Escapism vs. Reality Check

My new YA project is entirely fantasy. Not heavy-duty fantasy with elves and dragons and whatnot (at least, not so far as I know), but fantasy nonetheless. The world is entirely made up, and the characters have certain... abilities which are definitely a little out of the ordinary.

The thing is, this is not a genre I'm used to writing in.

Generally my stories are all pretty straight-laced, this-could-happen-to-you types of things. How many things are more dramatic than high school, after all?

I am and always have been a character-driven writer, which is why my plotting skills are definitely a little weak. But when I suddenly have two characters who I love who are deteminedly from a fantastical world? Well, that leaves me in a bit of a tough spot. These characters are as clear to me as any have ever been, a lonely outsider girl and a fully-accepted boy who happens to love her excessively. But without a plot, without an adventure and a journey and a bad guy (eep!), these two will never get together. That's just the way they are, and I know it.

And even if they did get together without all of that, no one would read it, because the beginning that I've written really sets you up for magic, and if I don't deliver...

Sigh.

Why did I get myself into this boat? Well, because I wanted to write something with—wait for it, here's one of those AP English words—scope. Cinematic scope. There's just not much call to describe the lush green hillsides and roving meadows... behind Baker City High, for example.

So I'm trying my best to immerse myself in fantasy lately. Trying to work up something that fits into the classic examples, but also feels new and fresh and exciting.

For some reason, though, I'm not really afraid of that. I'm not afraid of the work. In fact, I'm excited by it! Writing this story is kind of like freefalling. It's a little scary, and I don't know where I'll land, exactly, but I'm having fun as I go, and the view! The view is spectacular.