The supportive friend trope
Interview with Bethany Stedman
Hello friends! Here is the next interview in our The Wistful Wild series, today with my friend, poet, and writer, Bethany Stedman. Bethany recently published a romance poetry collection, Seasons of Love, which I had the joy of participating in. Her support of my writing has helped me grow tremendously, and I love reading her work as well. She cohosts Fable and the Verbivore, a podcast for readers and writers, along with Laura Johnson and it’s one of my favorite things to listen to. You can find links to both her books and her social media below.
You can also read the previous interviews with poets of The Wistful Wild here:
Congrats on publishing your poetry collection, Seasons of Love! What inspired you to publish this book in collaboration with other poets?
Honestly the inspiration for Seasons of Love came from Stephanie and doing The Wistful Wild. It was such an incredible experience that I wanted to do something like it again. I had a number of love poems already written, so choosing that as a theme just made sense to me.Â
 Who are some of your favorite poets, or what are some of your favorite poetry books?Â
Oh goodness, how can I answer this? The first poet I ever loved was Longfellow. Old school, I know. But my parents had a classic poetry collection when I was young and I always liked his poems best.Â
In my adult life, I discovered Mary Oliver and I will forever and always love her poetry. Her poems are so poignant, yet simple and clear. She’s definitely a favorite.
When my kids were very young, I discovered Anis Mojgani and used to watch his spoken word performances on YouTube with utter amazement. Incredible.Â
And of course, all of the writers I got to work with on both The Wistful Wild and Seasons of Love will always be favorites. They are all such beautiful writers and kind human beings. I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to know them.Â
 Many of your poems in The Wistful Wild have a strong feminist message to them. What are a few fairy tale elements that inspired you to write them?Â
Around the time I was writing a lot of those poems I was also reading Women Who Run With Wolves. That book retells and breaks down a number of fairytales from a very strong feminist perspective (it’s incredible). I’m certain it also influenced how I approached my poetry at the time.Â
 Do you have a favorite fairy tale?
Hmm, this is hard to answer. It depends on my mood and what’s going on in my life. But I have always loved Beauty & The Beast. What’s not to love about a growly man who’s only soft for you and gives you an entire library. Plus no dishes or house work? Haha, sign me up. In all seriousness, I do love how strong Belle is giving her life to save her father’s, finding the good in someone who doesn’t immediately appear good, and fighting for the people she loves.Â
 In addition to poems, you also write fiction. What are a few of your favorite tropes to include in your stories?
Another hard question. For me tropes often get included based on what the story needs most. But since I write romance, there are some tropes that tend to surface a lot. Some of the tropes that have ended up in my books include: rivals to lovers, friends to lovers, second chance, only one bed/room/horse, he falls first, instalove/fated mates, protective alpha love interest, and cinnamon roll love interests.Â
You offer writing services, too. What does that look like and do you have anything you specialize in helping writers with?Â
Well, what I offer varies a bit from author to author because I like to work with each person to figure out what they really need. But essentially very similar to developmental editing and book coaching. I offer services based on a timeframe rather than project based. And for that timeframe I am available to a single client over video messaging as often as they need for support, critique, feedback, and suggestions.Â
Most often people work with me for one week. I’ll read their manuscript and then we’ll talk about the strengths I see in it and the areas of opportunity for making it stronger.Â
I am not an editor, but I’m particularly good at seeing the big picture of the story—cause & effect, plot, believability, and story logic.Â
It’s a lot of fun and I’m so grateful so many authors have entrusted me with their work.Â
Beth Stedman lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her husband and two kids. She writes kissing books with magic and co-hosts Fable & The Verbivore, a podcast for writers who read and readers who write. When she isn't writing her own stories, she's working as a book coach and helping authors write books readers can't put down. She loves staying up all night reading "one more chapter" and eating more chocolate than is healthy for any one human to consume.
You can connect with her and find writing tips, book reviews, updates on her projects, and ridiculous reels on her Instagram:Â @bethstedman.
Bethany Stedman’s writing services
