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About This Author
Battywyn🎶Prep!  , also known as Michelle Tuesday, is a musician, educator and writer hailing from Columbus, Ohio.
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La Bene Vita
I am a professional musician  , worship leader , small business owner , songwriter , aspiring author and freelance nonfiction writer with a chemical engineering degree .
But that's just my resume.
My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress.
October 13, 2025 at 6:29am October 13, 2025 at 6:29am
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I've been a member of WDC for 18 years, and if there's a test out there to qualify for a creative writing degree from a major university, I bet I could pass it without a single day in a classroom, all thanks to the education I've gained from peer writers here.
I gleaned much of that knowledge from creating and running the "Invalid Item" - especially in the early years through friends who helped me plan and tweak the assignment calendar, volunteer writing coaches and forum posters who knew more than I did, and countless hours of research to make the activity actually useful to both aspiring and veteran novelists.
But even before that, I started to really learn and understand the technical details of what makes literature consumable, marketable, and even successful - things like active voice, vivid imagery, clear and distinguishable character voices, and a plot that not only contains the required elements (protagonist, conflict, climax, resolution), but also maximizes tension through complications. And I learned though receiving and giving reviews.
If you don't already know, I'm an analytical person. I tear things apart until I understand them completely. I ask annoying follow up questions to my follow up questions.
The public reviews I give tend to reflect that, but what you may not see is how it manifests in the way I digest the things you say when reviewing my work.
I get a lot of superficial, cheerleading-style reviews with high ratings.
Sure, I've loved the ego boost (like my narcissism needs encouragement, lol), especially when I was a WDC noob. But over the years, I've occasionally gotten a serious review that really burns my biscuits... but also intrigues my intellect. Not always immediately, but when I read them months or years later, I realize, hmm. Maybe they had a point. It most often happens when I'm reviewing someone else's work and I see the same mistake.
I'm considering creating a folder in my port containing pieces that received negative constructive reviews, adding the offending surprisingly helpful and educational review, and discussing my thoughts on why the reviewer was correct. I changed the access settings to many of these pieces to private at the time, vowing to circle back and try to make them better in the future, but they've just been sitting there for a decade or more, gathering dust. Yet even invisible to readers, they've been useful, because they were all practice. I learned something from each and every one of them, and more specifically, from the reviewers brave enough to teach me and award me- gasp - less than four stars.
(in case you just cringed and thought, you mean, "fewer than four stars", I argue that since we count stars in halves, "less" is more appropriate, but feel free to make your counterargument in the comments!)
More on this topic to come, assuming I actually get around to starting the project. |
October 9, 2025 at 10:28am October 9, 2025 at 10:28am
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You love to hate them.
An antagonist, by definition, is whatever causes conflict for your protagonist (main character.) Every story includes at least one protagonist, a conflict, and an antagonist that creates the conflict.
Every story.
For example, if I walk in the door and announce to my husband, "I got the mail!" - that's not a story.
However, if I walk in and say, "I tried to get the mail but a bee that's guarding the mailbox stung me, so now it's your turn to try!" - that is a story. It includes a protagonist (me) who has a goal (get the mail), but an antagonist (the bee) creates conflict (by guarding the mailbox) until the climax (when the bee stings me). It also has falling action (I gave up trying to get the mail) and resolution (I delegated the goal to hubby.) I even experienced a protagonistic change (I will never again be so lackadaisical about the process of getting the mail.)
See? Even that tiny story had an antagonist.
When a fictional story has a great villain, you love to hate them. Hating the antagonist is, by default, choosing Team Protagonist. And every storyteller worth their weight in words wants you to be Team Protagonist.
But what if the antagonist isn't a character?
Great question! The antagonist is not required to be a character, after all. The only requirement is that it creates conflict for your main character.
For the purposes of this discussion, I also consider an animal or other sentient, but non-human, antagonist as a character, who can be easily profiled with a character template.
I will group non-character antagonists into the categories below:
Internal conflicts
This is the man-versus-self scenario. Internal conflicts usually involve some sort of fear or conflicting emotions, but could also include an uncooperative body or brain due to illness, disease or disorder. Dawn Embers  is tackling this topic in the Prep forum today, so I'll focus on the other three (below). Here's Dawn's forum post, if you're interested: "Day 10 - Ye Old Villain/Antagonist Stats" .
