Seeking Long-Term Writing Buddies/Critique Partners for Fantasy (broadly)

[Kestra Pingree]

Hello!

I’m looking for a couple long-term writing buddies/critique partners to exchange weekly chapters with. (Exchanging entire manuscripts is fine, too, but weekly check-ins would be nice!) Discord is my preferred way to communicate, though email works as well.

I write primarily fantasy but have three ongoing projects that are paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy/sci-fi respectively.

The paranormal romance project consists of 20-25k standalones that revolve around a small town and the shifters who live there. These are meant to be cozy, feel-good stories, but they do deal with some heavy topics at times. They are mild spice; intimate scenes aren’t explicit, but they don’t necessarily fade to black.

I don't have a proper tagline/summary for the urban fantasy project yet, but the protagonist is a psychometrist and selkie who, after feeling like an outsider her whole life, is brought deeper into the paranormal world when a couple of monsters move into town. It will be an episodic series in that each book will have a self-contained primary plot, but the protagonist and her found family will grow and change as the series progresses. 

Here's the blurb for the first book in my fantasy/sci-fi:

Rimn is an empath cursed with the ability to feel every emotion around her. Captured by the ruthless slaver Gris, she dreams of the Cloud—a fabled utopia in the sky where she believes she can find peace.

Enduring torment and isolation, Rimn's hope is rekindled when Squall, a daring desert-dweller, infiltrates Gris’s fortress and offers her a chance at freedom. But escaping Gris's clutches is only the beginning. As Rimn joins Squall's people, she becomes entangled in their fight against Gris, facing new challenges and discovering unexpected allies.

Determined to reach the Cloud, Rimn’s journey is fraught with peril and hope as she navigates a broken world on the path toward redemption and a new beginning.

If you think we’d be a good match, I’d be happy to exchange some chapters. Let’s become better writers together!

My email is kes...@kestrapingree.com

I’ll also list a few stories that describe my tastes and influences:

The Unwind Dystology and Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman

The Raven Cycle and The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

All for the Game by Nora Sakavic
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Nier:Automata (game and books and anime)

Omori (game)

Hunter x Hunter (anime)

Monster by Naoki Urasawa

Solo Leveling (anime)

To Your Eternity by Yoshitoki Ouima  

[Sheik Nao]

Hey!

I'd love to be weekly Critique Partners if it sounds like we'd work well together! Discord works great and I write Queer Urban Fantasy.

Summary:
Marcos has just turned 16, when he moves to a whole other continent to train as an Ordinator, a protector. All he really wants is to prove himself, make his family proud. But the more he sees, the more he's forced to question everything he's been taught. Meeting another boy who's really talented at making his life harder doesn't help, especially when he might have a point.

A few things that influenced me:

The Legend of Korra

Arcane

Twilight Princess

The Hunger Games

Percy Jackson and The Olympians

[Iseult Merlin]

Hey! 

I'd also be really interested in this, if we work well - I think weekly check-ins is such a good idea to stay on track / motivated.

I write mostly fantasy, and sometimes dystopia. 

Summary of my current WIP: 
Ida wants nothing more than to be her mother’s ordinary daughter, despite the feathers growing from her skin. It has been sixteen years since the creatures of the Rotting Forest stole through an open window and took her mother’s real baby, leaving Ida there instead. But when the death of a teacher turns the town's fear to accusation, Ida worries that she is more wild-thing than girl, and turns to the Rotting Forest for answers. Here, Ida must learn the rules of a cruel new world, where unbreakable bargains are sealed with stitches and a new mother awaits her return.   
My tastes and influences include:

Maggie Stiefvater - specifically the Scorpio Races
Diana Wynne Jones - the Chrestomanci series
Terry Pratchett - The Tiffany Aching series 
Neal Shusterman - Unwind Series
Frances Hardinge - Cuckoo Song, Unraveller 

My email is: iseult...@gmail.com

Feel free to shoot me a message if you think we'd work - I am UK based though so it could be tricky with timings depending on where everyone is.
Iseult 

[Renna Brooks]

HI guys,

This set of people seems like the right fit for what I like to write too. I love the Raven Cycle and Six of Crows. Here's my pitch:

  Safya al-Ramallah is an inquistel, living for ten years in the shadow of her family’s execution in the Elcastian Inquisition. Unlike her former rival and golden boy Jaume de Prava, she’s been fighting every day since to be recognized. When the king announces an expedition to the New World, promising gold and glory, Safya finally sees a real chance to make a name for herself.  But as the journey leads her into a land where godly power is bought with blood, even the familiarity of her hardship is gone. With pressure from all sides, Safya must conceal her own crime: borrowing divinity from the goddess that damned her family. Fail, and she shares their deadly fate.  Based on the Expedition of Hernán Cortés of 1519, GOD-CHOSEN is a 92,000-word, multiple-perspective fantasy that appeals to fans of Leigh Bardugo and Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree.
I have a good amount of experience in critiquing, with a bachelor's in creative writing, and I would appreciate any feedback I could get.
Let me know if you're interested! 

[destiny]

Hey guys,

I am also looking for some long term critique partners for a fantasy series I am writing. I am a committed critique partner who puts in the effort! My manuscript is nearly finished at 105k and will probably finish this month at around 115k!

Pitch:

Omari escapes the dungeon she has been rotting in to enact revenge on the beast who murdered her cousin, uncaring of the kingdom falling apart around her. That is, until a scent leads her to work at the castle as a healer, one that leads her to Claymore, a man she believes she is meeting for the first time. Not only is Omari missing memories, she is missing parts of herself. Parts that allow her to care. To love. She is broken. Hollow. Lost. After being forced into a resistance against the king, she volunteers to seduce the prince who calls to the silver blood that runs through her veins and threatens both their lives.

Respond to this or email me at desti...@hotmail.com if your interested!

[Andrea Sellinger]

Hi Kestra,   I'm also working on a YA Sci-Fi (accessible) with dystopian elements. I envision it as the first of a trilogy though I'm struggling to plot book three.  I'm unagented at the moment.  First book is done at 98,500 words. My elevator pitch is: a teenage girl on the run from a corporate government that wants to harvest the energy produced by people's thoughts.  It's got an enemies-to-lovers theme.   I'm in the middle of Onyx Storm right now and am loving it. I also like the Scythe Trilogy and Unwind! Your story sounds super interesting and given our shared reading lists, thought we might be a good fit. If you're interested, would love to exchange a couple chapters.