#15 Introducing Midwinter Magic and Mayhem! (Stories and Inspiration Galore with Exquisite Corpse Writing Prompts)

Today’s special feature is about a new anthology:  Midwinter Magic & Mayhem edited by Frances Evelyn. Enjoy a dip into these winter-themed tales and find out what inspired the authors, as well as tips on inspiration – before we indulge in some fresh rounds of Exquisite Corpse in the end section of the show.

I asked the authors to tell me 2 things:
 
* What inspired them to write their particular story for this anthology and:  

* what generally inspires them, including any tips for “getting into the zone” of inspiration. 

Lots to get through! And new rounds of Exquisite Corpse afterwards.

SHOW TRANSCRIPTION (does not include Exquisite Corpse game play at the end):

The first story in the anthology (after mine) is:

The Horse Woman by Anya Pavelle

This is a fantasy based on historical events including the Great Blizzard of 1888 on the East Coast of US and a long-burning fire in Centralia in 1962. The character of the horse woman who appears as a warning spirit, is based on a mummy known as the Siberian Ice Maiden whose remains were discovered in 1993. Anya’s story switches between different centuries, following generations of characters whose lives are linked not just through family history but a far-reaching ancestry.

I asked, "What inspired you to write your story for MMM?"

"I'm an art historian, so the art of the Pazyryk Scythians (Paz-er-rik Sith-ee-ans) has always fascinated me. Many of their mummies have beautiful tattoos that may have had spiritual significance. What if this magic could be passed down from generation to generation? That question spurred the story. I also make pysanky, the dyed eggs that are integral to The Horse Woman. These eggs are thought to have protective powers. I tapped into my ancestors' stories and added a hefty dose of magic."
 
What generally inspires you to write?

"I'm inspired by strong female characters, myths from around the world, and magic."
 
Do ideas normally just “arrive” in your head, or do you go looking for writing prompts?

"Ideas do pop into my head as flashes of emotion or a theme for a novel. I usually listen to meditation music or take a walk to give the ideas more form. When I'm ready to record those thoughts, I grab some coffee and free write for an hour. Then, I try to plot according to the Save the Cat plan. I work very well near the ocean and with calm music in the background."
 
(I had to look up the Save the Cat plan – it looks to be a plotting system with a graph to summarize the ups and downs of a plotline for a novel. Handy tip!)
 
‘All That Remains’ by E.P. Stavs
 
This one starts off seeming like a traditional fantasy story set in medieval times where a king’s reward is promised to anyone who can kill the beast in the forest. However, the story moves on swiftly to the moment of the kill and you realise there’s going to be a lot more to this story than that. Two very different brothers, a betrayal, and the search for justice that goes beyond the land of the living.

"I LOVE Grimm’s fairy tales, so doing a retelling of one of the more obscure stories was already on my bucket list. My storytelling style tends to be a quirky combination of cheeky and light / dark and dreadful, and Grimm’s “The Singing Bone” was the perfect tale to blend both of those aspects together. I had an absolute blast writing it, and hopefully readers will enjoy it just as much!"
 
E.P. Stavs has some handy tips for “getting into the zone” of inspiration:

"Something I’ve started doing lately to maximize my writing production while the girls are at school are writing sprints. I find fitting instrumental music for my headphones, set my timer for either 20 or 25 mins, and I’m off! During that time I just write — which means no stopping to google names or look anything up. If I don’t know what the word I need is, I use a placeholder such as WORD or NAME and just keep on writing. So far, it’s been working really well, and I always make sure to celebrate each one with a dance break at the end."
 
 ‘Daisy’ by Ash Fitzsimmons
 
I love this one. It features a winged cat! And I want one. While settling into a her new flat, Janie adopts a hungry, injured animal she discovers in her back garden: a cat with wings whom she names Daisy. But Daisy isn’t the only supernatural intrusion in her back garden. It all begins with a mysteriously broken birdfeeder.

When I asked Ash what inspired her to write this story, she said:

"Last year, I decided to buy a birdfeeder for the back deck (which led to downloading the Merlin app and getting weird looks from my friends when I try to ID birds in public, but I digress). As my yard is fenced and was then treeless, the only visitors I had were the birds roosting on the neighboring properties. Everything was going well--the birds liked the feed, and the little plastic feeder could withstand even summer thunderstorms.

