debutantescan’twaltz aroundLondonunchaperoned.Whereas,ifyou weretowriteaboutaneighteen-year-oldinLondontodayhavingaparent,siblingormaidfollowingthemaround,manywouldconsiderthat weird.Culturealsoincludeslanguage.Itplaces characters’backgroundsandenforcesthelocationofyourworld.
TechnologicalAdvancements:Areyourcharactersreadingbycandlelightorusingfaceswappingtechnologytodupepeople?Technologyalsofeedsintopeople’sknow-howaboutthe worldaroundthem.Besides,accesstotechnologyalsomatters.DCIBarnabymightuseadigital policedatabase(HOLMES),butthereal (fictional)Holmesmighthavetouseothermethodsofdeduction.
SocialEcosystems:Moneyispowerandeludesto socialstandingandinfluence.Let’sfaceit,those inpowerdictatehowtheworldworks.Theydecidehowmoneyoranypreciouscommoditythat givespeoplethispowerflows.Andthisflowof powerdetermineswhatkindofworkpeopledo andtheirpositionwithinsocialhierarchy.Inthe exampleabove,bachelorsareinsearchofarich wifeandthewomen(despitebeingrich),needa husbandforprotection.
Knowledge,SocietalViewsandBeliefs:Wehave accesstomoreknowledgenowthanhumankind
haseverknown.Ourviewsandbeliefs,although moreinformed,aremouldedbythepeople aroundus.Foryourworld,whatarethecommon unquestionedpremises?Andwhathappensto peoplewhodon’tholdthosesameviews?
Readingthroughthislist,youmightthinkthat eachelementaffectstheplot.Andinworldbuilding,theydo.
Genreexpectationsandworldbuilding Anothersetofstructuralelementsformostgenre authorsaretheimportantgenreconventions. Andtheparameterslistedabovemustfollow theseexpectations.
Ifitwereconcentriccircles,I’dsay,yourplotand charactersaretheinnermostcircle,themiddle oneisworldbuilding,andtheoneoutsidethat shouldinformallyourdecisionsisgenre.
Whilethatdoesn’tmeanyoushouldn’tbreak genrerules,youneedtoknowwhatisnecessary:
Example:ifIweretosayintheaboveexample, thatthequeueoutsideMrsBuckley’shousewas ofcarsandnotcarriages,youwould’veprobably assumedeveryone’sofftosomegalawherethe dresscodeisballgownsandtuxedos.Thinkcontemporaryromancewitharrangedmarriageratherthanhistoricalfiction.
Andthisalsomeans,ifyou’rewritinginaseries, sticktotherules!Youcanalwaysexpandasthe storydemands,butonceagain,inahistoricalfantasydrama,havingato-gocoffeemuginthescenecanandwillpullpeopleoutofthefantasy.RemembertheforgottencupfromGameof Thrones?Ineverwatchedtheseries,butI’vesure heardofthatstraycup!
ShanayaWaghwritesaward-winningromantic mysteriesandsuspensenovelssetinScotland underthepennameShanaFrost.Herbooks promisepage-turningsuspense,strongfriendships,andtruelove.
RecentReleases Title: Defiant: An Alaskan Apocalypse byCraigMartelle
ASIN: B0DKB8WZ78
Publisher:CraigMartelle,Inc(January2025)
Blurb
Complyorfightback?Buryyourheadorconfronttheenemywho tellsyouthey'reyourfriend?
Whodecideswhat’sbestforAlaskans?Mandatesfromonhigh,for thegreatergood.Reduceviolence.Eliminatehunger.Savethe peoplebydehumanizingthem.Makethemdependent.Takethe citizens'voice.Removetheirclaws.
CoryBeringer’soldmantookhimtoRhodesiatofightasamercenarywhentheboywasthirteen.Who doesthat?Someonewhobelieveswhensocietyfalls,itwon’tbeacatastrophictrainwreck.Itwillbethe slowdeaththataglacierdeliverstoatowninitspath.
Hisoldmanfoughtaguerrillawartohelpothers.Hetaughthimaboutfreedomanditsvaluebyshowing whathappenedtopeoplewithoutliberty.
Civilizationisdefinedbythoseinpower.Sometimes,that'snotthesecurityanyonewants.
IsitpossibletofindalliesorwillCoryhavetogoitalone?Onebyone,thedominosstarttofall.Whenis ittoolate?Whenwillhebecrushedbythegrowingauthoritarianbehemoth?
Isitenoughtosimplysurvivetofightanotherday?Maybethebattleisworthriskinghislife.
Defiantisaslowburn,afalltowardadystopianfuture.Itisanin-your-facepost-apocalypticrealitythat couldbenow.AtlasShruggedmeets1984inAlaska.Lookforthesigns.They’reoutthere.Refusetolet theweedstakeroot.Defiant!Jointheresistancetoday.
