Sarah Guan

BLACK PANTHER. My heart is full; my brain is on fire.

I want stories like it in my inbox. I want to help them reach readers. But, as one wise writer notes, “#MSWL = #BlackPanther!” is reductionist—however truly felt.

So, a list of specific things I LOVED & want more of in #SFF:

#MSWL! Intelligent/humanoid #SFF species dealing with real life issues that make sense for their physiology/society with a combination of technology, logic/common sense, and snark.

War disproportionately/differently impacts different populations w/in the same society. Veterans vs civilians, but also: different socioecon groups, industries (wartime vs peacetime economies), urban vs rural, ethnic minorities—esp ones w/ historic ties to "the enemy." #MSWL #SFF

#MSWL (but adult #SFF). Corollary: a deep and true romantic love knowingly sacrificed for a higher cause (e.g. family, country, religion).

#MSWL: Diversity in all forms, always. Diversity of people, setting, culture, morality. Diversity as a feature—not a bug. Challenge me. #SFF

Corollary #MSWL: a sense of place so deep & distinct that the setting feels like a character unto itself. (I LOVE great #SFF worldbuilding.)

#MSWL: #SFF worlds/communities on the cusp of change. Modernity dragging a society kicking & screaming into a *questionably* better future.

#MSWL: Complex/found families. Interpersonal dynamics between powerful ppl that—often unintentionally—shape the communities around them #SFF

#MSWL: #SFF political systems that AREN'T absolute monarchies. I want parliamentary debates, legislative battles, theocracies, courtrooms...

Thread! Also, #MSWL: fantasy where magic comes from hard work, natural resources, ingesting the right potion—systems not reliant on genetics

#MSWL: this, but with a #SFF twist. Rare, world-changing spellbooks? Arcana from a long-lost Earth? *grabby hands*

Someone write the Preet Bharara: Special Prosecutor urban fantasy/superhero novel the world needs right now. #MSWL

#MSWL: a thorny, complex political #SFF novel featuring social upheaval and protagonists with an Obama-Biden relationship dynamic

Now I want a pulls-no-punches historical fantasy about Nebuchadnezzar for the new year—would be fitting. #MSWL

#SFF #MSWL: Give me civilizations faced with a sudden need to modernize, and how they negotiate the weight of centuries of history/tradition

#SFF #MSWL: give me MCs who don't have/can't rely on natural talent—who've had to work harder and smarter to earn what they've accomplished.

#SFF #mswl Nerdy MCs! I'd love a scholar/archaeologist/scientist hero whose main goal isn't saving the world (even if they end up doing so).

Give me a #SFF society with a moral code materially different from ours, made believable through worldbuilding & character development #MSWL

#SFF #MSWL: Give me the aftermath of revolution, the growing pains of a new world order. "Winning was easy, young man. Governing's harder."

#SFF #MSWL: Innovators who have to deal with the serious societal ramifications of their inventions (think Einstein and nuclear technology).