Why I Like Urban Fantasy

Imagine you're at the mall in the middle of the day. You're hungry. So, you head on over to the food court for some noodles.

What if...

While you're standing in line for a bite to eat, something is stalking you, and you don't even know it. Hidden in plain sight is a demon intent on taking your soul. He's attacking you this very minute. You just don't feel it. You can't see him because this demon exists in a spirit realm your eyes can not penetrate.

And the story begins. It's an urban fantasy with a spiritual twist because the setting is a modern day mall. It could be any mall. They are all basically the same. But spirits roam here. They're demons who hope to create a Hell on earth. You're the first target.

Of course, that's the basic premise to my Mall Demons Urban Fantasy story. I like the sub-genre because the setting is familiar to readers. It's the mall in my story. For Harry Potter, it was mostly modern-day England. And yet, there's more to the setting. There's a dual reality that categorizes such stories as fantasy - and because that reality (or those realities) includes a familiar cityscape, we have what is known as urban fantasy.

We're not talking Tolkien's Middle Earth here. Since I often take walks around the nearby mall in between classes, my setting in Mall Demons resembles a typical urban American mall. I can make quick references to the food court, for example. An image immediately pops into the reader's mind of the food courts he or she has frequented.

I've colored my fictional setting with the sensory memories of my readers by simply mentioning two words: "food court". That's what I find comforting about Urban Fantasy. The way I see it, I don't have to spend as much time with description - unless it's necessary to the plot. That might cause a problem if one of my readers has never been in a food court. But since I see my core audience as middle school/teens, I feel pretty safe assuming my readers won't draw a mental blank when I say "food court."

Of course, I could be wrong. What do you think?

Stress-related Writer's Block? A Solution For Releasing Pressure So You Can Write Again

Do you know how to make origami cranes? How about paper airplanes? 

Crane or dragon?

When I am feeling stuck in my writing - which usually happens when I am feeling stressed about something like grading a mountain of papers, my daughter asking about dating, or ... nope, the dating thing is the big one. It usually sends me into a wicked stress spiral... like right now. It has me all knotted up.

I'm sure other parents can relate. 

During such times, I have a lot of nervous energy that must be released. Think tea pot that's reached a boil. The steam whistles out with a shooting force that can't be held back. Unfortunately that nervous energy hasn't helped much with writing. Actually, it has produced some frenzied speed writing sessions, but mostly describing fantastical plans to turn my home into a fortress guarded by dragons or some of my mall demons with an appetite for overly-curious teenaged boys trying to get my daughter's digits. 

Yeah... 

So, I have resorted to other ways when I need to expend that nervous energy: origami and paper airplanes. Especially origami. 

It's hard (well, harder) to dream up tortures for teenaged suitors when you are making paper flowers and cranes. The cranes do resemble dragons though. Hmmm...

The point is I am able to get back to writing that essay, short story, etc., once that nervous energy has been released. Do you have ways to de-stress so that you can get back to your writing? Find what works for you. Take a break from that manuscript. Water the garden. Re-arrange your sock drawer. Get rid of all that junk mail. Then come back to your writing.

Maybe it is as simple as taking a walk around the neighborhood - especially if you also want to see where that boy lives. 

Just kidding.

Writing Prompt: Alternate History for July 4th

What if July 4th wasn't what we here in the United States know as Independence Day? What if history had turned out differently?

That's what writing Alternate History fiction is all about. I've been watching old episodes of "Sliders" lately. With the 4th of July holiday fast approaching, it got me to thinking about writing an Alternate History short where July 4th is quite different from what it is now.

I don't know yet what that means, but I'll be exploring that concept over the next week. Have you ever tried writing Alternate History? If not, why not give it a shot - even if it's a flash fiction piece. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Then speed write. Simply ask one basic question to get you flowing: "What if...?"

What if the American colonies had never revolted?
What if Rome had never fallen?
What if a famous person's grandfather and grandmother had never met?
What if a young Bill Gates had decided to move to L.A. and start a hair band instead of go into computers?