The Complete Art Of World building: Volumes 1-3 byRandy Reviewed bySheenaMacleod
ISBN-10: 1946995401
ISBN-13: 978-1946995407
Publisher: EvermorePress,LLC (November2020)
Ellefson
Creatingaunique,immersivesettingoneworldatatime. Aguideforauthors,gamers,andhobbyists.TheCompleteArtof WorldBuildingbringstogethervolumes1-3inTheArtofWorld Buildingseries.Thishow-toguidewillmakereadersamasterof inventingimaginaryworldsandhelpasettingstandoutfromthe multitudeoffantasyandSFworldsaudiencessee.
CreatingLife(#1)teachesreadershowtocreategods,species/ races,plants,animals,monsters,worldfigures,andevenundead. CreatingPlaces(#2)teacheshowtocreateplanets,moons,continents,landfeatures,bodiesofwater,sovereignpowers,settlements,interestinglocales,andmaps.
Learnthedifferentgovernmenttypes,howclimateimpactsvegetation,andconsistentlycalculatehow longittakestotravelbyhorse,wagon,sailingvessels,dragon,orinspace.CulturesandBeyond(#3) teacheshowtocreatecultures,organizations,armedforces,religions,thesupernatural,magicsystems, technologicalandsupernaturalitems,languages,names,andvarioussystemsourworldwillhave,from health,educational,legal,andcommerce,toinformationsystems.
TheseriesdrawsonauthorRandyEllefson'squartercenturyofworldbuildingexperienceandwill quicklyturnabeginnerintoanexpert,makingatime-consumingprojectmorefun,easier,andfaster. Ellefsonshareshisexperiences,lessonslearned,andinsights,includinghowmuchofyourcreationscan realisticallybementionedduringstorytelling,howfarcreatorsshouldgo,andwhatthebenefits/risksto eachapproachmightbe.Elevateyourworkabovethecompetition.Buildbetter,faster.
Review Thiscollectionisfilledwithawealthofresourcesforwriterslookingtocraftbelievableworldsinwhich theirreaderscanimmersethemselves.Theblurbaboveshowsthewiderangeoftopicscovered.Whateveryourworldbuildingwritingrequirements,andwhatevergenreyouwritein,thecombinedvolumes(1-3inthisseries)willguideyouthroughthemanyareastoconsiderwhencreatingtheworldof yourstory.Fromcharacterdevelopment(humanandnon-humanforms)tocreatingdetailedsettings (includinggeographicallocations)toadetailedguideandhelpfultipsforcreatingcultural,informationalandothersystems,thiscollectionprovidesavaluableresourceforwriterswantingtobringtheir storyworldtolife.
BuildingaWorldYoungerReadersCanBelievein:ABehind theScenesViewofTheFairyintheKettleTrilogy Pauline Tait provides a behind the scenes look at the development of her Fairy in the Kettle children’s picture book series.
WhenIbeganwritingthefirstbookin thispicturebooktrilogy,IknewIwantedtocreateahomethatfeltcompletelyunexpectedyetstillsatwithinrelatablesurroundings.Whatbeganasasimpleidea,afairy namedLeonadancinginsideacast-ironkettle, soonblossomedintoalayered,magicalsetting fullofadventure,emotion,andpositivemorals. Worldbuildingmightbeawordweusuallyassociatewithepicnovelsorsprawlingseries,butit playsavitalroleinpicturebooks,too.Consistencyandcreativitymustgohandinhand whenwritingforyoungerreaders,andawellbuiltworldoffersfamiliarity,comfort,andcuriosity,whilealsonurturingchildren’simaginationandliteracyskills.
WhyWorldbuildingMattersinPictureBooks Instoriesforchildrenaged3to7,theworldyour charactersliveincanbejustasimportantasthe charactersthemselves.It’swhereemotionlives, imaginationsoars,andthestoryfindsits rhythm.Youngreaderslovepatterns,repetition, andtouchstonestheycanreturntoagainand again.Whenaworldisconsistentandengaging, ithelpsbuildconfidenceinearlyreadersand drawsthembackforrepeatvisits.
Forme,worldbuildingisn’taboutmakingsomethingbig,it’saboutmakingsomethingbelievable.Thescalecanbetiny(akettlesittingbeneathanoldoaktree)orvast(asecretglenhiddeninthehills),butitneedstofeelrealtothe characterslivinginandtothechildrenreading aboutthem.
FindingtheHeartoftheWorld Leonaisthecentralcharacterinmypicturebook trilogy.Sheiskind,caring,andtruetoherself. Shelivesinanoldcast-ironkettle,whichsitsin herfavouritespotbeneaththeoldoaktree.Her homefillsherwithjoy.Shefeelssafeand doesn’tcarethattheotherfairiesaren’tsokeen onherpreciouskettle.
Butthekettlebecomesthebeatingheartofthe worldIhavecreated,andasafeplaceforallthe fairiesofBrambleGlen.
Lisa Turley is from West Virginia. She is on numerous ARC street teams and reads in multiple genres. She is passionate about helping authors get the wordoutabouttheirbooks.
Whatstartedasavisualimage,agirlspinningto therhythmofraindropsinsideherunusual
Pauline Tait
home,quicklybecamesomethingfarmoreemotional.TheworldhadtoreflectLeona’spersonality:warm,creative,andfullofwonder.Itneeded tofeelsafe,evenwhenthestormwasragingoutside.Becauseunderneathallthesparkleand magic,thestoriesareaboutfindingcomfortin thefamiliar,andcouragewhensteppingintothe unknown.
