Season Finale Bonus: First Pages Cozy Fantasy

In this bonus season-finale episode of Writers With Wrinkles, Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid reflect on the end of the season, share a behind-the-scenes podcasting mishap, and dive into a First Pages critique of a cozy fantasy submission, The Village Mage. Along the way, they discuss why first pages are so hard to get right, how too much backstory can stall momentum, and what cozy fantasy readers expect from the very first paragraph.What We Cover in This EpisodeA Season Wrap-UpWhy this season felt especially long (emotionally and creatively)The surprising reach of the podcast, including international listenersWhy listener messages matter more than download numbersBehind the Scenes of PodcastingA funny (and harmless) upload glitchWhy multitasking and podcast production don’t always mixA reminder that mistakes happen—and they’re fixableFirst Pages Critique: The Village MageWhy the tea shop setting immediately signals “cozy”What works well in the opening voice and atmosphereWhere the opening leans too heavily on setting and backstoryWhy character emotion needs to come before worldbuildingHow early signals of magic shape reader expectationsThe importance of “showing” magic instead of naming it outrightFirst Page Takeaways for WritersLess is more on page oneAvoid stacking backstory and description in large blocksEstablish genre expectations immediatelyUse specific, character-centered details instead of generic atmosphereTrust the reader—don’t explain everything up frontConsider whether your story actually starts later than you thinkA Common Revision RealityWhy first chapters are often written as “thinking-through” pagesHow hard it is to cut beloved early materialWhy cutting doesn’t mean deleting—just relocatingKey Writing Advice from Beth & LisaYour first page should hook, not explainGenre cues matter—especially in fantasyPacing is created through balance: dialogue, action, and selective detailIf readers don’t know why they should care about the character yet, they won’t care about the worldWhat’s Coming NextA brand-new season with exciting guest interviewsMore First Pages bonus episodesKicking off the new season with literary agent Erin Casey WestinHave first pages you’d like feedback on? Visit the Writers With Wrinkles website and submit your opening pages for a chance to be featured in a future episode.Thank you for listening, sharing, and sticking with us this season. We’ll see you in the new year—until then, happy reading, writing, and listening.Send us Fan Mail Support the showVisit the WebsiteFind Full Episodes on YouTube!Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for socials and more!