Whatever. Just start with "What if...?" You never know what intriguing story you might stumble upon.

Random Thoughts – Writers Are Like Everyone Else

Source: MicroSoft

I'm talking about writers. We make poor decisions every day. We’re egotistical, narcissistic, too. We are stubborn, selfish. Gosh, we’re lazy, as well. Let’s not forget moody – talk about drama queens, lol.

We don’t like taking responsibility for our actions. We are conflict avoiders, which ultimately turns us into bitter, complaining (or maybe grumbling is a better word) cowards at best, or scheming backstabbers at worst.

We love to point out the bad in others without ever looking at the bad in ourselves (because obviously they are worse than us). We hate whiners but love to whine. Of course WE have good reasons.

Having said all that, I mean to say writers are like everyone else on this planet. Yes, there is good in us, too. But it’s all this other junk that I’m thinking about now. Why? Although we are like everyone else in that we’re flawed, creative writers are different in one way: we can take all this ugliness and create stories.

We use the brain’s power of creativity to put last night’s bad decision into context. Somehow, if we’re lucky, we may then come to some sort of closure regarding our foolishness. If we're really lucky, we learn from our mistakes (Still working on that one).

Hmmm. I don’t know. Just free writing. Now, back to being lazy…

Chance To Win Pass To ThrillerFest in NY

I figured I'd pass this item along. If you like thrillers and can get to New York next month, give this a shot.

I saw this on WritersDigest.com: Win a pass to ThrillerFest, featuring Lee Child, Ann Rule and more. The event runs July 11-14. The free day pass is for July 13. To enter, you have to go to the Writer's Digest blog and in the comments section tell them who your favorite thriller author is. Hurry, though. Deadline is 2 p.m. Friday.


The winner will be announced next week (Week of June 18,2012).

Mall Demons Series Returning

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I have been on a writing sabbatical over the last few months. That kept the Mall Demons series on hold.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be working on the series again. Beginning Tuesday I'll republish the previous chapters in preparation for the release of new chapters in the coming weeks.

The plan had been to publish "The Chosen..." in January 2012. Although I don't have a firm date for it, I'm now looking at publishing late this fall or winter. The biggest hurdle is finding the right cover art. 

More on that later.

You can still find the prelude to "The Chosen..." as a Kindle e-book on Amazon.com 

Time To Write Again

Earlier this year I decided to take a break from writing. I'm not working as a full-time journalist anymore, so it's a luxury I can afford. Yes, I thought about writing every day. I read about a dozen books during my writing sabbatical. I did some free writing using writing prompts a few times. But for the most part, I didn't write much over the last few months.

All my major projects remained on hold. Don't know if the inkwell was empty. Why the break? Just because. I kept teaching, kept living. 

Recently during a 27-hour road trip, I listened to my thoughts in the way that a person can only do on such a trip. Your wife and children are all asleep in the van. It's 2 a.m., and you're still two states away from your destination. Nothing much on the radio holds your attention. The landscape is a running silhouette of trees, farm houses and corn fields. The words started trickling out.

Two states later we arrived. Still in the middle of the night at my mother's home. We transfer sleeping zombie children from the van to the house. We unpack the van, chit chat a bit with mom. Then off to feel the comfort of a bed. My wife is gone a few seconds after her head hits the pillow. I've only had four hours of fretful sleep during the trip - taken in 30-minute to 1-hour increments.

Yet my mind is racing. I doze off only to be roused an hour later by words aching to break free. I form sentences in my mind - appease them. Then, doze again. Half an hour later, the words shake me to consciousness again. 

I form more sentences in my head. Paragraphs, too. I create mental outlines. I repeat the outlines several times. It's how I sear topics to memory when I either don't want to jot them down, or don't have materials to jot them down. My way of not losing material.

I close my eyes. Futile. This time the words only allow me about 15 minutes. I'm exhausted, but the words wake me in a way coffee, Red Bull or 5-hour energy drinks could never do. By 7 a.m., I've outlined three ideas for personal essays. 

My brain is overflowing. Sabbatical's over. I have no choice in the matter.