BuildingtheRules:WhatStaysConsistent Eveninaworldwherefairydustshimmersinthe airandsecretsliehiddenintheglen,theremust berules.Picturebookworldbuildingisallabout gentlestructure.Childrennoticedetails,soif somethingshiftswithoutreason,they’llspotit beforeyoudo!
IcreatedafewrulesforTheFairyintheKettle trilogyearlyon:
Leona’skettleisalwayssafe,alwayshome. Thesoundoftherainishermusic.It’spartofher innerrhythmandhelpsguidetheemotional tone.
BrambleGlenshimmerswithawarmamber glowwhenfairydustisused.
Thefairydustisnotmagic.It forthefairiestospreadtheirinnermagic,andit mustalwaysbeusedforkindness. Theseconsistentdetailshelpcreateasenseof security,evenasnewplacesorcharactersare introduced.Theyanchorreadersandgivethem familiarthreadstoholdontoasthetrilogyunfolds.
AllowingtheWorldtoGrowwithEachBook Oneofthejoysofwritingthistrilogywasexpandingtheworldslowlyandcarefullythrough eachbook.
BookOne aroundLeona hereyesasshedancestothesoundofthe raindrops,unawareofthestormragingbeyond herprecioushome.
BookTwo they
whilesearchingfortheirperfectChristmastree.I alsointroducedmyreaderstoOldBadger,who quicklybecameamuch originalcastoffairies.
BookThree–Thetrilogyconcludeswiththe fairiesfindingtheirmagic.Ofcourse,thefireflies playedtheirpart,andtheytoobecameamuchlovedadditiontothecast.
tneedto
begrand,itneedstobehonest.Itneedstogrow fromtheheartofyourstoryandexpandonlyas farasyourcharacterandreadercanstretch.
rewritingyourownpicturebookseries, velearnedalongtheway:
Thesoundofraindropswastheseedthatgrew
Althougheachbookintroducedsomethingnew,a place,feeling,orcharacter,theworldofBramble Glenremainedrecognisable.Therhythmofthe rain,theshimmeroffairydust,theglowofthe fireflies,theycarrythrougheachstorylikethreads inatapestry.
Thatbalancebetweenthefamiliarandthenewis essentialinpicturebookseries.Itkeepsyoung readersengagedwithoutoverwhelmingthem. Theyfeelproudwhentheyspotadetailtheyremember,andcuriouswhensomethingchanges justenoughtosparkwonder.
WorkingwithIllustratorstoBringtheWorldto Life Worldbuildinginpicturebooksisalwaysacollaboration.TheillustratorIworkedwithbrought Leona’sworldtolifejustasIhadenvisionedwhile writing.Fromtheglowofamberlightintheglen tothetextureofthekettle’swalls,everyvisual detailaddeddepthandmagictotheworld.
Wemadesuretheworldstayedvisuallyconsistentacrossthetrilogy,fromtheinsideof Leona’skettletothefourmaincharacters.This attentiontodetailallowsyoungreaderstofurther bondwiththecharactersandtheworldwecreated.
Whetheryourmaincharacterisshy,bold,gentle, orwild,itshouldbereflectedintheirworld.
Beconsistent Littlereaderslovefamiliarity,soonceyourworld isestablished,holdontoit.
Collaboratewithcare Yourillustratorisyourworldbuildingpartner. Givethemspacetoimagineandsharewhatmattersmost.
Pauline Tait is an award-winning & bestselling children’s author, romantic suspense novelist, and writing & publishing mentor to children’s authors. She is also the voice behind Reluctant Readers, a weekly newsletter for parent and carers of children who find reading a challenge. More information on Pauline’s writing and mentoring can be found at www.paulinetait.com & www.mentor.paulinetait.com
BookReleases RecentRelease Title: Voldheart (TheCelestialPathBook1) by D.K. Holmberg
ASIN:B0DJV51Z4N
Publisher: ASHPublishing(January2025)
Blurb
Theaetherstoneistheheartofcelestialpower,grantingabilitiesduringtheShardfallCeremony.Whatwillit awakenforRoran?
TouchingtheaetherstoneshouldhaveawakenedRoranLos’spower,justasithadforgenerationsbeforehim.Mostbecomeflamehearts,stormvoices,orearthbound,readytoprotecttheirhomesfrom threats.
Buttheaetherstonedidn’tignitepowerlikethatforRoran.
Instead,itlefthimavoidheart,arareanddangerousanomalycapableofsuppressingothercelestial abilities.Isolatedfromhispeersandburdenedwithanunpredictablegift,Roranstrugglestofindhis placeinaworldthatfearshim.
Whenapowerfuldangerthreatenshishome,Roran’sjourneytocontrolhisvoidheartabilitybecomes morecrucialthanever.Theanswersheseeksliedeepwithinthebasin,intheancientruinshissister onceexplored.WhatRorandiscoversmightsavehispeople andunlockhistruepotential.
Voidheartisthefirstbookinaprogressionfantasyseries,featuringaweak-to-strongprotagonist,a uniquemagicsystem,interestingcreatures,andsomuchmore!
