Otherlands Editing Podcast

Midnight and Margaret are back to talk about the very real evils going on right now in Minnesota and, more broadly, against immigrants and the constitution by the Trump administration. We discuss the difference between how villainy in real life can be 1-dimensional, but in fiction, it needs nuance and for the villains to be understandable and not flat. We also address the different ways to approach villains, such as being foils, me...

This week, we have m/m author Gemini Frost as a guest contributor. We talk about the surge of Dramione fanfic being pulled to publish and becoming the literary blockbusters of 2025. We discuss what fanfic can teach you as a new author, how it's a different medium than novels, the ethics and best ways to convert fanfic to profic, and our worries about publishing now being so open about wanting to promote and put out converted fanfic...

For the first of two Halloween-themed episodes, M&M talk about horror in movies and TV by comparing the works of Mike Flanagan and Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story Series, discuss favorite horror movies like the works of Romero and Jordan Peele, and then look at short fiction and why shorter horror is often more compelling. Finally, we explain why reading widely is good and that there are parts of horror that can help you wi...

This week, Margaret and Midnight take time to preview workshops they've submitted and will be part of The Writing Gals 2025 Conference. Midnight is presenting on "Writing Your Wildest Romantasy," while Margaret is presenting on "Rescuing Your WIP from being an RIP" and helping writers through their blocks. The Writing Gals and some of their other events and courses can be found at their facebook group here (https://www.facebook.com...

SPOILER ALERT - In this episode, Margaret and Midnight talk about James Gunn's Superman (2025) and explain why this is a terrific film and screenplay, what parts of it apply to your writing, and how you can make every part of your work do heavy lifting by not wasting scenes. We also contrast it, especially with how well it sets worldbuilding up efficiently, to the Snyderverse and explain the difference between indulging your charac...

Last Friday, Midnight and I were invited to cover an amazing night at locally-owned, Columbia MD bookshop Queen Takes Book. There we got to know the owners and staff as well as some creative, passionate book lovers and influencers from all over the area. Special shoutout to the people we met there including, Chloe the Reader, Annabookbestie, tmichellemoore, starrfirebookgirl, lysettemariereads, pretty poisons dark romance, and genn...

This week, Midnight and Margaret discuss the failure of the Netflix film The Electric State to adapt from a celebrated graphic novel. We also talk other adaptations like both versions of the Super Mario Brothers movie as well as Max's adaptation of Uzumaki. We help you think about adaptations and what to keep in mind when adapting and changing an aesthetic, archetype, or plot you like from a different medium like a television show ...

Today, Midnight Voss and Margaret Bates interview spicy rom-com author, Dawn Dugle, about her advocacy online against Oklahoma State Senate Bill 593 that seeks to outlaw CSAM as well as put severe restrictions on what is considered "porn" in the state. We talk about book ban history, the current state of the despotic US government, why it matters to stop book bans even if you feel you live in a "safe" or blue state, and what you ca...

This week, Margaret and Midnight take a look at one of the most famous comedies of the 1990s, the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day, on actual Groundhog Day. We use it as a spring board to discuss the time loop trope, how to use a MacGuffin or a spot of magical realism to take your characters on journeys of growth, and how to set expectations for readers when weird situations like time loops, time travel, or even body horror happen...