Environmental conflicts
Environmental conflicts can include natural disasters that your character must survive, or it could be as simple as your character finding their way home in a big, scary world. Waltz in the Lonesome October  recently pointed out, "if you've ever read The Martian (or seen the movie based on it), the primary antagonist is the conditions on the planet... Another (example) would be the conditions on Mount Everest, if the story's about the protagonist attempting to summit that mountain."
Technological conflicts
Technological conflicts may be caused by the users of that tech (maybe your protagonist struggling to deal with trolling and cyberbullying by the general population). It could also be caused by the tech itself (e.g., your character's invention malfunctions).
Societal conflicts
Societal conflicts are caused by society as an entity, rather than one or more individual members of that society. Your character may be trying to flee a war-torn country or fight back against government corruption. Or your southern belle landed her first job in New York City and has to learn to navigate metropolitan behaviors and expectations.
Some antagonists cross categories
The cyberbullying victim's antagonist could either be classified as societal (because the bullies are people) or technological (because the tech allows the bullies to gang up on victims, and to be anonymous.)
An AI gone rogue might be classified as a technological conflict, or, if the AI is anthropomorphic, it could even be considered a character.
How do you profile non-character antagonists?
This question refers to the "Antagonist Profile" assignment on the "2025 Prep Calendar" .
Focus on the conflict and why it's a problem. Describe (or compose a bullet point list of) all the traits of the environment / tech / society contributing to the conflict.
What about the antagonist background story?
This question refers to the "Antagonist Background Story" assignment on the "2025 Prep Calendar" .
I recommend one of the following two methods:
1. Pretend you're a journalist. Write an article about an incident that happened in the past, to some other character who doesn't appear in your novel, which was caused by the same environmental / technological / societal situation.
2. Personify the environmental / technological / societal situation. Imagine the conditions on Mars being sentient, taking deliberate action to try to kill the astronaut. What might have happened in Mars' past to cause it to scorn living creatures? Consider the anonymous Internet trolls and imagine they're all one person. What might be inspiring this composite character's hateful behavior? And the tech invention that malfunctioned and caused embarrassment or havoc for your main character - what motivation might it have to create problems? Maybe it doesn't want to be that thing your character is trying to create? Maybe its individual parts have their own personalities, and they don't get along with each other due to something in their history?
What if it just IS?
The antagonist character profile and background story assignments can definitely be an exercise in creativity. But maybe you spent some time thinking through and deciding that massive Everest doesn't care one bit about the tiny speck of a human (your main character) who is trying to reach its summit. Maybe you're just not inspired to personify your non-character antagonist or play journalist, and that's fine.
Remember, the "October Novel Prep Challenge" is for YOU. It's a tool in your toolbelt; nothing more. If this exercise feels tedious and unnecessary for your specific project, spend fifteen minutes explaining why that's the case. The ultimate goal is to force you to deliberately consider your story's conflict and who or what is causing it. |
October 8, 2025 at 10:18am October 8, 2025 at 10:18am October 6, 2025 at 6:52am October 6, 2025 at 6:52am
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Whether you're a pantser or plotter, starting a story can be the hardest part of writing fiction.
Just kidding. It's totally editing, am I right??
Okay, so maybe both are stressful and intimidating. You wrack your brain for the perfect opening lines, but they just won't come, because you're a perfectionist! And if and when you finally spit out some words that work, you never, ever want to edit them out because you worked so hard to find them in the first place.
You're trying too hard.
Just start writing, yo. But here's the catch: Write with the knowledge and understanding that you will absolutely be deleting these words later. Write the worst possible opening lines you could ever devise. The words themselves and what they say aren't the point. The words are a vehicle for the writing itself. They get your brain moving. They're a warm-up. Eventually, the story will start spilling out, and you can go back and find the point where the magic happened - where your brain finally remembered why you liked writing in the first place. |
October 5, 2025 at 3:41am October 5, 2025 at 3:41am
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It's Day 5 of "October Novel Prep Challenge" , and I'm already scope creeping.
My initial idea was to develop the Druid Archives series further and actually complete one of books 2 through 10, all of which are in progress. (Book 1, "Poor Witch" [E], is still technically in progress, but at least I have a complete draft.)
But the Prep did what it's supposed to do: it gave me a new idea, and a trio of crime-fighting teen witches was born on Day 2.
By Day 3, the protagonist of that story, Maya, revealed to me that she was a descendant of the witch from Poor Witch and a Druid Healer named Kaleb (or Emergence, depending on whom you ask.)