WorldbuildingForAThousandLives Melissa Yi highlights the importance of setting for keeping readers engaged.
Thinkofyourfavouritemysterybooks. Whatdoyouloveaboutthem?Sayyou enjoyKinseyMilhone,whoneverleaves the1980s,usingcuecardsandlandlinephones.
WhataboutSherryThomas’sLadySherlock,set intheVictorianera,whereCharlotteHolmesalmostdoesn’tsurviveherdaringplantoleaveher familyoforigin?
OrmaybeyoufollowMickHerron’sSlowHorse spiesfromLondontoParistoWales.Youwantto drinkteainSanFranciscowithJesseQ.Sutanto’sVeraWong.You’dliketovisit1920’sIndia withSujataMassey.You’ddaretoattend MaureenJohnson’sTrulyDeviousEllingham Academy.
Weoftentalkaboutcharacters,plot,andaction, butwe(orI)don’tconsidertheroleofsettingso much.Incrimefiction,abelovedcharactermay notmakeit,butwhohasn’twantedtoeatat Olivier’sBistroinLouisePenny’sThreePines?
Becauseworldbuildingcanbeintimidating,I lovetheideathatyoucaneitherstartsmall,from describingapennytodescribingtheworld,or theopposite,theworlddowntothepenny.
Asareader,thatmeansyoucandrawmeinby, say,describingMutt,thehalf-wolf,half-husky doglivingwithPIKateShugak,andprettysoon, authorDanaStabenowunfoldsAlaskabefore you,fromthephysicalbeautytotheauntieswho knowexactlywhat’sgoingontokeepingarifle bythefrontdoor.
Asawriterandmedicalresident,IcreatedDr. HopeSze,thephysicianwhosolvesmurdersat St.Joseph’sHospitalinMontreal,Canada,andI takecaretodescribeeverythingfromthedeliciouséclairsatGrandRoundstothelackofrunningwaterinexamrooms.
TheInstaloveUniversitycoursebyromancewritersemphasizedworldbuildingtoo.“Buildauniverse,”theysaid.“Makepeoplewanttocometo yourtownsotheycaneatatyourbakeryand swiminyourlake.They’llbuybooksintheseries notonlybecausetheywanttoseecouplesfallin love,butbecausetheycan’twaittoseetheirparentsorcheckontheneighbour’sdog.”
GeorgeR.R.Martinwrote,“Areaderlivesathousandlivesbeforehedies…Themanwhonever readslivesonlyone.”
Asawriter,youcanliveathousandlivesina thousanddifferentplaces,andhelpyourreader liveathousandlivestoo.
MelissaYi'sheroine,Dr.HopeSze,solveseverythingfromingrowntoenailstofull-blownmurder.MelissaisaDerringerAward-winningmysteryauthorandaphysicianinCanadawhocan befoundathttps://linktr.ee/ melissayiandhttp:// www.melissayuaninnes.com.
MelissaYi
LibraryoftheMonth:JWMarriotHotel,Shanghai Continuingwiththethemeofworldbuilding weareofftoShanghai.Iamsureyouare wonderingwhyIamtalkingaboutalibrary inahotel.What’ssospecialaboutthat?Firstly, whowouldn’tloveahotelwithitsownlibrary. They’vegotmeasacustomerandguestright there.NevermindthecityIamvisiting;you’llfind meinthelibrary.However,therealreasonIam highlightingthisblowsmymind.Itisinthe Guiness Book of Records asbeingthehighestlibraryfromgroundlevelintheworld.Itisastaggeringsixtystoreysupatthetopofthehotel.
Thatbearsrepeating.Sixtystories.That’snosebleedandoxygenterritory.Okay,Iknowit’snot butforgivemethehyperbole;it’sstillimpressive.
Togetthereyouneedtotaketwolifts.Fromthe photositalsolooksextremelyplushwithsofas andchairs.Atthedoorisahugebronzeplaque statingTheHighestLibraryinTheWorld.Unfortunately,Icouldnotgetalegalphotoofthat,but theimageoftheleatherarmchairsisbothlegal andreal.Now,theminuteI’mallowedtotravel abroadagainIcanthinkofsomewhereIwould liketovisit.
Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition, she is a writing coach, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.
IDidn’tHaveAClueAboutCozyMysteries Jenny Sanders discusses the elements that make a Cozy Mystery, drawing on the works of Agatha Christie as an example.
ThefirsttimeIheardthephrase‘cozymystery’,Ihadanunpleasantvisceralreaction.Itconjuredupimagesofthesaccharine-coatedChristmastalesoozingwithcorny storylinesinsoft-focussettingsthathavebeen knowntoleavemefeelingpatronisedandunsatisfied. This,Ithought,mustbethecollective nounforallthosepredictablenarrativesportrayingapaltrythreeorfourcharactersanda flimsyplotinwhicheventheleastdiscerning readercanseetheendingafterthefirsttwenty pages.Whybother?
HowwrongIwas! ItcameasagreatrelieftodiscoverthatIhadnotonlyalreadyreadmultiple booksfromthisgenre,butenjoyedthemtoo.
