Magical Realism... What's That?

I’ve, essentially, always been a fantasy writer, but for a long time I used to say that I didn’t write fantasy. I would write about the reality I knew, and for most folks, that reality is fantasy. Admittedly, I’ve taken some forays into the more typical styles of escapist fantasy, but that old statement is still very much the cornerstone of my writing. I’ve also found it to be an adequate description for the Magical Realism sub-genre.


I’ve found that magical realism has become a literary term that for some has either faded into obscurity either by lack of use or overuse, and for others it’s just a head-scratcher. So, I’d like to provide some clarification, at least on my part, on what magical realism is.

• Not Escapist: I think this is probably the most universal theme prevalent in all magical realism. It is not meant to take readers away to a land of world building and mystic creations. Everything in magical realism exists or has existed to some degree. While the backdrops may contain fantastic creatures and beings, they are typically as real to the writer as the reader’s household cat or dog. An escapist fantasy writer knows the dragon in his or story isn’t real. I know the chupacabra in my story is real. 
•  Non-objective: Yes, I know it’s not the best or nicest term in the world but it does come close enough to conveying that magical realism is outside of what is typically considered normal or mainstream. It reveals cultures, traditions, and social themes that aren’t normally seen by the typical fantasy-reader.
• Earthbound: I stress this in that the settings for magical realism are very much this world we live in. They may be slightly askew or require the inventing of a place that doesn’t exist, but even these fake places are just stand-ins for real ones. My invented metropolis of Glass City is really just a stand-in for a mix of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Nantucket. 
• Social Commentary: I found this one was truer for the more classical examples of magical realism, but I still think every approach to it, including modern ones that are brushing closer and closer to escapist fantasy, still do this. I agree that magical realism has to have a duty that takes precedence above the entertainment value of the piece (not to say that entertainment isn’t important as well). The story has to first reveal an important secret or truth about the society featured in the piece, and then it has to do this in an interesting and entertaining way, otherwise who would want to bother to read it. If all I wanted was the social commentary, I’d go to a guest lecture on the topic. 
• Culture and Tradition: those elements that, for most of the readers, are fantasy elements are deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the people in the story. In fact, I believe that culture has to be so omnipresent in the tale that not only is it like a character, but it becomes the main character. It’s not just another element in the development of the narrative, but the driving force behind every element of the piece. The magic system, the setting, the plot and character development, name selection, the underlying social themes, the “B” story between the girl and her mother, the humor and the melodrama… culture must be deeply embedded in all of these decisions and factors.

In the end, each of these factors are typically major goals I try to achieve in my writing endeavors. I even hope this blog article fits into this spectrum somehow. And while I know that when most readers finish one of my stories, they aren’t accepting the realism of the fantastic elements I included. That’s okay. I’m not asking them to take that leap with me, just to come along for the ride, hope they enjoy the sights, and that maybe they learn something and grow a tiny bit as people by the time they are finished.

Caribbean Christmas Pictures

It's the holidays, and I know that for most folks that means lots of snow and cold weather. I, therefore, thought it would be nice to share a touch of Caribbean warmth with some photos taken around my home of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Credit for these images should be shared with my coworkers, Ms. Anne-Marie Gibbs and Mr. Halston Francis, since most of these images were taken while I was on the job and the camera would be shared between the three of us. Enjoy!

Glass City Query

Boy, it’s been a while. Sometimes the real world gets in the way, not to mention a lack of internet access at home. I’m back, though, and hopefully I can make my posts a bit more regular here.

I’m borrowing some sound advice from our good friend(s) over at Query Shark. To quote from her post #125 which is linked here: Query Shark #125

“Remember the formula: Who is the hero/heroine? What choice does s/he face? What are the consequences of that choice/not making the choice. That's what your first paragraph should cover.”

I’ve since had my own query looked over by a number of my friends at the online writing community of which we are members and they’ve helped me, along with the guidance from Query Shark, to get it pretty darn close to where I think it needs to be.

Here’s my current query letter (247 words). Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Mr. XXXX:

Glass City is an island metropolis off the eastern seaboard that hides a dark world beyond its guise of transparency. June is a photography major returning to her prodigal home to attend the university at the beckoning of her childhood boyfriend. She doesn’t know that he is a minion of the city’s vampire brood with plans to recruit her for her potential abilities. After her transformation, she hopes to confide in David, one of her nerdy floor mates, but he has his own problems to face when his soul is ripped from his body by a coven of warlocks to make him into a reanimated homunculus slave. The city’s werewolf pack is also on the move to increase its numbers, forcing June and her new vampire family to go on the offensive. The warlocks take advantage of the chaos run amok in the city and initiate their ultimate plan to revive their demon patriarch.

June is torn between saving her homunculus friend, befriending a new werewolf recruit, and forcing a renegade warlock to face up to her crimes, all while attempting to determine what her new identity should be. Is she a deadly vampire assassin, or can she still be June? This unlikely crew of mongrel creations must survive the chaos created by their respective clans if they expect to escape the darkness of this blood diamond of a city.

GLASS CITY is an urban fantasy novella complete at 40,000 words. I thank you for your consideration.

Nicholas Mena

[contact information]

Today I am appearing as a guest blog for a good friend of mine. I am disusing the role of social change in fantasy literature.

Fantasy for Social Change - Guest Post by Nicholas Mena

Never Say “Always”... or “Never”... Always!