Meanwhile, back on Day 1, I started a short story for "Invalid Item" . The prompt was to write a story about a rabbit sneaking into a garden. By Day 2, "Snickers" was adopted by the titular protagonist from Poor Witch (who is also, apparently, Maya's ?Ă—great grandma.)
In the 18 years I've been an active member of WDC, I could count on one hand the number of times I've entered the Cramp. Something inspired me to take Prep '25 seriously and write for real, not just my typical brainstorming word vomit. I read that prompt, and Snickers introduced himself immediately.
In the wee hours of Day 5, I had yet to be inspired with a background story about Maya. She's not speaking to me much, other than to share her lineage.
But my Muse was obsessing over an idea that's not yet fully formed, involving this rabbit who, like Maya the teen witch, wormed his way into my Druid Archives world.
Also, my Muse has been screaming for two decades to stop trying to write mature stories. My audience is young people; when I speak to kids and young adults, the words come effortlessly. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows my profession (teacher and employer of other teachers), and I guess it's not a surprise to me either, but I've been resisting because I want to express my own self and experiences, which span five decades now. I've (technically) spent more than half my life as an adult.
Sadly, my stupid Muse doesn't care what I think or want to express.
I'm still not sure where she's taking me this year, but at least she's made it clear we're staying in the Druid Archives.
Folks, this is how Prep works. This is why we say you can show up on Day 1 without a hint of an idea. We do this for 31 whole days. The ideas come. The story evolves.
Day 6, bring it on.
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October 4, 2025 at 5:49am October 4, 2025 at 5:49am
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Do you feel like all the plots have been written? That we're just recycling stories?
I asked two chatbots to offer lists of novels that were considered innovative or groundbreaking at the time of publication, to prove that brand new plots are still possible. The compiled* list is below, highlighting innovations in plot, genre, theme, and storytelling methods.
Note that if you asked again, you would probably get a different list. This list is not meant to be accurate. It's meant to be enlightening and encouraging. And maybe a bit of a gauntlet.  Will you write the next groundbreaking novel?
17th–19th Century: Breaking Early Conventions
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605–1615)
A man loses his mind from reading too many chivalric romances and sets out to live as a knight — blurring fantasy and reality centuries before postmodernism. Often called the first modern novel, blending realism, satire, and metafiction.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
A scientist creates life from the dead — the first narrative to explore artificial creation, science ethics, and “playing God.” Created a new genre: science fiction. Shelley's novel is a foundational text of both science fiction and Gothic horror. It was innovative for exploring the consequences of scientific overreach and grappling with themes of creation, morality, and ambition.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
A multi-generational Gothic tale of obsession, revenge, and destructive love told through layered narrators — shocking for its brutality and moral ambiguity. Unconventional narrative structure and dark romanticism.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (1848)
Brontë's novel was shocking for its time due to its frank depiction of a woman leaving her abusive, alcoholic husband. It was a pioneering work of feminist fiction that challenged Victorian social conventions and a woman's right to self-determination.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1857)
A bored provincial wife seeks meaning through adulterous affairs and consumer fantasies — scandalous in its time for realism and female agency. Introduced modern realism and free indirect discourse. A masterpiece of literary realism, this book was groundbreaking for its focus on the mundane, psychological, and emotional aspects of its characters' lives. The realistic style was so shocking that Flaubert was prosecuted for obscenity, though he was ultimately acquitted.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
A surreal, logic-defying fantasy with no moral lesson — an absurdist inversion of Victorian children’s tales.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)
A seminal work of science fiction, this novel was innovative in its use of time travel to explore themes of social decay and evolution.
A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison (1896)
As a key work of naturalism, this book was innovative for its unromanticized and gritty portrayal of slum life in Victorian London.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899)
This novel was ahead of its time for its frank exploration of a woman's sexuality and her rejection of traditional motherhood. It was met with controversy and condemnation upon its release for its "immorality," but later came to be recognized as a groundbreaking work of feminist modernism.
Early 20th Century: Modernist Shifts in Reality
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)
Often called the first modern American novel, it was innovative for its naturalist perspective, portraying characters as products of their environment and driven by social and economic forces. It defied moral conventions by allowing its heroine to find success without being punished for her choices.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915)
A man wakes up as a giant insect — no explanation given. The plot’s absurd simplicity launched modern existential fiction.
Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)
A single day in Dublin parallels Homer’s Odyssey — transforming an ordinary man’s day into an epic of consciousness. Revolutionized the stream-of-consciousness technique and narrative structure.