The‘cozy’referenceissimplytothefactthat theirauthorshavedispensedwithlingeringdescriptionsofgruesomemurdersandthetechnicolourcarnagethatfollowsinothergenres.
Therewillbesuspensebutnothorror;nervous anticipationbutnotheart-in-mouthunmitigatedterror.There’sarefreshinglackofgraphic violence,crudelanguage,blasphemy,expletives orsexscenes.Thenarrativesareunlikelytobe triggeringforanyreadersinceit’sabundantly clearthattheemphasisofthenarrativeisinthe unravellingofamysterywhichplacesahealthy distancebetweentheobserversonthissideof thepageandthecharacterswithinthem. It’s equallyunlikelythatanyonewillbetormented byblood-soakednightmaresshouldthey choosetoreadacopybeforebed.
Cozymysteriesareusuallysetinsmalltowns wherethedetectivesareamateurswhoare drawnintothecasesomehow,oftenbyfinding thebody,beingarelative,livinginthelocalityor inadvertentlyattendingtheeventwherethe
murderoccurred. Thesleuthsoftenhaveacontactinsidethepoliceforce,orequivalent, throughwhichtheyreceiveinsideinformation,or pickupondetailstheyotherwisecouldnothave known.Theypainstakinglygatherandpiecetogetherthecluesintheirvariouscomplexitiesuntiltheyareabletocompletethepuzzleandrevealtheirfindingstoagroupofsuitablyimpressedsecondarycharacters. Thereadercan choosetoimmersethemselvesandfollowthe cluesastheyread,usinglogicandreasonasthe narrativeunfolds,orremainintheplaceofaninterestedobservertotheactionandbeassurprisedaseveryoneelseattheoutcome.
Themurderer,oftenasurprisingandupstanding memberofthecommunity,willalwayshavea solidmotivefortheiractions,mostfrequently fromthespectrumofhumanfrailties.Forexample:jealousy,greed,pride,resentment,anger overarecentlyre-writtenwill,abrokenheartora lostjobetc. Thecriminalwillalwaysbefound andexposed;justicewillbedone,theinnocent exonerated,andalllooseendswillbetiedup neatly.
Perhapsthat’spartoftheattractionofthegenre forreaders. Reallifeconsistentlyfailstodeliver thissortofneatandtidyjustice. Wearenowconsistentlybombardedwithhorrificstoriesof shootings,stabbingsandviolencewhichhave seepedinexorablyoutoftheworldoffictioninto ourconsciousnessandexperienceinwaysthat
JennySanders
leaveusbaffledandfrightened. Theescapistlure ofacozymysteryisstrong;mostofuswouldratherthatcadaversandpost-mortemsstaywithin thesafeandsanitisedpagesofourpaperbacks.
TheQueenoftheCozyMysterymustsurelybe AgathaChristie,whosebooksIreadvoraciously atonepoint. WhetheryouenjoyclassicMiss MarpleinStMaryMead,orthefussyHercule Poirotwhoventuresfurtherafield,theseareeasyreadingnovelsthathavesetthebarforwriters eversince.
Likemanyofus,Agathastartedwritingstoriesas achildwhich,whenshewasill,hermothersuggestedshewrotedown. Bythetimesheturned twenty,shehadalreadyhadanumberofpoems publishedin The Poetry Review. Itwashersister whochallengedhertowriteadetectivenovel, andshebeganwritinghersduringthefirstWorld War. Sheknewthedisappointmentmostofus haveexperiencedofbeingturneddownbyapublisher–twointhiscase–before The Mysterious Affair at Styles wasfinallyacceptedandpublished in1920,fouryearsaftershe’dcompletedit.
HerfamilysuggestthatAgathawasa‘plotter’ratherthana‘pantster’sinceshekeptmultiple notebooksfullofhand-writtenjottingsincluding scrapsofoverheardconversationsfromteashops andqueues,alongsideideasforcharacters,murders,intriguingnewspaperstoriesaboutthievery andswindling,andnotesonthedosageand effectsofvariouspoisons,drugsmedicationsand naturaltoxins.
Ofthehundredorsonotebookssheused,apparentlyseventy-threehavesurvivedwhich,of course,provideafascinatinginsightintotheway AgathaChristiewroteandprocessedherideas. Ratherthanwriteeverythingoutherself,inlater yearssheusedaDictaphoneandthenhadasecretarytypeitallupbeforesherevisedthemanuscriptsbyhand. Thisiscertainlyhowshechose toputtogetherherautobiographywhichwas publishedposthumouslyin1977. Sometimesshe wouldreadhermurdermysteriestoherfamilyin chunksofoneortwochaptersaftersuppertosee howtheyreacted.Whilethechildrenandguests sometimestriedtoguesswhodunnit,herhus-
band,apparently,tendedtosleepthroughthe readings.
