As a writer, I've dabbled in many things on and off, though not as many across all time time writing as I probably should have. These include romance, history-based dark fantasy, and others such as very short narratives. But something I've learned from all this is; ideas and story structures can come from the strangest sources, and to get those sources you need to read and watch as much as possible, even if it doesn't appeal to you.
My current project is something I've been wanting to do for a while, but never had a coherent vision for until now. I don't know whether, in writing about it here I'm sabotaging it, but I feel the need to do something.
The basic premise is an urban fantasy set in a world where yokai exist between the human population and the deities of the otherworld. Dedicated yokai-staffed police sections work to keep the peace between humans and yokai both friendly and malicious. The two protagonists, a kitsune and a tanuki, take on a variety of cases and eventually stumble upon something greater and darker. But first they need to cope with their own troubles working together.
I think the best way to describe it at the moment (I've only reached the second chapter so far) is "niche Japanese fiction of kore no tatakai meets CSI/Castle". The two protagonists are yokai, and both are sympathetic towards humans, but one (the kitsune) is extremely prim and proper while the other (the tanuki) seems a bit of a slacker. Their peoples also have a historic dislike for one-another, which has led to conflict in the past. But regardless of any enmity, they must deal with sometimes very serious cases of yokai brushing against the wider human world.
The structure, similar to my novel Crystal and Sin, is based off of an anime series. Some things are planned as "monster-of-the-week", while others tie into a larger overarching plot. The aim is to tell a relatable narrative about cooperation and character growth with the framework of an urban fantasy detective plot. The plots aren't nearly as involved or devious as the occasionally-contrived workings of a Detective Conan story, and are more along the lines of Ghost Stories due to their focus on dealing with yokai. I've even got some rarer stars from the yokai world lined up.
Writing it has been fun so far, simply because it feels like I'm dealing with real characters again. The last time I tried a detective-style story, I ran into troubles due to a recent bereavement. The subject, and how I was writing it, was a little too close to home for me to do a good job of it. I've tried several different things, but recurrent writer's block kept on stopping me from getting any further. Perhaps this one will turn out the same. I don't know.
To all who read this blog, thank you for the support you give by just coming here. It makes it worth continuing.
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