Loving the Unexplainable—M.G. Sondraal
As children, our stories are filled with fantastical beasts, secret rooms, and strange pathways to other worlds where adults play minor roles. We progress to stories of dragons and witches and space travel, meeting creatures and extraterrestrials with powers beyond our own mundane human achievements. Many readers in late adolescence then shun science fiction and fantasy believing it solely for nerds and fan boys housed in their parents’ basement playing Dungeons and Dragons as their only social interaction. I never did and my eclectic reading list includes a plethora of speculative fiction, along with “literature”, crime fiction, romance and whatever else caught my imagination.
I would argue, along with A.T. Bennett, that those magical, otherworldly elements can and do have a place in literature. Witness Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray or Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, two of my favourites, both with paranormal features. And who doesn’t love Gaiman’s American Gods, a brilliant melding of mystery and mythology?
Separating stories into genres and subgenres is for marketing.
Mystery is present in all our lives. Who’s that? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? Where are they going? How do think they can get away with it? It has its roots in our nosiness about what neighbours and friends are doing, what celebrities are up to and why politicians make such foolish decisions. We want to know…everything.
It’s of no surprise to me that, regardless of where they’re shelved in a bookstore or library, an element of mystery is present in all fiction. Will Eliza Bennett and Mr. Darcy marry? Will the secret garden be brought back to life? Despite racism, poverty and violence, will our protagonist triumph?
There are subgenres in mystery and speculative fiction and lots of crossover. That makes it a challenge perhaps for marketing and causes the bookseller some consternation about where to shelve your book (both places are always best), but don’t let that dictate your creativity. Put whatever you like in it. Others can decide if it’s steampunk, noir, paranormal, police procedural or cozy.
Don’t restrict yourself. Just write a good story.