"Until one day, when I came home and found it smashed open on the deck.

"This was odd, as the nail on which I'd hung it came out of the post at a steep angle. Even a strong gust wouldn't have lifted the feeder off and tossed it, and getting it open takes work. But I refilled it and hung it again, and went about my life.

"A few days later--same thing.

"I've since bought a heavier feeder and found a different sort of hook, and it's remained untouched. I have to assume the culprit was a marauding squirrel...but what if it wasn't? Couple that with the neighborhood cats I see wandering when I take my morning walks, and "Daisy" was born."

When I asked, "Where do your ideas generally come from?":

"I tend to be a series writer. Once that initial idea appears--and quite often, it seems to come of its own accord--I run with it, and the story seems to build itself.” – So that sounds quite organic to me.
 
‘Lilium’s Lesson’ by Elizabeth Menozzi
 
There’s something really delicious about this one. A succubus, a female demon, is on the prowl. She reads thoughts, but at the same time, she feeds on that person’s soul – just a little bit. They hardly notice, but gradually, the victim becomes addicted to her. Lillium is on Earth and has been assigned a mentor who is trying to prevent her from causing chaos… but things don’t really go to plan as she meets a handsome and slightly gullible man.
 
When I asked Elizabeth what inspired her to write this story, she said:
 
"I had just finished writing the last novel in my series, and I really wanted to write out the backstory for my villain and do a "villain origin story" for Lilium. When I originally imagined the story, I hadn't thought much about the time of year that it took place. But the more I thought about (it), the more it made sense that these events would happen around the holiday season, because the first book in my series is set during the Winter Solstice, and the Solstice is a time of power for the antagonists that Lilium is working with in that book."
 
It’s a good idea actually, to write something that fits in to an existing series so you can introduce readers into that world.
 
I asked her what generally inspires her to write:
 
"Knowing that I have all these stories I want to tell and they aren't going to write themselves. Or, knowing that there's another project that I want to work on, but I can't start it until I finish the one I'm currently working on."
  
Her 2 best tips for getting in to the zone of writing are:

"1) if you find that you want to write but you're struggling to get started, pick a scene that you can vividly imagine, set a timer for 15 minutes, open a doc, and start writing as much of that scene as you can before the timer goes off. Usually that's enough to break the ice for me, and once I get going, I don't really want to stop. If that doesn't work...

"Tip 2) is: open a blank doc and type "What does my main character do next?" or any other question that has you stumped and feeling like you can't move forward. If you don't have a specific question, just type "Why am I stuck?" and then keep typing in a stream of consciousness, answering your own question, asking more questions as they come up, etc. Usually, at some point I will get that "ah ha" moment where I figure out the piece that's missing and keeping me from making progress."
 
Some great tips there – similar to my “20 min magic” of forcing yourself to write whatever you can within that time frame. It seems limitations really do help us get ourselves out of a rut; and typing questions to yourself, so you’re having a conversation with yourself – that’s a really good idea.
 
‘The Spirit of Christmas Going Forward’ by Frances Evelyn, the editor of this anthology.
 
This story is also related to a wider series, though this time it’s a work in progress: Frances is writing a cosy paranormal family saga called The Spirit of Agatha Drummond. In this story, we’re introduced to the Manderson family, with twins Annie and Maria doing spiritualist readings in a slightly raucous Christmas party.
 
When I asked Frances about her inspiration for the story she said,
 
"Out of curiosity, I went to a spiritualist meeting with a friend a few years ago. The mediums seemed genuine and caring, and the messages were comforting and helpful.  Nothing remarkable happened -- just some clunky cold reading -- but people really did believe they'd heard from dead relatives. This raised a lot of questions for me and that's usually where I start writing. Do mediums believe they're communicating with the dead? If not, what's in it for them? How come dead people never say anything mean? How would a sceptic respond to a genuine message?

I sat down to explore some of these ideas and twin sisters emerged: Maria, a medium like their mother, is great at reading people; Annie, a committed sceptic, works in HR but has no people skills. It's bad enough that they can't sell their mum's house until they find a sister they've never heard of, but then their dead father gets in touch, and it's Annie he wants to talk to."
 
