Fiction

Fiction is always as escape from reality. From OUR OWN reality. Good writers write good stories. Great writers create great characters. And truly inspired writers write inspired stories with inspired characters in inspired universes. An author's chosen genre should not dictate the intelligence nor age of their target audience any more than their favourite colour should dictate how much they are paid per book. Books are for everyone. Of every age. Of every nationality. Of every IQ percentile. Of every ethnicity, spirituality and sexual orientation. You don't even have to be literate; that's what audio books are for...

I know a young Christian girl who isn't a fan of Fantasy. She prefers what she calls depression fiction. The kind of stuff that involves the capture and torture and deprivation of innocents. I was shocked. I asked her, cautiously, why? "Because you have hope. You know something good is coming" Her response floored me. But I could relate.

It was a combination of Christopher Pike's 'Remember Me' series and Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'Avalon' series that got me thinking about my faith and spirituality. Having said that, they are also some of my favourite escapism reading.

There are books that I simply cannot read when I am feeling low. As well written as they are, they are simply too moving. They hit too close to home, and I end up setting the book down with shaking hands, and feeling like I may have a panic attack. Having said that, when in the right mindset, I can read those same books, and come away with a different outlook on my situation, and often, a new tool to try to deal with whatever it is in my life that this particular book is speaking to. On that note, I highly recommend the Crossfire series by Silvia Day for anyone who is struggling with emotional scaring, and may be afraid to take the step of seeing a psychologist.

There are other books that I have read so many times that I can practically recite the chapters. The characters feel like old friends. These are the books that I turn to when I am feeling ill, or homesick, or just overwhelmed.  Laurell K. Hamilton's, Kiss of Shadows is one such.

I have an entire bookshelf full of books that I've purchased (used) or been given that I haven't even gotten around to reading yet. Forgetting the list of books recommended by friends. There are days that, I will admit, I feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Gone are the days when I spend 8 hours a day reading. but I also know that if I ever feel the urge to write, but can't quite tap into my creative juices, all I need do is pick any 5 books at random, start skim reading, and then wait for my brain to start tickling.

People often ask me where I get my writing ideas. The truth is, that I'm a worry wart. I have the unfortunate knack for what-if'ing any scenario. In life, this can lead to anxiety, headaches, and even ulcers. I try to curb that particular knack into a tool for writing. I will mull over someone else's story idea, and "What if" it until you can no longer recognize my starting point. 

Fiction is also the scariest thing to write. Non fiction is easy. It's either an opinion -no matter if it's based on researched facts- or just life stuff. Non fiction is something I do for myself, and hope that maybe someone else might like it, and maybe even learn from it. Fiction is something I write first for me, but always with the knowledge that there is an audience. An audience full of editors, critiques, and much better authors than myself. I'll stop there, before I turn this into a post on Writing.