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Writing Fantasy That Mirrors Our World With (Manuscript) Academy Award Winner Ali McLafferty

April 29, 2024 by MSWL Admin

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. We are thrilled to introduce Ali McLafferty, author, teacher, and most recent winner of the as-yet-untitled (Manuscript) Academy Awards. Ali was nominated by agent Melissa Edwards (Stonesong Literary) for this gorgeous fantasy novel that brings up a lot of issues in our world as well. We discuss how she polished her query, how many drafts she did of her first page–and what she…

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Details, Focus and Visual Storytelling To Bring Any Genre To Life with Editor Melissa Warten Vogan

April 22, 2024 by MSWL Admin

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. We love this creativity-packed episode with Melissa Vogan (née Melissa Warten), former editor at Macmillan, current editor at Epic For Kids. We discuss:*“Just enough” art notes – and how they’re useful for every genre*How you can guide the focus of your reader through sensory language*How to get to the heart of your story*How to disagree with an editor or agent’s feedback*How to create…

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Good, Better, Best, Agented! Julia Alexandra and Agent Ellen Goff on Plot, Character & World

April 10, 2024 by MSWL Admin

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. You may remember Julia Alexandra from our episode in the fall when we went over three query versions with her (good, better, best): Well, she now has an agent! Ellen Goff (HG Literary) joins us with Julia to discuss balancing plot, character, and world–if your fantasy novel will hold up without your fantasy elements, which we’re now calling “The Goff Test”–and how you…

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