‘The Spirit of Winter’ by Joan Wendland

This one was really different. Jessica’s car breaks down in the freezing snow, in the middle of nowhere and she has no bars on her phone. She falls asleep and finds herself in a pub surrounded by some very strange new companions intent on holding a winter cocktails competition. It struck me as unusual to have so much of a sense of a taste in a story – that made it thoroughly enjoyable. I don’t often drink cocktails, but with this story, you don’t need to! You get to imagine all these amazing flavours.
 
When I asked Joan what inspired her, she said:

"I have an odd relationship with my brain where we sort of talk to each other internally. I promise this is creative process rather than mental illness ;-) When I was given the direction to write a fantasy story set in and/or about winter my brain said, "Let's really capture the spirit of winter." "Wouldn't it be cool if we incorporated the actual spirits of winter like Jack Frost and the Snow Maiden?" I replied. "Okay, I like that," and my brain said, "but what are they going to DO?" 
 
And that dear reader, is when I reminded my brain that spirits can also mean alcohol..."
 
When talking generally about “getting into the zone” of inspiration, she said:
 
“Ideas tend to ambush me when my brain is inactive or on complete autopilot. Times I have been hit with inspiration include: dreaming, long distance driving, showering, in long boring meetings, etc. I also can be inspired by odd phrases such as bizarre song lyrics.”
 
‘Sins of the Fathers’ by T.M. Kohl
 
Two boys are in a snowy forest with their father, hunting. They come across some ancient ruins and end up camping there for the night. Their father falls into a catatonic state: there’s a strange, spiritual undertone to this story, and this struck me as the most mysterious tale in the book. There was such an atmosphere in it too, which reminded me of the silence of snow, how it cloaks everything. Very intriguing and one of my favourites.
 
I asked T.M.Kohl, What inspired you to write your story? She said:
 
"I've had the general idea for "Sins of the Father" for some time, and given the wintry theme of Midwinter Magic & Mayhem, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to use it! Beyond that, as a child, I loved exploring the woods outside my grandparents' house. In the winter, it would be so quiet and mysterious, and every once in a while, I would stumble across old ruins of a chicken coop or farm equipment covered in snow and forgotten. That kind of imagery was a big inspiration for the story."
 
When I asked her, "What generally inspires you to write?"
 
"Anything and everything inspires me! It could be the scenery, music, a life event, an interaction, or simply an interesting image or concept that pops into my head. Sometimes it helps me to map out ideas, but most often, just walking or sitting and daydreaming invite new ideas to come."
 
When I asked about generally getting into the zone:
 
"I can't recommend taking walks enough and letting your mind wander. For me, it's difficult to force myself to sit down and generate ideas, but if allowed to just meander with my thoughts, I'm continually surprised what ideas come. Another way I get into the zone is by talking with others about my story ideas. More often than not, it will help me make a connection I didn't see before, and the other person often has good input to get ideas flowing or help work out a problem I'm stuck on!"
 
‘A Noisy Sort of Whimper’ by Terry Kerr
 
This story has a kind of snarky style, very different, shot through with a black humour. It begins with a death – or so we believe. It’s a strange kind of love story, but also a story about the end of the world – and how the world might never end… and not in a good way!
 
When I asked Terry what inspired this story, he was very candid: He said:
 
Back in '04 his mother died, and between that happening and her funeral he dreamt he was in her house arguing with her as she sat on her sofa. "Mum," he kept saying, "You have to get out of here, you have to go, you're dead." To which she replied, "Well, if I'm dead, who are you talking to?" And that's sat in his subconscious ever since. He said, “When Frances contacted me about the possibility of contributing to Midwinter Magic and Mayhem, that idea finally found its place. Ideas are like that, I think. Good ones hang around, bad ones die quickly.”
 
What inspires him to write? He said: "I don't know. I don't use prompts ... I think, the closest I can come to make sense of it, is I want the voices in there to shut up, so if I write it down they go away.  And sometimes they do ... There's a book, An Unquiet Past, which was inspired by my then-beloved. We stayed in a 15th century cottage in the Cotswolds and I said, just as I turned off the light, "I wonder how many people have died in this room,. Goodnight, love." Two years later, a book ... that's about as close as I can get it.”
 
