Epiphany 2.0

I have a phenomenal agent. Here’s how phenomenal she is: as if she wasn’t busy enough, she’s running Epic Fantasy Week (actually 2 weeks) on her blog! And she asked me to provide a post, which I did, here. Go check it out! And be sure to backtrack to catch posts by Lynn Flewelling, Carol Berg, and more!

Was trying to think of something to write for a blog post, and all I can come up with are reactions to stuff other people have written. Pathetic! What kind of writer am I? Must try harder.

Anyway, one reaction is to this article, written by the ever-thought-provoking “coffeeandink”, though quoting another gentleman:

Also, fantasy and sci-fi does frequently explore issues of racism, disability, addiction, etcetera, but through analogies, metaphors or substitutes. A story about a half-elf who feels as though she’s not fully accepted by either humans or elves can convey similar feelings as a literary novel about a pale-skinned mulatto struggling with being accepted by black or white cultures in the 1950’s, etcetera.

My initial reaction to this is noted in the thread, and I’m in agreement with coffeeandink on the wrongness of this allegory. But my secondary reaction is kind of tangential: why are we using elves as an allegory for skin color issues? Why the heck don’t elves have varied colors themselves?
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So, this weekend I scrapped what I’d done on BrightGod and started over. Again.

The first version died at 1500 words. This one was almost 5000. Pew pew pew, as they say in video game land. Poof.

I’d like to think it’s a sign of my growth as a writer that this doesn’t bother me anymore. Continue reading »