In my novel Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter Catori, one of the main Characters equates trying to explain something supernatural in a natural way to trying to explain literature with arithmetic. Underneath the surface of this statement is a deep well of frustration that I and others can identify with. There is a lot that can be debated about the supernatural, mystical, and paranormal. Controversial questions like, does it exist if we can’t see it, come to mind. But I have no intention of going into that in this article. Instead I want to focus on some of the challenges facing the authors who write these genres.
When writing Blessed, I found it rather easy to write the natural elements of the book but found that it was much more challenging to get my vision across when it came to the more mystical moments. As an experiment locate an object around you and use the most descriptive words you can. Pretend you are describing the object to an alien who has never seen it before. Now describe the alien. It’s much more challenging. By this time, you might be saying, well obviously it’s easier to describe something that you can see rather than something that only exist in your imagination. And you’re right, but have you considered the bigger implications?
An alien is still something that we can experience with our five senses, but what about describing a concept? A thing that isn’t seen or heard, and cannot be touched. There is a reason we often use physical characteristic to convey concepts such as good and evil. In the old days a massive guy covered in tattoos was clearly the bad guy and presently in the age of irony that same guy would now be the hero. It is a simple way to get a point across. But what if it were a feeling a deeper sense that something was not right with a person. It wasn’t based on body modifications, or someone’s good looks. How would you write a spiritual being? How would you visualize a feeling?
Of course, every reader will interpret your descriptions differently. It is our job as writers not to beat our readers over the head with imagery but to stimulate their dreams, (or nightmares). And because readers come from all different backgrounds and cynicism levels, writing in the supernatural, mystical, paranormal, and even mythical can be delicate business. Toeing the line between realism and the otherworldly can pose a fascinating challenge.
