To undertake the study of fantasy brings an ineluctable sacrifice of some valuable practicalities...let me tell you. For instance, reality, existence. About six months ago I was in a car accident involving logs, the dark of night and an unavoidable dreamstate. One would hope that to access your creative well you wouldn't have to sacrifice the bucket, but sometimes the car wants to crash. Before impact, for about two hours, I hovered somewhere on the edge of my psychic lake where I could dip my fingers in and let ideas run through that had been occluded from me for months, if not years. Suddenly pieces fit, trajectories were visible, I had plans! I'm lucky if I get back there in my less perilous daydreams.

A word about creatures: the magic of any character is in their apparent (I stress that) and gripping reality. Their power stems from how deeply you believe in them. So no one--especially not those fantastical creations--should be auxillary or abstract. Everyone--human or not--needs depth.