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)
A single day in the life of a woman planning a party, mirrored by a veteran’s suicide — ordinary events used to explore time, trauma, and identity. Broke linear time with interior monologue.
The Trial by Franz Kafka (1925)
A man is arrested and executed for an unnamed crime — an allegory of faceless bureaucracy and existential guilt. Questioned authority, bureaucracy, and meaning itself.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
A genetically engineered society where pleasure replaces freedom — an early dystopia critiquing consumerism and conformity.
Mid-20th Century: Reality, Morality, and Madness
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
A totalitarian future where language itself controls thought — its “Big Brother” concept redefined political fiction. Defined dystopian fiction as political prophecy.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
A middle-aged man’s obsessive relationship with a young girl — narrated with disturbing beauty and irony. Shocked readers with unreliable narration and linguistic artistry.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)
Children stranded on an island descend into savagery — a grim inversion of adventure tales like Treasure Island.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
Soldiers trapped in bureaucratic paradoxes — the plot’s circular logic made absurdity itself the story.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel GarcĂa Márquez (1967)
The cyclical rise and fall of a family across generations in a mythic town — time itself becomes the plot. Defined magical realism and multi-generational storytelling. The book's use of magical realism and its cyclical narrative structure were highly innovative. It blended history and myth to become a touchstone of Latin American literature and a worldwide sensation.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
A man becomes “unstuck in time” during war — looping through past, present, and alien abduction in nonlinear order. Collapsed time and genre boundaries.
Late 20th–21st Century: Postmodern and Conceptual Innovation
Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)
This is a groundbreaking work of speculative fiction that blends science fiction with the slave narrative genre. Butler's innovative use of time travel makes her novel a uniquely impactful and intimate exploration of racial history.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (1979)
This experimental postmodern novel is unique for its second-person narrative, with the reader as the protagonist. It consists of ten different novels, whose opening chapters are interrupted just as the narrative begins to develop.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
A theocratic regime reduces women to breeders — dystopian fiction told as a recovered historical record. Feminist dystopia that blurred speculative and literary fiction.
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
A mother haunted by the ghost of the baby she killed to save from slavery — blending the supernatural with historical trauma. Merged ghost story, historical fiction, and collective trauma.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001)
A boy stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger — an allegory that questions the nature of truth and storytelling.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
Six interlocking stories across centuries — each nested within the other, showing the repetition of human ambition and oppression. Nested narratives spanning centuries and styles. Mitchell's novel is notable for its complex, nested narrative structure and for spanning multiple timelines, genres, and writing styles. It is considered a highly innovative work of postmodern fiction.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
A nonlinear love story between a man with a genetic time-travel disorder and the woman who experiences his life out of sequence.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
Cloned children raised to donate organs — a quiet, emotional take on science fiction ethics.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
A missing wife’s diary and her husband’s guilt twist mid-story to reveal an unreliable, manipulative narrator — revitalizing the psychological thriller.
* Disclaimer and boring details: This list was consolidated from multiple chatbot conversations. Specifically, I asked Google for "novels that were considered innovative at the time". For comparison, I asked ChatGPT, "Please provide a list of novels that were considered innovative or groundbreaking at the time of publication". The lists provided were more about innovations in the storytelling strategies, genres and themes rather than plot, so I clarified, "Please provide a list of novel plots which were considered innovative at the time of publication". The list above was generated by the third query, but elements of the first two queries were interesting enough that I included them. Output from Query #1 (Google) is blue. Output from Query #2 (ChatGPT before I added the word "plot") is magenta. |
October 3, 2025 at 2:29pm October 3, 2025 at 2:29pm
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I'm actually Prepping this year. 
I spent the first two days re-reading old notes and short stories from my Druid Archives world, thinking for sure I would write something there. The plan was to get back into the habit of writing, and specifically writing in that world, so I could move on to actually editing some of it and maybe publish one, if not all ten, of the novel-length works I started as early as 2007.
My Muse had other plans.
Meet Maya (Yaya) Kumar, teen witch extraordinaire, and her crime-fighting cohorts, Frankie Ortiz and Penny Blackburn. Also Frankie's older brother Ricardo, who may or may not become a problem for the witch trio.
Because what I need is another work in progress. 
Cheers,
Michelle
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Tragedy can bring people together.
Comment • View 2 comments ![Merit Badge in Music
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To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*
Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif)
![Merit Badge in Organization
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I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^* I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is. Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your [Link To Item #1474311]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Organization-1150.gif)
![Merit Badge in Leadership
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For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Leadership.gif)
