In her winning piece for the Fantasy Writing Competition, Izzy Wei created an enchanting world whilst maintaining a sense of simmering tension and threat underneath her story. “I knew I wanted the beauty of the setting to be almost deceptive in its charm—a beguiling smile; red lips, bared teeth”, she says. “As more of the story unravelled, I was able to water those seeds of tension, letting them grow bit by bit until they bloomed into a tangible conflict.”
Read on to hear about the moment that sparked the idea for her story, as well as the works of fantasy fiction that she drew inspiration from, and her favourite genres to write.
How did you develop the idea for your story, and the twist ending?
Although I’d love to say it came to me in a dream, the initial idea surfaced early one morning while gazing out of a window. I always leave the lips of my curtains slightly parted to let light slip through, and that morning, the sun had limned the walls a warm amber. I remember reaching out to finger the curtains, watching as heady gold spilled through the fabric, and I just had this vision of little glass beads and embroidered intricacies stitched along its seams. As the day wore on, the image stayed with me, eventually growing more and more embellished with characters, descriptions, storylines—like the polishing of a gemstone. Looking back, I think all the little details slowly worked their way into the story as I was writing; I just had to put pen to paper—or rather, finger to keyboard—first. With regards to the conclusion, I knew I wanted to leave it open to interpretation whilst still delivering a note of surprise. Aside from that, however, I didn’t really have a substantial idea for the ending; instead, I found that it wound up writing itself, and took me along with it on the journey.
Were you inspired by any works of fantasy fiction? Do you find more generally that your writing is influenced by what you read?
I do find that my writing is influenced by the pieces I read, which is why I love exploring new authors and their writing styles. Much of the setting in “Beneath Woven Wings” was inspired by the gorgeous prose peppered throughout Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. I think her work is beautiful, and I adore the way her imagery glitters, leaping off pages. Other works I was inspired by include Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Magician by Raymond E. Feist, and The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams.
Guest Judge Marie Lu was impressed with the “inherent tension” in your story, which hid below the “lushness” and “richness” of the setting. How did you go about capturing this very realistic sense of risk, whilst maintaining the magic and beauty of the world you created?
I think one key factor is dangling suspense to keep the ebb and flow of tension throughout the story. While writing, I knew I wanted the beauty of the setting to be almost deceptive in its charm—a beguiling smile; red lips, bared teeth. To capture that atmosphere, I played around with short, clipped sentences in contrast to longer, lingering ones, which carried a certain rhythm and “heartbeat” when read as a whole. Additionally, with each lengthy description, I tried to plant a seed of suspense—the shuffling of feet, the croak of a door. And as more of the story unravelled, I was able to water those seeds of tension, letting them grow bit by bit until they bloomed into a tangible conflict.
What is your favourite genre to write?
I love all genres, but I would have to say my favourites are historical fiction, poetry, and fantasy, respectively.
