Falling in Love.

I fell in love today. Unrequited I'm sure, but that's inevitable when you fall in love with literary types. Of course the best part of falling in love with the characters from books and movies is that you can always let your imagination take over. And I can imagine a very nice romance.

So I started thinking about what I like in these literary guys. All swash and buckle and sweat and blood. I really am a true romantic at heart masquerading as a very practical individual.

My favorite literary construct is the whole 'fish out of water' story line. I like it because it lets you get to the heart of the characters. Or perhaps more to their sinew. Being thrust into an unfamiliar or perhaps dangerous situation immediately lets the author build a little meat on their psyches. Fear, cunning and a whole lot of other rich texture.

And I have to like the main character or a story just won't hold my interest. I really like some dorky stories, just because I adore the main character. Heck I'm enamored of a set of childrens cartoons because I like the kid heros. They aren't too deep, more of one amplified characteristic per kid. But I still get all fired up when they are in the episode where they are facing the worst, scariest critter yet and are each thinking something appropriate for their character. "I let everyone down" one thinks. "I should have tried harder". "This is scarier than the movies" (my personal favorite - a perfect kid response). And then our hero who thinks "I will never give up". Which, of course, turns the tide for them. Gives me shivers every time and it's just a silly little kids marketing conduit.

Yup, I do love to feed the fodder of my dreams every now and again. Suddenly the world feels rich and full of magic. Hmm I wonder how long the glow of new love will last before the reality of my perfectly mundane existence settles again around my shoulders.

Sigh.