Despitethat,shecontinuestogarnerfansacross theworldtodayandisstillthebest-sellingnovelistofalltime(2billionplus),out-soldonlybyThe BibleandShakespeare. Withsixty-sixdetective novelstohernameaswellasfourteenshortstory collections,Christie’sworkscouldkeepusallentertainedforweekstocome. Onceyou’veread themall,orhavereaders’fatigue,youcanenjoy anynumberoffilmandtelevisionadaptationsfeaturingMargaretRutherford,JoanHickson,Anna Massey,PeterUstinov,DavidSuchetorthealarminglymoustachedKennethBranaghintheBelgian’smostrecentpersonification.Iremember, backin1978,myfamilytravelledtoLondontocelebratemyeldestsister’seighteenthbirthdayat thestageproductionof The Mousetrap. Afterthe openingnightinNovember1952,theshowranfor over25,000performances,eachoneendingwitha characteraddressingtheaudience,askingthemto keeptheidentityofthemurdererasecret.
Shouldyouhavehadyourfillofviolentthrillers, high-body-countnovels,blood-thirstypsychopaths,goryforensicsandserialkillers,thencozy mysteriesmaybethewayforward. Lighterineverysense,therewillbeawholenewlandscapeof writers’workavailabletoyou.
RichardOsmanhasrecentlyconqueredthisgenre withhisThursdayMurderClubseries,currently beingmadeintoafilmtobereleasedthisyear. TheMarchissueofthismagazinecarriedaninformativeinterviewwithFionaVeitchSmith,creatorofboththePoppyDenbyandtheClaraBow cozymysteries,setinthe1920s-30s. I’veenjoyed theseimmenselyandherlatestbookhasjustarrivedatthetopofmyTBRpilewhichcertainly solvesthemysteryofwhatIshouldreadnext. Whatimpeccabletiming.
Jenny writes faith-based non-fiction [Spiritual Feasting (2020); Polished Arrows (2024)] and humorous short stories for 7-11 year-olds. She is available for author visits for creative writing sessions with Key Stage 2 children in the UK and writes for a number of online magazines
BecomingPitchPerfect:HowtoPersuadeAnEditorToAccept YourWork John Greves provides practical advice and tips for writing a pitch for a magazine article.
There’snosuchthingasamagicalpitch, buttherearewaysinwhichyoucanincreaseyourchancesofsuccess.These dayseditorsarebombardedwithpitchesandas anewcomertoamagazineyoumustensure yourpitchstandsoutfromalltheothers
Fundamentalsteps Areyouhopingamagazineyouglancedatina shopmightbeinterestedinyourideaforanarticle?
Beforeyouwriteaword,youneedtofamiliarise yourselfwiththeintendedpublication.How oftenisitpublished,whattypeofdemographic doesithave?Thiscanbeeasilyassessedbythe advertsandthehousestylewhichtellsyoua greatdealaboutthetargetaudience.Haveyou checkedwhetherunsolicitedarticlesareacceptedandifguidelinesareprovidedbythepublicationinquestion?Doyouknowifasimilararticle hasappearedbeforeinthismagazine?
It’simportanttoknowaboutthecontent,the wordcountforarticlesandfillerswhichappear inthemagazine. Adoublepagearticleisoften around1500words.Aconcisefillercanbeanythingupto500words.
HouseStyle Manyarticleswrittenin-housebythestaffprovideareflectionofhowtheeditorialboardwant toprojecttheimageandethosoftheirmagazine totheoutsideworld.Housestyleisimportant andcanrangefromtheformaltotheinformal andwillbeboundbytheconventionsofthe magazine.A‘Housestyleguide’areoftenprovidedbyadiligenteditorandfoundonthemagazinewebsite.
‘The Horse’ magazine(https://thehorse.com/ freelance-info)forexampleprovidesveryuseful guidelinesforwriters,offeringinformationon: Writers,ProfessionalRelationships,ContentSuggestion,NumberStyle,OtherStylenotes,Reference,Bookexample,Editedbooks,andinformationonaFewVeterinaryDegrees(whatthey playfullycalltheAlphabetSoup).
OtherguidesIhavecomeacross,canalsobe verydetailedaskingthefreelanceforexampleto observeasetofspecificconventionsusedbythe publicationitselfsuchas:
JohnGreeves
Dates-Use2000sor'00s,not2000's,00sor Noughties
Times-Use12noonratherthan12pmwhere possibletoavoidconfusion.
Measurements-Writeoutthewords'miles'and 'metres'infull.
Numbers-Whenusingnumbers,itisusually easierforpeopletoscanandreadnumerals (1,2,3)thanwords(one,two,three).Sometimes theselistingscanbequitelongsoit’sbestto haveacopywhenyoucometowritethearticle.
AOneFitPitchdoesn’tsuitall Don’tthinkanall-purposepitchwillsuitevery publicationofasimilargenre.Differenttravel magazinesmightfocustheircontentoncontrastingwaystoappealtoacompletelydifferent demographic.Pitchingagenerictravelideaon Thailandwon’tbeenough,butanarticlewhich focusesonthedangersofalcoholicdrinkscontainingmethanolandhowtoavoidthisunfortunateturnofevents,mightbeappropriatefora youngerreadercontemplatingagapyearvisit toThailand.Theproposedarticlewouldtellthe storyofarecenttravellerwhowitnessedthison hertravels.Aswellasherpersonalaccount,the articlecouldalsodrawondatafromTheForeign,CommonwealthandDevelopmentOffice (FCDO).Theideathencouldbebepitchedtoan editorofamagazinewhichcatersforayounger demographicbutwouldbetotallyunsuitablefor anorganisationlikeSagawhoservetheneeds andexpectationsofolderpeople.