Ok, so I’m getting pretty tired of writer’s rules and so called guidelines that are so often in the extreme. These repeatedly seem to bring up points of contention with other writers and are typically only a standard that worked for the particular writer who came up with the rule, if even. I thought that as writers, we were supposed to strive for diversity in our craft as a whole, we aren’t all painted in the same shade of grey, and experimenting is supposed to be a good thing. What’s good for the goose may not necessarily be good for the mongoose. I was therefore inspired to come up with some pathway markers for writing that are far less superlative than what we keep seeing popping up on writers’ blogs and trade websites:


1. Read a lot. Sounds simple, but not everyone is an avid reader, and if you research literacy statistics, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to put down the TV remote once in a while and read the TV remote instructions... or anything with words in it, like books!

2. Write what you know about. This doesn’t mean to ignore subjects you don’t know, but rather to strive to know more about the things you don’t. Research is very important, and if the Schoolhouse Rock gang taught me anything, it’s that it’s great to learn ‘cause knowledge is power!

3. Avoid distractions that distract you, and I make the distinction because being alone in a “writing cave” doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes we need that music in the background or the TV on or the spouse trying to kick butt on Call of Duty. It can be pretty inspirational to jot down notes while riding the bus to work, as long as you can avoid the motion sickness!

4. Don’t use your exclamation points like I’ve been doing so far. I swear it’s like syrup at the IHOP; it has to go on everything no matter how wrong it is. (!)

5. Observe, people in particular. Even Shake-a-speare spent hours looking out his window (he was such a stalker!) just watching folks carrying on with their daily lives. You may hear (or read) me going on about how much I like listening to conversations on the bus ride or at the bus stop, but you’d be surprised at the level of insight you gain on human nature, especially during these intimate yet totally public moments.

6. Have a pet at some point in your life, especially one like a cat or a dog that really depends on you. I won’t equate this with children because even people who have children generally feel a different level or type of empathy and love with animals than they do with humans. While I’m not saying one type of love is better than the other, the empathy we have for pets is a good lesson for helping us to create empathy within our people (I personally don’t like the term “characters” as it makes them less real to me), and that’s something I’ve seen a lot of writers struggle with. It’s also just good karma to take care of something (someone) out of the kindness of your heart.

7. Start a draft and finish it. Writers are typically very creative to begin with, and all that bubbling inspiration in our brains can sometimes be a hindrance. We like to get our next new idea down and rocketing off into space while ignoring our other red-headed stepchild ideas crying in the corner and begging for a little attention. Take notes on other ideas if you just have to get them down, but writing complete drafts teaches us a very important lesson: we learn to finish our work, avoid procrastination, and to write better endings.

8. I’d like to close up by saying it’s pretty good advice to ignore lists like these that try to tell you how to be a better writer and to just go and write your own list. It worked for me, and I’m an expert at ignoring things!

A Fantasy Deferred

I’m primarily what most folks might call a fantasy writer, and while I did enjoy reading fantasy growing up, I couldn’t help but feel left out of so many of the books and stories I read. Where were the black folks in Lord of the Rings? Why weren’t there any Latino people in The Never Ending Story (or at least any respectable ones)? Why was She-ra such a second banana to He-man? Fantasy has been one of slowest genres to catch up to the times, which may be due in part to the fact that much of the genre was set in the good old days with the same good old boys fulfilling the same old quests. But I think those of us who still love to read and write it can agree that while it’s not where it probably should be yet, fantasy has made great strides to being more inclusive.

I’m delighted to see that most fantasy I read now, including those still set with more medieval and renaissance styles, no longer omits the fact that there are other people in the world besides Europeans. Even the stories that are still heavily Eurocentric no longer seem to be those washed over versions of some idealized Britannic society (not that I don’t love my friends across the pond). Contemporary and urban fantasies are no longer considered fringe subgenres, and are, in fact, giving high fantasy a run for its money. Emerging styles like Magical Realism are giving writers a voice who would have normally been completely ignored and marginalized in the past. There are more female, black, Latino, Asian, indigenous, First Peoples, and LGBT writers in Fantasy as well as general fiction. It’s no longer a surprise to see one of our stories set in Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, Peru, or Singapore. It’s now frowned upon to say a race of elves is “evil” simply because they have darker skin than the other elves. And while I do still consider prejudice and marginalization to be facets of human society that can never be fully eliminated, they are no longer the rules of order that aren’t paid any attention simply because the genre was so homogenous.

So what happens to a fantasy deferred? From the example we’ve set for ourselves, I say it pushes and fights to be told, because no one’s story should ever be silenced simply because a group of people feel it is too different. As they say in France (even if I am using it out of its original context), “Vive La Différence!”

I'll be Dead for Christmas

This is my comedic, Holiday-themed short story "I'll be Dead for Christmas". One of the most important elements of the piece was the use of voice, so I thought it would be interesting to create a podcast, of sorts, where I narrate the story for anyone who would like to hear it. The length of the recording is just over 18 minutes.

Let me remind you I am in no way a voice actor, and that I don't have the best recording equipment so I sound pretty out of breath as I read. The stupid microphone was so far up my mouth that it caught every single exhalation. However, I still do think that I manage to pull off the voice(s) of the story nice enough and that there might be a few souls out there who would find it entertaining. Enjoy, and please comment.

Ill be Dead for Christmas.mp3
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