What if you tried to smoosh all the romance and adventure of a fantasy novel into seven scenes of about 200 words a pop?
Author H.R. Moore asked a bunch of us fellow romantic fantasy writers to give it a shot. It was oodles of fun, kicked off with an opening scene that boasts a dodgy heroine, a surprising antagonist and a premise that made me say "oooh, nice." (Readers hanging out on Fantasy Romance February's Instagram got to vote for the beginning they liked best, so I'm glad they picked the one I was rooting for.)
You can find the whole thing @FaRoFeb on Instagram (click the circular button near the top that says "Microstory 2") or in the Facebook group. Not on either platform but really want to read it? Reply to this email and I'll send you the text.
My job was to come up with a cool turning-point moment in the middle of the story. A cool turning point in 200 words, which last I checked is ... not very many words. Nor is it very many for any other part of a story, of course.
What that forced us all to do is think carefully about every word we used. I loved that.
Also, dreaming up a plot twist and making someone else deal with the repercussions is the writer equivalent of playing hot potato. I may have cackled a bit.
Cue the "Agatha All Along" song from WandaVision.
(Uh, don't click on that if you haven't watched the show yet. Spoiler alert!)
If you check out the story, called "Mila," I'd be interested to hear where you would have taken it. There's so many directions that beginning could go.
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A few more cool & bookish things
Looking for fantasy and other books that are free to read in Kindle Unlimited? Find a whole bunch here, including a new superhero who accidentally unleashes a villain and an orphan disguised as a boy who must take sides in a dangerous battle: the king vs. the princess.
If you're looking for free-for-everyone fantasy stories, find those here. Magical serial killers, intriguing werewolves, fun vampires ... you know, something for everyone.
You made it to the end! You're awesome. If this isn't your cup of tea, no worries, just hit unsubscribe below. (And oh hey, here are my latest books. In an America run by wizards and 100 years behind on women's rights, she resists. He's the wizard who just hired her.)
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