Let's Be Real

Gas, housing, gas, the stock market, loan entities, war, starvation! Plus security issues everywhere.

Why do you think I read and write fiction? I'd rather deal with the impossible like were wolves and vampires and murders that actually get solved. Good guys that win. Lovers that get back together. I want that perfect world with all the tied up ends. I don't want to know that good guys really aren't. I want happy endings, or at least hopeful ones.

Reality has always been the reason I read fiction. Not that my reality has ever been bad, I've been so blessed, no trauma, a happy childhood, no serious illnesses, injuries, disastrous love affairs. My marriage was good. Family not any more dysfunctional than most. Leaves me very little material for writing about so I had to resort to fantasy.

In my own created world, the worst I have to worry about are demons who get defeated, vampires and were wolves who are either good or dead, angsty(I know, not proper grammer) teen-age fairies, wizards who may or may not be evil. So, all in all, reality is highly over-rated because reality bites.

When I ponder the choices for writers, what genre is best, most publishable, should I be writing sweet romance (now there's a fantasy world), literary fiction, erotica, I know that what I write is what I'm happy writing, whatever the market pundits advise. Writing is one of my arts and I refuse to turn it into drudgery, even for money. That's why I stopped writing medical nonfiction for the moment. Burn-out. Had to write what I loved.

Urban Fantasy-Paranormal.

OK. Today I'm asking questions. Why do we read paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy, vampire books, were wolves, magic, witches and etc? Why was Buffy so popular, Moonlight, Medium? Why Dexter?

Are we looking for humor, blood and gore, kick-ass heroines, strong heroes with an excuse for not being sensitive? Do we want the romance (Dresden has limited love scenes but lots of sexual tension?)Are we looking for vicarious ways to experience super powers like in Heroes or Smallville? Do we want to know you can have magic and still maintain a family life like in Medium.

For me, I think I have always wanted magic and fairies to be real and to be able to perform the magic myself. Plus, being the strong heroine, defeating the deamons, ghouls and trolls would be so cool.

Plus it's unpredictable. I think that's what I like with the added ability of the characters to have a sense of humor in dark moments. Do I want real encounters with monsters? Of course not, I'm not nuts. The first time I tried to go head to head with an evil fairy-I'd be dead. But as an escape it works. I've always been one to figure out plots, but with fantasy, the rules change and you can be surprised.

Now, if anyone is interested, post a comment and everyone who posts will be put into a drawing for a small fantasy collage. You have until April 15th. That way you have something to look forward to besides taxes this month.

Would Have, Could have

My last post was about writing mistakes. What your worst writing mistake might be. One person wrote that they waited until they were thirty to start writing.

I think that was the thing I should of done for my writing career also. I was in my forties before I knew I really wanted to be a writer and fifty by the time I seriously started thinking in terms of finishing a novel to market and over sixty by the time I finished the mystery and realized mystery and urban fantasy were what I loved to write. Now I'm feeling the pressure of time, however, I'm convincing myself I will be around at least as long as my mother, she's ninety.

I'm not knocking all the non-fiction I published, or the text books, but I wish now I'd put some of that time into fiction instead. Ain't hind sight great? Luckily I was published quickly. Later, will I say getting published in ebook format was a mistake, who knows?

Tell me the one thing you feel you should have done differently with your writing career.