ResearchingYourTopic Inapproachinganewtopic/subject,Ialways makesureI’muptodatewithmyresearchand havesufficientbackgroundgleanedforafuture article.AsIundertaketheresearch,Istarttorecognisekeyelements.Thesekeyelementscan
thenbeconstructedaroundacentralidea.
Ioncewroteanarticleaboutayoungcavalry Captaininthe17th Lancerswhotookpartinthe ChargeoftheLightBrigade.Thearticlefocused largelyonthestoryofthehorseandlessonthe riderhimselfandwasentitled“FromtheHorse’s mouth.”Thearticletracedthedepartureofthe horsefromtheoutbreakofwartotheconditions inthefieldandfinallytotheactualchargeitself onthe25th October1854andgaveafreshfocus toaneventwhichhasbeencoveredmanytimes before.
Researchnotonlyhelpsyouwiththebackgroundofevents,butit’salsoveryusefulindevelopingpertinentquestionsforaninterview,as wellassupplyingquotes,anecdotes,factsand colourtothepitchandeventualarticle.
WritingthePitch Theideaisking,butyoucanmakeanevengreaterimpactiftheideaispresentedasastory.In thisdynamicwayyouincludeelementssuchas characters,setting,conflictwhichbringsrealenergytoyourarticle.Asuccessfulpitchhasto workonseverallevels,communicatinginformationconcisely,presentingareasonwhyyour editorshouldpickyourpitch,whilemeetingthe expectationofthemagazinereaders.
Inwritingthepitch,Iwanttheopeningsentencesandparagraphtosparkleandholdtheeditor’sattention,sos/hereadson. I’mconfident I’vedonemybesttoensurethesubjectiswell researchedandtheproposalisrelevanttothe publicationanditsreader.Ihavehonedandredraftedthepitch.Atthesametime,Ihope demonstratedanabilitytowrite.I’vealso checkedanddoublecheckedmywritingfortyposanderrors.Thelastthingeditorswantisa pitchlitteredwitherrors,poorlyconstructed sentencesanddisjointedparagraphs.Apitch shouldn’tbetheplaceforpurpleprose,buta
wellworkedcraftedideawhichisenticingthe editor.
ATypicalFormat PitchesdovaryaccordingtovariouspublicationsbutatypicalformatIusecontains:
SUBJECTLINE:
Thisisthefirstthingarecipientseesandiscrucialincapturingattention,conveyingtheemail’s purpose,andencouragingtherecipienttoopen andreadthemessage.Mysubjectlineusedin thisinstancereads “NewArticlePitch-‘The WelshGoalkeeperofAuschwitz’
Rememberdynamictitlescaptivereadersand arethecallingcardsforyourarticles.
SALUTATION:
Youcangowiththeformal“Dear[EDITOR]”betterstillifyoucanaddaname,althoughIoften juststartmyemailswith“Hi….”E-mailsoverthe yearshavebecomefarlessformalthantheold queryletter.
Trytoestablisharelationshipwiththeeditor, especiallyifthisisaninitialcontact.Makeasubtlereferencetotheirmagazine,suchas:“Irecentlycameacrossthisideaandthoughtimmediatelyaboutthe‘Fortiessection’ofyourmagazineandyourreaders.”
INTROPARAGRAPHWITHHEADLINE:
InthisparticularexampleofthispitchIwrote: “TheWelshGoalkeeperofAuschwitz”(Headline)
Sometimes the most extraordinary things happen to everyday people. Ron Jones was captured in 1941 while serving with the South Wales Borderers and interned as a PoW first in Italy and later in Auschwitz III, also known Monowitz-Buna where he was housed along with 1,400 British prisoners of war.
PARAGRAPHANDELEMENTSTHISSTORY WILLCONTAIN:
Thenextparagraphextendedthestoryandthe variouselementstobecoveredinthearticle.I hopedinthisbriefspacetoconveythishuman andenduringtale.Often,Ibulletpointtheseelementstomakethepitchmoreeasilyaccessible totheeditor,butonthisoccasion(knowingthe editor)Ipresentedacondensedstoryandtold himIwouldinterviewRonJonesandtakesome highresolutionimages(alwaysagoodselling point).
Ron Jones worked alongside Jewish slave labour and Polish civilians in Auschwitz producing synthetic petrol and rubber from coal. Here he worked a 12 hour day six days a week, undertaking a punishing time along with his fellow PoWs, but as he told me it was nothing compared to the suffering of the Jewish workers.
One day he gave a piece of sausage to one of the Jewish workers called Josef who a couple of days later presented him with a ring he had made. He never saw him again. One respite the British had was to turn out for football on a Sunday either as players or spectators, watched too by some of the German guards. There were 4 teams England Scotland, Ireland and Wales and Ron was the Welsh Goal Keeper.
