I’ve begun the querying process with my MG fantasy and, even though I understand that agents and publishers need to have labels on everything, I object to calling this story ‘fantasy.’ One of my CPs suggested it could be called ‘sci-fi,’ but that isn’t any better. The terms Fantasy and Sci-Fi both imply that my story, which takes place in the 9th Dimension Parallel, could never happen in reality. Well, in my reality, it could.
If you think about it, doesn’t it seem like writers (especially those who write for kids) should believe what they’re writing? If you can’t believe that your MC is actually a vampire or a zombie or a shape-shifting squid girl with snake hair, then how will your readers? You have to at least entertain the idea that there might be shape-shifting squid people somewhere. (Sorry, I just took an alliteration pill.)
You know how when you dream, you go along with whatever happens? Like, you may be dreaming that you’re vacuuming the living room and then you go around the corner and suddenly you’re in Paris. You don’t stop and question, ‘Hey, how the hell did I get to Paris?’ You just go with it and keep on dreaming. A mind at rest is beautifully open.
Druid theory embraces the concept that, just because something cannot be seen, does not mean it doesn’t exist. If you can’t believe parallel dimensions exist because you can’t see them, then I have two words for you: Isaac. Newton. A lovely man, I’m sure, who went a long way in proving that something can exist even if you can’t see it.
Heaven, Hell, the OtherWorld, Valhalla and Tír na nÓg (the Irish land of eternal youth), are all alternate dimensions. My personal favourite is Alice’s Wonderland.
Like Brian Greene and the string theory (which involves electro-magnetism and multiple dimensions), ancient Druids understood there are varying degrees of existence, varying levels of consciousness and dream states. When you look at the world this way, almost anything is possible.
I can’t help fantasizing that maybe some day in the future, a middle grader will be reading my MG novel and will find it hilarious that people used to think of parallel dimensions as fantasy.
I also fantasize that Brian Greene and I are skinny dipping under a waterfall on a tropical island, feeding each other Goobers and Raisinettes, and then he moves really close and nibbles on my ear and suddenly I can understand quantum physics. But that’s another post.