What strikes me from Terry’s thoughts in particular, are that we often feel like ideas come from nowhere, and they’re out of our control – but when we take a moment to reflect, we can often work our way back to certain things that have happened to us which fed into the ideas. The journey of how they percolate in the background and then morph into story ideas, does seem to be a whole other process behind the scenes, a lot of which would appear to be work carried out by our unconscious minds – until we find ourselves sitting at a desk, trying to find the story’s final shape.
 
As for my experience of writing my winter-themed story, called Overcast:

I think being given a specific theme to write about can be a double-edged sword. It is really hard to “decide” to be inspired by a particular theme at the outset: it really helps if you’ve already got an idea in the back of your mind which you can then adapt and develop for this purpose – and I see I wasn’t the only author that did this.
 
However, at first I did kind of back myself into a bit of a corner, because straight away, I realised I also really wanted my story to be an Exquisite Corpse-inspired one - because I’d never done that before for a book-length anthology. And so in a way, I’d made it doubly difficult for myself in terms of inspiration because not only was I trying to “reach for” the a wintery idea, but I found myself hunting for an Exquisite Corpse which could fulfil that.
 
If you’re a regular listener you may be thinking, “What the hell is she doing?”– because this is kind of the opposite to what I advocate on the show, and the opposite what I would normally do. Inspiration is like a subtle dance between pushing yourself to explore and come up with something, versus letting go and allowing space for ideas to arise seemingly of their accord.
 
I usually let Exquisite Corpses speak for themselves, and take me on a journey into my imagination: I wouldn’t normally go hunting for a really specific idea among them, deliberately trying to find an Exquisite Corpse that would fit a winter story. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t work for a while. I even asked my subscribers to send me some wintry-themed words though the Play page at annatizard.com hoping that something would crop up in the Socks of Destiny and give me the perfect idea.
 
Well, in my experience, ideas don’t really work like that for me, but I guess I was experimentally setting aside what I know, to try and see if it was in fact possible. Just this once! I just needed a winter story.
 
In the end, I had to drop this silly pursuit and instead, I reached for a previous idea I’d sketched out some years ago and had never fully developed; and combined that with another Exquisite Corpse that on the surface of it had nothing to do with winter, but gave me a bit of a spark of an idea. So I put the two together to create something new and wintry.
 
The previous idea that I’d sketched out was about a young woman living in the city who has to go and visit her grandmother in the country; in the family, it’s believed that the grandmother is starting to get confused, may have dementia coming on, and might not be able to cope on her own in this little cottage in the middle of nowhere. But when the protagonist arrives she begins to be drawn into her grandmother’s world of fairies and realises it’s all real. I hadn’t got much further than that, and had just left a document sitting on my computer for years.
 
The Exquisite Corpse I wound into this initial idea was: “The long-tailed mystic learned the secrets of the overcast gargoyle.” (Thanks to M. L. White, Cliff Jones Jr, Tad Kelson and Marisa D for the words that made up this Exquisite Corpse.) “Overcast” was my way in to something weather related; and from that, I could construe the basis for a magic related to the seasons. I thought about what the seasons might do if you could use their properties somehow, magically. For example, spring would be about things blossoming, autumn would be about the power of change, and winter would be about stillness and putting things on hold: freezing them, in one way or another.
 
I quickly realised the original grandmother character needed to be younger and more active, a witch, to introduce the protagonist, called Penny, to this other reality of magical seasons: so I changed Penny’s grandmother to an aunt, living in a cottage in the countryside and very much involved in her garden. The gargoyle in the Exquisite Corpse became part of a portal in the form of a water fountain that takes Penny into a magical winter version of her aun’ts garden, where something in her mind, or should I say, her heart, has been put on freeze.
 
The story actually begins on a hot summer’s day, to contrast the winter that seems to be inside the main character. Penny is a young director of a rock music magazine. When she interviews a very good-looking graphic designer, she gets the shivers and her lips turn blue. Penny visits her estranged, witchy aunt for answers – and she finds them, through a portal into a magical garden where it’s always winter.
 
MIDWINTER MAGIC AND MAYHEM IS AVAILABLE TO BUY HERE. 

Exquisite Corpse game play is not transposable... Please listen the last section of the show to enter a realm of deep silliness and inspiration!