May the 4th…
Okay, so I know it’s May 8th, but since I only put my blog posts out on Mondays, I’m going to pretend it’s still May the 4th and tell you why I am a huge Star Wars fan and how much the movie influenced me.
First off, on this platform you know me as Maggie Clare, writer of sexy things (and I do love writing the sexy things!), but I also write science fiction and other kinds of speculative fiction under my give name, Tabitha Lord. Science fiction, you might say, is my first love, and Star Wars had everything to do with it. I saw the movie when I was seven, at a time when special effects were really special, and a story like this one had never been seen on the big screen. Spaceships, aliens, evil villains, reluctant heroes, and a bad-ass princess - everything a girl could ask for!
I was obsessed. Every night I fell asleep to Jon Williams’ music playing on my record player, and I still feel warm and fuzzy when I hear that theme song. Model x-wing fighters hung from my bedroom ceiling, the Millennium Falcon I built with my dad had a light-up cockpit, my Empire Strikes Back lunchbox still had its thermos, and my Princess Leia action figure was the one with the real buns - you know, fake hair instead of plastic, and you could never fix it after you’d messed with it. When I attended my first ComicCon many years later, I realized I should have saved those toys. My collection would have rivaled any I’ve seen!
When your work touches the collective consciousness of millions of people, then you are a true artist, a masterful storyteller. In my humble opinion, with the first Star Wars trilogy George Lucas masterfully told an epic story, one which captured my imagination and never let it go. I credit him for awakening the storyteller in me.
My writing today varies and spans across several genres. Likewise, my taste in reading is eclectic and my bookshelves diverse, but sci-fi is like the default setting for my imagination. It’s where I go when I want to be inspired, to play with possibilities, to ask what if, and then create brand new worlds where I can explore the answers. For me, the sci-fi genre is also a place to consider serious, meaningful issues in a different context, slightly removed from the real world.
At a writing conference I attended, one of the speakers suggested that, through our work, we artist types like to contend with themes that are important to us. I know what kinds of questions I like my characters to struggle with: What does a hero look like? Who stands and fights, and who turns away? What decisions do we make, large and small, that come to define us when it matters? What is redemption and who finds it? I want to encounter these questions as a reader and a writer. During a most impressionable time in my life, Star Wars set the bar for the archetypal battle between good and evil, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
So, May the 4th be with you!
IN OTHER NEWS:
I’ll be teaching another class for the ARIA Writing Academy on Thursday, May 11th at 7 pm via Zoom. This one will take a deep dive into all aspects of the editing process. Here’s the link if you’re interested: Editing - Soup to Nuts.
Amy and I are creating a lot of content for Author’s Buzz on YouTube! Our last conversation was super fun and casual. We talked about writing a solid ending, among other things. Check it out: Winning and Endings.
Finally, here’s a glimpse of our time in Texas from the last two weeks…
