This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a writing conference held at one of the local community colleges with a few members of our local critique group. I wasn't sure what to expect from a writing conference, certainly not one held at a jr. college. I was pleasantly surprised.
Butte College has been hosting WordSpring for several years, this being the 5th Annual. It was a one day affair. I attended four workshops. Three were good, one was meh. Not a bad percentage. Classes were offered by staff from Butte College and published authors.
The workshop I was most excited about was one on Magical Realism. I had no idea what MR was, but it sounded intriguing. The definition given by the presenter was a little vague. I must admit, I'm still not 100% sure about the difference between MR and Fantasy.
Please let me explain my confusion. He said that in MR most of the world is pretty much like this one, whether present day or past, but that within this 'ordinary' world was an element of magic. At this point I kind of thought I understood.
Then someone asked for examples. He offered (among others) Harry Potter. This was hottly debated by audience members and where my confusion comes in. Much of Harry Potter is the normal world, but magic shows up in many places in many forms. Not only that, but there are mystical creatures everywhere one turns. If Harry Potter is MR, then what constitutes fantasy? I could feel my understanding of MR slipping away.
People agreed to disagree and we moved on. Towards the end of his time he told us to take five minutes and try to write a MR scene. I mulled over his words: like this world but with an element of magic.
Element. I guess I fixated on that word. I wrote my scene and when time was up he asked us to share it with a partner. I shared mine with a woman from my critique group. She was impressed and refused to read hers. On the ride back home she told everyone that I had this awesome idea for a book.
Now, who doesn't like to hear that? The problem is, I felt like an impostor. At the moment, I've no idea about any other aspects of the story. She has such faith in me, I hope that inspiration seeps into my consciousness soon.
Butte College has been hosting WordSpring for several years, this being the 5th Annual. It was a one day affair. I attended four workshops. Three were good, one was meh. Not a bad percentage. Classes were offered by staff from Butte College and published authors.
The workshop I was most excited about was one on Magical Realism. I had no idea what MR was, but it sounded intriguing. The definition given by the presenter was a little vague. I must admit, I'm still not 100% sure about the difference between MR and Fantasy.
Please let me explain my confusion. He said that in MR most of the world is pretty much like this one, whether present day or past, but that within this 'ordinary' world was an element of magic. At this point I kind of thought I understood.
Then someone asked for examples. He offered (among others) Harry Potter. This was hottly debated by audience members and where my confusion comes in. Much of Harry Potter is the normal world, but magic shows up in many places in many forms. Not only that, but there are mystical creatures everywhere one turns. If Harry Potter is MR, then what constitutes fantasy? I could feel my understanding of MR slipping away.
People agreed to disagree and we moved on. Towards the end of his time he told us to take five minutes and try to write a MR scene. I mulled over his words: like this world but with an element of magic.
Element. I guess I fixated on that word. I wrote my scene and when time was up he asked us to share it with a partner. I shared mine with a woman from my critique group. She was impressed and refused to read hers. On the ride back home she told everyone that I had this awesome idea for a book.
Now, who doesn't like to hear that? The problem is, I felt like an impostor. At the moment, I've no idea about any other aspects of the story. She has such faith in me, I hope that inspiration seeps into my consciousness soon.
