My Characters and Me
Dealing with social media has been a learning experience. In many ways, I feel as wide-eyed as Phaedra in ‘A Symposium in Space’ (in Torquere’s ‘Theory of Love’ anthology), encountering an array of sophisticated technology she barely understands. I’m learning a little more each day, but I still feel quite wide-eyed. :) I’m doing my best to channel my confusion. All of my Torquere/Prizm characters; the princess in ‘Fairest’, Phaedra in ‘A Symposium in Space’, and Cinders in ‘At Her Service’ are all dealing with a similar confusion. They’re encountering something they’ve never experienced before; a curse, advanced technology, or magic at a ball. While grappling with these experiences, they face the challenge of a forbidden love/uneasy passion. I’m proud of my girls, for each of them faces her challenge. Each of them learns and grows, as she overcomes the obstacles in her way. The princess, Phaedra, and Cinders get stronger in the process. In the true romantic tradition, each of them gets the girl. :) I hope to channel some of my characters’ strength, as I pursue my career as a writer. In a way, stories are my forbidden love. Oh, lots of people enjoy a good story, but to devote a significant part of your life to them? To sacrifice a good portion of your life towards crafting them, which could have been spent securing a more materially stable career? It’s not a decision everyone understands. Writing at times has felt like a forbidden love to me. And yes, there is a girl I hope to get, by overcoming all of my challenges as a writer. That girl is myself. By creating stories, I chase after the woman I hope to become. I create her, by getting stronger. By learning more and more about writing process, using social media, and all aspects of my work, I become wiser. By overcoming the challenges which lay in my way, I’m getting closer and closer to that woman. It’s a quest, which may take my entire life. However, it’s a quest worth going on.