Towards the end of the war as the Russian advance encroached the British PoWs undertook a death march of 800 miles back towards Germany. Ron survived. When he joined up he was 13 stones when he returned eventually to the UK he was a mere 7 stones.
Ron lived to be 102 until September 2019 when he died. I was fortunate to talk to him a week before he died and again hear him recount some of the poignant and often sad events he witnessed during the war years.
HereIsharesomebriefcredentials.Asimple sentenceattheendaboutwhoyouare,plusa sampleofyourworkifit’srelevanttogivefurthercredibility,(eitherbyattachmentorhyperlink).
NAMEANDCONTACTINFO: Remembertothanktheeditorand“sign”the emailwithyournameandcontactinfo.Ialso asktheeditorifs/hecanletmeknowifs/he wouldlikemetoproceedwiththearticle.
Nothingcanbeguaranteed,butlikeallwriting,timespentonperfectingthepitchisvital toyoustandingoutfromothers.Thinkpositivelyaboutyourpitchanddon’tbedisheartenediftheideaisrejected.Iwasalwaystold “MarketbeforeManuscript,”andyouneedto holdbackonthewritinguntilyou’vereceived thegoaheadfromtheeditor.
Yourpitchmayneverreachthefrontofthe queue.Ialwaysfinditbesttocontactthedeputyeditorfirst,ratherthanthemaineditor whomayhaveafargreaterdailyworkload.
Don’tgiveupifyouhaven’theardanything. Sendagentlereminderafteracoupleof weeks,afterthatdropitandremember,somewhereoutthere,isanarticlewithyourbyline onit.
PitchChecklist Haveyouexaminedthespecificpublication?
Haveyouundertakenyourownresearchon thistopicorsubject?
Areyouawareofthereadership,housestyle anddemographicsofthemagazine?
Haveyouoverloadedtheinformation:Keep yourpitchconciseandfocused?
Haveyouavoidedtyposanderrors:Apoorly proofreadpitchdoesn’treflectwellonyour professionalism?
Doesyourpitchhaveaspecific/originalfocusor angle?
Canyousummariseyourideainasinglesentence?
Doesyourpitchshowcaseyourskillsasawriter?
Haveyoutailoredyourpitchestothespecific needsandinterestsofeachspecificpublication. Sendingthesamepitchtomultiplejournalists canbeperceivedaslazyandinsincere?
Doyougettothepointquicklyinyourpitchand avoidunnecessarydetailsandexplainedwhy thestoryisrelevantandwhytheirreaders wouldbeinterested?
Haveyoukeptyourpitchto300to350words?
Haveyoupromisedonlywhatyoucandeliver?
John Greeves originally hails from Lincolnshire. He believes in the power of poetry and writing to change people’s lives and the need for language to move and connect people to the modern world. Since retiring from Cardiff University, Greeves works as a freelance journalist who's interested in an eclectic range of topics.
SUBMISSIONGUIDELINES Writers’NarrativeeMagazine
We are interested in submissions on any aspect of writing and publishing and will accept simultaneous submissions.AllinterviewsmustbepitchedtotheEditorinChieffirstbeforedoingtheinterview.
We accept varying lengths of submissions depending on the topic - 500, 1000, 1,500. Book reviews can be shorter but should include a substantial review in addition to the book blurb. Only submit previously unpublishedwork(eitheronlineorinprint).
MonthlythemeswillbepromulgatedinboththemagazineandintheFacebookGroup.
Please use Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. Light editing will be undertaken. If major editing is required, the article will be returned with general advice on what is required to bring it up to publication standard.
All submissions are to be in Times New Roman or Times, size 12 font, single spaced, with no formatting. Allformattingwillbecarriedoutbytheeditorialteam.
Theonlyimageswhichshouldbesubmittedwithyour articlesareyourauthorphotograph andbookcoversifdoingabookreview.Includeabriefbioandauthorphotographalongwithyourfirstsubmission.
Pleasestatethemonthforwhichyouaresubmittingyourarticle.However,thismaybechangedifitisfelt itbettersuitsadifferentissue.
Writers’Narrativeispublishedmonthly.Submissioncutoffdates:
January–7th November
February–7th December
March–7th January
April-7th February
May–7th March
June–7th April
July–7th May
August–7th June
September–7th July
October–7th August
November–7th September
December–7th October
Submissionsviaemailto writersnarrative@gmail.com
To nominate your local library or bookshop to be featured in future issues and for any queries including advertisingwithusemailwritersnarrative@gmail.comsubjectheadedfortheattentionofEditorinChief
Whilethereisamonthlythemeandfocus,thiswillnotbetheonlytopicforthemagazine.General articlescanalsobesubmittedforpublication.
Themesfor2025
Month
January/ February Non-Fiction
March HistoricalFictionandNon-Fiction
Theme
April ScienceFictionandFantasy(It’sNationalScienceFictionMonth)
May Worldbuilding
June WritingforTheYAMarket
July WritingHabits
August CoverDesign
September Publishing
October ShortFormFiction
November NarrativeNon-Fiction
December DiversityinWritingandPublishing
CominginJune2025
Theme—WritingfortheYAMarket
FeaturedAuthor Articles
BookReviews
Newreleases
Andmore….
June2025 
