Honest Fantasy

I tend not to write based on real life. Not because I fear repercussions or feel too exposed - I just prefer to write fantasy, over reality. Maybe because I've lived a very boring life...I don't know. But the allure of fantasy, of escapism, of things I could never do...that's always been the draw for me, with writing.

Not just erotic writing, either. Any kind of story that I've always wanted to tell.

Which I guess makes it kind of odd that I try to ground these stories in realism. I guess what I really like - what I'm really after in storytelling - is that sense of something fantastical...that could actually happen. Does that make the least bit of sense? I want to believe, I suppose. I want to see someone soar across the clouds on a magical dragon made of ice, but have them react the way I would. The way anyone would.

I want fantasy to be real.

And that's pretty much the closest I get to reality, in my stories.

Oh, of course I've used little bits and pieces from my life. My heroines often prefer cold drinks to hot. I have a deep love for Marks and Spencers, and that place often shows up in my stories. Snippets of conversations and feelings often get through - I think I focus a lot on the idea of being alienated, isolated, feeling different to everyone else and reaching out because of loneliness. Even my warmer stories have a thread of that: they're usually about two people who've found the exact right thing in each other, to ward off the cold outside.

But the actually things that happen in my stories...they're never based on reality. The action, so to speak, is the fantasy. And even in Sheltered - which felt very raw to write and had a lot of me in it - the events are far removed from my actual life.

Which could make me an awful writer, I suppose. Maybe I don't tell the truth, as much as I should. But I try, even in the world of things that never happened. I try to find some honesty in it, and I hope I succeed sometimes.

Because to me, there's nothing better than an honesty fantasy.

P.S. Have just seen that (yet again) my comment hasn't shown up on my last blog post, in reply to Jo and Lisabet. Many apologies, guys! I didn't ignore you! And Lisabet, in particular - thank you so much for your wonderful review at Erotica Revealed. Am so thrilled you enjoyed it! And to Nathan, too...I don't think I've ever been so touched by a short story review. Lovely to see!