Writing the Broomstick K.T. Anglehart & Genevieve Methot

For millennia, witches have been a source of fear, fascination, persecution, oppression, hope, and bewilderment. Tales of witches go back as far as time and appear in every culture on the planet. So, as a writer, how do you even begin to understand the complex nature of a witch’s reality without relying on stereotypes or misconceptions.Welcome, writers and weavers to another spooky episode of Writing the Broomstick.In this episode, Katrina and Genny finally get to talk about one of their most...

Ever walk into an empty room and feel like you’re being watched? Ever feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end for no apparent reason? Maybe you’ve encountered a real-live ghost. In this week’s spoooooooky episode, we’re talking about things that go bump in the night, particularly phantoms, spirits, apparitions, poltergeists….you know, ghosts! Whether you believe in the existence of ghosts or not, you want to create a well-rounded ghost character that makes us true believers....

Halloween….the spookiest time of year. When the veil that separates the living and the dead gets dangerously thin. Welcome back, writers and weavers to season three of Writing the Broomstick!No matter where you live in the world, we’re willing to bet that your culture commemorates the end of summer and the beginning of winter...when our ancestors prepared themselves for the harshest months of the year. In ancient Ireland, the Celts celebrated with the Samhain festival—a time when ru...

If you could have any magical ability in the world, what would it be? Would you fly over the rooftops of your hometown? Would you control fire and water? Would you bring your poor houseplant back to life? In today’s episode, Katrina and Genny discuss the limits of one’s imagination—more specifically, all the wonderful and weird and unexplainable magical abilities you can give your character. After all, fantasy is where magic can feel free and safe to express itself—why wouldn’t you ...

Writing about time in your fantasy novel is a real see-you-next-Tuesday. I mean, all our months, weekdays, and seasons sound so...Earthly. And if you’re wondering if your reader notices when you say “February” when describing a month of the year in your fantasy world....they kinda do. The days, months, seasons, and even the year itself are all products of our human—aka real—history. So, how the heck do we talk about the passage of time without using names in the Gregorian calendar?In cas...

The Devil, the Beast, 666, the Dark One, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Satan—whatever you want to call him, this character has been a point of fear and fascination for 3,000 years, and it’s a figure that pops up quite frequently in dark fantasy and horror novels. So naturally, why wouldn’t we spend an afternoon discussing the Prince of Darkness? Rock on, Beelzebaby!Katrina and Genny explore the origins and evolution of Satan—from the pious angel to the leather-jacket wearing man-about-town a...