Character Therapy

I just realized that my characters do the following things a lot:

1. "Grab a shoulder" (I think this is in an effort to console the other individual; however, now that I think about it . . . it might just be a bit creepy. How often does someone grab your shoulder *and squeeze it* when trying to comfort you? Stop it, characters, stop getting so cheeky. I'm not a romance writer--I wouldn't know what to do with you once you got past the shoulder groping stage!)

2. "Sigh" (Quite possibly the lamest character action ever. #BasketCase #GetOverIt)

3. "Roll their eyes" (Stop giving me and your peers attitude, you mean-angsty-McNasty!)

4. "Tense up" (Chillax, dudes!)

5. "Crack a grin" and, on the opposite side of the spectrum, "Crack a frown" (There's a whole bunch of "cracking" going on--y'all's faces are goin' to be in some pieces soon . . . then what are we going to do?)

Basically, I'm going to start requiring all of my potential protagonists/antagonists/super-random-agonists to enroll in Character Therapy before they even consider hopping into my head. I work for a celebrity gossip/entertainment news site and deal with Hollywood's crazy drama all day. So, my lovely and sweet and manic characters, give me a break, would ya? I understand that some of you simply must roll your eyes every so often, but please don't do it every third paragraph. It STRESSES me out.

What are some of the things your characters do too often?

Why Fantasy Is Important--Part I

I primarily write YA urban fantasy and literature with elements of magical realism, and I appreciate characters who journey through life weirder and stranger than most. I like the quirky. I like the magical. I like the bizarre. I guess you can blame it on the fact that I am a ginger.

But why do I like those things? Even more specifically, why do I like reading and writing about those elements in literature? Why do I write about magic and other fantastical things that most would agree could never happen or exist in our world? Why do I write period?

WHY DO YOU WRITE?

I can't remember who said it or when I heard it, but not long ago I heard someone ask, "What's the point of fantasy? It's not real." It may have been a random dude taking his first steps into the fantasy section of the bookstore. It may have been the person at the bus stop who only reads the daily paper. It may have been my father, who only reads Grisham, true crime, and the occasional cozy mystery. It may have been my mother, who enjoys romance novels. It may have been the residents at the physics camp I worked at this summer--the students who analyzed, calculated, and measured every move Tom Cruise made in the new Mission Impossible movie, so that they could simply prove the impossible nature of his fantastic feats. I quote: "That's so ridiculous! He so would've died there. That's impossible" Well, no duh. Just take a look at the title.

What's the point of fantasy? is such an important question, one I feel all writers in this genre should attempt to answer--not only in an effort to better understand the genre as a whole but to better understand their writing, their process, and what they hope to achieve with their fantastical narratives.

If someone's giving characters magic or powers or placing them in mystical new realms simply for the sake of placing them there, if that magic doesn't work to further characterize that individual and help them grow or reach conclusions about their own story, then why not make them "normal," why not strip them of those powers that confuse them or hurt them or make them miserable?

If the story isn't enhanced by the magic (I use magic as an umbrella term for unordinary elements), then it really doesn't need to be there, right? The magic in fantasy exists to teach, to misuse, to learn from, to change, to transform, to lead, to destroy, to rebuild--to be something that is so alive the readers can taste it, hear it, see it, be amazed by it.

Fantasy is such a powerful genre because it has the power to pull us out of our daily world. With fantasy, the possibilities are LITERALLY limitless. While I was surrounded by so many mathematical and science-oriented minds this summer, it really got me thinking about fantasy and how some individuals are more apt to explore it and be fascinated by it.

Suspend your disbelief for a moment, I wanted to say to those children who calculated the velocity of Tom Cruise as his car crashed and crunched into the concrete. Turn off your calculative brain and experience the impossible. Let your mind wander; let your body go to a place where calculations don't matter. Try and let yourself be awed by the extraordinary.

I don't think I've fully answered this question yet, but I look forward to exploring it more and more as I continue my journey as a reader and writer. If you're out there and you're a writer of fantasy (or any other genre), why is it that you write? I'd love to make new blogging friends. Don't be afraid to comment.

I write fantasy because I like seeing what the world looks like upside down. And I like standing on my head.

Image by Nick

My Short Story "Stolen, Jarred, and Tossed" in Black Fox Literary Magazine

A few months ago one of my short stories entitled "Stolen, Jarred, and Tossed" was published in Black Fox Literary Magazine. The magazine (which you can get online or in print) publishes each month and works to feature all types of writing -- everything from flash to short stories to poetry. The mag is run by some really wonderful ladies, and I encourage you to check it out. 

Here's an excerpt from my story:

On October 31st, Lily Florence stole the name of the boy who’d refused to kiss her on the lips. She stored it in a jam jar; she screwed the lid shut tight. It was such a fancy name--one she thought might sparkle and glow, perhaps even sing--but as she stared into the glass jar, the blandness of the thing inside left her eyeballs uninterested and her curious mind desiring. Lily Florence was simply unimpressed with the entire situation. Where is the boy? Why isn’t he coming for his name? She observed it, that shapeless thing pretending to be better than air, for a moment longer. And quicker than a bee decides to sting, Lily shoved the jar into her pink Cinderella lunch box, smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt, and stormed home. The birds took great care not to fly too close to her path. Squirrels stopped munching on their acorns. Even the ants ceased their work, in fear that they might, somehow, interfere.

If you want to read the full story plus check out all the other stories, you can use the ISSUU below.

Also, don't forget to check out the latest issue of Black Fox Literary Magazine!