Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013! 

The last time I wrote it was the New Year of 2012!

During this past year,

I've been busy writing, editing, and seeking publication

so you can read the fantasies and stories I offer.

I wish all of you an incredible New Year!

Stay tuned for new books.

CLMcK

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I normally don’t add photos to my post, but I know a young woman who does glass art and this dragon is one of her creations. I couldn’t resist adding it here because the Chinese Year of the Dragon 4710 begins today!

Dragons seem to be synonymous with fantasy. The most famous of fantasy authors rely on at least one wonderful (or dreadful) dragon in the stories.

What do dragons signify? A good description of each signs in the Chinese Zodiac can be found here. Go here to see if you were born under the Dragon.

I prefer to think about what the dragon represents in fantastical tales. What are the words you think of when dragons come to mind? Fire? Passion? Mystery? Something primeval? A mythical creature? A dragon is all of that and more, but the dragon will always have meaning for each of us individually.

I am so intrigued by dragons that I may need to start writing about them.

TIP: In your idea notebook (you do have one, don’t you?), jot down all the ideas and meanings that come to you about dragons. How can you these ideas in a story?

CLMcK

It's All Fantasy, Isn't It?

It’s been nine long months since I last posted something here. Please know that I have not been sitting around playing with my cat, as much fun as that can be.

If you are looking for my fantasy writing, watch for Darcy de Sahba on Kindle, about a young were-tigress and her journey quest. It has not been put on the market yet, but will be soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Actually, I’ve started writing in a new genre. I love fantasy the way I’ve been writing, and what I’m writing now is still fantasy in the sense that I described in my March 10, 2011 post. In other words, fantasy is something that has not happened – yet.

The new genre I’m exploring is mystery, specifically a genre known as “cozy mystery.” The characters are all fantasies in my mind living ordinary lives, and yet involved in extraordinary mysterious events. You won’t find much in the way of gruesome scenes or explicit XXX-rated material. I may read that kind of stuff written by other authors, but I don’t find myself drawn to write it. As a rule, the mystery is not solved by detectives, but by regular people like you or me.

TIP: Look around you at the everyday people in your life and fantasize about them involved in solving a small mystery. Take one and write a scene.

CLMcK

SPRING!!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

I’m suffering from Spring Fever! Does anyone else find it difficult to write when you want to go outside and enjoy the fresh breezes? Trade winds are blowing here, trees are bending, skies are clear, and I can’t seem to focus on a new story.

TIP: When you are experiencing a block in your thought processes, take a walk.

CLMcK

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today, everyone is Irish – or pretends to be! Since I have a bit o’ the Irish in me, as well as the Scottish, I take pride in the wearin’ o’ the green today. I certainly don’t want to get pinched!]

The Irish world is full of fantasy and Wee Folk. We have our mischief maker, the  Leprechaun; our harbinger of death, the banshee; and the beloved faierie  spirits and sprites. We have dwarfs and gnomes, pixies and elves – anything your fancy desires.

 When you are writing fantasy, these various fantasy folk of Ireland make wonderful characters. Each has a specific personality and behavioral traits. I’m not sure which of them is my favorite, but I know I’ll find a place for each of them in future stories.

 Until then, I leave you with an Irish blessing for this day:

May the love and protection

Saint Patrick can give

Be yours in abundance

As long as you live.

TIP: Read all you can about the traditions and legends that surround these creatures as you begin your journey into fantasy-land.

CLMcK

Where Do Our Fantasies Originate?

In the truest sense of the word, all fiction is fantasy because it is something that has not actually taken place. My last post talked about the wonderful imaginings that are behind fantasy writing.

Yet the question remains, “where do our fantasies originate?” From childhood we have made up stories. Somewhere along our educational path, we were told to stop making up things. Parents and teachers called them “lies,” but we knew better. We knew we were creating a fantasy world, one that the adults could never enter.

Fantasies are the stuff of our early dreams. If we have not allowed anyone to take those away from us, we have the makings of a terrific fantasy tale right inside us. 

My suggestion is to simply start writing - anything. I believe that if we start writing down our current dreams, we will begin to retrieve those stories that lie buried in our unconscious.

TIP: Pick an image that pops out of your thoughts and write a brief outline of a story. If you put enough of these stories together, you may start to have a viable story line.

CLMcK

What Determines Fantasy Writing?

In psychological terms, a fantasy is something that hasn’t happened yet. We might say to a client, “What is your fantasy about this situation?” In other words, “How do you see this event coming about in the future?” or “What do you think is going to happen?”

In literary terms, we might think of fantasy in several different aspects. We may create entirely new worlds, with new financial terms, new ways of preparing and eating food, new vocabulary, new creatures that are not human the way we know humanity. The plants and geography may be totally new creations. 

Our fantasy might occur in an imaginary world of Little People, talking animals, magic and witchcraft, dragons and unicorns, vampires and werewolves. These fantasies take on whatever form our thoughts make of them, and often they are ruined when put on the movie screen.

Time can be suspended, we can be taken on the “way back” machine, or placed on fast forward to a time that hasn’t been revealed to us. We can take humans and project them into another millenium in our imaginations.

TIP: Go back to your favorite fantasy fiction and list everything in it that is new or different from your ordinary world here on Earth. 

CLMcK