Writing :: Why paranormal?
As a writer/author-wanna-be, I often think about the genre that I write in and wonder if I should try something else. The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’ because I love the paranormal.
Per dictionary.com:
par·a·nor·mal
/ˌpærəˈnɔrməl/ Show Spelled[par-uh-nawr-muhl]
–adjective
of or pertaining to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
So, maybe if I understand it more, I’ll see why I like it so much.
As I see it, understand, and write it, paranormal, in literature, is life as we know it, but with the twist of the above definition. So, a vampire that lives a normal life among humans (you know the book(s)), or to pull a more common analogy — Superman. Think about it … he’s a supernatural phenomena within the context of ‘real life’.
For me, I combine the paranormal with romance because I thoroughly enjoy dissecting the evolution of a relationship between two people.
Where I diverge from many is that normal people are just … so … normal. 🙂 So the use of the paranormal allows me to play with stuff a normal human couldn’t otherwise do, like see the future, turn invisible, shape-shift, that kind of thing.
But in the context of ‘real’ like because I don’t want to build a world that is complete fantasy. I like to use scenery that I know, live in, see every day, towns I’ve lived in, and houses even. That, combined with the crazy leads me to stories.
For example, in Mystic Therapy, Morgan Prince — the main character — is a psychotherapist to all creatures mythological. Real, combined with unreal.
What is your favorite genre to write in and why?
Great post. Now could someone explain the difference, if any, between urban fantasy and paranormal?
I like to write romance–contemporary, chick lit and paranormal. But to that list I’d love to add historical romances. However, I’m not willing to research the clothes, setting, dialogue and manners to be authentic. So, for now, I remain a reader and not writer of that genre.
I’m not sure I can explain the difference because I don’t know it for sure, but to *me* urban fantasy is like the romance part of ‘paranormal romance’ … so it would be ‘urban fantasy [in ‘x’ genre]. But still not sure! 🙂
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