Dec. 30, 2025

Season Finale Bonus: First Pages Cozy Fantasy

Send us a text 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 Episode A Season Wrap-U...

Send us a text

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 Episode

A Season Wrap-Up

Why this season felt especially long (emotionally and creatively)
The surprising reach of the podcast, including international listeners
Why listener messages matter more than download numbers

Behind the Scenes of Podcasting

A funny (and harmless) upload glitch
Why multitasking and podcast production don’t always mix
A reminder that mistakes happen—and they’re fixable

First Pages Critique: The Village Mage

Why the tea shop setting immediately signals “cozy”
What works well in the opening voice and atmosphere
Where the opening leans too heavily on setting and backstory
Why character emotion needs to come before worldbuilding
How early signals of magic shape reader expectations
The importance of “showing” magic instead of naming it outright

First Page Takeaways for Writers

Less is more on page one
Avoid stacking backstory and description in large blocks
Establish genre expectations immediately
Use specific, character-centered details instead of generic atmosphere
Trust the reader—don’t explain everything up front
Consider whether your story actually starts later than you think

A Common Revision Reality

Why first chapters are often written as “thinking-through” pages
How hard it is to cut beloved early material
Why cutting doesn’t mean deleting—just relocating

Key Writing Advice from Beth & Lisa

Your first page should hook, not explain
Genre cues matter—especially in fantasy
Pacing is created through balance: dialogue, action, and selective detail
If readers don’t know why they should care about the character yet, they won’t care about the world

What’s Coming Next