Photo credit: Libsyn.com
Not THAT wizard named Harry!
This article is about Harry Dresden, the wizard of the Jim Butcher book series, The Dresden Files.
Harry Dresden happens to be a supernatural private investigator of paranormal crimes working with the Chicago police department on cases. I mention Harry Dresden because I recently started researching Urban Fantasy Crime Novels and came across the story of Jim Butcher and how he came to create the Harry Dresden story universe. Color me surprised when I realized that I also had created a “supernatural private investigator of paranormal crimes working with the Las Vegas police department on cases”… yup, you see it correctly… I used the same premise for a story that Jim Butcher used for Harry Dresden (except I set it in Las Vegas).
Before you ask, no… I didn’t do this intentionally (I’ve never read any Jim Butcher books) and I had watched ‘The Dresden Files’ on TV when it was a short run series, but hadn’t realized all that story info had stuck somewhere in my subconscious for me to think I created an original idea, even though I clearly had not.
This is my dilemma folks.
So I really want to tell this story… do I just consider it an homage to ‘The Dresden Files’ and acknowledge that story’s influence on mine… or do I revamp my story completely by changing key elements just to make it stand out different from ‘The Dresden Files’?
Should my protagonist not be a male, or a wizard, or a supernatural private investigator of paranormal crimes working with a mundane police department of a major city?
Decisions, decisions.
Image Credits: Libsyn.com.
Maybe try a female, or even a kid, instead of a guy. Even if it’s Dresden-ish, it will still be written your way. Go for it!
Good idea… I was thinking a younger female protagonist might be a good spin 🙂