In today’s new episode, we have Maggie Shen King, author of “An Excess Male”. In her novel,she explores the marriage plot in a dystopian future and follows in the footsteps of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”. It’s the story of one excess male, the less-than-perfect family he seeks to join, and the fight for their version of home, for the freedom to be their true selves, and for the country they have lost to a totalitarian regime that aims to control sex and define the boundaries of marriage in the name of the public good.

I’ve been really looking forward to this conversation with Maggie as her story is inspired by actual statistics. China’s One Child Policy was originally implemented to control overpopulation and according to stats, by the year 2030, China will have unintentionally created a society which more than 25% of men in their late thirties will never have married.

In our discussion, Maggie shares more insight into China’s One Child Policy, one of the most radical social experiments in history.  She walks us through the research process for writing “An Excess Male” and the importance of targeted research to prevent the loss of writing time.

Maggie belongs to two different writing groups and we dive into the benefits of joining one, and how they’ve helped her tremendously in her writing career. We also discuss the importance of having an editor to help move your story forward. For craft-focused writers, we cover how to improve your world building as a linear writer, and what a style sheet is, and how it can help you create dynamic characters.

Say ‘Hi’ to Maggie on Twitter! Check out the books and resources mentioned in her episode by clicking here!

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

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Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!

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“It’s adding a piece of the puzzle at a time and once you create it, then there’s a place to add more.” 

-Maggie Shen King

“Learning to listen to the criticism and encouragement and suggestions is a really good thing to develop.”

-Maggie Shen King

“Once you have something on the page, you can work on it.” 

-Maggie Shen King

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN TODAY’S EPISODE: 

• A detailed look at China’s One Child Policy, one of the most radical social experiments in history
• Maggie walks us through the research process for writing “An Excess Male”
• The importance of targeted research to prevent the loss of writing time
• Why it’s crucial to join writing groups
• How editors help to move your story forward
• How to improve your world building as a linear writer
• Learn what a style sheet is and how it can help you create dynamic characters.