What themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do you find recurring in your work?
First and foremost, magic. It is a very rare day that one of my stories does not include some form of power. I tend to write "magic in the real world" - less about magical creatures and more about humans wielding powers. My current WIP is about special people tapping into the power of otherworldly creatures.
When it comes to characters, the most recurring for me is "single woman takes in young troubled boy." I have no idea why - there are no little boys in my life, and I really don't think there ever will be - yet it crops up all the time. I have at least four stories revolving around a woman/boy team, including Nano Novel No. 2 in which the boy is an extremely powerful (read: magic) alien soldier and takes to a human woman who ultimately convinces him not to kill everyone. Oh, the things my women get attached to.
As for settings, my stories usually take place in cities - and specific ones. Location is a character in itself and therefore open to all sorts of possibilities if you only do a little research and flip through a travel guide.
Lastly, cats. I am a HUGE cat person - I have three - and if at all possible I will put some form of cat into a story. They tend to end up able to talk in some way as well, which is hilarious because I generally don't like talking animals in what I read.
There you go! Now what kinds of things recur in your stories?
First and foremost, magic. It is a very rare day that one of my stories does not include some form of power. I tend to write "magic in the real world" - less about magical creatures and more about humans wielding powers. My current WIP is about special people tapping into the power of otherworldly creatures.
When it comes to characters, the most recurring for me is "single woman takes in young troubled boy." I have no idea why - there are no little boys in my life, and I really don't think there ever will be - yet it crops up all the time. I have at least four stories revolving around a woman/boy team, including Nano Novel No. 2 in which the boy is an extremely powerful (read: magic) alien soldier and takes to a human woman who ultimately convinces him not to kill everyone. Oh, the things my women get attached to.
As for settings, my stories usually take place in cities - and specific ones. Location is a character in itself and therefore open to all sorts of possibilities if you only do a little research and flip through a travel guide.
Lastly, cats. I am a HUGE cat person - I have three - and if at all possible I will put some form of cat into a story. They tend to end up able to talk in some way as well, which is hilarious because I generally don't like talking animals in what I read.
There you go! Now what kinds of things recur in your stories?
"Location is a character in itself."
ReplyDeleteYES. THIS.
Cats and dogs appear in my books, too, and other animals as well. My WIP has a Corgie mix in it that I'm having a lot of fun with.
ReplyDeleteLocation IS a character, and can influence a lot of your story. I agree that it's important to get the right fit. :D
ReplyDelete