Chronicles of the Dragon Queen

My entries to this blog have been sporadic of late. I've contracted the Galloping Spooge (cold, actually)  from a co-worker and have been feeling icky all week. Searching for a house and working amongst all that tends to leave one with not a lot of free time.

Over the worst I hope, I read Jess's Writer's Weekly Question for this week when Hubby posted his response. An interesting one and for me, an easy answer, at least in part. Mine probably won't feature visuals though.

Writer’s Weekly Question #4: Consider all the things you have written over your writing lifetime and see if you can see a pattern of character or theme in your work. Discuss why you might be creating this pattern and what the significance of it might be for you both in your writing life and (if you are so bold) your personal life.

Father Figures. My writing tends to feature characters, mostly female, who are searching for a father. In the book Hubby and I are writing, one of the main characters loses her father with whom she's had not such a great relationship. She has to reconcile the fact that she'll never get to finish what was unfinished between them. Mother in this book has died and as such has elevated to the heavenly realm where she is perfect. I don't deal with mothers much since my relationship with my own is pretty much worked through on all levels and I'm content with it. My own father left when I was 3 so I've searched for a father in my own life. My characters are doing the same. A book I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year featured a female character who discovers her father is someone other than whom she thought; it was actually the man who was training her (sort of an ObiWan/Anakin kind of thing though my character doesn't turn to the Dark Side). The NaNo book for this year also has a similar theme, only in this case the father figure is a priest who ends up becoming something of a romantic interest. (Hmm... )

The otherrecurring theme seems to be female characters who are strong and rise above their ordinary lives. They defy convention and seek to be more than just wives and mothers. Fulfilling a grander destiny than what was planned for them. Most of my writing also involves fantasy and royalty in some form. I've alway been fascinated with the idea of being Queen of something.

As an only child, I've lived in my own imagination for a long time. In this realm, I get to be whomever I want and discover what makes me tick in some ways. This naturally finds its way into my writing.

Interesting Writing question, Jess! Bravo!

On another note, since Hubby has dressed up his own blog, perhaps I should get him to do something for mine.

I'm throwing down the gauntlet, dear!

Cheers!

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• #1 Comment from deslily 
  11/4/05 8:45 AM | Permalink

  wow.. i liked your answer to this.. I didn't answer it myself because "i'm not a writer".. or should i say "author"?  Anyway.. I did write one story that took me 2 years to write.. i divided it into a "trilogy".. fantasy/ fiction, but not actively pursueing publication of any sort.. but.. you hit the nail right on the head when you said you seem to write about a "father figure"..  I hadn't realized when i was doing my writing, but a few folks reading it as i wrote emailed me back and they mostly said the same thing.. that it seemed as if this one character was a "father figure or at least a mentor.."  
  Like you I grew up without a father figure in my life..  and it never really goes away.  Interesting.  
  I've written to your hubby a few times.. i hope you enoyed the animation i made of him ..heh.. well.. it was fun !  I've bookmarked you now that i know where you are.. i'll return ..