Most writers have a little different slant on things. What does that mean, well, almost all of us write about issues that are close to our hearts and minds. And we seem to all see things a bit differently.
I wrote a children's book and a reviewer thought it was too violent, because it centered around a tornado hitting a small farm. That's when I realized that I am very much a realist. My German Shepard in one book was too scary for children. Pardon me, how do you make a German Shepard not look a little mean when he's barking? Besides, I didn't draw the illustration, an artist did. So me and the artist were on the same wave-length I guess.
The truth is I use 85% reality issues with 15% fantasy solutions some time. In that the story works out well no matter what. Which in real life it doesn't always happen that way. And that's what makes it fiction.
Fiction is a mixture of reality and fantasy to make a story.
A reader once asked me if I write about real people I know. The answer to that is no. Most characters are a combination of people all rolled into one. A tic here, a mannerism there, and flaw that is obvious, combined with super morals and good character, makes a hero, or a heroine.
I also believe that most people want to believe a story. They need to relate to that story, so realism is important.
In Jodi's Journey I deal with real issues, abortion and cowardice. I put myself in the shoes of the character and I relate to their feelings when I'm writing. If you know your characters well, those feelings will come out on paper. The fantasy about the entire book is how we work things out, because in reality the outcome is not a happy one every time. In a book we can conclude the problem happily. Life isn't that way. So I write with realism and a dash of fantasy.
As a reader you might come to notice this in certain writers, how some might handle one situation, and another might handle the same situation in an entirely different way. It's one way readers chose who they like to read. The only difference is which one the reader enjoys the most. Neither writer is right or wrong, just different.
In Ask No Tomorrows, Sam Tanner knew that helping a white girl in 1870's was not a wise thing to do. He knew he could be hung for being with a white woman, even if it was innocent. He knew what he was doing to help her wasn't very smart, but Sam had character. He was a good guy, and he couldn't not help her. It's part of what made him special. Part of what endears him to the reader. Reality and fantasy mixed makes for an interesting story.
A good book has a mixture of reality and fantasy, all centered around a hero and heroine that have mostly good traits, and an endearing personality. Mix not shaken, a good combination for any fiction book.
Rita Hestand
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