Q&A: Where did THIS story come from?

I love stories with magic, dragons, sword fights, and high stakes! I can’t get enough of watching a ragtag group of friends find a way to work together to defeat the ‘big bad.’ I enjoy watching the plan go smoothly, then suddenly fail from something unexpected. When characters I care for struggle, then find a new, innovative, unexpected way to prevail, I’ll be on my couch, cheering like it’s a live event! If you’re like me, you don’t care if it’s a live-action, big-budget movie, low-budget tv show, cartoon, anime, or video game. That means we have a TON to choose from… but what we won’t find… are ‘main characters’ that look anything like me.

Over and over I have to watch or play the game as a white male. Just as often, the female is merely a love interest, there to be rescued and seen as an object or a goal… a conquest… so boring. Every now and then, they may give her a few good scenes where they do something cool… but eventually, they become decoration for the main character… arm candy… a trophy to be earned. If there IS a BIPOC character, they’re often the ‘best friend’ and they might have a cool ability or ‘useful talent,’ but I end up feeling that they are there to toss us a bone. I can often tell the character is solely there just to make the main character seem personable. Even worse is when the BIPOC person is merely the comic relief, the dunce, the stooge… it’s infuriating. Or even worse… they are only there to die so the white protagonist can have a reason to scream “NOOOO!” then beat the bad guy… ugh. Even when they make the main character female, they often give her a “white knight” or make her need help. “I know you’re a superhero girl, but you’re gonna need me! I’m a white guy that you love!”

I started writing The Dreamer, wanting to write a story that I would’ve loved as a kid. I wanted a black person that was not stereotypical. Someone I could dress up as for Halloween. I wanted the most powerful character to be female. I want her reasons to be as noble as possible, and not be about trying to get a man. I want a narrator that is snarky and has a storytelling pace that’s nice and fast. I don’t want readers to spend a whole page or two reading descriptions of the room they walked in or spend several minutes reading about the politics of a make-believe nation.

I weaved these goals tightly with my inspirations to form a storyline that covers so much ground. It starts out fun and action-packed, but as the characters learn and grow, the plot deepens. Tropes and expectations are subverted over and again. I look back at my story and I love it. I’m proud of these characters that I love. I know I would’ve loved it as a kid and I hope you will too!

Do any of you feel the same way? Tell me in the comments!