Writing from the Normal and the Whimsical
The other day, life took me into Las Vegas, to ‘the strip,” as it is called. Other names for Las Vegas are Sin City, The Lady, Disneyland for Adults. In other words, Las Vegas is a realm within a realm, and as I glanced about while driving the strip I found myself in nothing less than a fantasy realm. I “ever so slowly” drove a few blocks—the traffic is horrendous—and found myself in the realm of the “normal.” Hmm. What is normal anyway? [Do feel free to give me your perspective on that question.]
Visiting the strip gave me pause to think about my mind as a writer. Within my mind is the normal, the realm of everyday life. Although I do not personally find the Las Vegas strip particularly delightful; still, off in a moiling corner of my mind is “the strip,” a realm of enchanting whimsy. I prefer mountains in the desert, sculpted by God, to gaudy buildings constructed by men. On the other hand, I have a sister who prefers the buildings!
Where the Normal and Whimsical Meet
My point is that for me as a writer the normal realm and the whimsical realm meet in the form of story. For instance, Word of Honor is a lengthy novel with a tantalizing bit of fantasy woven into its fiber. I call it a Fantasy novel, but it balances out on the fringe of the fantasy genre. One person reads Word of Honor and says it is a great action-packed novel! Another person reads it and says it is a fascinating fantasy novel. One guy told me he could not put it down! However, another responded to it with a rather ho-hum, “Well, in the end the good guys win.” That is the way with stories, they appeal to some people and not to others, kind of like gaudy buildings and mountains, or the normal part of town and the strip.
Also, I have had the people who love my books—telling me so unsolicited—say “yes” they would go to Amazon and write a review. Hmm. I am still looking for their review. That is one of the discouraging aspects of being an author.
What stories have you read that you would say, yes, that was a mingling of the normal and the whimsical, and it worked just fine? Also, when you read a book do you go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and write a review? If you do not write reviews, what particularly hinders you from doing so? Let’s dialogue.
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